49 U.S.C. § 20158 — Railroad safety technology grants

(a) Grant Program. The Secretary of Transportation must create a grant program to help pay for new railroad safety technology. This includes train control systems and their parts, processor-based technology, electronically controlled pneumatic brakes, rail-integrity inspection and warning systems, switch position indicators and monitors, remote-control power switches, track-integrity circuits, and other new safety technology. (b) Grant Criteria. Passenger and freight railroads, railroad suppliers, and state and local governments can get grants for projects listed in subsection (a) that improve both safety and how the rail network runs. The Secretary gives priority to projects that make technologies work across different railroad systems, that speed up train control on high-risk routes, such as ones carrying lots of hazardous materials or with commuter and passenger trains, or that help both passenger and freight safety and efficiency. An entity can't get a grant under this section if it hasn't filed the implementation plans required by sections 20156(e)(2) and 20157. Federal money can't cover more than 80 percent of a project's total cost; the rest must come from elsewhere. (c) Authorization of Appropriations. Congress authorized $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to run this program. Any money given stays available until it's spent.