United States · State
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- Counts and the pipeline for this region come first; the tabs list its buyers, players and tenders.
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- Capex, pipeline value and the market narrative open with this market's edition.
Arkansas
5 buyers · 3 tenders · checked 2026-10-08
Freight-and-streetcar market: federal grants to two ports and a short line, no state rail fund, no commuter or metro rail.
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0Metro systems operating
5Buyers tracked
3Tenders tracked
4Cities tracked
Rock Region METRO's 3.4-mile, three-car streetcar, Amtrak's daily Texas Eagle and 25 freight railroads; no metro, light rail or commuter railRail systems note
- Live pipeline
- DeQueen and Eastern FRA grant $11.83m (announced 2023, shared with Oklahoma); Helena Harbor MARAD grant $6.41m (signed 4 May 2026); Little Rock port CRISI $5.57m (complete 3 June 2026); programme: Section 130 about $4m a year
- Technology areas
- Track & civil, Electrification
Key figures
Arkansas freight network2,600+ miles
1 source · primary
- ● 2025 Arkansas State Rail Plan, executive summary · 25 freight railroads over 2,600 miles, about 60 percent owned by three Class I railroads; Texas Eagle ridership 28,000 in 2023 and 37,000 in 2024; Section 130 and 32 projects; ARDOT does not finance, own, operate or maintain rail infrastructure (published 2025-08 · checked 2026-10-08)
Texas Eagle riders 202437,000
1 source · primary
- ● 2025 Arkansas State Rail Plan, executive summary · 25 freight railroads over 2,600 miles, about 60 percent owned by three Class I railroads; Texas Eagle ridership 28,000 in 2023 and 37,000 in 2024; Section 130 and 32 projects; ARDOT does not finance, own, operate or maintain rail infrastructure (published 2025-08 · checked 2026-10-08)
Section 130 funding$4 million a year
2 sources · all primary
- ● 2025 Arkansas State Rail Plan (full plan, August 2025) · Full plan: no dedicated state freight or passenger rail funding programme; Section 130 about $4 million a year; Little Rock Port Authority CRISI project; DeQueen and Eastern CRISI 2023; 91 LRITP rail projects of $1.72 billion with no funding; no Corridor ID applications from Arkansas (published 2025-08 · checked 2026-10-08)
- ● 2025 Arkansas State Rail Plan, executive summary · 25 freight railroads over 2,600 miles, about 60 percent owned by three Class I railroads; Texas Eagle ridership 28,000 in 2023 and 37,000 in 2024; Section 130 and 32 projects; ARDOT does not finance, own, operate or maintain rail infrastructure (published 2025-08 · checked 2026-10-08)
State rail fundingNone dedicated
1 source · primary
- ● 2025 Arkansas State Rail Plan (full plan, August 2025) · Full plan: no dedicated state freight or passenger rail funding programme; Section 130 about $4 million a year; Little Rock Port Authority CRISI project; DeQueen and Eastern CRISI 2023; 91 LRITP rail projects of $1.72 billion with no funding; no Corridor ID applications from Arkansas (published 2025-08 · checked 2026-10-08)
Little Rock port CRISI$5,569,373
2 sources · 1 primary
- ● FRA CRISI FY2021 selections (Wayback Machine copy of railroads.dot.gov file) · Lists Arkansas - Freight Rail Capacity Improvement Project, Little Rock Port Authority, up to $5,569,373, 11,215 feet of track and an engine maintenance facility, 25 percent applicant match. railroads.dot.gov returns 403 to curl, so the Wayback copy of the FRA file was read (published 2022-06 · checked 2026-10-08)
- ○ Progressive Railroading: new depot reinforces Port of Little Rock Railroad's role · Trade-press report of 10 July 2026: grand opening of the rail depot on 3 June 2026, construction started 2025, FY2021 CRISI grant of up to $5.6 million, three locomotives housed, dual Union Pacific and BNSF service. Secondary (published 2026-07-10 · checked 2026-10-08)
DeQueen and Eastern grant$11,830,000
1 source · primary
- ● FRA CRISI FY2022 selections: project summaries (Wayback Machine copy) · Lists Arkansas - Resilient Infrastructure & Safety Enhancement Project, DeQueen and Eastern Railroad, LLC, up to $11,830,000, with the Texas, Oklahoma and Eastern Railroad; 30 percent applicant match (published 2023-09-25 · checked 2026-10-08)
Buyers
| Buyer | Type | Tenders | Contracts awarded |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeQueen and Eastern Railroad | Freight railroad | 1 | 0 |
| Helena-West Helena-Phillips County Port Authority | Development authority | 1 | 0 |
| Little Rock Port Authority | Development authority | 1 | 0 |
| Arkansas Department of Transportation (Railroad Coordination) | State DOT | 0 | 0 |
| Rock Region Metropolitan Transit Authority (METRO) | Transit authority | 0 | 0 |
Tenders
| Tender | Buyer | Status | Value band | Next key date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helena Harbor rail spur and water tower | Helena Harbor | Awarded | $5–25m | |
| Little Rock port track and engine facility | Port of Little Rock | In execution | $5–25m | Completion 2025 |
| DeQueen and Eastern track and bridge upgrades | DQE | Planned | $5–25m | Announced September 2023 |
Cities
| City | Network status | Networks |
|---|---|---|
| Little Rock | Streetcar and intercity rail: the three-car METRO Streetcar crosses the Arkansas River to North Little Rock, Amtrak's daily Texas Eagle stops at Union Station (the state's busiest station), and the Port of Little Rock runs its own switching railroad connecting Union Pacific and BNSF. ARDOT's headquarters is here. | METRO Streetcar; Amtrak Texas Eagle |
| Jonesboro | Freight rail only: the BNSF Thayer South Subdivision runs through the city; a federal planning grant covers 18 crossings on the subdivision and the city holds an earlier CRISI industrial-lead grant. | |
| Helena-West Helena | Freight rail at a river port: Helena Harbor owns 7 miles of rail switched by Arkansas Midland, and a federal port grant funds a new 1.1-mile spur to the Helm fertilizer terminal. | |
| De Queen | Freight rail only: the DeQueen and Eastern Railroad, a Class III short line in southwest Arkansas, is the recipient of a 2023 federal rail grant shared with its Oklahoma partner line. |
Withheld in the free surface
- Capex in this region (3)
- Live pipeline value (3)
- Market narrative
Full detail withheld: 3 fields. In the United States edition · See a fully open example
- Note
- Unfunded plan (2)
- Intermodal authorities (2)
Full detail withheld: 3 fields. In the United States edition · See a fully open example
Sources
- ● ARDOT Project Coordination (Railroad Coordination Section) · ARDOT page: the Railroad Coordination Section administers the Railway-Highway Crossing Program (Section 130) and coordinates highway work inside railroad right of way; lists the 2015 State Rail Plan and the 2020 Arkansas High Speed Passenger Rail Study (published undated · checked 2026-10-08)
- ● ARDOT contracts awarded, letting of 23 September 2026 (revised) · Awards list dated 1 October 2026: job 070458, UPRR Grade Separation (east of Lafayette Co. line), Route 82, Columbia County, District 7, Mobley Contractors, Inc., $27,033,828.20 (published 2026-10-01 · checked 2026-10-08)
- ● 2025 Arkansas State Rail Plan, executive summary · 25 freight railroads over 2,600 miles, about 60 percent owned by three Class I railroads; Texas Eagle ridership 28,000 in 2023 and 37,000 in 2024; Section 130 and 32 projects; ARDOT does not finance, own, operate or maintain rail infrastructure (published 2025-08 · checked 2026-10-08)
- ● 2025 Arkansas State Rail Plan (full plan, August 2025) · Full plan: no dedicated state freight or passenger rail funding programme; Section 130 about $4 million a year; Little Rock Port Authority CRISI project; DeQueen and Eastern CRISI 2023; 91 LRITP rail projects of $1.72 billion with no funding; no Corridor ID applications from Arkansas (published 2025-08 · checked 2026-10-08)
- ● FRA CRISI FY2021 selections (Wayback Machine copy of railroads.dot.gov file) · Lists Arkansas - Freight Rail Capacity Improvement Project, Little Rock Port Authority, up to $5,569,373, 11,215 feet of track and an engine maintenance facility, 25 percent applicant match. railroads.dot.gov returns 403 to curl, so the Wayback copy of the FRA file was read (published 2022-06 · checked 2026-10-08)
- ● FRA CRISI FY2022 selections: project summaries (Wayback Machine copy) · Lists Arkansas - Resilient Infrastructure & Safety Enhancement Project, DeQueen and Eastern Railroad, LLC, up to $11,830,000, with the Texas, Oklahoma and Eastern Railroad; 30 percent applicant match (published 2023-09-25 · checked 2026-10-08)
- ○ KARK: Arkansas to receive $11.8 million in rail improvement funding · Trade-press report of 25 September 2023: FRA announced $11,830,000 for the DeQueen and Eastern Railroad covering the DQE and the Texas, Oklahoma and Eastern Railroad, final design and construction. Secondary; FRA's own page returns 403 Corroborates the FRA list (published 2023-09-25 · checked 2026-10-08)
- ○ Progressive Railroading: new depot reinforces Port of Little Rock Railroad's role · Trade-press report of 10 July 2026: grand opening of the rail depot on 3 June 2026, construction started 2025, FY2021 CRISI grant of up to $5.6 million, three locomotives housed, dual Union Pacific and BNSF service. Secondary (published 2026-07-10 · checked 2026-10-08)
- ● Rock Region METRO: streetcar · Agency page: METRO Streetcar is a 3.4-mile system between Little Rock and North Little Rock with three historic replica streetcars and 10 operators, about 100,000 riders a year (published undated · checked 2026-10-08)
- ● USAspending: MARAD Port Infrastructure Development award 693JF72344025 · Federal record: Helena-West Helena-Phillips County Port Authority, federal $6,412,652, total funding $7,125,169, water tower and a rail spur of about 1.1 miles to the Helm fertilizer terminal, period 4 May 2026 to 30 August 2030 (published 2026-05-04 · checked 2026-10-08)
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