The US Department of Transport has announced a new federal funding under the 2025 budget for nine US rail transit projects out of 14 selected projects in 11 states.
USD 4 billion is the entire value of the financing of which more than USD 3 billion will be provided to the rail projects that will transform the way people will travel and bring opportunities to communities.
“Public transport connects people to jobs, school, family, and more, and when transit reaches more people and communities, its impact is even greater. The Biden-Harris Administration is proud to support funding for 14 large projects that will expand transit for millions of Americans across the country,” the U.S. Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg, said.
Seven of the 14 recommended US transit projects would receive funding recommendations through FTA’s Capital Investment Grants (CIG) programme for the first time, while others are already under construction or far along in the process required to receive a capital construction grant. The projects, which require a local funding match, seek funding through FTA’s CIG and EPD Pilot programmes.
The FY25 annual report on funding recommendations recommends USD 2.37 billion in annual appropriations requested from Congress and USD 1.6 billion in FY 2025 funding provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law advance appropriations.
Of the seven selected projects which obtained funding for the first time, three cover rail component and four include the development of BRT.
- The largest financing, of USD 500 million, goes to California for Transbay Downtown extension project. which will extend Caltrain commuter service from the China Basin/South Park neighborhood near the current Caltrain terminus to the Salesforce Transit Center in central San Francisco. The project will construct a new station at 4th and Townsend streets and bring rail service to the underground train station that was built as part of the construction of Salesforce Transit Centre. Under the project, a 3.5 km line and a 2 km underground tunnel will be constructed. USD 8.2 billion is the value of the project which also includes the purchase of new rail vehicles and the retrofitting 23 of Caltrain’s EMUs and the installation of new train control, signalling and communication systems and power substations. The project will improve public access to bus and rail services in the centre of San Francisco Downtown and accommodate projected growth in travel demand in the San Jose–San Francisco corridor. Additionally, the project will connect Caltrain’s regional rail system to the California high-speed railway line at the Salesforce Transit Centre.
- Also in California a USD 200 million grant will be delivered for the fully automated, elevated Inglewood Transit Connector project that will complete a critical first/last mile gap between the underserved Inglewood community and the countywide LACMTA Metro Rail system. The City of Inglewood and LACMTA established the Inglewood Transit Connector Joint Powers Authority (JPA) that will own, manage, and oversee the design, construction, financing, operation, and maintenance of the project. Under the project, a 2.5 km elevated guideway with three stations will be constructed to connect the Metro K Line’s Downtown Inglewood station to the City’s expanding housing, jobs, commercial, and entertainment venues along Prairie Avenue. 24 vehicles will be acquired as part of the USD 2 billion project. The design-build-finance-operate-maintain contract is expected to be awarded in Q3 2024 and the construction is scheduled to be completed in 2030.
- Miami-Dade County Department of Transport will benefit a USD 263.7 million grant for the Northeast Corridor transit project along the existing Florida East Coast (FEC) Railway corridor between Downtown Miami and the City of Aventura in northeast Miami-Dade County. The 21.7 km corridor will have five new commuter rail stations and a train vehicle maintenance facility. The work for the new line will begin in 2025 and the new rail connection is expected to enter passenger services in 2027-2028.
The US rail transit projects with existing construction grant agreements and have been selected for 2025 funding includes other four rail programmes.
- The largest amount of USD 496.8 million goes to New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the extension of metro network along the East Side of Manhattan with the Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 project. This covers the construction of a 2.8 km two-track metro extension and three stations. The project includes the installation of power substations, signalling and communications systems, and car cleaning facilities. The project is the second of four planned sections of the Second Avenue Subway and will connect the northern end of Phase 1 at 96th Street to the Lexington Avenue Line at 125th Street.
- Westside Purple Line extension (Westside Metro Purple (D) Line) – section 3 rail project ranks the second in terms of value an obtained and is implemented in Los Angeles, California. The transport authority LACMTA is extending the heavy rail system to Westwood/Veterans Hospital area. The project of the third phase includes the construction of 4.1 km with two stations (Westwood/UCLA and Westwood/VA Hospital), the installation of train control and signallling systems as well as the procurement of 16 trainsets. The construction of this section started in 2019 and it is expected to enter passenger operation in 2027. The D Line metro extension covers the construction of 14 km of rail extension to Westside providing fast connection between LA downtown and the Westside. The first section between Wilshire/La Brea Station and Wilshire/La Cienega station is expected to be inaugurated in 2025 and the second section from Wilshire/Rodeo to Century City/Constellation station, in 2026.
- USD 129.5 million will be provided for the extension of Green metro Line in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Known as Minneapolis Southwest LRT, the project includes a 23.3 km light rail line from the existing Target Field LRT station in downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie in suburban Hennepin County, serving the suburban municipalities of Minnetonka, Hopkins and St. Louis Park. The project includes construction of 9 park & ride facilities with approximately 2,500 total spaces and a new railcar light maintenance facility as well as the purchase of 27 light rail vehicles.
- In Seattle, the Lynnwood Link LRT extension obtained a USD 88.4 million federal funding for the construction of a 13.7 km extension with four stations from Northgate station in King County to the Lynnwood City Centre Station in Snohomish County. 6.6 km will run parallel to the existing configuration of Interstate 5 (I-5) on an above-ground structure. The project also includes vehicle operation, maintenance, and storage facility as well as the procurement of 34 LRVs. USD 3.2 billion is the value of the project and all contracts have been awarded and approximately 93% of construction is complete.
The FY 2025 budget request proposes funding for three projects in the CIG/EPD pipeline that were recommended in prior budgets but have not yet entered into a construction grant agreement. These include two rail projects and one bus rapid transit project (in Texas, from the San Antonio International Airport to Steves Avenue).
The selected rail transit projects are in Illinois and New Jersey/New York.
- The project in Illinois refers to Chicago Red Line extension project for which a funding of USD 350 million will be delivered. The project covers the construction of a 5.8 km extension of the Red Line Dan Ryan branch with four stations from the present 95th Street Terminal to the 130th Street area. Under the project, parking facilities with 1,400 spaces, multimodal connections, and a new railyard and maintenance shop near 120th Street will be constructed, while 78 railcars will be acquired. The service is planned to operate 24 hours per day, seven days per week with trains every three to six minutes during weekday peak periods. USD 3.6 billion is the entire value of the project which has an annual ridership of 12.2 million trips in 2040.
- Hudson tunnel is the second rail project which receives a USD 700 million federal funding for 2025. The project covers the construction of a double-track heavy rail tunnel on the Northeast Corridor, the Bergen Palisades in New Jersey to Manhattan that will directly serve New York Penn station. The project consists of three elements. The first one covers the construction of a new Hudson Tunnel, the second includes the rehabilitation and modernisation of the existing 110-year old North River tunnel and the third component include Long Island Railroad (LIRR) emergency services building (ESB). The project will improve traffic conditions and reliability of the New Jersey Transit services and Amtrak trains, creating additional capacity, with services delivered 24-hours a day, seven days a week with trains every three minutes during peak periods. Following the last evaluation of the project in November 2019, the project costs increased fomr USD 12.68 billion to USD 15.6 billion due to advancement of the design, cost escalation, additional contingency, and revised financing charge.
“FTA looks forward to working with these communities to advance transit projects that will provide new transit options. These investments support President Biden’s commitment to combat climate change while also improving safety, advancing equity, and improving quality of life for millions of Americans,” FTA Acting Administrator Veronica Vanterpool said.
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