U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy recently announced that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the National Railroad Partnership Program.

The new NOFO allocates more than $5 billion in funding for projects that enhance safety on intercity passenger rail networks, including improvements to grade crossings, which result in more than 2,000 incidents and 200 fatalities each year.

The NOFO includes approximately $2.4 billion that the FRA de-obligated from the California High-Speed Rail, which will now be reinvested into other projects, critical infrastructure upgrades, and rail safety. According to a USDOT release, this is the first of many "Trump Infrastructure Dividends whereby recompeted federal dollars will be redirected" to other infrastructure projects.

"Our new National Railroad Partnership Program will emphasize safety – our number one priority – [...] these targeted investments will improve the lives of rail passengers, local drivers, and pedestrians," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy.

"The funding will help advance FRA's top priority of making railroads safer," said FRA Acting Administrator Drew Feeley. "These funds will significantly enhance and strengthen grade crossing safety, along with other eligible uses related to passenger rail capacity and reliability."

Reissued NOFO Highlights Safety & Passenger Experience

The FRA is reissuing the NOFO for fiscal year (FY) 2024 and adding funding for the FY 2025 National Railroad Partnership Program. The FY 2024 NOFO was originally published last September as the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program, and the reissued NOFO includes several changes, including:

• Repealing diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements.

• Emphasizing grade crossing safety projects within the program.

• Ensuring a more "seamless travel experience" for families by adding mothers' rooms, expanding waiting areas, adding new family restrooms, creating children's play areas, and more.

The National Railroad Partnership Program offers a federal funding opportunity to enhance American passenger rail assets by supporting projects that improve safety, including those that address grade crossing safety, reduce the state-of-good-repair backlog, or otherwise improve performance.

The NOFO is available on FRA's website here and on www.Grants.gov. Applications are due no later than 11:59 p.m. ET, Wednesday, January 7, 2026, and FRA will provide technical assistance to potential applicants prior to the deadline.