Iowa Rail

The Railroad Revolving Loan and Grant (RRLG) Program provides financial assistance to improve rail facilities that will create jobs, spur economic activity, and improve the rail transportation system in Iowa. The program is funded through appropriations from the state legislature and repayments from loans for rail development projects funded in the past. For the FY 2025 round, we anticipate approximately $5.1 million available for eligible projects.

Applications for Targeted Jobs Creation/Retention and Rail Network Improvements submitted by 5:00 p.m. on July 18, 2024, will be reviewed. For more information, please see attached information sheet.

Iowa DOT hosts an informational meeting on the Canadian National (CN) acquisition of Iowa Northern Railway (IANR) with the latest updates on the STB review and contact information. View presentation

On December 14, 2020, the FRA issued the Final Rule for 49 CFR Part 234, requiring 40 States and the District of Columbia to develop and implement highway-rail grade crossing action plans.

The purpose of this Iowa City-North Liberty Commuter Rail Conceptual Feasibility Study (the Study) is to incorporate previous work performed between 2015 to 2017 that considers the potential for commuter rail service implementation between Gilbert Street in Iowa City, Iowa, and Penn Street in North Liberty, Iowa .

The Iowa Rail Toolkit was created to provide new freight rail users and economic development professionals with a basic introduction to rail freight shipping concepts, practices and access. Resources are included to help make shipping by rail in Iowa easier and more understandable. A directory of Iowa railroad companies is included listing contact information and a basic profile of each network.