State Rail Plan Guidance

About this Guidance

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued final State Rail Plan Guidance on September 17, 2013. Section 303 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) requires states to develop FRA-accepted state rail plans and encourages state involvement in rail policy, planning, and development. The guidance explains the process to be followed in developing state rail plans, including minimum content requirements, a standardized format, and FRA’s review and acceptance process.

Section 11315 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act of 2015 (FAST Act) made subsequent changes to state rail plan requirements, including specifying that a state-approved rail plan be submitted every four years for acceptance by FRA, rather than the five years allowed under PRIIA. Because individual state rail plans must be updated at least every four years, and because state update cycles vary, there is no set schedule for when states will submit rail plans to FRA for review and acceptance.

For More Information

 For questions about State Rail Plan Guidance, please contact: FRAPlanning@dot.gov.

Document Links

• Final State Rail Plan Guidance

• Federal Register Notice of Availability of Final State Rail Plan Guidance

• Archive of the draft guidance and comments via Docket: FRA-2012-0066

List of State Rail Plans as made available on each State Department of Transportation Website (as of October 2018)