Texas is getting more than $105 million in federal money to upgrade rail infrastructure across the state, with projects ranging from new tracks in West Texas to improvements at the Port of Texas City.
The $105.5 million comes from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program.
The funding is part of a larger $2.3 billion federal package for freight and passenger rail projects in 45 states and Washington, D.C., announced Monday by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The national package is expected to improve more than 2,000 miles of track.
Here’s where Texas’ money is going:
$35.2 million – Alpine and Presidio: Texas Pacifico Transportation will install rail, replace ties, restore ballast, rehabilitate 12 at-grade crossings, stabilize yard operations and build two new sidings.
$30.2 million – Port of Texas City: Texas City Terminal Railway Company will realign the port’s vehicle entrance gate and rehabilitate and expand its rail yard.
$11.6 million – Texas and the Southwest: Rio Valley Switching Company will replace rail and ties, install ballast, resurface track, rehabilitate turnouts, improve four at-grade crossings and add two new sidings across five short-line railroads in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
$8.5 million – Palestine: Texas & Eastern Railroad will build four new tracks next to its Palestine Depot, eliminating a two-hour locomotive runaround operation.
$8.2 million – Hondo: Hondo Railway will build new industrial lead and connection tracks, extend a siding, install new turnouts and power-operated switches and reconfigure existing track.
$6.3 million – Rio Grande City to Mission: Border Pacific Railroad Company will rehabilitate about six miles of track and 27 curves by replacing deteriorated rail and other track components and adding ballast.
$4.7 million – Gonzales: Texas Gonzales Northern Rail will use the money to buy five remanufactured locomotives and rebuild two existing locomotives into slug-mothers.
$875,000 – McKinney: The city will evaluate relocating and modernizing freight siding and switching operations for the Dallas, Garland & Northeastern Railroad.
The projects are largely aimed at freight rail, with improvements intended to make short-line operations more reliable, reduce congestion and improve connections to major industrial and port facilities.
“From improving shortline infrastructure and port connections so critical products can get where they need to go faster to enhancing fencing along trespassing hotspots, this package will tangibly improve lives for millions of Americans,” Duffy said. “These improvements are all part of our efforts to rekindle a Golden Age of Rail in America.”
Texas is getting $105.5 million in federal rail funding for projects in Alpine, Presidio, Texas City, Palestine, Hondo, Gonzales and other areas. (HUM Images/HUM Images/Universal Images Grou)
For Texas, the announcement adds another major federal investment to a year that has already brought hundreds of millions of dollars toward rail infrastructure.
In August, TxDOT announced a $755 million federal grant for 12 rail-grade separation projects across Texas, including projects in the Houston area and North Texas. Those projects are designed to eliminate dangerous at-grade crossings by separating roads from railroad tracks.
That was separate from the latest CRISI award. TxDOT said the state is expected to see more than $953 million in total investment this year from local, state and federal sources for projects affecting Texas railways.
This latest $105.5 million is less about changing where Texans catch a train and more about upgrading the rail network that moves goods through the state-from the Gulf Coast to the Rio Grande Valley and West Texas.
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This article originally published at Texas is getting $105M for rail upgrades. Here’s where it’s going.