Department of Transportation · Transportation
Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) Loans
Direct federal loans and loan guarantees for rail-infrastructure projects including freight, intercity passenger, and transit-oriented development. Cities owning rail spurs or transit-rail corridors are eligible borrowers.
Program facts
- Typical award
- $10M – $500M
- Non-federal match
- Varies by NOFO
- Audience
- Cities, towns, counties, and tribal governments
- Application window
- Continuous via Build America Bureau.
- Typical prep time
- 16–36 weeks
- Statutory authority
- Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act §502 (45 U.S.C. §822)
Catalog entry last verified 2026-05-24 · Verify on the agency page →
Eligibility at a glance
- Cities are eligible applicants.
Loan, not grant. IIJA expanded eligibility to TOD projects within 0.5 mile of qualifying stations. Amounts and timing approximate; verify directly with administering agency.
How Strategic Pursuit scores this program
When you run a city dossier, Strategic Pursuit cross-checks the city's demographics, federal award history, disaster history, and CEJST burden categories against this program's eligibility and strategic-fit signals. You see an explicit eligibility / strategic / competitive grade — backed by source citations — instead of a generic "match" badge.
Planning purposes only. Award ranges, match percentages, and application windows on this page summarize the latest publicly available agency guidance and are approximate. Always verify the binding NOFO on the administering agency's page before applying.