Research and Demonstration Projects Supporting the Development of High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Service | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), within the U.S. Department of Transportation, offered this discretionary grant opportunity under a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA 2010-1) to fund research and demonstration projects that push forward high speed rail and intercity passenger rail technology in the United States. The program sits within the FRA Office of Research and Development and is tied directly to the federal goal, outlined in the 2009 Vision for High Speed Rail in America, of building a world-class passenger rail network. In practical terms, the FRA was looking for a wide range of basic and applied research proposals that could help make high speed and intercity passenger rail service safer, more efficient, more reliable, and more feasible to deploy at scale in the North American rail environment, where passenger trains often share tracks and corridors with freight service.

The opportunity emphasized technology development that helps passenger rail systems function well in mixed-use conditions and across an integrated national network. The FRA described several specific outcomes it wanted funded projects to pursue: lowering operational and deployment risk on shared lines; improving safety by reducing human error and technology failures; cutting capital costs and improving manufacturing economies for equipment and facilities; reducing operating costs through more efficient operations; improving reliability of equipment and infrastructure by reducing true failures as well as false failure detections; increasing ridership and revenue by reducing trip times and improving customer experience, reliability, and on-time performance; improving social and environmental benefits of high speed rail; and strengthening domestic manufacturing capability for rail equipment and infrastructure components. In other words, proposals could range from engineering and systems research to testing methods and demonstrations that prove readiness for real-world use, as long as they clearly supported safer, cheaper, more dependable, and more attractive passenger rail service.

Administratively, this was a grant-funded research and development program (CFDA 20.313, Railroad Research and Development) with an unrestricted eligibility approach, meaning proposals were open to essentially any applicant type unless further limited by the detailed BAA language. The announcement anticipated up to 30 awards, with an estimated total program funding level of $25,000,000. Individual award sizes were expected to range from a $25,000 floor up to a $2,500,000 ceiling, allowing both smaller proof-of-concept studies and larger demonstrations. A cost sharing or matching requirement applied, so applicants needed to plan for a non-federal contribution consistent with the BAA rules.

Key dates and identifiers included Funding Opportunity Number BAA 2010-1, posted July 28, 2010, with an original and final closing date of September 30, 2012, and an archive date of October 30, 2012. The full BAA package was available only electronically through the FRA website navigation path (Policy Development -> Funds for Research -> Broad Agency Announcement), and it explicitly superseded the prior BAA 2009-1, which was closed. For access issues or assistance, the point of contact listed was Robert Carpenter, Contract Specialist, at 202-493-6153 and robert.carpenter@dot.gov.

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