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Economic development - Freight Railroad Preservation Program 

The Freight Rail Preservation Program (FRPP) provides grants to local units of government, industries and railroads for the purpose of preserving essential rail lines and rehabilitating them following purchase. 

FRPP's role in economic development

FRPP provides grant assistance for the following types of projects:

• Acquisition of trackage needed to preserve rail service that would otherwise be lost. WisDOT, in cooperation with various rail transit commissions, owns approximately 530 miles of operating rail line in Wisconsin. Recent Freight Rail Preservation grants were used to purchase the rail lines between Madison and Watertown in Dane and Jefferson Counties, the Badger Army Ammunition Plant line in Sauk County, the City of Janesville track in Rock County, and the Plymouth to Kohler rail line in Sheboygan County. Additional acquisitions are also in progress in Barron and Chippewa Counties.
• Rehabilitate acquired trackage to allow a reasonable level of service. Track rehabilitation projects were recently completed between Janesville and Walworth in Rock and Walworth Counties, and between Hartford and Horicon in Washington and Dodge Counties. In addition, a multi-year rehabilitation project is currently underway between Madison and Milton.
• Preserve railroad corridors for future rail service. WisDOT has worked closely with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and other entities to preserve rail corridors under the National Trail Systems Act (Rails to Trails). These corridors are held for future rail use while being used on an interim basis for a recreation trail or other transportation or recreational uses.
• Construct connections to reduce the cost of replacing lost rail service. 

Eligibility and availability of funds

Funding for the FRPP comes from Segregated Transportation Fund supported bonding. The state budget authorized $60 million in new bond authority to fund the FRPP for the current 2010-11 biennium. FRPP grants can cover up to 100% of the cost of acquiring land and 80% of the costs of acquiring track and other improvements in an effort to continue freight service or preserve the opportunity for future rail service. Also, the program can cover 80% of the cost for rehabilitating rail facilities such as tracks or bridges on publicly-owned rail lines. 

Case studies

The Madison to Milton Junction rail line rehabilitation project is a 31-mile long multi-year track rehabilitation project in Dane and Rock Counties. The project began in SYF 2009 and received $849,200 of state funding to perform tie replacement and ballast work. In SFY 2010 an additional $4 million of state funds was awarded to complete additional bridge work, switch replacement, and rail replacement. The total project is expected to cost approximately $21 million, of which $16.8 million will be provided by WisDOT under the state’s Freight Rail Preservation Program. This line segment is an important link on the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad (WSOR) rail system, providing overhead service to traffic coming from Madison, Reedsburg, Watertown and Cottage Grove.

Plymouth to Kohler Rail Line Reconstruction: The  WSOR is receiving a $12 million grant to complete total reconstruction of the rail line from Plymouth to Kohler, in Sheboygan County. This line is 15 miles long and will provide service to area industries that were left without rail service when the Union Pacific Railroad discontinued service to Sheboygan Falls in 2006. This line was acquired from the Union Pacific Railroad by WisDOT in May 2009. The (WSOR) will fund 20 percent of the project ($3 million) with funds they receive from local communities and shippers. 

For more information, including a program application, see WisDOT's FRPP Web page, or contact Frank Huntington, Bureau of Railroads and Harbors, (608) 267-3710.

Questions about the content of this page:
Dennis Leong, dennis.leong@dot.wi.gov 
Last modified: October 22, 2010