FY 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity: Competitive Grants for Rail Vehicle Replacement Program

Table of Contents:

1. Basic Information
2. Eligibility
3. Program Descriptions
4. Application Contents and Format
5. Submission Requirements and Deadlines
6. Application Review Information
7. Award Notices
8. Post-Award Requirements and Administration

1. Basic Information

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the opportunity to apply for $166,050,322 in competitive grants for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Competitive Grants for Rail Vehicle Replacement (Rail) Program under Assistance Listing Number 20.525.

• This is an initial announcement for the FY 2026 round of this program.
• As required by Federal public transportation law (49 USC 5337):
  • Funds will be awarded competitively for the replacement of rail rolling stock (passenger rail cars and locomotives).
  • Up to three projects may be selected each year
• If more funding becomes available for the program before projects are selected, FTA may add it to the total funding available for award under this NOFO.
• To the extent permitted by law, FTA may consider applications that are not selected for award for future funding under the Rail Program.

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2. Eligibility

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3. Program Descriptions

Purpose, Program Goals and Objectives, and Legislative Authority

• Federal public transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5337(f)) authorizes FTA to award competitive grants to States and local government authorities to replace rail rolling stock.
• The goal of the program is to bring rail transit fleets into a state of good repair.

Allowable and Unallowable Costs

• There is no minimum or maximum grant award amount.
• Projects may be awarded less than the amount applied for.
• Refer to the table in Section 2, Eligible Projects, for information on activities that are allowable in this grant program.
• Allowable direct and indirect expenses must be consistent with the Governmentwide Uniform Administrative Requirements and Cost Principles (2 CFR 200) and FTA Circular 5010.1F.

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4. Application Contents and Format

A complete proposal submission consists of two forms and their supporting attachments:

Information required on the SF-424 and Supplemental Form, as indicated on each form, includes:

The Supplemental Form also requires the following information:

Additional details about how to fill out the SF-424 and Supplemental Form are available at Grants.gov.

FTA may share application information within the Department of Transportation or with other Federal agencies if the Department determines that sharing is relevant to the respective program’s objectives.

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5. Submission Requirements and Deadlines

How to Obtain Forms

• Visit Grants.gov.
• The Supplemental Form is also available here.

Application Deadline and How to Submit

Submission Requirements

Project proposals must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on July 6, 2026.

• Proposals submitted after the deadline will only be considered under extraordinary circumstances not under the applicant’s control.
• Applications are time and date stamped by Grants.gov upon successful submission.
• Mail and fax submissions will not be accepted.

Submission Confirmation

Within 48 hours after submitting an electronic application, the applicant should receive an email confirmation message from Grants.gov that the application has been received by Grants.gov and sent to the “receiving agency”. FTA is the receiving agency for this NOFO.

• If you receive a rejection email from Grants.gov or FTA that the application is incomplete, then you must fix the application and resubmit it before the submission deadline. FTA’s rejection email will come from the email address “noreplyFACES”.
• To avoid processing errors, a re-submitted application must include all original attachments (even if only some of them were updated) and the applicant must check the resubmission box on the updated Supplemental Form.

Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

Applicants are required to:

1. Be registered in SAM before submitting an application;
2. Provide a valid unique entity identifier in its application; and
3. Continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times when the applicant is applying for a grant or has an active grant from a Federal Agency.

Intergovernmental Review

This program is not subject to Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal
Programs”.

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6. Application Review Information

Responsiveness Review

FTA will reject any applications from ineligible applicants or for ineligible projects. Also see
Section 2, Eligibility, above.

Review Criteria

FTA will evaluate applications using the criteria below.

• Projects will be rated as Highly Recommended, Recommended, or Not Recommended. Applications are rated based on how they respond to evaluation criteria.
• Any additional documentation must be directly referenced on the Supplemental Form, including the file name and page number where the additional information can be found.

Review and Selection Process

An evaluation committee will rate applications based on how well they respond to the evaluation criteria above. FTA may contact you for additional information or clarification about your application. Applications will be rated as Highly Recommended, Recommended, or Not Recommended. After considering the findings of the evaluation committee, the FTA Administrator will determine the final selection and amount of funding for each project.

As part of the selection process, the Administrator may also consider:

• Geographic variety.
• Age and condition of vehicles to be replaced.
• Variety in the size of the transit systems receiving funding.
• Amount of State of Good Repair Formula funds available to the applicant.
• If the applicant has received other Federal transit funds and the management of those funds, to include completing the proposed scope of prior competitive grant program selections.
• Among applications for the procurement of vehicles, FTA will consider propulsion type during the selection process, to include prioritizing standard propulsion vehicles (diesel, gasoline, etc.).
• Applicants that best reflect the prioritization of reducing vagrancy as detailed in Executive Order 14321 “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.

The Department also intends to apply principles from DOT Order 2100.7, “Ensuring Reliance Upon Sound Economic Analysis in DOT’s Policies, Programs and Activities”, and DOT Order 2100.9 “Ensuring Nondiscrimination and Equal Opportunity in Department of Transportation Policies, Programs, and Activities”, along with Executive Order 141541, “Unleashing American Energy” when evaluating applications and making award selections.  To the maximum extent permitted by law, FTA will prioritize projects that are in alignment with the principles outlined in DOT Orders 2100.7 and 2100.9.  

Applicants may receive less than the amount originally requested. In those cases, applicants must show that the proposed project or subset of proposed activities can still be completed with the amount awarded.

Risk Review

• FTA analyzes risk for all recipients through the Financial Commitment and Capacity Evaluation criterion described above.
• Before making a Federal award with a total amount of Federal share greater than the simplified acquisition threshold, FTA must review and consider any information about the applicant that is in the Responsibility/Qualification records available in SAM.gov (see 41 U.S.C. 2313).
• Applicants can review and comment on any information in the Responsibility/Qualification records available in SAM.gov.
• Before making decisions in the risk review required by 2 CFR 200.206, FTA will consider any comments by the applicant, along with information available in the Responsibility/Qualification records in SAM.gov.

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7. Award Notices

How Project Selections Are Announced

FTA will publish a list of the selected projects, including Federal dollar amounts, recipients, and discretionary IDs associated with the projects on FTA’s website on the Rail Program website.

• Discretionary IDs are used to track competitive awards in FTA’s grant management system.
• FTA does not notify unsuccessful applicants separately. See the Implementation Guidance document that will be published on the program webpage after selections are announced for further information.

Pre-award Costs

Unless authorized by FTA in writing after announcement of the FY 2026 Rail awards, any costs incurred prior to FTA’s obligation of funds for a project (“pre-award costs”) are ineligible for reimbursement and cost share requirements. Pre-award costs are costs incurred after the award announcement, but directly pursuant to the negotiation of a grant agreement, where such costs are necessary for efficient and timely performance of the scope of work, as determined by FTA.

How Funds Are Obligated

If selected, you will apply for a grant through TrAMS.  The appropriate FTA Regional Office will award the grant in TrAMS, obligating the funds.

Applicant Certification

The applicant assures and certifies, with respect to any application and awarded Project under this NOFO, that it will comply with all applicable Federal laws, regulations, executive orders, policies, guidelines, and requirements as they relate to the application, acceptance, and use of Federal funds and will cooperate with Federal officials in the enforcement of Federal law.

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8. Post-Award Requirements and Administration

Administrative and National Policy Requirements

Except as otherwise provided in this NOFO, Rail Program grants are subject to the requirements of:

• 49 U.S.C. 5337;
• Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 CFR part 200.;
• FTA Circular “Urbanized Areas Formula Grant Programs Guidance” (FTA.C.9050.1A); and
• Award Management Requirements (FTA Circular 5010.1F).
• Awards will incorporate by reference the terms of FTA’s most recent Master Agreement.
• As a condition of award, a recipient must have completed FTA’s most recent Certifications and Assurances.
• A project funded under this NOFO must comply with FTA’s Buy America (49 U.S.C. 5323(j)) and the Build America, Buy America Act’s domestic preference requirements for infrastructure projects (§§ 70901–70927 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. 117–58), which together require that all iron, steel, manufactured goods, and construction materials used in the project be produced in the United States and set minimum domestic content and final assembly requirements for rolling stock. Any  proposal that will require a waiver of any domestic preference standard must identify  the items for which a waiver will be sought in the application. Applicants should not proceed with the expectation that waivers will be granted.
• Critical Infrastructure Security, Cybersecurity, and Resilience: “It is the policy of the United States to strengthen the security and resilience of its critical infrastructure against all hazards, including physical and cyber risks, consistent with National Security Memorandum (NSM-22) on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience, and the National Security Memorandum on Improving Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure Control Systems. Each applicant selected for Federal funding must demonstrate, prior to the signing of the grant agreement, effort to consider and address physical and cyber security risks relevant to the transportation mode and type and scale of the project. Projects that have not appropriately considered and addressed physical and cyber security and resilience in their planning, design, and project oversight, as determined by the DOT and the Department of Homeland Security, will be required to do so before receiving funds.
• Applicant Certification
  • Pursuant to Section 3(b)(iv)(A) of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination And Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (E.O. 14173), the applicant certifies that its compliance in all respects with all applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws is material to the government’s payment decisions for purposes of section 3729(b)(4) of title 31, United States Code.
  • Pursuant to Section 3(b)(iv)(B) of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination And Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, the applicant certifies that it does not operate any programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.
  • The applicant assures and certifies, with respect to any application and awarded Project under this NOFO, that it will comply with all applicable Federal laws, regulations, executive orders, policies, guidelines, and requirements as they relate to the application, acceptance, and use of Federal funds.
  • To the extent a court order bars the implementation or enforcement of one or more of these conditions with respect to a particular applicant or recipient, the Department will not implement or enforce the relevant condition(s) against that applicant or recipient for as long as the order remains in place

Reporting Requirements

Post-award reporting requirements include submitting Federal Financial Report (FFR) and Milestone Progress Report (MPR) in TrAMS, and FTA’s National Transit Database (NTD) reporting (see FTA Circular 9050.1A). Applicants should include any goals, targets, and indicators referenced in their application for the project in the Executive Summary of the TrAMS application.

As part of completing the annual certifications and assurances required of FTA grant recipients, a successful applicant must report on the suspension or debarment status of your organization and principals. If your organization’s active grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts from all Federal awarding agencies exceed $10,000,000 for any period of time during the period of performance of an award made pursuant to this Notice, the recipient must ensure the information available in the responsibility/qualification records through the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), about civil, criminal, or administrative proceedings is current and complete. This requirement is in addition to the requirement that an applicant maintain an active SAM registration.

For more information on these reporting requirements, please see 2 CFR Part 200, Appendix XII).

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