Columbia COLT Railroad Wins $16.2M Modernization Grant

The Federal Railroad Administration’s latest Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grants include $16.2 million in federal funding to modernize Columbia’s 21-mile COLT Railroad, with the city and private partners covering the remaining project costs. Planned work includes track and switch upgrades, new ties and charging units, workforce training, and a phased test program for self-propelled autonomous railcars. The same federal funding round awarded $14.5 million to the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway for locomotives and $48.1 million to Iowa Interstate Railroad for track, tie and bridge work. In Ohio, a $23.2 million award will fund rail, crossing-warning, radio-tower, siding and bridge improvements across eight counties; the broader program distributed $2.3 billion across 45 states and Washington, D.C.