On July 1 the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued two Notices of Funding Availability (NOFA) for high-speed and intercity passenger rail (HSIPR) development.
The NOFA for service development programs, published at 75 Fed. Reg. 38,344 (PDF), outlines selection criteria and application procedures for $2.1 billion in FY 2010 HSIPR funds. A second NOFA addressing $245 million available for individual construction projects within a corridor, was published at 75 Fed. Reg. 38,365 (PDF).
Applications pursuant to these NOFAs are due to FRA by August 6. Grant awards are expected to be announced by September 30.
The NOFAs both indicate that FRA is preparing draft guidance to establish a long-term framework for the HSIPR program. This forthcoming guidance does not apply to the $2.3 billion in FY 2010 HSIPR funding but is intended to provide further clarification about future project development processes (from planning and design through construction and operation), and technical assistance for successful project development and delivery. FRA has stated that outreach on proposed new guidance will begin this fall.
FY 2011 THUD House Markup
On July 1 the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development approved FY2011 THUD appropriations. Under this mark, HSIPR would receive $1.4 billion (PDF) in FY 2011, an increase of $400 million over the President’s request but a decrease of $1.1 billion compared with the FY 2010 funded level of $2.5 billion.
Additionally, Amtrak would receive $151.5 million above the President's request and $204 million more than it received in FY 2010.
By comparison, highway programs increased 3.132 billion over FY 2010, as did transit funding which increased by $574 million.
Additional information on the Subcommittee's FY 2011 THUD mark, including a bill summary (PDF), an earmark list (PDF), bill text (PDF) and a statement of managers (PDF) can be found on the Subcommittee’s website.
A date for full Committee markup has not yet been set, and no Senate THUD markup has yet been scheduled.
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