[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 25 (Monday, February 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6938-6940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02450]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2022-0006]


Request for Information for the Corridor Identification and 
Development Program

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Request for information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law (BIL). The BIL provides historic appropriations for 
railroad transportation grant programs administered by the Federal 
Railroad Administration (FRA), and also authorizes new programs to 
enhance rail safety and to repair, restore, improve, and expand the 
nation's rail network. Among those new programs is the Corridor 
Identification and Development Program (the Program), which creates a 
new framework to facilitate the development of new, enhanced, and 
restored intercity passenger rail corridors throughout the country. The 
BIL requires the Secretary of Transportation to establish the Program 
within 180 days of enactment (i.e., May 14, 2022). This responsibility 
is delegated to FRA. In this request for information (RFI), FRA is 
seeking comments on the Program and how it can best serve stakeholders 
and the public in facilitating the development of intercity passenger 
rail corridors.

DATES: Written comments on this RFI must be received on or before March 
9,

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2022. FRA will consider comments filed after this date to the extent 
practicable.

ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to docket number FRA-2022-0006 and be 
submitted by at http://www.regulations.gov. Search by using the docket 
number and follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number for this RFI.

    Note:  All comments received, including any personal 
information, will be posted without change to the docket and will be 
accessible to the public at http://www.regulations.gov. You should 
not include information in your comment that you do not want to be 
made public. Input submitted online via www.regulations.gov is not 
immediately posted to the site. It may take several business days 
before your submission is posted.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  For further information related to 
this RFI, please contact Peter Schwartz, Chief, Project Engineering and 
Transportation Planning Division, by email: [email protected] or by 
telephone: 202-493-6360.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Program is intended to facilitate the development of intercity 
passenger rail corridors. Public Law 117-58 sec. 22308 (Nov. 15, 2021); 
49 U.S.C. 25101(a) (while this citation may not yet be available in 
some online versions of the U.S. Code, the text may be found at https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf at 135 STAT. 
730). The Program includes: (1) A process for eligible entities to 
submit proposals for the development of intercity passenger rail 
corridors; (2) a process for FRA to review and select such proposals; 
(3) criteria for determining the level of readiness for Federal 
financial assistance of intercity passenger rail corridors; (4) a 
process for preparing service development plans (SDPs); (5) the 
creation of a pipeline of intercity passenger rail corridor projects; 
(6) planning guidance; and (7) such other features as FRA considers 
relevant. 49 U.S.C. 25101(a)(1)-(7).
    FRA seeks information from all those interested in the Program on 
how the Program should be implemented to best facilitate the 
development of intercity passenger rail corridors. Where available and 
appropriate, FRA requests that respondents provide relevant technical 
information, statutory or regulatory citations, data, or other evidence 
to support their comments. FRA also requests that responses to this RFI 
be organized by the topics outlined below, including references, as 
applicable, to the numbered questions. Respondents are encouraged to 
address in their responses any topics they believe to be relevant to 
the Program and are not limited to addressing only those topics and 
questions outlined below.

Roles and Responsibilities Within the Program

    While FRA has a central role in the administration of the Program, 
the BIL also calls for important roles for other parties--including 
States, Amtrak, host railroads, labor organizations, and other 
stakeholders--who typically have responsibilities in intercity 
passenger rail development efforts. For example, Amtrak, States, groups 
of States, entities implementing interstate compacts, regional 
passenger rail authorities, regional planning organizations, political 
subdivisions of a State, federally recognized Tribes, and other public 
entities, as determined by FRA, are all eligible to submit proposals 
for the development of intercity passenger rail corridors under the 
Program. 49 U.S.C. 25101(b). In addition, in partnering on the 
preparation of an SDP, FRA must partner with the entity that submitted 
the proposal, relevant States, and Amtrak, as appropriate, and also 
must consult with Amtrak, appropriate State and regional transportation 
authorities and local officials, employee labor organizations, host 
railroads, and other stakeholders, as determined by the Secretary. 49 
U.S.C. 25101(d) and (e).
    1. What is the appropriate role for Amtrak, in the submission and 
development of proposals submitted by other entities, for corridors 
that currently are or would be intended to be operated by Amtrak?
    2. What are the appropriate roles for FRA and other parties in the 
preparation of SDPs under 49 U.S.C. 25101(d), or in other Program 
activities?

Service Development Plans

    As noted, for each intercity passenger rail corridor selected for 
development under the Program, FRA must partner with the entity that 
submitted the proposal, relevant States, and Amtrak, as appropriate, to 
prepare an SDP (or to update an existing SDP). 49 U.S.C. 25101(d). As 
further detailed in the statute, the SDP must include: (1) A detailed 
description of the proposed intercity passenger rail service; (2) a 
corridor project inventory, identifying the capital projects necessary 
to achieve the proposed intercity passenger rail service and the order 
in which Federal funding will be sought; (3) a schedule, and any 
associated phasing, of projects and related service initiation or 
changes; (4) project sponsors and other entities expected to 
participate in carrying out the plan; (5) a description of how the 
corridor would comply with Federal rail safety and security laws, 
orders, and regulations; (6) the locations of existing and proposed 
stations; (7) the needs for rolling stock and other equipment; (8) a 
financial plan; (9) a description of how the corridor would contribute 
to the development of a multi-State regional network of intercity 
passenger rail; (10) an intermodal plan; (11) a description of the 
anticipated environmental benefits; and (12) a description of the 
corridor's impacts on highway and aviation congestion, energy 
consumption, land use, and economic development. 49 U.S.C. 25101(d)(1)-
(12).
    3. Where permissible, should SDPs under the Program have the option 
to be prepared as longer-range planning documents, so that the 
implementation of the new or improved service (through the 
implementation of the projects included in the ``corridor project 
inventory,'' and advancement of such projects into the project 
pipeline) may be sequenced or phased over time?
    4. Where permissible, should SDPs under the Program develop and 
narrow alternatives for implementing a new or improved service through 
the use of a planning process undertaken in advance of environmental 
review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (e.g., in a 
manner similar to that applicable to highway and transit projects under 
appendix A to 23 CFR part 450--Linking the Transportation Planning and 
NEPA Processes)?
    5. How should public involvement and environmental considerations 
be incorporated into the preparation of SDPs under the Program, and how 
might that vary depending on whether or not SDPs develop and narrow 
alternatives (as described in Question #4)?
    6. 49 U.S.C. 25101(e) requires that FRA consult with certain 
stakeholders in the preparation of SDPs under the Program. What 
approaches could FRA take to ensure the consultation process is 
effective and meaningful?

Project Pipeline

    As noted above, under the Program, FRA must annually submit a 
project pipeline to Congress that, as further detailed in the statute: 
(1) Identifies intercity passenger rail corridors selected for 
development; (2) identifies capital projects for Federal investment; 
(3) specifies the order in which FRA would provide financial 
assistance, including a method and plan for apportioning funds; (4) 
takes into

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consideration the appropriate sequence and phasing of projects; (5) 
takes into consideration the existing commitments and anticipated 
funding levels; (6) is prioritized based on the level of readiness of 
the corridor; and (7) reflects consultation with Amtrak. 49 U.S.C. 
25101(g)(1)-(7). The statute does not specify what level of development 
should be achieved prior to identifying a capital project for Federal 
investment in the pipeline.
    7. Should capital projects identified in the project pipeline be 
required to be ready for immediate implementation (i.e., final design 
and construction), and be supported by a completed environmental 
determination under NEPA, completed preliminary engineering, and (as 
applicable) agreements with the relevant host railroad(s)?
    8. If a capital project must be ready for immediate implementation 
in order to be included in the project pipeline (see Question #7), 
should FRA establish a ``pre-Pipeline'' of projects that have been 
identified in the ``corridor project inventories'' included in the SDPs 
prepared under 49 U.S.C. 25101(d), and that are in the process of being 
readied for implementation (e.g., in the process of environmental 
review under NEPA, undergoing completion of preliminary engineering, 
etc.), but which are not ready for implementation?
    9. Through what means, and in consideration of what factors (beyond 
those enumerated in 49 U.S.C. 25101(g)(4)-(7)), should FRA establish 
the order (or prioritization) of the list of capital projects eligible 
for funding identified under the project pipeline, as called for in 49 
U.S.C. 25101(g)(3)?

Funding of Program Activities

    The BIL makes funding available to carry out planning and 
development activities related to the Program. Public Law 117-58 22307; 
49 U.S.C. 24911(k). The statute includes three examples of activities 
that may be undertaken using this funding, including: (1) Providing 
funding to public entities for the development of SDPs selected under 
the Program; (2) facilitating and providing guidance for intercity 
passenger rail systems planning; and (3) providing funding for the 
development and refinement of intercity passenger rail systems planning 
analytical tools and models. 49 U.S.C. 24911(k)(1)-(3). The statute 
does not limit the use of such funding to these three examples.
    10. What other Program activities should be undertaken with the 
support of funding provided under 49 U.S.C. 24911(k)?

Readiness of Proposals for Selection into the Program

    The statute specifies criteria for the selection of corridors for 
the Program. However, these criteria do not fully address the readiness 
of a proposed corridor for development under the Program.
    11. Should FRA consider readiness factors not otherwise described 
in the statute when evaluating proposals submitted for the Program, and 
if so, what factors would be relevant in assessing readiness?
    12. In determining the readiness of a proposal, should FRA consider 
the degree of commitment to the eventual implementation of the proposal 
demonstrated by: (1) The entity submitting the proposal, (2) the 
proposed service sponsor(s), and/or (3) the proposed capital project 
sponsor(s)?

Criteria for the Selection of Proposals

    When selecting intercity passenger rail corridors for the Program, 
FRA must consider fourteen specific criteria. 49 U.S.C. 25101(c).
    13. Of the fourteen selection criteria enumerated in 49 U.S.C. 
25101(c), are certain criteria of greater importance to the successful 
development of an intercity passenger rail corridor?
    14. What other considerations may be appropriate in evaluating 
proposals for corridors to be developed under the Program?

Selectivity of the Program

    FRA must solicit and select intercity passenger rail corridor 
proposals for development under the Program, and must partner with the 
entity that submitted the proposal to prepare an SDP for a selected 
proposal. While FRA must apply certain corridor selection criteria, the 
statute does not address the selectivity of the Program.
    15. In general, how selective should the Program be, particularly 
during the period directly following its establishment? Should all 
proposals that meet a minimum threshold be selected for development 
under the Program, or should only a limited number of top proposals be 
selected, and if so, why?
    16. What considerations are relevant for determining the 
selectivity of the Program?

    Issued in Washington, DC
Paul Nissenbaum,
Associate Administrator, Office of Railroad Policy and Development.
[FR Doc. 2022-02450 Filed 2-4-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P