▶ 0:20:52Subcommittee on railroads, pipelines and hazards race will come to Order. I ask unanimous consent of that the chairman be authorized to declare a recess at any time during today's hearing. Without objection, show that ordered. I ask unanimous consent that the members uh not on the subcommittee be permitted to sit with the subcommittee in today's hearing and ask questions. Without objection, show that order.
▶ 0:21:18Uh, as a reminder, if members wish to insert a document in the record, please also email it to documents ti at mail.house.gov. I recognize myself for the purpose of making an opening statement for five minutes.
▶ 0:21:38Most of us are familiar with unfortunate unnecessary uh reputation of um of our country for building and repairing infrastructure takes too long, costs too much.
▶ 0:21:54many of what we would today call mega projects like the original Oakland San Francisco Bay Bridge and the Tribero Bridge in New York took just a few years to build. Hoover Dam was completed in just five years.
▶ 0:22:16While today, while delays to large projects garner all the media attention, many of the same laws uh processes and red tape that they added year uh years to project completion and time and cost also uh plague smaller projects initiated by both freight and passenger services carriers.
▶ 0:22:44Recognizing the importance of a safe, efficient, and reliable freight and passenger rail transportation system, Congress has authorized several programs to assist those carriers who owning to their owing to their own size and market segments lack the resources of larger operators to invest substantial funds in their infrastructure needs.
▶ 0:23:08Uh these include programs like Chrissy, which serves as a vital ser source of funding to assist shortline railroads uh to rehabilitate and expand infrastructure necessary for the mission to provide first and last mile freight service.
▶ 0:23:29Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of these programs is the purpose of today's hearing and a goal of the committee's work to a reauthorized Department of Transportation surface transportation programs. Additionally, federal infrastructure funding should support core programs and construction of infrastructure. The Trump administration has inherited a backlog of more than 3,000 unobligated DOT grants.
▶ 0:23:57responsibility of the administration took the time to review these grants to ensure that the best use of taxpayer dollars. Today, the department announced it approved more than 1,800 grants totaling $3 billion. I look forward to working with the administration to reduce the Biden backlog in a timely manner and ensure that federal grants are focused on improving critical infrastructure.
▶ 0:24:28Again, I look forward to learning the views of the witness, today's witnesses. I now recognize Ricky member Titus uh for five minutes for an opening remark. You're recognized. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for holding this hearing. You know, through the bipartisan infrastructure law, this committee made some historic investments in passenger rail, and we're seeing the impact of that all across the country.
▶ 0:24:55Certainly, we're seeing it in Las Vegas thanks to a $3 billion grant from the federal state partnership for intercity passenger rail, Bright Line West, has broken ground on a new highspeed train between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. I've been working to bring highspeed rail to the Southwest for many years and I'm excited, excuse me, that it's becoming a reality. I'm also proud that this project is creating goodaying union jobs.
▶ 0:25:25Rail union workers are building Bright Line West and they're going to play a role in operating and maintaining it once in it's in service. In fact, it's been estimated that the project will create 35,000 construction jobs and a thousand permanent jobs. And that's nothing to sneeze at. While Bright Line West is a success story, I know it's not the only model we need to support uh we need to support as we work to improve inner city passenger rail.
▶ 0:25:55We've got to remember that there's not a passenger rail system in the world in the whole world that operates without some government investment and capital projects. I believe we need to provide robust funding for Amtrak and competitive grants in the next transportation authorization bill. We don't want to lose all the progress that we've made over the past five years. And that's what will happen if we don't invest.
▶ 0:26:23Amtrak services uh are found in red and blue districts. And I'm glad to see that some of my Republican colleagues voted in favor of amendments to protect Amtrak funding for the Northeast Carter and for the North Carolina rail uh system during last week's markup of this committee. There are many communities across the US that will benefit from sustained federal rail investments.
▶ 0:26:52The Federal Rail Administration has identified 69 corridors in 44 states as ready for additional investment. These are in many of our districts with proposed lines, extensions to existing routes, or improvements to rail service in 49 districts on this committee alone. 49 in this committee alone.
▶ 0:27:15Now, in addition to helping expand passenger rail service, federal rail grants also make our rail network safer. For example, the railroad crossing elimination program helps address safety concerns at grade crossings. There are over 2,000 incidences and 200 fatalities at these dangerous intersections every year. We can and must do better.
▶ 0:27:39The $3 billion Congress allocated to this program is helping eliminate uh these problems or at least make them safer across the country. I'd like to use our time today to hear from our witnesses about how investments from the bipartisan infrastructure law are improving rail services in your communities or with your systems. And I also welcome suggestions for how we can work together to speed up the grant implementation process.
▶ 0:28:08Whether through improving the obligation process or ensuring that FRA has sufficient staff to execute these grants, I believe that targeted change could help speed up that grant implementation and help move the systems forward. So I look look forward to working with you, Mr. Webster, Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Larson on these issues as the surface transportation reauthorization process moves forward.
▶ 0:28:34So, thank you and I yield I now recognize the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Larson. You're recognized for five minutes. Thank you, Chair Webster and Ranking Member Titus for holding today's hearing. Today's hearing is about efficiency and effectiveness in delivering rail improvements. I support these goals and yet I am concerned this administration is more worried about the rhetoric than rolling up its sleeves to get there. In this first 100 days, the president has driven up costs and cut critical services.
▶ 0:29:03We've seen chaos and confusion in the constant freezing and unfreezing of transportation grants, attacks on the workforce that deliver these transportation investments, and conditions placed on grants that have nothing to do with transportation. The bipartisan infrastructure law was a transformational investment in many things, including passenger rail. After 50 years of underinvestment, Amtrak and the recipients of rail competitive grants can plan and succeed thanks to five years of guaranteed funding for capital projects.
▶ 0:29:33This funding has allowed Amtrak to address decades of deferred maintenance and begin construction on long delayed capital projects. This investment has allowed Bright Line West to begin construction begin construction as ranking member Titus has highlighted. Funding has been announced to support safety improvements all over the country, including my district.
▶ 0:29:51In early 2025, the city of Everett was awarded $18 million to eliminate two existing crossings with Burlington Northern Santa Fe through the construction of an overpass and roundabout near the Smith Island terminal. And in 23, the city of Burlington was awarded $2 million in a planning grant to identify which of the city's 16 atgrade crossings is most suitable for grade separation. Nationally, these investments help create 1.7 million construction and manufacturing jobs across the country.
▶ 0:30:22And these are jobs with good wages and benefits. That's why it's hard to understand why the administration has over the past 100 days halted progress and put millions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of jobs, and thousands of projects at risk. Secretary Duffy testified last month before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that roughly 3,200 previously awarded projects were on hold.
▶ 0:30:45The BIL invested more than 48 billion and 445 projects to improve rail safety and expand passenger rail travel nationwide. And still the administration has refused to tell us which of these projects are on hold. In the Pacific Northwest, Washington State, and Oregon are committed to advancing the Cascadia highspeed rail project.
▶ 0:31:06This project will connect people and communities, increase our regional economic competitiveness, and improve the quality of life across the region with highspeed rail between Vancouver, BC, Seattle, and Portland. It will connect workers to good jobs. It will increase access to affordable housing and offer greater mobility for almost 10 million people.
▶ 0:31:26And similarly, the federal state partnership for inner city passenger rail is matching billions of dollars in state and private investment in passenger rail improvements, including bridges and tunnels on the northeast corridor. The BIL is improving transportation in every state and every congressional district, which is why it's concerning the administration is trying to undermine that progress. Just last month, Secretary Duffy reduced previously awarded grants for rail infrastructure in New York, Newark, Dallas, and Houston.
▶ 0:31:55Also sent a letter to put all federal grant recipients on notice that previously awarded grants will be reviewed and possibly paused to ensure they align with this administration's priorities. If jobs and investments aren't the administration priorities, what are? Halting the flow of benefits from appropriations already approved by Congress is a strange way to launch the golden age of infrastructure. It is not efficient. It is not effective.
▶ 0:32:23Instead, we should be working on a bipartisan basis to keep it going. Meanwhile, the det department continues to signal that mass layoffs are coming even though US DOT staff who administer grants are there to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of the money Congress allocates. The FRA is a grant-making agency. Approximately 2.2% of its budget is for salaries and benefits. Federal workforce cuts provide minimal cost reductions and will make the department efficient.
▶ 0:32:52Moving forward, public investment is vital to building a truly national inner city passenger rail system. Every passenger rail system in the world developed with some form of public investment. Highways, transit, airports, and harbor maintenance projects have access to dedicated revenue, and it's time that we provide long-term funding certainty for inner city passenger rail.
▶ 0:33:13I'm committed to building on the successes of the investments in the BIL and ensuring that this committee can say that America builds rail at hearings for many years to come. I want to thank the witnesses for being here. I look forward to the discussion that I yield back. I too like to welcome the witnesses for coming. Thank you for spending your time to come and share with us your insights and look forward to hearing what you have to say.
▶ 0:33:41Briefly, I'd like to explain our lighting system. There's three lights. Uh green is go, yellow is slow down, it's time to end, and red stop. Pretty simple. I ask unanimous consent that the witness's full statements be included in the record without objection. Show that ordered. I ask unanous consent that the record of today's hearing remain open until such time as the witnesses have provided answers to any questions that might be submitted in writing.
▶ 0:34:11Without objection, show that ordered. Uh ask also unanimous consent that the record remain open for 15 days for any additional comments and information submitted by members or witnesses to be included in the record of today's hearing. Without objection, show that ordered. As your written testimony has been made a part of the record, subcommittee asks you to limit your remarks to five minutes. We'll start with Mr. Dietrich.
▶ 0:34:41You're recognized for five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, uh, Ranking Member Titus, and members of the subcommittee. My name is Matthew Dietrich, and I am the executive director of the Ohio Rail Development Commission. We are part of the Ohio Department of Transportation and we work on projects involving rail infrastructure including shortline grants, rail coordination for highway projects and grade crossing safety.
▶ 0:35:07We use state, private and federal funding, including FHWA formula funding and FRA discretionary grants for our work. We have used both the rce and Chrissy grant programs to supplement and leverage our state programs. Uh a shortline program and a grade crossing safety program started by Governor Mike Dwine. We use the governor's safety funds to match rce funding specifically for grade separations. And we use our FHWA section 130 funds for uh at grade crossings that cannot be separated.
▶ 0:35:36First uh you you I you have my written remarks so I would like to summarize but I hope to leave you with two takeaways. The RCE and Chrissy grant programs are critical to the improvement of the freight rail infrastructure and safety. I can say without these programs, many of the 24 projects that we have received funding for just simply would not have happened without the federal programs.
▶ 0:35:59Second, the more we can use standard project delivery processes that state DOS around the country use to deliver other projects, the faster we will be able to complete them. With that, I've offered the following to following suggestions to streamline the project delivery. As you all know, grade separations are large projects that take a long time. Therefore, the applicants use the funding they have available, which is often state or FHWA formula funds.
▶ 0:36:24Because modal agency's project development processes differ slightly, there's a great deal of time spent retrofitting these applications and creating barriers to development. This work could be avoided if the FRA would accept other modal agencies standards and processes, especially when it comes to NEPA. Uh the FRA could also provide pre-awward authority letters with the notification of award to grantees.
▶ 0:36:48There's a natural lag time with these federal grants from NOFO to uh submission to notification to the uh kickoff meeting. My organization has taken advantage of pre-awward authority letters, but even those pre-awward authority letters require additional paperwork after the kickoff meeting. If the FRA could provide pre-awward authority authority letters immediately with the notification of award, grant recipients could continue to develop these projects concurrently with the administrative processes.
▶ 0:37:17Um the documentation for a project awarded to my organization is the same required for an organization that has never received any federal funding. If the FRA developed a tiered grant process that could streamline grant administration for states, these projects could advance more quickly. For example, a great deal of the grant documentation isn't focused on the process, but on the governance and compliance.
▶ 0:37:43As a recipient of federal funds in the state DOT, my entire organization is structured for federal compliance. So, you know, if it so having separate documents is not only redundant, but it takes a lot of time and a lot of legal review. Another thing is the FRA could pre-qualify states to administer grants by allowing us to take more responsibility of administration and I look to the uh NEPA assignment as as a possible blueprint. Many states including Ohio have NEPA assignment where we assume federal responsibilities.
▶ 0:38:14If a program like this could be expanded to cover the administration of discretionary grants um you know we could we could take some burden off of our federal colleagues while at the same time accelerating projects. Um it was mentioned about the obligation process. The obligation process right now for discretionary grants is the same for formula funds. Formula funds states have flexibility. Discretionary grant projects you don't. That means that there's obligation. Uh if you have construction, it's sitting out there possibly for years as you're going through the process.
▶ 0:38:43Um this creates a worst case scenario. Um, so if the federal if FRA could have revised its obligation process to more accurately represents the commitments of the agency that would add certainty and eliminate the need to continually revise and renegotiate grant agreements as we move forward. Um, finally um alloc consider allocating a portion of the pro portion of the program to states so we can develop the projects.
▶ 0:39:09You know of the last award 123 awards only 33 received construction of funding. If we could if we as states could have a small portion to develop projects, then we could not only develop more complete projects, but it would increase the uh I think it would increase the number and quality of the application pool. And please accept these comments as constructive criticism. We want to work together with all of you with our FRA colleagues to make this program better and a success.
▶ 0:39:36And thank you for the Thank you very much, Mr. Yuckto. Chairman Webster, Ranking Member Titus, and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testifi testify today. My name is Garrett Ukalo, and I serve as the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, and I'm currently the president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, or ASHTO.
▶ 0:40:01Today, it's my honor to testify on behalf of ASHTO, which represents all state departments of transportation, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. I'm proud to bring perspective from across the country and share what we're experiencing in Connecticut. Transportation's more than pavement and steel. It's a force multiplier for nearly every aspect of our lives. It's how people get to work in school, how we visit family and friends for important milestones, and how goods move from factories to store shelves.
▶ 0:40:29Transportation is the quiet foundation that supports our economy, our communities, and our way of life. When our transportation system functions well, it's invisible. And when it doesn't, impacts are widespread. We need to view infrastructure as a national platform rather than a one-off project. Roads in Connecticut, fuel supply chains in Georgia, rail lines in the Northeast support commerce across the Midwest. Success isn't local, it'sworked.
▶ 0:40:56And to keep that network strong, we need sustained strategic investment that reflects the scale and complexity of the system we're depending on. The infrastructure investment in jobs act provided historic investment in our rail transportation system with $ 102 billion in federal rail funding from fiscal years 22 through 26. This infusion of investment has been critical to state DOT passenger and freight rail efforts. Years of deferred projects are now finally moving forward.
▶ 0:41:25Much of the railroad infrastructure in our country was built in the 1800s and has been neglected for generations. The Fed State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program has been instrumental in tackling many of these repair backlogs, boosting system performance, and fueling the modernization of our rail services, creating a faster, more connected transportation network.
▶ 0:41:47For example, in Connecticut, we're making progress replacing our aging, heavily used, movable railroad bridges, including the 129year-old Norwok River Bridge known as the Walk Bridge. About a decade ago, the walk bridge sustained numerous catastrophic mechanical failures which crippled the entire Northeast Corridor. Now, thanks to the federal funding, uh a replacement project is underway and will no longer have to fear the impacts to passenger and freight traffic because of another mechanical failure.
▶ 0:42:15Bold investments like these will transform passenger rail service, improve the reliability of freight rail, and ensure people and goods can travel safely and quickly throughout our country. None of this would be possible without dedicated sustained federal support. We need reliable, predictable funding to plan decades worth of in capital improvements. Fits and starts of funding make it difficult to plan and implement any project. Uh this wouldn't be acceptable on our highway side and it shouldn't be acceptable on the railroad side.
▶ 0:42:45Without formula funding like highway and transit infrastructure, our railroad investments uh are are dependent on discretionary grant programs. This makes us more attuned to opportunities to improve the grants application process and administrative procedures. Duplicative permitting requirements and convoluted regulatory environments can delay the delivery of muchneeded rail projects which ultimately drives up costs. While it's not unique to the railroad sector due to the difficulties working in an active rail territory, the impact can be more pronounced.
▶ 0:43:16This inclusion of a dedicated rail title in the next surface transportation reauthorization bill will be critical to maintaining the current momentum of state DOT passenger and freight rail efforts. But without administrative changes to improve the efficiency of our grant programs and legislative changes to eliminate costly redundant regulatory hurdles, project sponsors will continue to encounter project delays, increased costs, and We do need a long-term reauthorization that extends current IIA
▶ 0:43:47funding levels uh that keeps pace with inflation all while giving state DOS the ability to efficiently deliver projects that keep our communities safe and keeps our economy moving. Ashtto and its members are committed to implementing the and its historic investment in rail. With so much ra aging rail infrastructure, this is going to take a lot of time and effort, but we're on the way to building a future age of rail in America. Thank you for the opportunity to testify and I look forward to answering questions. Thank you very much, Mr.
▶ 0:44:17Hicks. You're recognized for five minutes. Good morning, Chairman Webster, ranking member Titus and members of this esteemed subcommittee. My name is Kevin Hicks and I'm a senior vice president and rail and freight market sector leader at Ganet Fleming Trans Systems or GFT. I currently serve on the board of directors of the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association, the NRC, and as the chairman of the NRC's policy and legislative committee. In my role at GFT, I work on business development and project delivery nationally for clients in the railroad industry.
▶ 0:44:46Since 2010, GFT has been helping federal government to deliver railroad infrastructure projects, both through our design services for railroad owners through public agency projects, building railroad infrastructure that expands freight and passenger rail capacity and also by assisting the FRA in oversight of the successful delivery of projects that have some federal investment through an FRA grant. The firm has provided oversight for over 500 grants across the US. Prior to joining GFT, I spent the first 25 years of my career with the Union Pacific Railroad, serving in many engineering positions and ultimately working my way up to AP and chief engineer of design.
▶ 0:45:17Though I now currently reside in Omaha, Nebraska, I grew up in Congressman Berles's district in the town of Ashgrove, Missouri. I'm honored to join this distinguished panel today and to provide a perspective on this important topic. As I mentioned in my opening, I serve on the board of directors on of the NRC. While GFT is just one member company within the NRC, our member companies generate more than 100,000 jobs nationwide supplying, building, and maintaining freight, passenger, and industrial rail networks.
▶ 0:45:44The NRC supports the continued funding of the FRA grant programs at existing or increased funding levels. We appreciate the committee focusing it attention on the issue of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of federal rail assistance. Let me preface my comments by saying that I think the staff of the FRA is full of hardworking and talented individuals and my comments are not an indictment on them. Let me first describe at a high level a few of the issues from our perspective more detailed information included my written testimony.
▶ 0:46:14First, the selection process is slow. Grant award selection takes can take about around six months after the application is submitted. With the influx of funding from the IA, the size and complexity of the NFOS has increased which has impacted the speed of selecting projects. Second, the grant takes too long to obligate. It takes six to 18 months on average to obligate a grant after selection.
▶ 0:46:34It takes too long to deliver projects and the waste due to delays in the forms of administrative and planning costs, inflation, and lost opportunities for alternative use of capital hinder us from achieving our capacity expansion goals. Regarding NEPA, it takes a very long time to obtain environmental clearances. The project sponsor is not able to engage with FRA or US DOT on the NEPA process until the grants awarded. Third, delays to project implementation.
▶ 0:47:01Numerous factors impact project readiness, and most of these factors are outside of the FRA's control. But the FRA could do more to avoid future delays by having project sponsors better define the status of these factors in advance obligation. Now, I'll turn to some ideas to help enhance the process. Our recommendations for reforms focus around three key themes. creating project pipelines, sufficient and consistent staffing and stakeholder agreements.
▶ 0:47:29Congress should consider directing FRA to identify a pre-approved or at least a prior vetted pipeline of projects. FRA should consider further standard standardization of the grant applications thereby reducing the effort required both in preparation and in review. In addition, the agreements and scopes of work should be more formulaic and template based.
▶ 0:47:50FRA could also consider existing grant programs and having separate, excuse me, FRA could also consider consolidating existing grant programs and having separate programs for preliminary engineering or PE and NEPA versus final design and construction grants. For final design and construction grants, FRA should require PE and NEPA to be completed in order to be eligible for funding. This would help to ensure that the projects selected for final design and construction are truly ready to be delivered in an acceptable time frame.
▶ 0:48:20FRA should also commit to an expedited NEPA process timeline and eliminate NEPA requirements where states have existing or duplicative requirements. To help make the grant agreement processing time more efficient, there needs to be sufficient and consistent FRA staffing with experience, capacity, and the ability to make decisions. Empowering FRA project manage managers to be decision makers would help address the problem.
▶ 0:48:44And regarding stakeholder agreements, the FRA should require PE cost estimates and stakeholder concurrence within grant applications. A sign off form or letter template would make it easier for the FRA to collect and verify stakeholder concurrence. Thank you for the opportunity to share our perspective today and I look forward to answering any questions you might have. Thank you very much. Now, Mrs. is it Beville? You're recognized. Chairman, ranking member, members of the subcommittee.
▶ 0:49:14My name is Kristen Beville. I'm general counsel and chief legal officer of Pinsley Railroad Company. I also serve as an elected vice president on the board of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association. The Pinsley Railroad Company owns eight shortline railroads across the country that offer freight services, transloading, rail car storage, and industrial development At Pinsley, we operate 850 miles as the first mile, last mile to our customers, connecting them to the National
▶ 0:49:44Rail Network. Most short lines began with the purchase of an unprofitable branch line from a much larger railroad. Those short lines didn't have a lot of money, didn't have weren't in great shape, and didn't have much traffic, often suffering from years of deferred maintenance. But the local entrepreneurs who took over these lines and to make a go of it, including the Pinsley family, which is our company's namesake, um were very successful.
▶ 0:50:13In fact, today there are 600 shortline railroads that manage a third of the freight rail network. Short lines operate in 49 states, support 478,000 jobs, and produce 56 billion in value added to the economy, and yet account for only 6% of the freight industry's total revenue. We are small businesses that are critical to the communities in this nation.
▶ 0:50:39For decades, this subcommittee has supported policies that have allowed Shoreline Railroads to survive and even thrive. Almost all of you on this committee have um a shortline railroad in your district and Pinsley's Grenada Railroad operates in Congressman Cohen's district. This hearing today focuses on federal rail assistance and its efficiency and effectiveness. Let me assure you, federal dollars are critical to our efforts to grow as Short Lines.
▶ 0:51:07Although we invest up to a third of our own revenue in maintenance, the backlog of projects to upgrade rail and bridges to modern standards on short lines is 12 billion. That's a staggering number. Fortunately, this committee and Congress has provided several grant programs that have allowed Shorelines to grow our customer base, prov provide quality jobs, and drive the economy forward in rural and smalltown America.
▶ 0:51:35As Congress looks to reauthorize the surface transportation bill, our top priority is robust and advanced appropriated funding for the Chrissy grant program. It's the only federal grant program that short lines are eligible to apply for directly and it's transformational. 240 Chrissy grants have been awarded to Shortline Advanced appropriations allow for certainty and predictability and will ensure that more railroads will apply.
▶ 0:52:05My testimony provides examples of Chris of completed Chrissy projects with specific benefits and statements of support. None of those would have been possible without the Chrissy program. The Pinsley Railroad and our customers have benefited directly from Chrissy grants. our Florida Gulf and Atlantic Railroad, which spans the panhandle of Florida and provides critical transportation of aggregates that are used by the Florida Department of Transportation to build Florida's highways and roads.
▶ 0:52:34A Chrissy grant enabled us to upgrade that line to a more efficient, reliable service all along that route, which helped our customer Anderson Colombia grow its aggregate business and ensured that the Florida DOT has the materials it needs to maintain Florida's highways. While shortline investment is the best bang for the buck to be had for the public dollar, the Chrissy grant program does have some room for improvement. The time from award announcement to obligation and funding is simply too long.
▶ 0:53:04Delays can cause overruns and costs and our customers miss opportunities when we have to wait and wait. Good options to speed up the process include batch processing of NEPA categorical exclusions, more aggressive use of pre-awward authority, or setting deadlines for agency processing. This program can move faster with no real additional risk, and that would be good for getting America to build.
▶ 0:53:31The rail crossing elimination and section 130 programs and the support of Operation Lifesaver are also very valuable to our industry as they address the risk of injuries at great crossings. As you shape the nation's next surface transportation bill, we urge that these vital programs and policies be secured in legislative text and that process improvements are considered to help maximize the value and impact of each dollar.
▶ 0:53:56Thank you for your long-standing support of our shortline railroads, our customers, and the communities that we serve. I look forward to answering any Thank you all for your testimony. I appreciate that. And thank we'll now turn to questions from the panel. Um I recognize myself for five minutes for questions.
▶ 0:54:17This is a great uh deal of kind there's a great deal of commonality among all the witnesses regarding the specific challenges you experience when applying the federal infrastructure funding. If you had to rank uh the top three challenges, what would they be? Specifically, where would NEPA fit in the ranking? Just start with Mr. Dietrich and go down the panel.
▶ 0:54:48Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think one of the challenges with the discretionary grants first and foremost is the stop start um and the need to uh uh address that and use the downtime. uh you mentioned NEPA specifically and that is definitely in one or two in number one or two in terms of of advancing the projects and it's not compliance with NEPA it's the differences in the modal agencies as I mentioned in my testimony we as Ohio
▶ 0:55:18have have actually taken the advantage of we have NEP we had NEPA assignment for FHWA funding we just received NEPA assignment for FRA because we think that's important enough that again getting those into our standard processes allows us to meet all the federal requirements, but to do it internally and quicker without all the back and forth. So, I think those are the the two big issues. It's the stop and start nature of the discretionary grants as well as uh you know trying to standardize NEPA.
▶ 0:55:48Thank you, Mr. I I would definitely uh put NEPA as one of the top items uh under the umbrella of all the regulatory pieces that come along with it. section 106 historic uh endangered species NEPA I think all of those fall under the umbrella of NEPA in my mind uh as something that needs to be addressed that's usually for my state it's the biggest hurdle I think the the second piece would be FRA has been given a herculean task of standing
▶ 0:56:18up a massive program uh out of the blue with this with the new legislation and they've been doing their best job u but there's that means there's a lot of opportunity to do it better and learn from the mistakes mistakes made by the other modal administrations. Mr.
▶ 0:56:34Ricks, I would say NEPA efficiency is in my top two and it goes handinhand with my with my number one with the number one being perhaps a two-stage process or a pipeline and the need for that is is somewhat based on the NEPA timelines and the the long timelines that it takes to get NEPA approved. Um, so, uh, I'd say that's that's where it falls with me is is the need to change the process or reduce the the amount of NEPA to condense the timelines to get projects actually out on the ground.
▶ 0:57:04M is Beville. Yeah, I would just add for Shoreline Railroads, our projects, especially under the Chrissy Grant program, are often subject to categorical exclusion from NEPA. And if there's a way to speed up that process um that would be very helpful in speeding up the projects So if uh NEPA NEPA process was streamlined, how would this reduce the both the project cost and also
▶ 0:57:34the time completion? Start with Mr. Dietri. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. um for for example and again what I'll go to NEPA assignment because I think that's that's where there's a lot of opportunities there we will sign program we're signing programmatic agreements right now with all the resource agencies so that uh you know army corps of engineers fish and wildlife things like that that rail projects are now included in those programmatic agreements so
▶ 0:58:04they can process those just like you know and again I look at G you know we're working with these agencies all the time and so the more we can put these into the the better we can establish that we we're adapting our computer systems internally so that we can process these projects take take the uniqueness out of the discretionary grants and just put them into the pipeline like every other project that that's I think is is where where we can see it's not it's not the it's not the big reform stuff but I think that's the opportunity in the nuts and
▶ 0:58:35bolts where we can really see this stuff progress quicker and Mr. Sure. I can add a specific example in my state where we had to redo our um when we got FRA funding after having FTA funding um FRA required to do a new finding of no significant interest uh impact and that added 6 months onto the project um before we could start construction which drove up costs by about $90
▶ 0:59:05million. Um and so that you know is a huge impact to my state and all the taxpayers. Well, my time is expiring. So, uh Miss Titus, you are recognized for your questions. Five minutes. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 0:59:24You know, I was proud to work with my colleagues to provide the $66 billion dollar of supplemental advance appropriations over the five years for passenger rail that was in the bipartisan infrastructure law. As we begin work on the surface uh transportation authorization as a ranking member of this committee, one of my priorities is to be sure that we do that guaranteed funding for rail programs.
▶ 0:59:49Again, I think I know the answer to this based on your all's testimony, but I'd like to just get a one-word answer to the question. Just go down the road. First off, have your industries or members benefited from the BIL's guaranteed funding for rail? Mr. Yes or no? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Good. That's what I thought.
▶ 1:00:16Now, as a followup, should this committee include guaranteed funding for rail in the next surface transportation authorization? Mr. Dietri, I I apologize for my ignorance, but I don't necessarily understand what the difference is. A rail title or just rail funding? Just rail money here. Yes. Well, how about a title?
▶ 1:00:42I I I don't like I said I I'm a little bit out of my element here. So, just give me the money. Huh? Well, whatever you want to call it. Okay, that's a good answer. Yes. Yes, we support real funding. Yeah. Yes. We would like to see advanced appropriations for Chrissy program. Great. Well, I I agree with you and I think that's what we should do. Uh, another question, Mr. Ukalito.
▶ 1:01:08I'll ask you in your testimony, you asked Congress to reauthorize and fund the Carter ID program. Now, I talked about the $3 billion grant for Bright Line, but that doesn't happen overnight. You got to bring it together. You got to plan where is it going to go? What's the best use of the money help states reorganization uh planning regional groups? Could you talk to us a little bit about how you think this will help states and how this will be uh a good thing to consider into the new bill?
▶ 1:01:39Yes, thank you for the question. Uh the corridor ID program I think is really beneficial because it allows us as states and and applicants to make the case as to why we should be making this longerterm investment. Um it allows for future applications for capital funding to be more wellreasoned and well justified. um so that we can make the best use of the taxpayer dollars we're being given.
▶ 1:02:03Uh there's a lot of work that goes into trying to plan where we should be building future rail service rail lines or increasing capacity and improving existing rail lines. And that takes a lot of work. We need the partnership with the FRA to be able to do that work to do the service development planning uh to then come back to uh the FRA uh to Congress to make the case why we should be continuing to make those investments without doing that pre-planning work ahead of time that corridor ID allows.
▶ 1:02:33It's really an uh not 100% baked applications for future funding. Thank you. uh you know some places we need improvement some places we need expansion and we need to identify those places and move forward on those projects and this would help to do that absolutely u Mr. Dietrich, you mentioned about multimodal, multiple transportation projects, some of the logistical challenges.
▶ 1:03:01Could you talk a little bit about anything that the FRA could do with the Federal Highway Administration to bring that coordination that we need or move it along faster or do grants simultaneously? Uh, elaborate on that. Thank you for the question. That that's one of my favorite uh discussions.
▶ 1:03:20I think that again if we could standardize some of these processes literally my staff has developed a cheat sheet between our project development process at the state DOT and FRA and as we're even when we're talking to consultants we have to tell them which one we're using. So the more we could standardize those processes and and for the modal agencies to accept those processes and NEPA is just one of them. It goes it goes above and beyond that but the more those can be standardized at the US DOT the easier it'll be.
▶ 1:03:50You know, Garrett had mentioned about FTA funding. We had a project with a grade separation where from the time of the application um to award, we were awarded FHWO formula funding from our state DOT, a substantial amount, $2 million to progress the project work. Because we were able to progress that work, we we thought everybody, you know, be very happy.
▶ 1:04:13when the award came along, we actually lost $70,000 of an of the award because we advanced planning without that pre-awward authority letter. So, those are those are the uh you know there there's language in the legislation especially IGA that counted those expenses especially for the rce project since the award. So, you know, it was the first time in my career that bringing additional resources to a project was not met with with celebration.
▶ 1:04:41Um so I I think again that standardization of the processes and allowing us states especially the DOS to develop these projects in the interim I I I hope that answers your question but I I think it's all about standardization and if I might I also think it's about scalability. Right now the grant agreements it's a one-sizefits-all and unfortunately it seems like it's lowest common denominator.
▶ 1:05:06So again, if they could be scalable for the type of project that we're looking at, I think that would be uh beneficial, too. Thank you. Maybe you share that cheat sheet with us. I Yes, I will. Thank you. I yield back. Mr. Owens, you're recognized for five minutes. Thank you, Chairman Western Titus. Um, and today's witnesses. Thank you for convening this important hearing as a committee begins to work on the service uh transportation re reauthorization for my home state of Utah.
▶ 1:05:35This hearing could never be more timely or relevant. Uh authorized by the uh FRA just one year ago. The Savage Twilla Railroad is Utah's first new railroad in decades. This 11mi short line under construction in Tilla County will connect the Lake View Business Park in Grantsville to Union Pacific mainline near Interstate 80.
▶ 1:05:58Further south, construction is underway for the Salvage Railroad in Iron County, a key component of the Utah's Island uh port uh uh authorities Iron Spring project area. Uh this facility also aims to provide direct access to Union Pacific lines serving as a regional hub for um enhancing southern Utah's cognit connect connectivity to global markets.
▶ 1:06:21Both these projects are perfect repres representation of the role of short lines to enhance logistical uh efficiency to to expand economic development. However, these projects have not come easy. Uh the Utah congressional delegation has collaborated to help navigate the very complex approval process. As we look ahead for reauthor reauthorizing key programs and departments, we must find ways to remove the bureaucratic barriers to rail investment, excuse me, in our communities.
▶ 1:06:51Miss Beville, could you share your perspective on the challenges our shortline railroads face when advancing projects like the salvage to um uh railroad project in Utah, which aims to connect smaller communities to class one rail rail lines. Yes, thank you, Congressman. um short lines. Your example of the short line in the state of Utah is a fantastic example of how um short lines really do connect um the local economy to the national rail network.
▶ 1:07:21Um short lines have the ability to apply for the Chrissy grants which are has been a fantastic program. The advanced appropriations that exist for those Chrissy projects has provided some certainty as we go on um to know that those programs are available. The challenges with the program is the speed.
▶ 1:07:39One of our railroads applied for a Chrissy grant in 2020 and finally received the award a year later and then um the the agreement sorry a year to the award another year to the agreement. All of that has to do some with you know the environmental process some with getting documents together. Um it's all it all takes a very long time.
▶ 1:08:03uh speeding up the review process, speeding up categorical exclusion waiverss, those things would help shortlines accomplish these projects much faster. Uh regarding those Chrissy grants, um obviously it's a job creator for rural communities. Can you share how the short lines select local contractors for to repair and re rehabilitate work? Yes, absolutely.
▶ 1:08:27So short lines, we don't typically employ big track gangs to replace our rails when we win these Chrissy grants. We have to hire contractors and those contractors provide really good paying jobs, good local jobs um in our communities. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Hicks. Earlier you suggested that uh FRA established a project pipeline as a way to prescreen pre-screen and evaluate projects before the grant of application submitted. Can you elaborate on how you envision this working in practice?
▶ 1:08:57Well, I definitely don't have the uh details all worked out on how that how that would happen, but uh um we have discussed the the corridor ID program. I think that's somewhat of an example on how you could uh establish a pipeline of projects, get them into the pipeline, awarded, vetted to to do the preliminary engineering, do the NEPA, do the things that take a little bit more time, and then get a solid list of projects available to work from when moved
▶ 1:09:27into final design. So maybe it's a two-stage process where you have once one approval for the preliminary work and then after that is completed then you move on to the second uh stage of authority to do the final design and construction. That's somewhat how I would see that working. Okay. Thank you. Now I'll yield back. Thank you. Thank you. Now the ranking member, Mr. Larson, you're recognized for five minutes. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um uh first for Mr. Hicks.
▶ 1:09:59um in your role in supporting FRA grant obligations. Do do you know how many grants FRA are on hold for review? Uh thank you for the question. Um no no Congressman Larson I do not know what that number is. I I do know that uh our firm has seen a slowdown of those in in the last several months and so recently some sorry a slowdown of those on hold or a slowdown of grants going out?
▶ 1:10:27a slowdown on the excuse me, what was a slowdown on grants being on hold or a slowdown on grants going out? A slowdown. First there was a slowdown on uh uh making putting them uh on hold and now that it seems to be moving a little bit more. A little bit. Yeah. Um so it's greater than zero. Yes, for sure. Okay. Um uh would do you have any sort of idea of characterizing them? are the ones that have been awarded but not obligated.
▶ 1:10:56If it's obligated by the FRA, is FRA seem to seem to move forward and we're looking at only ones that have awarded? And from my perspective, it seems to be both pre and post where just in the last several months just not a lot of movement on both until here recently. Yeah. Okay. Thanks. Um uh same for you uh Mr. Eucalo. Same same question from Ashtto's perspective. What do you on the FRA grants? What are you all seeing?
▶ 1:11:28Yes. Uh thank you for the question. So, uh initially I think we did see kind of uh sorry, initially in January uh we saw like a pause on action on grants uh both at the staff level and within FRA and getting them out the door. I will say from my state's perspective, we are a very uh we have numerous grants from the FRA because we sit on the Northeast Corridor. Uh within the past uh month and a half, we've seen staff action begin to occur.
▶ 1:11:58Um they've begun processing environmental documents. So there there's been a react reaction of many of our grants, which is uh welcome news for me in my state. I know other states are saying the same thing. Um at Ashtto's level, we did express to USD dot the risks of any slowdown on grants because when you work in a the construction industry, especially in the northern climates, you have time of year restrictions in which you can actually do work in the field.
▶ 1:12:25And so any delay of any kind to a construction project to a pro any federally funded project could have substantial impacts in postponing it for the next year. So we're glad to see some of our grants begin to actually have action. Yeah, Miss Bever from on the Short Line Railroad uh association, are you tracking that issue of grants going out grants being awarded then pause then going out or do you have any sense of what's going on there?
▶ 1:12:52Yeah, I think we've had a similar experience where there's a short pause in January. Um but we're seeing things moving now. Um and then Mr. strategic from from Ohio's perspective. Ohio's perspective is con is consistent with the rest of the committee. We're we're we just got pre some pre-awward authority letters for an RCE project. Um and we're getting more documentation now from Yeah. Yeah. for the grant agreements. Great. Thanks.
▶ 1:13:21Um so, Mr. Um th this week I'd just kind of be try not to be um too state-based myself uh because I have a broader responsibility, but every once in a while I get to be uh and met with Washington and Oregon's chambers of commerce this week um who have a collective view that rail is core infrastructure certainly for our state. We're in a corridor ID program.
▶ 1:13:48Um, from your perspective at ASHTTO, are you considering rail as core infrastructure as we're moving towards a rewrite of the of the surface transportation bill? Yeah, we absolutely consider rail to be core infrastructure. Um, uh, ASHTO will be holding our spring meeting next week and we'll be voting on numerous resolutions tied to what we'd like to see Congress do for reauthorization. Um, an entire section of resolution just dedicated to rail.
▶ 1:14:17Uh we know it's critical. It's the it's the connective tissue for our economy uh both for passenger and for freight. And without it, our economy would grind to a halt. That's great. Um with that, I I yield back. Thank you. Mr. Burlson, you recognize for five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr.
▶ 1:14:40Hicks, in your testimony, you highlight that there are more than 500 independent rail contracting companies in the United States who performed 10 billion dollars worth of rail infrastructure construction and maintaining work annually. And my question, Mr. Hicks, is can you highlight the work that your companies do and how it impacts the broader rail industry? Absolutely. Thank you for the question, Congressman Burlesen.
▶ 1:15:06Um NRC represents uh engineers, consultants, um railroad contractors, railroad suppliers um that are from all 50 states uh all over the country. They help to build, implement maintain all these projects nationwide, both uh on freight and passenger service. So there are multiple uh uh companies out there in all of the districts that are performing uh these services.
▶ 1:15:36uh of supplying and building these projects uh nationwide. So it contributes to to hundreds of thousands of of jobs um in the implementation and construction of of of projects and maintenance of them. Have um and especially under the Biden administration is the imp implementation of strict federal regulations that has that made it more difficult?
▶ 1:15:58Um there has been some difficulties um in we've we've discussed NEPA delays and things of that nature here um that definitely have made it the cost of the projects increase because time is money and the longer it takes the the more expensive things get. Okay. And do you have any suggestions for what how we can approach those?
▶ 1:16:21Um I definitely believe that either through a combination of things of uh um NEPA um simplification or or maybe assignment to states or maybe exa uh expansion of categorical exemptions uh for common sense types of projects uh would make a lot of sense in in reducing the delays um and just con consistent management of the projects.
▶ 1:16:49in FRA also helps with just consistency keeping them moving. Thank you. Mr. Dietrich, in your testimony, you you kind of went through the differences between the discretionary grants and and the ones that have flexibility.
▶ 1:17:06Specifically, you mentioned that historically federal funding for construction projects is not obligated until NEPA clearance is achieved, citing that this generally does not pose an issue for traditional federal formula funds granted to states because they have the flexibility to adjust their budgets to match the project schedules. However, for the projects that are specific discretionary grants, it's a different story. Can you elaborate on that because I'm not familiar with how this works whatsoever?
▶ 1:17:38Yeah, Mr. Chairman, uh, Congressman, thank you for the question. So, for for when we get formula funds, we get the allocation to the states and as projects come in, we slot the money in as the projects are ready. So, NEPA planning, detail design, whatever through the project development process and that money is just slotted in. So if a project falls behind then that money would go to a different project. Um where with a discretionary grant the money is project specific.
▶ 1:18:08So if we're following that obligation process, so say the FRA obligates money for preliminary engineering and NEPA, but there's a problem and NEPA takes longer than anticipated. So the rest of that construction funding is unobligated. And then it's only when we're done with NEPA that we go back, renegotiate the agreements, sign more agreements with the FRA for the next step and the next step and the next step.
▶ 1:18:34And what what I'm asking for is if there's a possibility for the FRA to look at that obligation process. So when they obligate the funds, they obligate the funds for the entire life cycle of the project. And that allows us the money is obligated. There's certainty there. We don't have to keep going back for amendments, different agreements, but rather you just go through the natural progression of the project because as I pointed my testimony, what it what it is is this worst case scenario.
▶ 1:19:01We're advancing projects with the hope of the money being there and likewise the FRA looks like they're sitting on a bunch of money not being used when actually it's all committed. So if there's just some way to match that obligation to the comm the project commitments, it I think it would help everybody. Okay. And I wanted to get one last question in with my time. Miss Beville, um you said that there's approximately 350, you didn't say this, but I know that there's about 315 miles of track of short line rail in my district.
▶ 1:19:30And given the the difficulties and the obstacles with grants, can you shed some light on how difficult that is for short line or the smaller businesses? Sure. Sure. It can be it can be challenging as a small business to plan out um work that needs to be done on your short line with the timelines that these grants take.
▶ 1:19:51So if I'm planning a project for five years from now, that's not going to take care of my needs that I have right now for new ties and rail and crossings on my Shoreline Railroad. So anything we can do to speed up the process of receiving this funding would be helpful to Short Lines. Thank you. I yield back. Okay, Mr. Molden, you're recognized for five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm so proud to work with the ranking member on on highspeed rail and we're making real progress there.
▶ 1:20:20But I want to give more context to something she said when she mentioned that no passenger rail system in the world exists without subsidies. The reality is in America that we heavily subsidize highways and airlines and barely give a pittance to passenger rail. 535 billion over 35 years for interstates. The gas tax of course doesn't cover the cost. So since 2008 we've transferred 275 billion in in taxpayer money from the general fund and this is only direct costs.
▶ 1:20:48We commissioned a study in Massachusetts to understand the true picture of government subsidies for driving including things like emergency services to handle accidents because you are 17 times more likely to die traveling the same distance by car as by train. It works out to $64 billion a year just in Massachusetts. So, every family in Massachusetts spends an average of $14,000 subsidizing everyone else driving, even if they don't own a car.
▶ 1:21:14Now, speaking of safety, we just had two more close calls at Reagan National Airport this weekend, months after the worst US a disaster in years. So, how are the airlines doing with subsidies? Well, the f federal government spent $54 billion to just bail out the airlines during the pandemic. After 9/11, it was 5 billion plus 10 billion in loans. Sir Richard Branson, father of Virgin Brands, once said that the fastest way to become a millionaire is to be a billionaire and buy an airline.
▶ 1:21:43On top of this, we give massive subsidies to airlines without a second thought through the FAA, the TSA, and billions of building airports. Our private airlines would lose money handover fist without that help. Congress just approved 12.5 billion to modernize air traffic control. You remember that, Mr. Chairman? very analogous to positive train control, the next generation of rail traffic control. And yet, Congress didn't pay for that at all. We made the railroads pay for it themselves.
▶ 1:22:09Railroads invested nearly 11.5 billion to install PTC. In fact, the only transportation system in the world that or in America rather that truly operates without publica subsidies is our freight rail system. And that speaks to the innate efficiency of the things you're talking about. So I think that look, if my colleagues truly believed in the free market, we would let these modes compete. That's the way other countries handle transportation funding rather than just pour billions of taxpayer subsidies into highways and airports.
▶ 1:22:40They find out which solution makes the most most sense. And so there's not some vast high-speed rail conspiracy that infects every other developed country in the world except for the United States. It actually just is more efficient. It also happens to be better for public safety, economic development, housing, the environment. And yet one of the biggest cost drivers of highspeed rail projects is the environmental re reviews. So that makes no sense in terms of a level playing field.
▶ 1:23:04M commissioner ecalo, when I drive from Boston to New York on Interstate 84, why is there no stoplight where it intersects with I 91? We want to make sure to get people through efficiently and safely through. Right? So you don't have to stop, right? You just you you have a transfer. Okay? And yet Connecticut says you value the Northeast Corridor and you encourage your citizens to ride trains.
▶ 1:23:29And yet on the busiest passenger rail corridor in the country, where the line diverges from Penn Station to Grand Central, there's no interchange. Why does Connecticut have no plan to build an interchange? Because right now, two trains show up at the same time, one of them has to stop and wait. So I know uh with that specific case, the Metropolitan uh transportation authority MTA in New York, they are working on Penn Station access to improve throughput into Penn Station.
▶ 1:23:58We in Connecticut Well, I would just ask and if you take this for the record, how many highway interchanges has Connecticut built in the last 100 years? because you have not built a single modern rail interchange like we're just discussing at this intersection that is so critical that delays hund thousands of passengers every day. It would be interesting to hear that. Let me also ask does Connecticut conduct highway maintenance at night to minimize disruptions? Yes, we do.
▶ 1:24:27So, so does every other railroad in the world except to my knowledge Metro North. Why does Metro North only conduct maintenance during the day, delaying thousands of passengers on Metro North and Amtrak every single week? I could take that question to the president of Metro North and get back to you. I'd appreciate that very much. Look, the point is we ought to just have a level playing field.
▶ 1:24:50It's crazy that a a mode of transportation that is so fundamentally good for public safety, good for the environment, constantly gets hampered by government reviews and red tape. That's why this hearing is so important. But we also have to have a a a comprehensive picture of the subsidies here because it's so out of whack. We're subsidizing all the inefficiencies in highways and airlines and we've got this amazingly efficient system that we hang out to dry. Thanks, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 1:25:20I yield back. Mr. Fong, you're recognized for five minutes. Uh thank you, Mr. chairman uh for holding this hearing on the future of federal rail assistance. I appreciate the testimony from the witnesses. As we assess how best to steward taxpayer dollars in support of America's transportation infrastructure, we must take a hard look at what has worked and what has not.
▶ 1:25:44In my home state, the California highspeed rail project is regrettably a textbook example of government mismanagement and fiscal resp irresponsibility. Since 2009, the Federal Rail Administration has allocated approximately $3.5 billion to this project, $2.5 billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and nearly $1 billion in subsequent federal grants. These funds have subsidized a bloated bureaucracy and a project that is nowhere near completion.
▶ 1:26:13Originally pitched to voters as a $33 billion system connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles, the price tag now exceeds over $100 billion with no direct connection between either of these cities in sight. Instead, we have carved up my community, California's central valley, to create a stranded asset with no utility. This is just this is not just a California problem. It's a national issue because it's federal taxpayer money being wasted.
▶ 1:26:40Congress cannot and should not continue to send resources to this project that has no accountability, weak performance metrics, and no realistic paths to completion. The California highspeed rail boondoggle highlights exactly what happens when lofty promises collide with poor planning and unchecked spending. It should serve as a warning, not a blueprint for future federal rail investments.
▶ 1:27:05As we cons as we consider rail grants going forward, we must demand results, investments must have clear deliverables, cost discipline, and independent oversight. Um, if I can ask in terms of one area of investment is shortline rail projects. Miss Beville, um, first and last mile service is is absolutely essential for supply chain and goods movement for shippers, retailers, and shortline rail in the shortline rail industry. How does first and last mile impact shippers?
▶ 1:27:34How does first and last mile impact impact shippers and what steps are needed by Congress to improve efficient efficiency and reliability and what kind of safeguards can we put in to ensure viable projects are supported? Thank you for the question. Um, you know, short lines impact shippers um in a incredibly positive way. Most short lines are local. The folks that work on the railroad live in the communities where the customers live. Um, we are the first mile, last mile.
▶ 1:28:03We're there to adjust service. We can be flexible and bring that bring the national network to those customers. So oftentimes you will hear customers say that they want to locate on a short line because of that service. Providing that service requires intensive capital improvements to our shortline railroads.
▶ 1:28:25that's track rail crossings and the Chrissy program really provides a lot of um benefit in that in that way having advanced appropriations knowing that funding is going to be there is important and being able to get those dollars into short line Robert's hands. Thank you very much. I I'll just throw uh just because my opening statement was so focused on I rail but in California but it is clearly just the biggest waste of money.
▶ 1:28:52I mean, I represent an area where I see the damage every single day. I drive by these these corridors um these uh we call it the uh Stonehenge of the Central Valley.
▶ 1:29:05um where we have billions of dollars being spent um from not only in the federal government but the state of California spending a billion dollars a year trying to salvage this project with um just no private investment a complete bait and switch um I think to to what the voters were promised. So if I could ask what kind of safeguards do you envision included in the federal rail assistance to ensure viable projects are supported and non-viable projects are not supported? I could I'll throw it out to the entire panel.
▶ 1:29:40Congressman, chair to congressman, I don't know if this is equivalent, but when I during my testimony, I said that one of the things that we do is we use the federal funds to supplement our state programs. And so I think one of the one of the nature and one of the reasons we've been successful is we don't put money we don't ask for federal money unless we're putting money into it. Um and all of our projects also involve funding from our freight projects involve funding from our federal partners.
▶ 1:30:07So I think I think using um state programs such as my own is kind of a I don't want to say a litmus test but a screening process. So um what makes what makes the Chrissy grant program work for us um is that it goes through the same screening as if we were going to give it state money.
▶ 1:30:28it just becomes an order of magnitude and a scale of can we can we handle this with the state program is the scope appropriate for federal funding so I think ha having those screening mechanisms at the state level might get to what you're talking about again it's not an applesto apples comparison so I apologize I appreciate that I've run out of time I might uh I might trust the Ohio government better than the Sacramento but I yield back you're recognized for five minutes
▶ 1:31:01seem to work. There we go. Thank you, um, Chairman Wester and Ranking Member Titus for holding this hearing and thank you to the witnesses for being here with us today. As members of this committee are well aware, prior to the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure law, there was no guaranteed source of funding for intercity passenger rail.
▶ 1:31:24The 18 states who fund Amtrak service, including my home state of North Carolina, would have to wait until after Congress finished the appropriations process to know how much money would be available for passenger rail service and projects that year. The majority completed the fisc year 2025 appropriations process in the middle of March, halfway through this fiscal year.
▶ 1:31:50It's not hard to imagine how that would make project planning and budgeting for state DOS immensely difficult in a world without the guaranteed BIL funding already in place. Mr. Ukalo, can you speak to the way BIL has impacted the ability of states to plan for passenger rail projects? Yes, thank you for the question.
▶ 1:32:13Um, you know, when we look at transportation infrastructure investments across all modes, having uh reliability and predictability of funding allows us to do long-term planning of where we should be investing our funds. Um, where we should be allocating our staff resources, which are very limited, uh, if we don't know that funding will be there to apply for or to receive, uh, then we may be hesitant to invest our staff resources and a lot of our planning resources uh, towards those um
▶ 1:32:43the IIGJ having this ability to know that these funds are available to go after states like mine have been able to redirect our resources, make long-term plans for infrastructure projects that we have never we never thought we'd be able to actually execute. And then I know in other states uh they have other projects that they're looking at implementing. Uh we talked about one in Nevada, but also I know North Carolina is heavily investing in rail and those states are now they see the opportunity.
▶ 1:33:11um they're dedicating the resources at the state level to match those federal funds. Uh and that's that's an important thing that uh my colleague from Ohio talked about. Uh everything is matched with state and local funds as well. So it's a force multiplier in investments.
▶ 1:33:27Indeed, North Carolina is using a federal state partnership for intercity passenger rail grant, the largest grant award in the history of our state to establish the S-line, providing a better, faster, and more efficient connection between North Carolina's rail network and Virginia's and thereby connecting my state to the expansive Northeast Rail Corridor.
▶ 1:33:51Any reduction or delay in this grant would increase project costs, have a direct and negative impact on job creation, and would endanger years of planning and collaboration between the North Carolina DOT freight rail companies operating in our state and the communities in which the Sline has been promised. So, Mr. you, Kalo.
▶ 1:34:15What would happen if the FRA were to suddenly reduce the size of one of those grants you and your team are currently executing? So, we we start a project under the assumption that the funds will be there when we need them and that the project will be funded. Um, and we work to make sure that we monitor it carefully and do it the most efficiently way efficient way as possible.
▶ 1:34:40Um if there was a funding reduction uh in a rail grant or any form of grant um we would look to potentially suspend work on that project um we would have or have to go to our state legislature to see what we'd have to move around uh to to supplement the the lost in federal funds. It's difficult then to look at the landscape of all the infrastructure needs in our state. What projects would we suspend or pause? And in my state we my state DOT we we have a bin a bin of unfunded projects.
▶ 1:35:10So in this case we would put that project put it in the bin and then hope uh that uh funding would become available in the future and it would put people out of work who may be lined up to work on that project. Thank you for that. And lastly, can you speak a little about how you and the Connecticut DOT are working with the US DOT to ensure that you're able to protect your state's existing grants and execute on the FRA's requirements. Thank you.
▶ 1:35:38Uh the the staff at FRA are fantastic professionals who have been doing uh amazing work trying to deliver I think over 500% increase in rail funding. Um it's been truly impressive. Um they're under a lot of pressure and so we have been spending a lot of time meeting with FRA staff to work with them to try and find some efficiencies for how we can get work out the door faster um and more efficiently and uh try to get things moving and put shovels in the ground. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I yield.
▶ 1:36:14I'd like to ask unanimous consent that uh enter into the record announcement of Secretary uh Duffy and President Trump issued today which uh approved 24 rail grants totaling $300 million without objection. Show that ordered. Mr. Stber. Thank you, Chair Webster. Um and I've said it before and I'll say it again.
▶ 1:36:38NEPA is holding back our supply chain infrastructure, our energy independence, and our economy as a whole. And while we made some important changes to the NEPA process in the fiscal responsibility act, the reforms were largely ignored by the Biden administration as they interpreted that law as quote just a suggestion. Environmental assessment, one-year shot clock. Environmental impact statement, two-year shot clock. And the Biden administration said that was just a suggestion.
▶ 1:37:09Unfortunately, why would you pass legislation to spend billions of dollars on infrastructure and not actively work to remove barriers so projects could actually come online in a timely fashion? Miss Beville, I know Chrissy grants are important to the shortline rail industry. Does NEPA often delay and get in the way of shortline rail from using their awarded Chrissy grants? Thank you for the question.
▶ 1:37:39Um yes, I mean it can delay projects. A majority of shortline Chrissy projects um apply for a CE. Um but even that process can take some time. Often we need to hire a consultant to go through that process to get the categorical exemption.
▶ 1:37:56Um, if it's a bigger project, say a larger bridge or a buildout of some stretch of rail, then the NEPA process can take a very long time and can add to us completing the project years, which is years, which is a lot of money and a lot of time, right? It is. Yes. Okay. So, you me mentioned categorical exclusions. Uh, tell us where that would be a benefit. explain to us why and where that would be a benefit for the short lines.
▶ 1:38:27Sure. So, when short lines are doing track projects that are on their own property and not disturbing any outside land, being able to just submit, for instance, say a grant Chrissy award was announced and there was a bunch of projects that kind of fell into one category. If those could just move through quickly and get that categorical exclusion, be excluded from the NEPA process any further, um, that would make things go quickly. So, you have a So, let me try to rephrase this.
▶ 1:38:56You have a short line, let's say a mile of track that you wanted to replace in the same location, new track, new steel, um, and you're looking for a categorical exclusion. It's denied. you go through the NEPA process which could take years costing time and money. You're you're putting that replacement in the exact location as the prior track doesn't make sense.
▶ 1:39:24And that's the whole that's why we have to really look at um getting these projects online sooner, not skipping out on environmental laws or labor laws. The gentleman just talked about projects being delayed. It's time and money. So, the categorical exclusions in this example is perfect. It's in the It's on the same location, same property, same line, just newer steel and uh maybe newer safety features. That's correct.
▶ 1:39:51And we have no problem complying with the environmental laws. That's we agree to do that. We just want that process to happen faster. Exactly. I think that uh uh the four witnesses here can be can help the our American economy by uh looking at the NEPA process and helping us when we when we're currently doing permitting reform.
▶ 1:40:13You know, I'm I'll I've said it in this committee before uh can anybody tell me on this uh uh any witness here tell me on average how long it takes to open up a mine in the United States of America? 29 years. 29 years. That's on average. I mean, we can do better than that. You You're the transportation experts. We need to get this this running and we need to get get it done yesterday.
▶ 1:40:41And so, I think that all of your help is going to really be a positive impact on on our rail and safety community. So, with that, Mr. Chair, I yield back. Mr. Dozy, you're recognized for five Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good morning, everyone. Uh, I want to focus my questioning on the railroad crossing elimination grant program. My district in Western Pennsylvania, uh, we've got freight tracks running all over the district.
▶ 1:41:10Uh, 95% of my constituents live within 5 miles of those tracks. Almost half live within a mile and we have some of the most dangerous crossings uh, not just in Pennsylvania, but in the northeast region. Chzwick in particular, very dangerous crossing. Lots of data about it. McKe Rocks is another. And so I think that railroad crossing elimination grant program is essential. Uh it's a very important one. I know um the railroads agree with this. I know communities have been begging us for more action from the federal government.
▶ 1:41:41But a complaint that I often hear uh is that these grants are very difficult for small communities to apply for and get. And in Pennsylvania and in western Pennsylvania in particular, lots of smaller municipalities, burrows, townships struggle to get this funding. And so, Mr. Ukalito, Mr. Dietrich, I I'll start with each of you. What can we do to make it so that smaller communities can get these dollars to deal with crossings? Uh, where it's in their community, these are dangerous crossings. How can they get those dollars?
▶ 1:42:13Uh, thank you for the question. So this is a this is a common problem we see at the state DOT level with rail grants and all modes of transportation. And so what we've been doing on the roadway side is we do a fund swap oftent times because the hardest part is the actually using the funds once the communities receive them to comply with all the federal regulations. So we'll often take local uh take funds aimed for locals and swap it with state funds so they don't have to deal with the federal red tape.
▶ 1:42:43That's not available on the railroad side, but I think there are things that can be done to make it easier. Such can I just if if if that's an approach that requires something from Congress and if so, what should we be thinking about? So that's available for the formula fund side. Um I think it it is worth looking at the federal highway programs and what they allow for those fund swaps. It works great for us at the state DOT level to allow local governments to use state funds while we leverage we use the state funds.
▶ 1:43:12So they don't deal with the red tape. We we could apply for um on behalf of local governments at the state DOT level. That's an approach. But also having like a a uniform common application because every grant application is different. And so the local governments have to figure out how do you apply for that grant application with that specific requirement. There was almost like a common app like for college admissions for grants. It'd be a lot easier for local small communities. Well, and I'll tell you and I know I'm not alone in this.
▶ 1:43:41I have municipalities of a couple hundred people in my district who have rail crossings uh who need these federal dollars. M Dietrich want you to weigh in as well. Thank you for the question. The way we've handled that in Ohio is we set up a state program. Uh, Governor Dwine set up a state program and what we use that for is we have up communities apply to us and then we'll determine whether that is something if we can handle with state funds. If it's a smaller project, say an access road as opposed to a grade separation.
▶ 1:44:11Um, if it is a grade separation, we'll work with our DOT districts and go through our local local program administration process. So we will apply on behalf of the communities and with a with concurrence from ODOT to build the project if we're awarded. So as Connecticut does, we will apply on behalf of the local communities, but we'll use that state money to determine if the project is scalable enough if we can do it uh just with state funds.
▶ 1:44:39And that's what you would that's your approach with the current requirements and grant application rules uh rather than if we were to change something here in Congress. Yeah, it and it gets to more of the complexity of just administering federal funds. I mean, I think I think one of the things that is really uh important to note um we deal with federal funds all the time. So, we're set up to do this, but like the shoreline railroads of small communities or there's Chrissy RC, they just they're just not set up to do it.
▶ 1:45:06And I mean that is something that we as states have been taking on on that role. It's a traditional role through the formula funds. It's not a form it's not a a traditional role through the discretionary project. So, we struggle with states on how to best assist local communities, how to best assist short lines. Sometimes they'll get the awards and they'll realize that they do not have the the uh uh organizational capacity to administer them. So, it I I wish I had a you identified a very very legitimate concern.
▶ 1:45:36I just don't really have a a good response other than that we take on a lot of that responsibility as state DOTs to help communities with it. I thank you both and I I hope the committee will be thoughtful about thinking about our smaller communities as we get to work on this this coming year. Thank you. I yield back, Mr. Mr. Taylor, you recognize your five Thank you, Chairman Webster and Ranking Member Titus for holding this hearing today. And thank you to our witnesses uh for your testimony and insight and the sacrifices you made to be here.
▶ 1:46:06I want to especially thank Mr. Dietrich from the Ohio Rail Development Commission uh for testifying before the Committee on Ohio's successes in growing its rail industry and increasing rail safety in our great state. Ohio has 44 operating railroads and over 5,000 miles of track, making Ohio the third largest rail infrastructure state in the nation. With Ohio's presence in the rail industry, it is vital that when Ohio receives federal grants, the funds are delivered uh promptly. Mr. Dri, Mr. Mr.
▶ 1:46:34Dietrich, in your testimony, uh, you mentioned how grant applications require a great amount of time and resources to compile. As I'm sure you are aware, many rural communities across southern Ohio do not have the resources to hire grant writers. Can you elaborate on how the state of Ohio has been able to help rural communities receive federal dollars from the Federal Railroad Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To representative, um, actually it it goes along with our other question.
▶ 1:47:01We actually set up a program where communities and railroads will apply to us and we will then be the applicant. We will take on responsibility for the grants administration. Uh we were just successful Circleville. Uh we just received uh an RCE grant for that. Um and we're going to administer that for them. Um we're working with Hill right now um down in Sid County uh to do through that same process. And that was enabled because the governor provided us the state funds.
▶ 1:47:28So we can do the planning, we can do the studies, um that communities don't have the resources to apply for, they don't even have the resources to apply for the for the grants. Um so that's what we're that's the role that we're playing to help the rural communities. Okay. Well, as uh Congressman Fong stated, the Ohio government is surely more trustworthy than the California ones. But how are we going to help the uh uh rural communities outside of Ohio get get is there something Congress can do to make it easier for them to get grants?
▶ 1:47:59Um Mr. Chairman uh Congressman, the only thing I can think of is, you know, possibly some training some training to administer. There is programs under federal um under FHWA formula funds, the LPA program, uh local uh program assistance programs that provide training and things like that to local communities. And I think that would be something that that could be done. Okay. Thank you. Ohio has over 500 miles of short line rail that delivers critical goods to businesses and communities.
▶ 1:48:30Shortline railroads across the state and country often rely on Chrissy grants for infra infrastructure improvements, safety enhancements, and workforce development. Miss Beville, in your experience, how have Chrissy investments benefited railroads and surrounding local communities in terms of economic growth and public safety? Thank you for the question.
▶ 1:48:50In my experience, we have a railroad in Mississippi, actually, the Grenada Railroad that we partnered with um local mayor of the city of Hernando as well as six other mayors to apply for a Chrissy Grant grant in the last round that was awarded. And that grant will expand capacity, which will eliminate blocked crossings and also upgrade numerous crossings across these small towns in Mississippi. That's a way that we've really partnered with um the locals to promote public safety. Okay. Thank you.
▶ 1:49:21Uh Mr. Dietrich, again um we've talked a lot about the NEPA process in here today. Do you have an idea of how Ohio administering the NEPA process itself? Um how much that sped up the the process of getting permits out. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Congressman, we just received it in December, so we're just embarking on that.
▶ 1:49:43Um, we anticipate that it will um I can't give you a timeline because as uh uh Miss Beville said, you know, a lot of the freight projects are are just low-level CES. So, they're going to be on a project basis. The low-level CES, I think we'll be able to process almost batch them out, I think, especially if they don't involve railroad right away. So, there's going to be an immense amount of uh uh time savings on those projects.
▶ 1:50:07uh the larger grade crossing elimination projects with real estate uh acquisition things like that those would still be more on timeline our anticipations they'll be more on timeline as if they were FHWA or just standard ODOT le projects okay thank you all very much and I yield back Mr. Johnson you're recognized for five minutes thank you Mr.
▶ 1:50:29Chairman, I want to thank you and the ranking member for hosting this critical hearing, and I uh thank the witnesses for their time and for their testimony today. The bipartisan infrastructure law was supposed to be a turning point for America's rail system. For the first time in 50 years, we had the funding, the jobs, and the plans to deliver modern, safe, and reliable rail service in every corner of the country.
▶ 1:50:56It was about giving communities, many of which had been waiting far too long, access to the transportation services that they deserve. However, instead of building on this historic investment, we're witnessing reckless actions threatening to undo it all. Under this administration, we've seen grants slashed, funding blocked, and workers laid off. These actions aren't just inefficient.
▶ 1:51:22They are actively stalling pro progress, driving up cost, and delaying projects essential to providing the rail service the American people were promised. These cuts are stripping away jobs from the very people who are supposed to be rebuilding our infrastructure, upgrading our tracks, and designing the rail systems of the future. It's a direct hit to the workers who make sure we're on track for We need more than an empty declaration.
▶ 1:51:52We need reliable, predictable, and dedicated funding for rail in the next surface transportation bill. The American people deserve better service now, not 10 years from now. They've been waiting long enough. Our investment today will create jobs, improve safety, and finally connect people to the services that they need. It's time to get back on track.
▶ 1:52:17Let's finish the job we started and make sure that the promises we've made to the American people are kept. Mr. Hicks, as we work on the surface transportation bill, is critical that we evaluate how the Federal Railroad Administration is delivering on its mission, not just internally, but through contractors it relies on to carry out that work.
▶ 1:52:40Ganette Fleming Trans Systems holds a contract worth up to $50 million to support the Federal Railroad Administration in managing and implementing major infrastructure grants. We all know the grant process can be complex, especially with the scale of investment we've seen under the bipartisan infrastructure law.
▶ 1:53:03However, with that level of responsibility comes expectation that this process is constantly improving and not stalling. Mr. Hicks, when did uh Ganette Fleming Trans Systems begin work under its $50 million FAA FRA grant and how many people are currently working on this Thank you for for the question, Congressman Johnson.
▶ 1:53:30Yes, GFT has been actively working supporting FRA uh since about 2010 on multiple uh multiple contracts over that time that do add up to that under this current $50 million contract. Um the current contract uh when did you begin work? I believe was awarded uh in I want to say 3Q or 4Q of last year. We have not really been doing much of anything on it right now. Why is that?
▶ 1:53:59um uh under directive of the uh the FRA to to uh pause action. So the president and Doge uh have u cut the grant and you're not able to receive the money to do what you were to do under the grant. Is that correct?
▶ 1:54:18Um there was definitely a pause that that came from some directive and to us from from our client FRA to to to slow down or stop which is recently uh recently starting up again but slowly. All right. Uh any other reasons why you have not begun work under the grant? Um no just direction from from our client. All right. Thank you.
▶ 1:54:43Uh, Miss Beville, the investment investments made through the bipartisan infrastructure law have clearly had a significant impact. Can you discuss the ripple effects we are seeing from these investments particularly from shippers and carriers and what will happen uh when the money dries up or if the grants are remain paused? Sure.
▶ 1:55:09One of the major causes of derailments for a short line railroad is um lack of uh ties and failure of the track. And the Chrissy program directly addresses those conditions. Putting money into our track then allows our customers to have efficient, reliable service. They rely on the short lines to get goods to the national rail network and we need the track to get them there.
▶ 1:55:37Without the Chrissy program, those projects will slow down. They will either not happen or they will happen over a course of many years versus getting the projects done right away. Thank you. Um, Mr. Chairman, I yield Mr. Nels, you're recognized for five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for all our witnesses. Uh, had an opportunity not so long ago to go down the Fort Worth and Western Railroad located in the the great state of Texas.
▶ 1:56:07It uh operates over 276 miles in eight counties in our state. Miss Babel, I know we've talked a lot about Chrissy, but explain to the people that are watching this how valuable robust funding is for these rail safety programs like Chrissy. Sure. Most short lines began um from purchases from larger railroads of unprofitable branch lines.
▶ 1:56:36And so short lines have a lot of deferred maintenance. In order to correct that maintenance, programs like Chrissy really provide um the ability to invest in the track. So I know we've been talking about it inefficiency, government inefficiency. We've seen it. How long does it typically take to achieve a a Chrissy grant agreement with the FRA? From the time of application to award, it can take four or five years. Okay. I've heard of pro projects taking longer as well.
▶ 1:57:04So what's the total length of time between the award announcement and the actual dispersement of the funds? The time from award announcement to agreement is usually a year or so and then to actual dispersement can be another six months to a year. So one to two years.
▶ 1:57:26talk a little bit about the element of of advanced appropriation funds associated with the programs like Chrissy in the context of providing longterm project planning program stability and efficiency. Sure. As small businesses, it's so helpful for short lines to know that this amount of grant funding is going to be available in years to come so that we can plan our capital expenditures accordingly.
▶ 1:57:52Yeah, I I I think it's critical that these we obviously we distribute these funds in a timely manner. I I think we have the right guy in the White House to help us with that and we will support the new administration and at the same time it is critical that rail safety grant programs like Chrissy uh do not go towards mismanaged projects. The California highspeed rail, I think Mr. Fong uh from his state of California said it very clearly. It's a it's just a money pit. nothing good happening there in Florida.
▶ 1:58:22And instead, I think it should go to the class 2s, regionals, class 3es, the short lines, the switching railroads, uh, which connect and serve our rural communities and have smaller scale shovel ready projects that deliver more immediate and widespread benefits. So, thank you, Miss Beville. Uh, Mr. Dietrich, I'm a strong advocate for rail safety.
▶ 1:58:43I I am uh uh last Congress I introduced with my friend Seth Molton who is a brilliant he's brilliant Democrat that knows a lot about rail safety. So we introduced the rail safety enhancement act of 2024 authorized 1.5 billion for uh each of the fiscal years 2025 through 2028 for the uh the railroad crossing elimination program. Very very important.
▶ 1:59:092,000 such 200 fatalities every year. And we need to provide and allow for more construction of overpasses and underpasses. Obviously, uh effectively separating road and rail traffic and reducing the likelihood of these these accidents.
▶ 1:59:31I understand the FRA awarded a railroad uh crossing elimination grant to Ohio to the development commission for the Hines Hill Road separation uh in Hudson. Explain to me how that impacts your industry and and how critical it is uh to eliminate these dangerous Uh Congressman, uh the the RC program has really been a game changer. Yeah.
▶ 1:59:57Um we Hines Hill is a perfect example of what wouldn't have happened. This project has been around for a decade or more of the community uh not being able to just have the resources to to address it. U we were able to and again we thankfully you know uh the governor put together a safety program so we had the money to leverage with the local community. They applied one time they didn't get it so we went back we worked with them upgraded the application.
▶ 2:00:26I can say one of the state senators, we embedded a video the state senator had of a school bus trying to do a 12-point turn at at a block crossing. Um, talk about a picture saying a thousand words about safety. Um, but so that the the rce program is transformative. Um, we we received four additional uh we have four total projects under the rce award. Each one of them are for long-term projects that the communities have always always wanted.
▶ 2:00:56And you know, to Congressman Tyler, we talked about rural communities, but these are long-term issues for urban communities as well. So, it it it really the program is, like I said, I can't speak enough about how transformative the program is. Fantastic. Thank you. I yield. Mr. Ryan, you're recognized for five minutes. Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to all of you for being here.
▶ 2:01:19I'm probably going to hit on uh some of the common themes that uh in a good way are are bipartisan and important in our districts and really appreciate each of you taking your time today and the work that you do. Um I represent the Hudson Valley of New York. It's about two hours north of New York City. Very significant rail infrastructure and presence. Uh thousands of miles of both commuter and freight, mostly CSX on the freight side and Amtrak and Metro North in terms of passenger rail.
▶ 2:01:47I have over a hundred rail crossings in my district. All of them have been challenged at varying degrees in terms of safety and and rail safety. But there are five specific areas that I just want to quickly talk about and in in leading up to a question about the the RC program that we just heard from questions from uh my colleague on.
▶ 2:02:08Uh so in the city of Kingston, my hometown, actually 35 uh very fastmoving, heavily weighted uh trains per day going through a densely populated urban area uh carrying waste, petroleum, industrial chemicals, all critical things, but a longstanding pattern of uh safety issues there. Same in the city of Newberg where we've had near catastrophic derailments colllocated next to the major water supply for uh another one of the major urban areas of my district.
▶ 2:02:36uh in the town of Olter along the CSX freight line, multiple tragic fatalities. Uh in one case due to the literal lack of any pedestrian signage at a known crossing site, including most recently in in 2023 uh in this in the town of Soures.
▶ 2:02:55um an entirely ungated rail crossing on a major road with without any warning signs that in 2017 a constituent riding in a taxi was actually killed as the taxi driver was lost and unaware of uh where they stopped right in the path of an oncoming train. Uh and finally in the city of Port Jervis at the western edge of my district where just a few years ago again this tragic story repeated uh of a fatality due to a lack of proper signage and and and safety crossings.
▶ 2:03:23The good news, the good news is that thanks to uh the railroad crossing elimination program, part of the bipartisan infrastructure law that we've heard so much support from, uh we got a grant in the latest round for the city of Port Jervis um to develop pedestrian accessibility improvements for an act existing at grade crossing. Um and uh so I just want to continue to foot stomp this in a bipartisan way, the importance of this program.
▶ 2:03:50um and and to say, you know, I don't think this should be partisan, but I'm worried it might become that as we look towards this next um surface reoff, I think it would be a grave mistake to cut funding and I think we we obviously need to to add funding given the American lives at stake. Um so, with that very long windup, and I appreciate you all listening to that, got to bring this home for constituents in in my district. Um Mr. Dietrich, uh you talked about rail crossing elimination. You were just talking about it.
▶ 2:04:20um in your state and I think in my my colleagues district actually um uh so as we look towards the surface bill reoff um this as I said has to be a top priority I know you've probably not been to Port Jervis in the fine state of New York but can you talk about what the impact would be if if we were to lose um the funding or if it were combined as as we've heard rumors of to have RC combined into some larger pool which could then get diffused for for these Thank you
▶ 2:04:50for the question. Uh, Congressman, great separations are are difficult for communities. They're difficult for um even to rank them separately because if you do the RC program, one of the good things is it doesn't have a benefit cost analysis associated with it. All the other programs do because it just doesn't cost out that well um compared to other projects. Um so I think having the separate program for the great separations is very very important.
▶ 2:05:17I also think um allowing some of that flexibility and as I said in my testimony, if if part of it could be allocated somehow so that we could do development so we don't have to apply just for the planning funds, I think that would help everybody get more of these more of these crossings done. Um and finally, you know, I think it's also to to note that while RCE is is is very very important, we also layer those other projects.
▶ 2:05:43So, like I mentioned something in the last testimony, Circleville in uh Congressman Tyler's district. We actually started that project with FHWA formula funding. So, you know, blending these things, it it becomes more of a more of a kind of an economic development funding stack as opposed to a traditional, you know, local federal partnership. It it it's made up of a lot of different money, including private railroads. So, I think that's all really important there. And I know I have five seconds.
▶ 2:06:11Do you think if it were not separated out that that we would in effect lose these critical projects though? I mean, is that a fair assumption given your expertise? I think adding a BC it to a BCA application would be very hard. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. You're black. Sykes, you're recognized for five Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you for uh all the the members here to or witnesses here to testify.
▶ 2:06:41Uh really excited also to hear about so much Ohio love. I've have been saying on this committee, we are the heart of it all. And hearing my colleagues from not only California and Texas uh commend us for all the work that we do just lets me know that I am on the right track. Uh pun intended. Uh and so I uh I do want to talk obviously uh about the the topic at hand and uh specifically about passenger rail in Ohio.
▶ 2:07:07Uh and this is something that has become very near and dear to me for a lot of different reasons uh considering what's happening in Ohio. Uh and so with the bipartisan uh the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure law, there's been a renewed interest in capacity for uh infrastructure from coast to coast. And one in Ohio was Amtrak's 3C plusD corridor expansion. Uh this 3C plusD is a prop proposed passenger rail line to reconnect Ohio's largest cities Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Dayton through reliable modern rail service.
▶ 2:07:37However, none of the C's in the 3C plusD stand for Canton and there is no A for Akran which is in Ohio's 13th district. Uh the plan uh will put together Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, Detroit corridor, and there is no stop in the Akran Canon uh there really isn't a a whole lot to offer for the eastern part of the state which as you know Mr.
▶ 2:08:01Dietrich is uh fledgling with economic lack of economic opportunity and very rural uh and it would be a boon to have some type of mobility there. Uh in fact uh back in 2011 uh former Governor Kasich returned and sent back $400 million of federal highway or federal uh rail money uh back to the federal government that went to states like California.
▶ 2:08:30Although we did just get a a boon for how our state operated, the money that would have come to Ohio over a decade ago went to the state of California. Uh and Mr. Mr. Dietrich, I know that you were the the uh Federal Rail Commission chair at that time when the decision was being made.
▶ 2:08:47And so this conversation is about rail plans and projects and and why they take so long, but I know that most of the argument is about NEPA, but it takes a whole lot longer to raise $400 million uh and turn it away. And that I would say is probably a more damning problem as to why we don't have rail. So if you could talk to us about that decision that you were a part of so many years ago and how it has held back passenger rail in Ohio.
▶ 2:09:18Thank you for the question. Um while I was rail commission chair um we were the agency that developed the project and so that that decision was made at the executive level um and not involving the staff in terms of uh returning the funding.
▶ 2:09:36Um I will say that that brings to a point that with for whatever reason as we develop passenger rail there is a policy component or a policy maker component and I think that's one of the great things about the the corridor ID project is that that is one thing that allows for us to do the planning and and so as in in the state of Ohio as you mentioned we're advancing two corridors right now and what that program allows us to do is it allows us as as uh
▶ 2:10:06uh a DOT as subject matter experts to advance the project to a point where then we can provide that information to the policy makers in the state which is for us it would be the executive branch and the legislative branch and the general assembly present those projects to them and then they can then determine appropriately whether they want to move on to the next step or not. Thank you so much.
▶ 2:10:28But, you know, it still seems to amaze me that sending back $400 million and I've seen estimates of upwards of 16,000 jobs out of the state of Ohio, uh, a state where we are losing population, uh, and need as much job support and economic development as possible. Uh, you know, obviously I was not in the legislature. I was not in Congress when those things happened. Um but now that I am and I have a community who is asking for rail.
▶ 2:10:55I looked at the rail improvement or the rail state rail plan from 2019. Uh there was a request from folks in the community for a stop in Akran Canton uh to go out into the comm or the Akran Cananton airport into the community. I have a letter from the Akran Canton Advocacy Alliance which is the greater regional chamber and the greater Akran chamber uh requesting that uh Akran Canton be a part of this and consistently we have just been told no. Uh and so Mr.
▶ 2:11:20Dietrich, we haven't had a chance to talk about this publicly, but please uh tell me and and share with this community why Ohio's 13th congressional district and in my community is not eligible and should not get passenger rail as uh in your purview. Well, again, it's it's not ineligible. I the applications that we submitted, especially the 3C and D were based on historical studies. Um I can say that back we are we have revived some of that work that was canceled back in 2011.
▶ 2:11:49Um that work did look at a routing through Akran but it was ruled out as not fitting the purpose and need of the project. And when I say purpose and need that's a very technical term not that it's not needed in the community. Um we are going to be reviewing that process through step two as we move for that corridor. Um so all those will be re-evaluated.
▶ 2:12:12I would I I would suggest for the the Akran community something that one that other communities have done um there is a great deal of I don't want to say misunderstanding but uh education needed with passenger rail between the differences between commuter rail and inner city passenger rail and I think you know some of the comments there we've I've talked to some of the the local uh transportation officials there and and asked if they could you know work together to provide some kind of
▶ 2:12:42clarity there in terms of of we can't we can't have good times between major cities like you know one request was to connect to Pittsburgh another request was to include in the uh 3C and D another request was to connect the airport and another com uh request was to look at commuter lines to to Cleveland from a technical standpoint those are all different projects to us and they fall under even different funding sources and grant sources So, I'm I'm
▶ 2:13:13happy to again continue to have that conversation, but I think that's that's something where we can help the community by providing guidance and as we talked about which is the right program to apply for for these things. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I yel Mr. Garcia, you're recognized for five minutes. Thank you, uh, chairman, ranking member, and of course, our, uh, four witnesses.
▶ 2:13:38Uh, freight movement and the related infrastructure have a tremendous impact on Chicago with over 7,400 miles of railroad tracks and thousands of rail crossings. We're very familiar with rail and the benefits and challenges that come with it. Uh we've got kids in my district who have to choose between crawling under idling trains blocking the crossing and being late to school.
▶ 2:14:06Uh we've got drivers and bicyclists who wait half an hour for a train to go by or attempts at dangerous uh atgrade crossings. And we've got entire communities uh affected by idling trains which contribute to bad air quality. So in 2021, I introduced a bill to establish a grade separation program to increase and reduce the collisions at rail highway crossings.
▶ 2:14:33And I'm proud that the IIGJA created a grant program that did exactly that called the railroad crossing elimination grant program. These grants have already been coming to projects in my district and across the country to make crossing safer, but we've still got a lot of work to do.
▶ 2:14:53Uh, Commissioner uh, Ukalo, uh, why are programs like railroad crossing uh, elimination grant programs critical for states to advance rail safety improvements? and two-part question. What types of safety projects can be advanced thanks to the IIGJ's increased Thank you for the question.
▶ 2:15:16Uh, you know, as you rightfully pointed out, a lot of times if someone if drivers are waiting or bikers or pedestrians are waiting for extended periods of time, um, they often will uh be more likely to take risks. It's it's true on the railroad side. is true on the on the roadway side where if people are waiting a long time to cross, they may take a risk and cross when it's unsafe. Um, and that's what the rail crossing elimination program allows for the grade separation.
▶ 2:15:46It allows us to take the steps to improve safety in the communities in which this railroad infrastructure exists. Uh, and you know, that is something that I think every state wants to see continue. Um, in my state of Connecticut, we are using state funds right now and we're hopeful to apply for uh rce funds in the future to try and create a sealed corridor uh so that our heavily passage uh traveled uh Hartford line can have modern safety
▶ 2:16:16equipment uh with quad gates, lights, uh camera detection. Um, and then in our freight somewhere communities with freight rail, we're doing pedestrian crossings and better lighting there for the pedestrians and signals so they know when it's safe to cross and when it's not safe to cross.
▶ 2:16:34And what projects do you think could be advanced under the So many of those grade separation projects I don't think would be possible um without the IJA's rail crossing elimination uh program. Uh we have a project in Connecticut where we did receive some planning funds to look at how we can design a grade separated crossing on Tol's Road in Wallingford, Connecticut.
▶ 2:16:59Uh it's heavily traversed by freight uh on the on the roadway side crossing with a passenger rail system for Amtrak and our state-run passenger rail system. Uh so without the IJ funding opportunity for us to apply for in the future, I don't think we'd ever get that pro program off the ground. Thank you.
▶ 2:17:19In Chicago, uh uh the railroads, the state of Illinois, and Cook County in the metro region have all worked together to identify needed projects to improve passenger and freight rail flows through the city of Chicago. This uh series of projects is called create and without federal investment there'd be no incentive for competitor railroads to work together on the capacity constraints of Chicago.
▶ 2:17:45The nationally significant multimmoal freight and highway projects program or infra was founded was funded uh has funded several create rail projects uh with IIGJ uh funding. Uh, Commissioner U. Ukalo, what benefits do you see in having infra funds go to freight rail So, INFA, you know, serves in for many of our states to advance freight projects.
▶ 2:18:14Um, you know, it does fund very large cost projects. Um, and with previously without the existence of rail crossing elimination or dedicated rail funding, INFOR was really the only place we could go for these types of projects. And I think it's critical to continue to allow that eligibility because it is truly a multimodal system with our roadways intersecting with our railroads and our transit systems. And a program like INF allows us to do those large projects. Thank you. My time's expired.
▶ 2:18:44I yield back, Mr. Chair. Mr. Freeman, you're recognized for five minutes. Thank you, Chair Webster and Ranking Member Titus, and to our witnesses for coming to join us today. Uh, California, which I represent parts of, has very heavily used rail lines. I know that everyone thinks that everybody just rides their car in Los Angeles, but people take the train, too.
▶ 2:19:13In fact, my mother lives near Laguna Beach and I take the Surf Rider down from Los Angeles uh very frequently and there have been many times where I've been on that train when it's been standing room only. In fact, I've had to go to San Diego at times where they run out of seats and people are standing in the aisles and it's great that people want to be riding these trains. Um but we also need to do more to give people a pleasant ride at the same time and to accommodate all the riders that we have.
▶ 2:19:41Um the that line between that goes up and down the California coast has about three million uh riders annually and it's the second busiest inner city rail corridor in the United States and it's got a lot of challenges as you know there's tracks that are falling into the ocean kind of over and over again. Um and we can do a lot better.
▶ 2:20:03Uh now we are seeing private investment in some of our lines with Bright Line now working on what I think will be one of the most popular train lines in the entire country between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. It's going to be quite the party train. Um but one thing that we don't have is rail line that's anybody knows about or takes between Los Angeles and Palm Springs or Coachella which are other huge destinations. Just a week ago I had to go to Palm Springs for a meeting and it's not fun. Let me just tell you to drive.
▶ 2:20:32I mean, Palm Springs is fun, but driving there is not fun. Um, but we have tracks, but we don't have Amtrak service that goes reliably between LA and Palm Springs. I think there's one train that takes for some reason 4 hours, leaves at about 10:30 at night, and arrives around 12:30, 1:00 a.m. in Palm Springs. And I'm not even sure if it's daily. So, we have a lot of opportunities in Los Angeles to increase ridership, deal with congestion, get cars off the road, and have a pleasant ex more pleasant experience.
▶ 2:21:01So I wanted to ask um Mr. Ukalo um what we can do to improve existing high ridership lines in the United States. You know it's not a NEPA issue um um but we have places like LA to Palm Springs that makes so much sense but we don't have any service at all. Um we've got LA San Diego where people are taking it. We have maybe eight trains a day but they're overcrowded.
▶ 2:21:28So what can we do to target fixing and improving these lines? Thank you for the question. So Connecticut is heavily rail dense state and what we encountered is we inherited a lot of old rail infrastructure. Some of our movable rail bridges are 130 years old and we inherited it from the private sector when they went out of business. And so it's been a continuous try and make the investments we need to bring it back up to where it needs to be in 21st century standards.
▶ 2:21:59Um and so what I has allowed us to do is make the investments we need into our existing infrastructure to do better signaling technology, better crossover and change points, um upgrade the tracks, uh and improve the overhead power, the catinary system. And that will allow us to increase capacity on the rail lines and get more trains moving. You know, on the northeast quarter, we have 600 over 600,000 pe trips per day.
▶ 2:22:24Um, and we can increase that by continuing to make the investments in the system to bring it up to modern standards. Thank you. And let me ask you a followup. Do you think that programs like the FRA restoration and enhancement grant program that I'm which I'm sure you are utilizing are are they overs subscribed? Is there a bigger desire and need for these grants to upgrade our infrastructure so that we become a first world country? Um or is there plenty of money lying around?
▶ 2:22:55I think my state alone could probably use all of the available funding for those programs. Thank you. And what about um uh cuts that we're seeing to do to the Department of uh of Transportation um to and others? Is that something that's going to help your efforts to modernize and improve your system and and get people rolling on these rail lines or do you think that that's just a neutral and okay thing?
▶ 2:23:22So, we have a really great relationship with the staff at FRA as well as the other modes. Um, you know, we are are waiting to see what happens with all the people who have taken the the deferred resignations. Um, you know, we do know that administering grants is labor intensive. So, it's going to require maybe we're going to have to look at do we need to change the whole process around uh if there's going to be a reduced staff capacity.
▶ 2:23:46Um but we want to see the most efficient process possible, but we also want to get the money in the ground as quickly as possible. Thank you. Now, clearly people are using rail. They want to use rail more and they deserve uh those investments from their government to to help make this transportation function better. Thank you. And I yield back. Mr. Nettle, you're recognized. Mr.
▶ 2:24:15Eucalo, you've testified to the critical role that the bipartisan infrastructure laws historic rail funding has played in delivering long deferred projects, particularly in the Northeast Corridor. However, even with this progress, demand for rail funding still far exceeds available resources. With 69 corridors selected across 44 states under the corridor ID program, short distance state supported routes now account for nearly half of all Amtrak riders.
▶ 2:24:45In your view, how important is it for state DOS and ongoing projects that Congress expand funding levels for rail rail programs like Chrissy and the federal state partnership in the next service transportation bill? Thank you for the question. So, you know, uh from Astra's perspective, the the historic funding that was provided in the infrastructure investment and jobs act really needs to be a base when you also account for inflation.
▶ 2:25:12inflationary costs have driven up project costs for us to do any of the work we need to do on the railroad. And so without accounting for that and seeing the increase in the next reauthorization to account at least account for that inflation um we're going to go backwards in where we need to be because um we have historic investments that need to be made due to the age of the infrastructure that we are trying to repair out there. Thank you.
▶ 2:25:39As part of improving the northeast corridor, Amtrak is working on the gateway program, a series of projects to improve travel on the most congested section of the track between Newark, New Jersey, and New York Penn Station. Recently, Secretary Duffy reduced previously awarded grants for for the Northeast Corridor, including two in two weeks for Penn Station and Doc Bridge and threatened other federal grantees. Mr.
▶ 2:26:06What could reduced or uncertain funding for Northeast Carter infrastructure projects mean for the reliability and capacity of rail service used daily by residents in the tri-state area? Due to the size of the investments we need to make in our infrastructure around the northeast corridor, uh I think the we need predictable and reliable funding.
▶ 2:26:27Um and I did provide us with at least a a vision of how we could have that p predictable and reliable funding through the efforts of the northeast corridor commission uh and working with the FRA developing that list of priority projects allowed us at the state DOS and the recipients of the funds to actually plan ahead here's the work we need to do because these are not projects that will be done in a year or two. Some of these projects will take a decade to accomplish.
▶ 2:26:56When you look at having to maintain the rail traffic on that railroad, there's no detours around the northeast corridor. So, we have to continue passing trains while doing the infrastructure work. And so, it's very complicated compared to the highway side. So, we need that predictability and reliability to continue making the investments. So, what are the effects of Secretary Duffy's uh reducing previously awarded grants?
▶ 2:27:21I can't speak specifically to the Gateway program because that's outside of Connecticut, but I can say from Connecticut's perspective, you know, we rely on the federal grants that we received to know that we're going to put people to work and keep them working and deliver the program. If there's any delays to that project and getting delivered, it's going to ultimately drive up costs. And now, we always look to do value engineering, and I think there's always ways we can save costs on our projects, and we look at that every day.
▶ 2:27:48Um, but we need to know that the funding is going to be there when we're doing the work. Thank you, Mr. Ukalito. As you know, federal grant programs like Chrissy and the Federal State Partnership depend not only on strong funding levels, but also on stable federal grant administration, a wellstaffed federal railroad administration, and timely project In your experience, what are the potential impacts on state-led rail projects when previously awarded funds are delayed, rescindered, or subject to sudden policy
▶ 2:28:18shifts? And how can Congress help ensure continuity and cost efficiency for the remainder of the bipartisan infrastructure law and future grant cycles? You just answered the first half of the question, but how can Congress help ensure continuity and cost efficiency for the remainder of the bipartisan infrastructure law and in future grant cycles? I think one thing that would be really helpful is it, you know, we we talk a lot about within the US DOT, but we also need to worry about the regulators.
▶ 2:28:45So, the Army Corps of Engineers, uh, the Coast Guard, we rely heavily on them to process our permit applications and often times they close up shop when they run out of funding or they are reduced staff and then projects get delayed sometimes up to a year as a result.
▶ 2:29:01So while we need to al work on ensuring that we have the partners at US DOT and FRA, we also need to make sure that we continue to look at our regulators to make sure they are able to actually process the permits that are necessary for us to do the work. Thank you, Mr. Ukalito. I yield back. I seeing no other people that want to talk. Uh meetings adjourned.
▶ 2:29:28Thank those witnesses for P presenting themselves and and giving us fantastic answers. We really appreciate it. Meetings