Amtrak Using $4B Fed Grant to Improve Accessibility

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) granted an unprecedented $4.3 billion in funding to Amtrak this fall to modernize the intercity passenger rail network, most immediately funding improvements to Amtrak-served stations to upgrade fleets and meet Americans with Disability Act (ADA) standards.

Over the next five years, President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will invest a total of $22 billion in Amtrak, improving and expanding intercity passenger rail services nationwide and addressing long-delayed repairs and maintenance.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law significantly increased Amtrak’s Annual Grant Program, which is administered by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The legislation also provided additional supplemental funding, from which this year’s $4.3 billion comes.

With $22 billion in infrastructure investments over five years, Amtrak will bring more than 280 Amtrak-served stations across the country into compliance with ADA standards. Funding will also be used to replace Amtrak’s existing fleet of over 1,000 railcars and locomotives with accessible, comfortable, state-of-the-art equipment. Portions of the new fleet will enter service this year, and over 525 new railcars and locomotives will begin service by the end of the decade.

“This $4.3 billion dollar investment not only advances a years-long mission of bringing Amtrak’s infrastructure to a state of good repair — it also makes intercity passenger rail a convenient and accessible mode of travel for more Americans,” said FRA Administrator Amit Bose. “Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this Administration is poised to deliver the world-class passenger rail services people deserve in communities across the country.”

Funding obligated to Amtrak will also address needed upgrades and upkeep to improve capacity, reliability, and working conditions on locomotive and railcar maintenance facilities, eliminate the infrastructure maintenance backlog, and invest in technology systems modernization and improvement.