Corridor Identification and Development Program explained

The Corridor Identification and Development Program, abbreviated as the Corridor ID Program, is a comprehensive planning program for inter-city passenger rail projects in the United States administered by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Each route accepted into the program is granted $500,000 toward planning activities and is prioritized for future federal funding.

, a total of 69 passenger rail corridors have been accepted into the Corridor ID Program. Of these, 7 are new high-speed rail routes, 34 are new conventional rail routes, 13 are existing routes with proposed extensions, and 15 are existing routes with proposed upgrades. For example, accepted projects include Brightline West high-speed rail, the Northern Lights Express from Minneapolis to Duluth, the Heartland Flyer extension from Oklahoma City to Newton, and frequency increases for the and .

History

The $1.8 billion Corridor ID Program was authorized by Congress with the passage of the IIJA in November 2021 and was formally established in May 2022.^{[1] [2]} The FRA began soliciting its first round of applications in December 2022^[3] and made its first selection of 69 corridors in December 2023.^[4]

Program

The purpose of the Corridor ID Program is to identify potential passenger rail expansion projects and to provide seed funding for planning stages. Construction and operational funding are not included. Eligible entities are invited to submit projects for consideration. Such entities include Amtrak, regional rail authorities, states, groups of state, state subdivisions, regional planning organizations, and federally recognized tribes.^[1] Once selected, each corridor is initially granted $500,000 toward project planning activities. Projects proceed through three steps:

• Step 1: Determination of the scope, schedule, and cost estimate for preparing a Service Development Plan
• Step 2: Preparation of the Service Development Plan. This plan must list details including train frequencies, peak and average operating speeds, trip times, station locations, capital projects, rolling stock needs, economic impacts, environmental benefits, and the project schedule. These grants require a 10% match from entities.
• Step 3: Project development work readying the Service Development Plan for implementation, such as environmental impact statements and engineering design. Step 3 awardees must input a 20% match.^[5]

List of corridors

This list is current . A total of 69 passenger rail corridors spanning 44 states have been accepted into the Corridor ID Program.

Legend

Corridor^[6]	Route	Sponsor	Type	Step
Amtrak Texas High-Speed Rail Corridor	Dallas–Houston	Amtrak	HSR	1
Brightline West High-Speed Corridor	Rancho Cucamonga–Las Vegas	Nevada Department of Transportation
California High-Speed Rail Phase 1 Corridor	San Francisco–Los Angeles/Anaheim	California High-Speed Rail Authority
Cascadia High-Speed Ground Transportation	Vancouver–Portland	Washington State Department of Transportation
Charlotte, North Carolina, to Atlanta, Georgia, Corridor	Charlotte–Atlanta	North Carolina Department of Transportation
Fort Worth to Houston High-Speed Rail Corridor	Fort Worth–Houston	North Central Texas Council of Governments
	Victor Valley–Palmdale	Antelope Valley Transit Authority
Asheville to Salisbury, North Carolina, Corridor	Asheville–Salisbury	North Carolina Department of Transportation	New
Atlanta to Savannah Corridor	Atlanta–Savannah	Georgia Department of Transportation	2^[7]
Atlanta-Chattanooga-Nashville-Memphis Corridor	Atlanta–Memphis	City of Chattanooga	1
Baton Rouge-New Orleans Corridor	Baton Rouge–New Orleans	Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
Boston and Albany Corridor	Boston–Albany	Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Central Coast Corridor	San Jose–San Luis Obispo	California Department of Transportation
Charlotte to Kings Mountain, North Carolina, Corridor	Charlotte–Kings Mountain	North Carolina Department of Transportation
Chicago to Quad Cities Service Extension Program	Chicago–Moline	Illinois Department of Transportation
Chicago, Fort Wayne, Columbus, and Pittsburgh	Chicago–Pittsburgh	City of Fort Wayne
Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati (3C&D) Corridor	Cleveland–Cincinnati	Ohio Rail Development Commission
Cleveland-Toledo-Detroit Corridor	Cleveland–Detroit
Coachella Valley Rail Corridor	Los Angeles–Coachella	California Department of Transportation
Colorado Front Range Corridor^[8]	Fort Collins–Pueblo	Front Range Passenger Rail District	2^[9]
Commonwealth Corridor	Newport News–New River Valley	Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation	1
Diamond State Line	Newark/Wilmington–Salisbury/Berlin	Delaware Transit Corporation
Eau Claire-Twin Cities Corridor	St. Paul–Eau Claire	Eau Claire County, Wisconsin
Fayetteville to Raleigh, North Carolina, Corridor	Fayetteville–Raleigh	North Carolina Department of Transportation
Gulf Coast Passenger Rail Service	New Orleans–Mobile	Southern Rail Commission
Houston to San Antonio Corridor^[10]	Houston–San Antonio	Texas Department of Transportation
I-20 Corridor Intercity Passenger Rail Service	Dallas–Meridian	Southern Rail Commission
Jacksonville-Orlando-Miami Corridor	Jacksonville–Miami	Florida Department of Transportation
Louisville-Indianapolis Passenger Rail Corridor	Indianapolis–Louisville	Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency
Miami-Orlando-Tampa Corridor	Miami–Tampa	Florida Department of Transportation
Milwaukee-Madison-Eau Claire-Twin Cities Corridor	Milwaukee–Minneapolis	Wisconsin Department of Transportation
North Coast Hiawatha	Chicago–Seattle/Portland	Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority
Northern Lights Express	Minneapolis–Duluth	Minnesota Department of Transportation
Peoria to Chicago Passenger Rail Service	Peoria–Chicago	City of Peoria
Phoenix-Tucson Corridor	Buckeye–Tucson	Arizona Department of Transportation
Reading-Philadelphia-New York Corridor^[11]	Reading–New York City	Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority
Scranton to New York Penn Station Corridor^[12]	Scranton–New York City	Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Texas Triangle: Dallas-Fort Worth-Houston Intercity Passenger Rail Corridor^[13]	Fort Worth–Houston	Texas Department of Transportation
TCMC Service Expansion via La Crosse	Chicago–St. Paul	Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Wilmington to Raleigh, North Carolina, Corridor	Wilmington–Raleigh	North Carolina Department of Transportation
Winston-Salem to Raleigh, North Carolina, Corridor	Winston-Salem–Raleigh
Amtrak to Long Island	Washington–New York City–Ronkonkoma	Amtrak		Extension
Capitol Corridor	Extensions to San Francisco, Salinas, Novato, Sparks	California Department of Transportation
Downeaster Corridor	Boston–Brunswick–Rockland	Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority
Green Mountain Corridor	New York City–Bennington–Burlington	Vermont Agency of Transportation
Hannibal Extension of Existing Chicago-Quincy Corridor	Chicago–Quincy–Hannibal	Missouri Department of Transportation
Heartland Flyer Extension	Fort Worth–Oklahoma City–Newton	Kansas Department of Transportation
Kansas City, MO, to St Joseph, MO^[14]	St. Louis–Kansas City–St. Joseph	Missouri Department of Transportation
Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor	San Luis Obispo–San Diego–San Ysidro	California Department of Transportation
Milwaukee to Green Bay (Hiawatha Extension)	Chicago–Milwaukee–Green Bay	Wisconsin Department of Transportation
San Joaquin Valley Corridor	Merced/Oakland–Sacramento–Redding	California Department of Transportation
Vermonter Corridor	Washington–St. Albans–Montreal	Vermont Agency of Transportation
Washington, D.C., to Bristol, VA, Corridor	Washington–Roanoke–Bristol	Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation
Wolverine Corridor	Chicago–Detroit–Windsor	Michigan Department of Transportation
Adirondack Corridor	New York City–Montreal	New York State Department of Transportation		Upgrade
Amtrak Cascades Corridor	Eugene–Vancouver	Washington State Department of Transportation
Anchorage North & South Corridor	Fairbanks–Seward	Alaska Railroad Corporation
Charlotte, North Carolina, to Washington, D.C., Corridor	Charlotte–Washington	North Carolina Department of Transportation
Chicago to Carbondale Corridor	Chicago–Carbondale	Illinois Department of Transportation
Chicago to Grand Rapids Corridor	Chicago–Grand Rapids	Michigan Department of Transportation
Chicago to Port Huron Corridor	Chicago–Port Huron
Chicago to St. Louis Higher-Speed Rail Corridor^[15]	Chicago–St. Louis	Illinois Department of Transportation
Daily Cardinal Service	New York City–Chicago	Amtrak
Daily Sunset Limited Service	New Orleans–Los Angeles
Empire Corridor	New York City–Niagara Falls	New York State Department of Transportation
Hartford Line Corridor	New Haven–Springfield	Connecticut Department of Transportation
Indianapolis-Chicago Corridor^[16]	Indianapolis–Chicago	Indiana Department of Transportation
Keystone Corridor: Pittsburgh to Philadelphia	Philadelphia–Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Milwaukee to Chicago Hiawatha Expansion	Milwaukee–Chicago	Wisconsin Department of Transportation

External links

• Corridor Identification and Development Program | FRA

Notes and References

1. News: Johnston . Bob . FRA unveils Corridor ID and Development program: news and analysis . 9 December 2023 . Trains . 17 May 2022.
2. Web site: Corridor Identification and Development Program . railroads.dot.gov . . 9 December 2023.
3. News: FRA Begins Soliciting Proposals Through First-of-its-kind Program to Advance New and Enhanced Intercity Passenger Rail Corridors . 9 December 2023 . . 20 December 2022.
4. News: Lassen . David . Full list of passenger routes in FRA Corridor program released . 9 December 2023 . Trains . 8 December 2023.
5. Web site: Notice of Solicitation of Corridor Proposals and Funding Opportunity for the Corridor Identification and Development Program . Federal Register . . 9 December 2023 . 20 December 2022.
6. Web site: FY22 Corridor Identification and Development Program Selections . railroads.dot.gov . . 9 December 2023 . December 2023.
7. https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2023-12/FY22%20CID%20Project%20Summaries-Map-r1.pdf
8. Web site: Corridor Identification and Development Application: Front Range Corridor Proposal . Front Range Passenger Rail District . March 27, 2023.
9. https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2023-12/FY22%20CID%20Project%20Summaries-Map-r1.pdf
10. Web site: FY 2022 Corridor Identification and Development Application: Texas Triangle: Houston–San Antonio Intercity Passenger Rail Corridor . Texas Department of Transportation . March 2023.
11. Web site: FY 2022 Corridor Identification and Development Application: Reading–Philadelphia–New York Corridor . Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority . March 2023.
12. https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/corporate/reports/Analysis-of-Options-Scranton-New-York-Amtrak-Passenger-Rail-Service.pdf
13. Web site: FY 2022 Corridor Identification and Development Application: Texas Triangle: Dallas–Fort Worth–Houston Intercity Passenger Rail Corridor . Texas Department of Transportation . March 2023.
14. Web site: FY Corridor Identification and Development Program: Kansas City, MO–St. Joseph, MO . Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission . March 2023.
15. Web site: FY 2022 Corridor Identification and Development Application: Chicago to St. Louis High-Speed Rail Program . Illinois Department of Transportation . March 27, 2023.
16. Web site: FY 2022 Corridor Identification and Development Application: Indianapolis-Chicago Corridor . Indiana Department of Transportation . March 2023.