WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $500,000 in state grants under the Railroad Safety State Participation Pilot Grant Program, made available by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018.

“FRA first initiated this grant program in 2017 and looks forward to once again awarding crucial funding to promote rail safety and maintain federal industry standards,” said FRA Administrator Ronald L. Batory.

The NOFO solicits applications for $500,000 in grants to fund approved FRA technical training; travel expenses to attend FRA technical training, safety conferences, and meetings; and laptop computers required to support inspector reporting and data analysis. In addition, grant funding is available for costs related to FY 2018 grant management administration.

The following state authorities responsible for regulating the safety practices for railroad equipment and operation in their respective states, and that are participants in the Rail State Safety Participation Program, are eligible applicants for all project types permitted under this NOFO:

• Arizona Corporation Commission
• Maine Department of Transportation
• Mississippi Department of Transportation
• Nebraska Public Service Commission
• Nevada Public Utilities Commission
• New Mexico Public Regulation Commission
• New York Department of Transportation
• Ohio Public Utilities Commission
• Oregon Department of Transportation
• Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
• Virginia Corporation Commission
• Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission

Applications for funding under this solicitation are due no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT, July 27, 2018, in GrantSolutions.gov. To view the NOFO, visit https://www.grantsolutions.gov/gs/preaward/previewPublicAnnouncement.do?id=62584.  The obligation date for the available funds is September 30, 2018.