Financial assistance to strengthen, enhance or preserve Iowa's rail transportation system and encourage economic development and job growth are available.
A brief summary of each is included below with links to further information on eligibility and the application process. Also included are links to related state and federal funding programs.
To develop safety improvements and encourage the expansion and upgrade of passenger and freight rail infrastructure and services, FRA supports the nation’s rail network through a variety of competitive and dedicated grant programs. FRA provides technical assistance and training to grantees and stakeholders as well as conducts ongoing monitoring of grants throughout the grant lifecycle.
Federal Rail Administration Discretionary Grant Programs
You can find more information on federal rail discretionary grant programs, other funding programs, and each program’s application process from FRA by visiting their official website.
List items for Federal Rail Administration Discretionary Grant Programs
This program funds grants for initiating, restoring, or enhancing intercity passenger rail transportation.
This program provides funding for highway-rail or pathway-rail grade crossing improvement projects that focus on improving the safety and mobility of people and goods.
This program provides funding for projects that improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of intercity passenger and freight rail.
The Corridor Identification and Development (Corridor ID) Program is a comprehensive intercity passenger rail planning and development program that will help guide intercity passenger rail development throughout the country and create a pipeline of intercity passenger rail projects ready for implementation.
This program provides funding for capital projects that reduce the state of good repair backlog, improve performance, or expand or establish new intercity passenger rail service, including privately operated intercity passenger rail service, if an eligible applicant is involved.
INFRA (the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects program) awards competitive grants for multimodal freight and highway projects of national or regional significance to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of freight and people in and across rural and urban areas.
This USDOT-wide grant opportunity provides funding for major infrastructure projects of regional or national significance. The opportunity combines the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (MEGA) program, the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program, and the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program (RURAL) under a single Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to streamline the funding process for State, regional, and local governments. Options of investments include large, complex projects that are difficult to fund by other means and are likely to generate national or regional economic, mobility, or safety benefits. Eligible projects include highway, bridge, freight, port, passenger rail, and public transportation projects of national or regional significance. 
This USDOT-wide program provides funding for road, rail, transit, and port projects that promise to achieve national objectives. Projects are evaluated on merit criteria that include safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, economic competitiveness, state of good repair, innovation, and partnership. 
This program makes funding available to establish a center to advance research and development efforts that seek to improve the safety, performance, and sustainability of freight, intercity passenger, and commuter rail.
FRA also provides technical assistance to the Build America Bureau, manages the U.S. Department of Transportation’s credit and loan programs. Specific Rail programs and information can be found at this link.
Information regarding state and federal programs that provide transportation project funding of interest to local governments and other entities. This information is intended to serve as a guide for preliminary funding searches. For more detail, we encourage you to contact the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) bureau linked for each program. (In some cases, the DOT district office or a Regional Planning Affiliation/Metropolitan Planning Organization is the recommended contact – maps and information for your area can be found in the resources box.)
List items for Iowa DOT Funding Programs
The crossing safety program participates in the cost of safety improvements at public highway-railroad grade crossings. These funds are used to install new crossing signal devices, to upgrade existing signals, and to provide low-cost improvements, such as increased sight distance, widened crossings, increased signal lens size, or crossing closures. However, the available funding allows only a limited number of safety improvements each year.
Nine hundred thousand dollars in an annual appropriation from Iowa's Road Use Tax Fund assists cities, counties and railroads with surface repairs. Projects selected for funding receive 60% of the cost of repairs from the Grade Crossing Surface Repair Fund. The highway authority and railroad must each agree to pay 20% of the total project cost. When a rail spur at a public crossing is owned by a private industry or agricultural cooperative, that entity assumes the costs normally paid by the railroad as owner of the track.
The RRLGP provides assistance to improve rail facilities that will spur economic development and job growth and provide assistance to railroads for the preservation and improvement of the railroad transportation system. Both grants and loans are available and are awarded based on competitive applications.
Rail projects are eligible for funding under (ICAAP), which provides funding for projects that reduce congestion, improve traffic flow and reduce vehicle emissions.
Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF)
Administered by the Federal Railroad Administration, the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing program assists railroads with refinancing, line acquisition, track rehabilitation, or development of new intermodal facilities.
The Transportation Enhancement program provides funding assistance for transportation related enhancements that fall within three categories: trails and bikeways; historic and archaeological; or scenic and environmental. The Transportation Enhancement Program is administered by the Iowa DOT's System Planning Bureau. Restorations of several historic Iowa rail depots have been assisted through this program.
The Funding Guide provides information on this and a variety of other funding programs available for transportation projects.
