Restoration and Enhancement (R&E) Grants Program

1. Initiating, Restoring, or Enhancing Intercity Rail Passenger Transportation Operations  

Applicants may apply for and receive one year of funding or multiple years, up to six years, provided the service has not already received six years of funding.

Eligible Projects include but are not limited to:

• Additional frequency of current services
• Offering new onboard services
• Establishing new services
• Extension of current services
• Restoration of previously operated services 

Eligible Expenses include but are not limited to:

• Staffing costs for train engineers, conductors, and onboard service crew 
  
• Diesel fuel or electricity costs associated with train propulsion power 
  
• Station costs—such as ticket sales, customer information, and train dispatching services—and station building utility and maintenance costs 
  
• Lease payments on rolling stock 
  
• Routine planned maintenance costs of equipment and train cleaning 
  
• Host railroad costs 
  
• Train yard operation costs 
  
• General and administrative costs 
  
• Management, marketing, sales, and reservations costs 

• A State (including the District of Columbia) or a group of States; 
  
• An entity implementing an Interstate Rail Compact; 
  
• A public agency or publicly chartered authority established by one or more States; 
  
• A political subdivision of a State; 
  
• A federally recognized Indian Tribe; 
  
• Amtrak or another Rail Carrier that provides Intercity Rail Passenger Transportation; 
  
• Any Rail Carrier in partnership with at least one of the entities described above; and 
  
• Any combination of the entities described above. 
  
  

No more than six R&E grants may be simultaneously active; FRA currently has three simultaneous R&E grants. Accordingly, under this NOFO, FRA may select up to three Services on Routes that (1) do not have a currently active R&E grant; or (2) do have a currently active R&E grant, but the application is submitted by an applicant other than the applicant or recipient for the currently active R&E grant.

FRA strongly encourages applicants to identify and include other State; and/or local public funding; and/or private funding, to support the proposed project and maximize competitiveness. 
An R&E grant recipient may use the grant award in combination with other Federal grants awarded that would benefit the applicable Service. 

FRA Selection Preferences:

1. The proposed R&E funding is less than the maximum funding limit for the applicable Year(s) of Service;  
   
2. The application includes funding more than one source, such as state, local, regional governmental, and/or private sources, demonstrating broad participation by affected stakeholders;  
   
3. The applicant has a funding plan that demonstrates the Service will be financially sustainable beyond the grant period of performance;  
   
4. The proposed Services are on Route(s) selected under the Corridor Identification and Development Program and operated by Amtrak; and 
   
5. The start of the Revenue Service is likely to occur within one year of award selection.  

Funding Restrictions:

1. FRA will only approve pre-award costs if such costs are incurred pursuant to the negotiation and in anticipation of the grant agreement and if such costs are necessary for efficient and timely performance of the scope of work; and 
   
2. FRA is prohibited from providing R&E grants for Commuter Rail Passenger Transportation. 

FRA Support Staff: FRA-NOFO-Support@dot.gov (Primary Contact) 
Name: Marc Dixon – Office of Rail Program Development (Secondary Contact) 
Email/Phone: marc.dixon@dot.gov (preferred); and (202) 493-0614