The Corridor Identification and Development Program, abbreviated as the Corridor ID Program, is a comprehensive planning program for inter-city passenger rail projects in the United States administered by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Each route accepted into the program is granted $500,000 toward planning activities and is prioritized for future federal funding.
As of December 2023 [update] , a total of 69 passenger rail corridors have been accepted into the Corridor ID Program. Of these, 7 are new high-speed rail routes, 34 are new conventional rail routes, 13 are existing routes with proposed extensions, and 15 are existing routes with proposed upgrades. For example, accepted projects include Brightline West high-speed rail, the Northern Lights Express from Minneapolis to Duluth, the Heartland Flyer extension from Oklahoma City to Newton, and frequency increases for the Cardinal and Sunset Limited .
The $1.8 billion Corridor ID Program was authorized by Congress with the passage of the IIJA in November 2021 and was formally established in May 2022. [1] [2] The FRA began soliciting its first round of applications in December 2022 [3] and made its first selection of 69 corridors in December 2023. [4]
The purpose of the Corridor ID Program is to identify potential passenger rail expansion projects and to provide seed funding for planning stages. Construction and operational funding are not included. Eligible entities are invited to submit projects for consideration. Such entities include Amtrak, regional rail authorities, states, groups of state, state subdivisions, regional planning organizations, and federally recognized tribes. [1] Once selected, each corridor is initially granted $500,000 toward project planning activities. Projects proceed through three steps:
This list is current as of as of December 2023 [update] . A total of 69 passenger rail corridors spanning 44 states have been accepted into the Corridor ID Program.
The Ethan Allen Express is a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak in the United States between New York City and Burlington, Vermont, via Albany, New York. One daily round trip is operated on a 310-mile (500 km) north–south route with a 7-hour 35 minute scheduled running time. The train is subsidized by New York and Vermont for the portion north of Albany. It is named for Vermont cofounder and American Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen.
The Heartland Flyer is a daily passenger train that follows a 206-mile (332 km) route between Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Fort Worth, Texas. It is operated by Amtrak and jointly funded by the states of Oklahoma and Texas.
The Chicago Hub Network is a collection of proposed fast conventional and high-speed rail lines in the Midwestern United States including 3,000 miles (5,000 km) of track. Since the 1990s, there have been multiple proposals to build a network from Chicago to destinations such as Milwaukee, Madison, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Detroit, Kansas City, St. Louis, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Louisville. In addition, the rail lines from the Chicago hub would connect through to cities in Canada. Eastern routes from Chicago would also blend into the Ohio Hub network. In addition to providing better connections between Midwestern cities, the projects are intended to reduce or eliminate the operating subsidies that American passenger train routes currently require.
The North Coast Hiawatha was a streamlined long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, and Seattle, Washington.
The Southeast Corridor (SEC) is a proposed passenger rail transportation project in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States to extend high-speed passenger rail services from the current southern terminus of the Northeast Corridor in Washington, D.C.. Routes would extend south via Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, with a spur to Norfolk in Virginia's Hampton Roads region; the mainline would continue south to Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, and Charlotte, North Carolina. Since the corridor was first established in 1992, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has extended it further to Atlanta, Georgia and Macon, Georgia; Greenville, South Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; and Birmingham, Alabama.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce rail safety regulations, administer railroad assistance programs, conduct research and development in support of improved railroad safety and national rail transportation policy, provide for the rehabilitation of Northeast Corridor rail passenger service, and consolidate government support of rail transportation activities.
The Pioneer was an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that ran between Seattle and Chicago via Portland, Boise, Salt Lake City, and Denver. Operating from 1977 to 1997, the Pioneer was the last passenger rail route to serve Wyoming, Southern Idaho, or Eastern Oregon.
Schuylkill River Passenger Rail is a proposed passenger train service along the Schuylkill River between Philadelphia and Reading, Pennsylvania, with intermediate stops in Norristown, King of Prussia, Phoenixville, and Pottstown.
Plans for high-speed rail in the United States date back to the High-Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965. Various state and federal proposals have followed. Despite being one of the world's first countries to get high-speed trains, it failed to spread. Definitions of what constitutes high-speed rail vary, including a range of speeds over 110 mph (180 km/h) and dedicated rail lines. Inter-city rail with top speeds between 90 and 125 mph is sometimes referred to in the United States as higher-speed rail.
Front Range Passenger Rail is a proposed inter-city passenger train service along the Front Range and broader I-25 corridors in Colorado and Wyoming. Most proposals envision a route from Pueblo north to Colorado Springs, Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins. Extensions north to Cheyenne and south to Trinidad, Albuquerque, and even El Paso have been discussed.
The Baltimore–Washington Superconducting Maglev Project (SCMAGLEV) is a proposed project connecting the United States cities of Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., with a 40 miles (64 km) maglev train system between their respective central business districts. It is the first segment of the planned Washington-New York Northeast Maglev project. The maglev proposal is not related to the Baltimore–Washington hyperloop proposed by the Boring Company.
The Wolverine is a higher-speed passenger train service operated by Amtrak as part of its Michigan Services. The 304-mile (489 km) line provides three daily round-trips between Chicago and Pontiac, Michigan, via Ann Arbor and Detroit. It carries a heritage train name descended from the New York Central.
The Northern Lights Express (NLX) is a planned higher-speed rail service that would run 155 miles (249 km) between Minneapolis and Duluth primarily in the U.S. state of Minnesota. A portion of the proposed line would run through neighboring Wisconsin to serve Duluth's "Twin Port" of Superior. Plans are to upgrade an existing BNSF Railway freight line to allow trains to travel at up to 90 miles per hour (145 km/h). The train service is said to provide an alternative to traveling Interstate 35 between Duluth and the Twin Cities or to other destinations along the line such as the casino in Hinckley.
The Hilltopper was a passenger train operated by Amtrak in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It ran daily from South Station in Boston, Massachusetts to Catlettsburg station in Catlettsburg, Kentucky. The 1,674 mi (2,694 km) run made 34 stops in 11 states and the District of Columbia.
The Quad Cities is a planned Amtrak Illinois Service intercity passenger train that will operate between Chicago and Moline in the US state of Illinois. The train will duplicate the route and stations of the Carl Sandburg and Illinois Zephyr between Chicago and Wyanet using track owned by BNSF. On the Wyanet–Moline segment, which will include a station at Geneseo, the train will use track owned by Iowa Interstate Railroad.
NC By Train is a brand name used by the Rail Division of the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) for two state-supported Amtrak routes operating in the U.S. state of North Carolina–the Carolinian and the Piedmont.
Coachella Valley–San Gorgonio Pass Rail Corridor Service is an effort by the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) to start regular passenger rail services between Los Angeles and Indio, California. Service is envisioned to start at Los Angeles Union Station and run over the route of the Southwest Chief, switching to the valley's Union Pacific Railroad line at Colton to run over San Gorgonio Pass and terminating at Indio or Coachella. The proposed schedule would include one morning and one afternoon trip in each direction for two daily round trips. As of 2022, the current rail line in the Coachella Valley is owned by the Union Pacific Railroad, as part of its Sunset Route between Los Angeles and Yuma, Arizona. The Sunset Limited Amtrak service stops at the Palm Springs station three times a week in each direction.
The Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago (TCMC) service, unofficially referred to as Great River or Borealis, is a planned Amtrak intercity passenger train that will operate daily between Chicago, Illinois, and Saint Paul, Minnesota, via Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Service is expected to begin in 2024 under the Amtrak Midwest brand.
New Orleans–Baton Rouge passenger rail is a proposed inter-city passenger train service between New Orleans and Baton Rouge along the I-10 corridor in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The route would connect the state's largest city to its second-largest city and state capital with trains as fast as 90 mph (140 km/h).
East-West Rail is a proposed passenger rail project that would provide new service between Boston and Western Massachusetts, with stops including Worcester, Springfield, Pittsfield, and Albany. An infill station in Palmer is planned as well. The 171-mile (275 km) route between Boston and Albany would use the former mainline of the Boston and Albany Railroad, which is now owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority and CSX Transportation.