​​​USDA Grain Transportation Report (6/30): DOT Grants Will Help Improve Midwestern Rail Transport

The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration recently announced the award of funding from its Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program — part of which will be used to help increase supply chain resilience and fluidity.

The funds include $184 million for rural rail projects.

The rural grant awards include funds devoted to shortline railroads in many top grain-producing states, such as Michigan ($30 million), Kansas ($20.4 million), Indiana ($8.4 million), Iowa ($7.1 million), Ohio ($6.9 million), North Dakota ($6.7 million), Nebraska ($6.3 million), Illinois ($1.8 million), and Minnesota ($1.4 million).

The short line rail industry plays a key role in the first and last miles of grain shipments by rail.

In 2018, USDA-funded research developed a list of available federal and state short-line-rail assistance programs.

This article comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) June 30, 2022, Grain Transportation Report.