The Trump Dividend: Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Announces Over $5 Billion to get America Building Safer, More Reliable Railroads

New National Railroad Partnership Program utilizes over $2 billion in repurposed funding for California High Speed Rail Boondoggle

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today 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. This includes improvements to grade crossings, which result in more than 2,000 incidents and 200 fatalities each year.

The NOFO includes approximately $2.4 billion the FRA de-obligated from the California High-Speed Rail boondoggle, which will now be reinvested into successful projects, critical infrastructure upgrades, and rail safety. This is the first of many Trump Infrastructure Dividends whereby recompeted federal dollars will be redirected from wasteful boondoggles to real infrastructure projects that benefit the American people.

"Under President Trump's leadership, America is building again," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. "Our new National Railroad Partnership Program will emphasize safety - our number one priority - without the radical Biden-Buttigieg DEI and green grant requirements. Instead of wasting dollars on Governor Newsom's high-speed rail boondoggle, these targeted investments will improve the lives of rail passengers, local drivers, and pedestrians."

"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."

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 important changes, including:

• The repeal of unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements as part of the Trump Administration's push to end illegal discrimination and restore merit-based opportunity.
• Emphasizing grade crossing safety projects within the program, which is a major shift from the Biden-Harris Administration's wasteful spending to benefit only a sliver of the population.
• Supporting projects that align with the Administration's focus on the American family and ensuring a more seamless travel experience, such as adding mothers' rooms, expanding waiting areas, adding new family restrooms, creating children's play areas, and other projects improving overall travel for families in U.S. intercity passenger rail stations.
• Additional Information:

A safe National rail network is a critical component of the U.S. transportation system and economy. The National Railroad Partnership Program provides a federal funding opportunity to improve American passenger rail assets by funding projects that enhance safety, including grade crossing safety, or that reduce the state-of-good-repair backlog or otherwise improve performance.

Eligible National Railroad Partnership Program applicants include:

• a State,
• a group of States,
• an Interstate Compact,
• a public agency or publicly chartered authority established by one or more States,
• a political subdivision of a State,
• Amtrak, acting on its own behalf or under a cooperative agreement with one or more States,
• a Federally recognized Indian Tribe, and
• any combination of the entities described above.

The NOFO is available on FRA's website here and on https://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. More information about the National Railroad Partnership Program can be found on FRA's website here. ###