Dive Brief:

  • The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced a $1.28 billion capital investment grant on Aug. 7 to increase capacity on Utah's FrontRunner commuter rail service.
  • The project entails adding a second track in selected segments, constructing one new train station, and procuring 10 additional train sets to enable more frequent service along the 83-mile corridor linking Ogden, Salt Lake City, and Provo.
  • Currently in the engineering phase, construction is expected to commence next year and reach completion in 2030.

Dive Insight:

The FTA's grant announcement does not guarantee immediate disbursement of funds. According to the agency's press release, the grant remains contingent on satisfying "all financial, technical, and legal requirements" as well as congressional appropriations.

Prior to this announcement, the FTA had not signed any new Capital Investment Grants since the start of the Trump administration, as reported by the New York Times on July 27. These discretionary grants support capital investments for heavy rail, commuter rail, light rail, streetcars, and bus rapid transit systems.

On Tuesday, 42 Democratic senators and representatives sent a letter to FTA Acting Deputy Administrator Matthew Cahill and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, expressing concerns over what they termed a "growing backlog of projects." The letter specifically cited the FrontRunner project, along with pending initiatives in Boston and Los Angeles.

According to the letter, the FTA "currently has access to more than $1.9 billion in unobligated and unallocated funds" for CIG-eligible projects. The lawmakers wrote: "We are very concerned that delaying the CIG project pipeline, while advancing only the Utah project, is potentially rooted in partisan political considerations, which could further violate statutory requirements."

Congress is currently drafting the next multi-year surface transportation legislation. Although the House introduced a five-year, $580 billion bill in May, it is unlikely to pass before Sept. 30, when funding from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act expires. The Senate has passed a continuing resolution to fund the government until Dec. 11, but that measure would reduce public transit investment by 20% and passenger rail by 83% from current levels, according to the American Public Transportation Association.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy proposed eliminating the Highway Trust Fund's mass transit account, which provides funding for public transportation, in a July 22 letter to six senators outlining the administration's priorities, further clouding transit funding prospects.