FY 2010 Railroad Research Development Composite Materials Use for Railroad Infrastructure | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The FY 2010 Railroad Research and Development grant opportunity titled "Composite Materials Use for Railroad Infrastructure" (Funding Opportunity Number FR RRD 10 011) was a discretionary grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), under CFDA 20.313 (Railroad Research and Development). The purpose of the award was to support applied research and development focused on composite materials in railroad infrastructure, specifically covering the full lifecycle of work from early development and design through fabrication, field testing, and a comprehensive evaluation of results. The emphasis was not only on how these composite materials performed in real railroad conditions, but also on whether they made economic sense compared with conventional approaches, meaning applicants were expected to assess both technical performance and cost effectiveness.

The scope described in the announcement centered on practical, deployment-oriented R and D activities. In plain terms, the funded effort was expected to move beyond lab concepts and into real-world demonstration: designing composite-based infrastructure components, building or fabricating them, installing or testing them in the field, and then evaluating how they held up. The evaluation component was framed broadly, calling for a thorough assessment of performance (such as durability, structural behavior, safety implications, maintenance needs, and suitability for railroad service environments) as well as the "economy of use," which typically involves examining life-cycle costs, potential maintenance savings, service life, and overall value relative to traditional materials and construction methods.

Funding was limited and structured for a single award. The FRA anticipated making one grant, with an estimated total funding amount of $218,954. The award ceiling was also $218,954, and the award floor was listed as $0, signaling that the agency could, in principle, award any amount up to the ceiling, though the posted total indicates the intended maximum. There was no cost-sharing or matching requirement, so the recipient was not required to contribute non-federal funds as a condition of receiving the grant.

Eligibility was unusually narrow: only the West Virginia University Research Corporation was eligible to apply for this funding opportunity. While the general eligibility field referenced "Others" with clarification in an additional text field, the eligibility information explicitly restricted applicants to that single entity, meaning this was effectively a directed or sole-eligible competition rather than an open solicitation to universities, industry, or other organizations.

Key dates defined a short application window typical of targeted R and D grants at the time. The opportunity was posted and created on May 26, 2010, and it closed on June 28, 2010. The archive date was July 28, 2010, indicating when the listing would be moved out of active status after the closing period. The activity category was listed under Science and Technology and other Research and Development, aligning it with technical innovation and validation work rather than routine infrastructure construction.

For administrative support, the announcement directed applicants needing help accessing the full opportunity details electronically to the GrantSolutions Help Desk, which provided phone and email contact information and operating hours. This reflects the submission and management environment used for many federal grants during that period, where application materials and updates were typically accessed through the GrantSolutions platform.

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