AASHTO Journal - FTA Provides $166M to Help Fund Rail Transit Upgrades

The Federal Transit Administration recently issued $166 million to three transit authorities via its Rail Vehicle Replacement Grants program to help upgrade their passenger rail equipment. 

[Above photo by DART]

The agency noted that one-third of passenger-carrying subway and commuter rail equipment in the United States is more than 25 years old and that aging equipment contributes to delays, increased maintenance costs, and customer dissatisfaction.

The three transit authorities receiving grants from this tranche of FTA funding are:

$82.7 million to Pennsylvania’s Port Authority of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh Regional Transit) to buy 45 new light rail vehicles–replacing some models that have been in service for nearly 50 years.
$70 million to Texas’ Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) to replace 53 light rail vehicles originally purchased in the 1990s.
$13.3 million to Pennsylvania’s Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) to replace 50-year-old Silverliner IV electrical multiple unit commuter railcars in service on its regional rail system.

“These funds will buy new, safer light rail vehicles that have been in service for decades,” noted Sean Duffy, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, in a statement. “New transit infrastructure will help commuters avoid delays and improve their passenger experience.”

This is latest in a series of passenger-rail-focused funding disbursements made by the FTA.

For example, in March, FTA issued a notice of funding opportunity or NOFO to make approximately $686 million in grants available to help modernize some of the nation’s oldest and busiest rail transit stations.

The FTA said at the time that this grant funding seeks to help transit agencies finance capital projects to repair, improve, modify, retrofit, or relocate infrastructure of stations or facilities to make all public areas of the station more convenient for families as well as Americans with disabilities – including those using strollers and wheelchairs.