Caltrans announced this past week that it was awarded $18.7 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) for a project that will improve passenger rail service and freight movement at Amtrak San Joaquins stations in the Central Valley. The San Joaquins Corridor Second Platform project will build a second set of passenger platforms and install additional tracks at the San Joaquins intercity passenger rail stations in Modesto and Turlock-Denair.
“Caltrans continues to move forward in building and expanding our state’s rail system to provide more transportation options to the traveling public while improving the movement of goods that power California’s economy,” said Caltrans Director Tony Tavares.
Caltrans is matching nearly half of the grant amount through the Interregional Transportation Improvement Program to ensure project success.
The new platforms will improve service reliability and efficiency for passenger and freight movement along the BNSF-owned corridor by allowing two trains to operate through the stations at the same time. The project will also improve pedestrian safety with upgrades. These include new sidewalks, crossing gates and signage improvements where the railroad intersects with Parker Road near the Modesto station and Zeering Road and Main Street near the Turlock-Denair station.
Funding includes investments from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The USDOT Federal Railroad Administration grant is administered through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program, which directly awarded nearly $280 million to 12 recipients in California and $2.4 billion nationwide. The program provides funding for projects that improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of intercity passenger and freight rail.
Caltrans also partnered with Amtrak on another project that received grant funding. Caltrans will install a device on its fleet that will improve safety and reliability by ensuring that grade crossing gates and flashers are activated in a timely manner while reducing the need for trains to slow down through some grade crossings.
Several of the CRISI grant recipients received all or most of their matching funding from the California State Transportation Agency through its Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program:
The San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission and Sacramento City College Rail Academy received $2 million in matching funds to continue funding the Academy’s rail workforce development mission.
IIJA, also known as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” is an investment in the nation’s infrastructure to improve the sustainability and resiliency of the country’s energy, water, broadband and transportation systems. California has received nearly $51 billion in federal infrastructure funding since IIJA’s passage in November 2021. That includes investments to upgrade the state’s roads, bridges, rail, public transit, airports, electric vehicle charging network, ports and waterways. The funding alone has already created more than 170,000 jobs.
For more information about California’s transportation investments, visit RebuildingCA.ca.gov and build.ca.gov.
