The Federal Railroad Administration is working to build a new Corridor Identification and Development program that is being described as the first step in transforming America's passenger railway network.
The plan falls under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“The Corridor ID Program will help expand intercity passenger rail service beyond the Northeast Corridor,” FRA Administrator Amit Bose said in a May 13 news release. “This is just one of many ways the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is bringing about the next great rail revolution.”
The program will set up a pipeline for projects and organizations that are intended to improve passenger railways. It will allow such projects to receive funding quicker and more efficiently. With such streamlined funding, improvements will be able to get started and finished quicker, the release said.
The Bipartisan Law has set aside $1.8 billion to establish the Corridor ID program. It marks is the largest investment in passenger railways since the creation of Amtrak. This funding will extend rail networks between cities making rail travel a viable option and allow more travelers to utilize rail and subsequently reduce road traffic and congestion.
"Americans deserve what people in many other countries currently benefit from: a world-class rail system that allows you to get where you need to go quickly and affordably, while reducing traffic and pollution on our roads," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the release.
The program represents “a major step to transform America's passenger rail network and connect our smallest towns and our biggest cities with great train service," Buttigieg said in the release.
