The rail industry in the United States has two distinct components: freight and passenger. The freight rail industry is a private enterprise and mostly uses private funds to operate, although there are federal loan and grant programs available for rail rehabilitation, improvement and relocation.
Passengers are served by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, better known as Amtrak, a private, for-profit company. Annually, Amtrak receives funding from Congress in two ways. One is an operating subsidy that funds the operations of the rail service, and the other is a capital grant that funds infrastructure projects. In recent years, Amtrak’s appropriations have exceeded $1 billion annually; it received $ 1.4 billion in 2009, not including the $1.3 billion it received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The Federal Railroad Administration, an agency within the Department of Transportation, oversees and supports the entire industry in a number of ways. It enforces safety regulations, conducts research and development, manages railroad assistance programs and funds the rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor passenger line.
Subsidies to the rail industry include Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing for smaller railroad companies; Transportation Innovation & Finance to improve rail crossings; the Railroad Rehabilitation and Repair program for rail lines damaged in natural disasters; and the Rail Line Relocation and Improvement Capital Grant Program for capital improvement projects. Amtrak has been receiving an operating subsidy since 1971, as it has never been fully self-sustaining. All of these rail funding programs can be found on Subsidyscope.
