Short-Line Railroad Improvement Program (SLRIP)

The Short-Line Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2019, (Senate Bill [SB] 87, Statutes of 2019) created the Short-Line Railroad Improvement Program (SLRIP) that provided a one-time appropriation, of seven million two hundred thousand dollars ($7,200,000), for the purposes of this program. Program funds, totaling $6.8 million, were allocated by the California Transportation Commission (Commission) to short-line railroad infrastructure projects intended to improve freight mobility, volume thresholds, and support modern rail freight traffic and the communities and industries they serve throughout California.

The Commission developed the SLRIP competitive program guidelines in cooperation with the California State Transportation Agency, Caltrans, RTPAs, Class III rail industry representatives, and other transportation stakeholders.

Collectively, the 8 projects programmed will rehabilitate aging rail and rail bridges to modern standards and construct new rail spurs and rail track. The projects entail a variety of benefits including increasing goods movement, reducing congestion, reducing truck miles traveled, providing safety and operational improvements, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The program is expected to closeout in fiscal year 2026-27.