United States · How it works
How the United States rail and metro market works
Everything here is free. One market edition opens in full with one email. Open your free edition
US rail is federal money spent by local agencies. The USDOT's FTA (Capital Investment Grants) and FRA (Fed-State Partnership, Amtrak grants) fund transit agencies, state DOTs and Amtrak — the federally owned national operator; the agencies procure under Buy America. Freight is private: the Class I railroads (Union Pacific, BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern, CN, CPKC) own and buy for their own networks. High-speed rail is a state authority (CHSRA) and a private developer (Brightline West). OEMs build in US plants under Buy America (Siemens Sacramento/Lexington, Alstom Hornell, Stadler Salt Lake City, Hitachi Hagerstown, Kawasaki Yonkers/Lincoln, CAF Elmira, CRRC Springfield).
Tender floor: notices below US$5 million do not enter the Atlas or the feed.
The layers of the market
Federal department and administrations
USDOT, FTA, FRA — funding and regulation
| Buyer | Type | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Railroad Administration | Federal agency | US DOT modal agency; rail safety regulator and intercity passenger rail funder |
| Federal Transit Administration | Federal agency | US DOT modal agency; funds transit capital projects |
| US Department of Transportation | National rail HQ | federal department — parent of FTA and FRA; Amtrak's preferred stockholder |
National operator
Amtrak
| Buyer | Type | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) | National operator | federally chartered national passenger operator; owner of most of the Northeast Corridor |
High-speed developers
CHSRA, Brightline West
| Buyer | Type | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| California High-Speed Rail Authority | High-speed rail SPV | state authority delivering the San Francisco–Los Angeles high-speed line |
| Brightline West | PPP concessionaire | private developer-operator (Fortress); federally grant- and loan-supported |
| Purple Line Transit Partners LLC | PPP concessionaire | Concessionaire under the Purple Line Public-Private Partnership Agreement with MDOT and MDOT MTA; responsible for final design, construction, financing, operations and maintenance over a six-year construction period and a thirty-year operating period |
| Brightline Trains Florida LLC | PPP concessionaire | privately owned and operated intercity passenger railroad; its debt is issued through the Florida Development Finance Corporation, so it files continuing disclosure as a public record |
| High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Agency | High-speed rail SPV | joint powers agency of Los Angeles County, LA Metro and the cities of Palmdale, Lancaster, Adelanto and Victorville |
Transit agencies and state DOTs
The buyers of record — MTA, BART, LA Metro, WMATA and 100+ others
| Buyer | Type | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Maryland Transit Administration | Transit authority | Modal administration of the Maryland Department of Transportation; operator and buyer for Baltimore Metro SubwayLink, Light RailLink, MARC commuter rail and the state-owned freight rail lines, and the state party to the Purple Line P3 Agreement |
| Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority | Transit authority | regional transit authority created under the MARTA Act of 1965; owner and operator of metro Atlanta's heavy rail network and of the Atlanta Streetcar |
| Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit) | Transit authority | regional transit authority for Snohomish, King and Pierce counties under RCW 81.104 and 81.112; Link light rail, Sounder commuter rail, the T Line streetcar, ST Express bus and the Stride bus rapid transit programme |
| Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority | Transit authority | Pennsylvania public transportation authority for the five south-eastern counties; Regional Rail, subway-elevated, trolley, high speed line and bus |
| Metropolitan Council | Transit authority | Regional planning and operating agency for the seven-county Twin Cities area; owner, operator and buyer, through its Metro Transit division, of the METRO Blue Line and Green Line light rail and of Northstar commuter rail, and the project sponsor of the METRO Green Line Extension and METRO Blue Line Extension |
| Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority | Transit authority | Massachusetts body politic within MassDOT; runs the Boston subway, Regional Rail, bus, ferry and paratransit |
| Dallas Area Rapid Transit | Transit authority | Texas regional transportation authority under Chapter 452 of the Texas Transportation Code; light rail, regional rail, commuter rail, streetcar and bus across its service area cities |
| New Jersey Transit Corporation | Transit authority | statewide public transportation corporation of the State of New Jersey, with NJ TRANSIT Rail Operations, Inc., NJ TRANSIT Bus Operations, Inc., NJ TRANSIT Mercer, Inc., NJ TRANSIT Morris, Inc. and NJ TRANSIT Southern Light Rail, Inc. as statutory subsidiaries whose boards meet jointly |
| Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation (Metra) | Transit authority | two boards, one railroad: the Commuter Rail Division of the Northern Illinois Transit Authority and the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation, with the same eleven appointed directors |
| Valley Metro (Valley Metro Rail, Inc. and the Regional Public Transportation Authority) | Transit authority | two legally separate public bodies operating as one agency under a single chief executive and a shared procurement department: Valley Metro Rail, Inc. (VMR), the public corporation that owns and builds the light rail and streetcar system and whose board of directors on 14 September 2026 seats the cities of Mesa, Phoenix and Tempe — the agency's own minutes of 12 June 2025 call Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa 'our three member rail cities', and a Chandler member sat on the VMR board at that meeting — and the Regional Public Transportation Authority (RPTA), the regional bus and paratransit authority whose board seats elected officials from Maricopa County and its member cities and towns. Each has its own board of directors; they meet jointly and share a consolidated agenda packet. |
| Regional Transportation District (RTD) | Transit authority | regional transit district for the Denver metropolitan area, governed by a fifteen-member publicly elected Board of Directors; owns and operates the region's light rail and commuter rail networks alongside bus, paratransit and FlexRide services |
| Virginia Railway Express | Transit authority | commuter rail service jointly owned by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission under a 1989 Master Agreement; both commissions are political subdivisions of the Commonwealth |
| Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority | Transit authority | Regional transit authority for Cuyahoga County; runs one heavy-rail line (Red Line) and two light-rail lines (Blue Line, Green Line) plus the event-only Waterfront Line, radiating from Tower City Station, alongside bus, paratransit and bus-rapid-transit (HealthLine). Governed by a Board of Trustees that approves all procurement actions and contracts over $250,000. |
| Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works | Transit authority | county department operating Metrorail and Metromover and delivering the SMART Program rapid-transit corridors; contracts are advertised by the county’s Strategic Procurement Department |
| Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) | Transit authority | municipal corporation of the State of Oregon governed by a seven-member board appointed by the Governor; operator of the MAX light rail system, WES commuter rail, bus and LIFT paratransit, and the transit partner on the Portland Streetcar |
| Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority | Transit authority | county transportation authority; rail, bus, highways |
| Chicago Transit Authority | Transit authority | Illinois municipal corporation; operator of the Chicago 'L' and the city bus network, a service board of the Northern Illinois Transit Authority |
| South Florida Regional Transportation Authority | Transit authority | regional transportation authority for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties; operator of Tri-Rail and dispatcher and maintainer of the South Florida Rail Corridor |
| Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation | State DOT | state agency for rail, public transportation and commuter services; grant-maker rather than construction buyer, and the sponsor of record for Virginia's two federal Corridor ID corridors |
| Charlotte Area Transit System | Transit authority | Public transit agency for the Charlotte metropolitan area, governed since 1 July 2026 by the Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority (MPTA), a 25-seat regional authority (12 City of Charlotte, 6 Mecklenburg County, 1 each from six towns, 3 state/governor appointees) created under North Carolina's 2025 PAVE Act, which dissolved the former Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC) and its advisory board and requires the City of Charlotte to transfer CATS's transit assets to the new authority. Operates LYNX Blue Line light rail (18.6 miles, 32 stations, opened 2007) and plans the Silver and Red Lines. |
| Pittsburgh Regional Transit | Transit authority | Allegheny County transit authority, formerly the Port Authority of Allegheny County; rebranded June 2022 |
| Port Authority Transit Corporation | Transit authority | wholly owned operating subsidiary of the Delaware River Port Authority; runs the PATCO Speedline |
| Florida Department of Transportation — Freight and Rail Office and Florida Rail Enterprise | State DOT | state department of transportation; the Freight and Rail Office develops the Florida Rail System Plan and runs rail safety and the crossing programmes, and the Florida Rail Enterprise is one of FDOT’s two enterprises with its own procurement office |
| Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas | Transit authority | Texas metropolitan transit authority for Harris County; METRORail light rail, bus, park and ride and paratransit |
| PennDOT Bureau of Rail, Freight, Ports and Waterways | State DOT | bureau within PennDOT; administers the state rail freight grant programmes and leads the Keystone Corridor passenger-rail programme |
| Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority | Transit authority | interstate compact agency (DC, Maryland, Virginia) |
| North Carolina Department of Transportation, Rail Division | State DOT | Rail Division within the North Carolina Department of Transportation, responsible for state rail policy, investments in freight rail and state-supported passenger rail (Amtrak Piedmont and Carolinian), and the Freight Rail & Rail Crossing Safety Improvement programme |
| Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority | Transit authority | county authority; light rail operator and sponsor of the BART Silicon Valley extension |
| Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority | Transit authority | Texas metropolitan transit authority for the Austin area; owner and operator of the CapMetro Rail Red Line and owner of the freight railroad over the same corridor |
| Jacksonville Transportation Authority | Transit authority | independent state agency for Duval County; owner of the Skyway automated people mover, which it is converting to an autonomous-vehicle corridor under the Ultimate Urban Circulator programme |
| Metropolitan Transportation Authority | Transit authority | New York State public-benefit corporation; subway, bus, commuter rail |
| Colorado Department of Transportation — Division of Transit and Rail | State DOT | Colorado · Illinois |
| Oregon Department of Transportation - Rail and Public Transit Division | State DOT | state transportation department; sponsor with WSDOT of the Amtrak Cascades state-supported service, rail safety regulator, and administrator of the state's rail grant and grade-crossing funds |
| San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District | Transit authority | special-purpose transit district |
| San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency | Transit authority | city agency; Muni Metro light rail, historic streetcars, cable cars and buses |
| Washington State Department of Transportation | State DOT | state department of transportation; its Rail, Freight and Ports Division sponsors Amtrak Cascades and manages the state-owned Palouse River and Coulee City short-line rail system, and the department co-leads the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program with the Oregon Department of Transportation |
| Fort Worth Transportation Authority (Trinity Metro) | Transit authority | Texas regional transportation authority for Fort Worth and member cities; TEXRail commuter rail, the Trinity Railway Express jointly with DART, bus and on-demand services |
| Georgia Department of Transportation — Division of Intermodal | State DOT | state department of transportation; the Division of Intermodal holds rail, and the Freight and Rail programme runs the State Rail Plan, rail safety, the crossing programme and the state freight rail funding programmes |
| Minnesota Department of Transportation | State DOT | State department of transportation; sponsor of Minnesota's intercity passenger rail corridors, administrator of the Minnesota Rail Service Improvement freight rail programme and the state's highway-rail grade crossing authority |
| New York State Department of Transportation | State DOT | state department; owns the Empire Corridor rail assets it is replacing and funds intercity rail |
| Sacramento Regional Transit District | Transit authority | regional district; light rail and bus operator in the state capital |
| San Diego Metropolitan Transit System | Transit authority | regional transit agency; operator of the San Diego Trolley light rail network |
| City of Phoenix Public Transit Department | Transit authority | department of the City of Phoenix; administers the voter-approved Transportation 2050 programme, which is the single largest local funding source for light rail expansion in Arizona, and is a member city of Valley Metro Rail, Inc. |
| District Department of Transportation | State DOT | District government agency with state DOT functions; owner of the DC Streetcar, which ran for the last time on 31 March 2026 |
| Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority | Transit authority | New York State public-benefit corporation; operator of Buffalo Metro Rail light rail |
| Seattle Department of Transportation | Transit authority | City of Seattle transportation department; owner of the Seattle Streetcar, which King County Metro operates |
| Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads (Hampton Roads Transit) | Transit authority | regional transit commission for six cities in south-eastern Virginia; operator of the Tide, the Commonwealth's only light rail line |
| Arizona Department of Transportation | State DOT | state department of transportation; sponsor of the State Rail Plan and of the Phoenix–Tucson intercity passenger rail corridor under the Federal Railroad Administration's Corridor Identification and Development Program, and the designated state safety oversight agency for Arizona's rail fixed guideway systems |
| Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority | Transit authority | regional transit authority for the fifteen Cape Cod towns of Barnstable County; sponsor of the CapeFLYER |
| Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission | Transit authority | interlocal commission of Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties and the City of Orlando; governing body of SunRail, with operations still contracted by FDOT pending the transition set out in the 2024 Operations Phasing Agreement |
| City of Cincinnati (Connector streetcar) | Transit authority | City of Cincinnati's Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE) directs the Connector streetcar directly; the city assumed the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority's (SORTA) oversight role at midnight on 1 January 2020 (the 'streetcar divorce'), keeping Transdev as operating and maintenance contractor. |
| City of Tucson (Department of Transportation and Mobility; Sun Link streetcar) | Transit authority | city department operating the Sun Link modern streetcar alongside the Sun Tran bus, Sun Van paratransit, Sun On Demand and Sun Shuttle services; the only rail operator in Arizona outside metropolitan Phoenix |
| Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways | State DOT | county department; CREATE partner on grade separations and crossing work on county roads |
| Denton County Transportation Authority | Transit authority | coordinated county transportation authority created under Chapter 460 of the Texas Transportation Code and confirmed by Denton County voters in 2002 |
| GoTriangle | Transit authority | Regional transit authority serving Wake, Durham and Orange counties (Research Triangle region). Operates commuter rail planning study for 43-mile route Durham to Clayton on NCRR corridor, with potential 15 stations and $2bn total cost. |
| Hillsborough Transit Authority | Transit authority | county transit authority for Hillsborough County; operator of the TECO Line Streetcar System under contract with Tampa Historic Streetcar, Inc. |
| Illinois Department of Transportation | State DOT | state department; plans and funds passenger and freight rail alongside highways, and administers the Grade Crossing Protection Fund appropriation |
| King County Metro Transit | Transit authority | King County transit department; contract operator and maintainer of Link light rail and of the Seattle Streetcar |
| Maryland Department of Transportation | State DOT | State department whose Secretary's Office owns the six-year Consolidated Transportation Program and under which the Maryland Transit Administration, the Maryland Port Administration and the Maryland Transportation Authority sit; not itself a rail buyer |
| Massachusetts Department of Transportation | State DOT | state transportation department; its Rail and Transit Division sponsors state-supported intercity rail, and the MBTA sits within it |
| Nevada Department of Transportation | State DOT | state department; grantee of the federal Brightline West money and a delivery partner on the Nevada segment |
| New Jersey Department of Transportation | State DOT | cabinet department of the State of New Jersey; its Commissioner chairs the NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors |
| Northern Illinois Transit Authority | Transit authority | regional financial and planning oversight authority created by the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act (Public Act 104-457), successor to the Regional Transportation Authority; its board was seated on 1 September 2026 |
| Northern Virginia Transportation Commission | Transit authority | regional transportation commission founded in 1964; co-owner of Virginia Railway Express with the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, funding steward of Virginia's share of WMATA, and the issuer of the revenue bonds behind VRE's contribution to Transforming Rail in Virginia |
| Ohio Department of Transportation | State DOT | State department of transportation; its Office of Transit funds and oversees local bus and transit systems and administers Ohio's Amtrak state-supported subsidy. The Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) is statutorily housed within ODOT for staff support but is governed as its own independent state agency with a separate fifteen-member commission (see b_oh_ordc) — kept as a separate body in this file because it has its own governing board, own domain (rail.ohio.gov) and own grant-award record, distinct from ODOT's Office of Transit. |
| Pennsylvania Department of Transportation | State DOT | Commonwealth department; funder of the state's transit agencies and owner of the state passenger-rail programme |
| Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation | Transit authority | Regional transit authority created 1997, serving Piedmont Triad region (Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point). Provides inter-city and regional public transportation, procures buses and shelters, coordinates transit initiatives across three-county area. |
| Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (OmniRide) | Transit authority | regional transportation commission trading as OmniRide; co-owner of Virginia Railway Express with NVTC and, with VRE, the author of the procurement policy manual VRE procures under |
| Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada | Transit authority | regional transit authority and metropolitan planning organisation for Clark County; operates no rail mode |
| Texas Department of Transportation | State DOT | state department of transportation governed by the Texas Transportation Commission; sponsor of state-supported Amtrak service and the state's rail planning authority |
| TxDOT Rail Division | State DOT | division of the Texas Department of Transportation responsible for rail planning, the Texas Rail Plan and rail-highway crossing programmes |
Procurement routes and entry paths
- Procurement routes (2)
- Notes
Full detail withheld: 2 fields. In the United States edition · See a fully open example
- Entry path (130 buyers)In the United States edition See a fully open example
- Procurement structure (130 buyers)In the United States edition See a fully open example
- Portals (264)In the United States edition See a fully open example
Sources
- ● US General Services Administration · SAM.gov — federal contract opportunities (checked 2026-09-06)
- ● US Department of Transportation · Operating administrations (checked 2026-09-06)
Browse: the Atlas · United States · players · events
Compiled by Watchtower to editorial standards the Managing Partner sets and enforces. Public record only — every datum carries its source.