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Iowa
4 buyers · 6 tenders · checked 2026-10-08
Freight-only market: Iowa DOT's rail loan fund and CRISI grants to Iowa Interstate, CRANDIC and Iowa Northern; Chicago-Iowa City trains unfunded.
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0Metro systems operating
4Buyers tracked
6Tenders tracked
4Cities tracked
- Live pipeline
- Iowa Interstate CRISI $29.9m (announced, four bridges across Iowa and Illinois); CRANDIC CRISI $19.0m (in execution to March 2027) and $5.85m yard safety (to August 2027); Iowa Northern CRISI $7.2m (period ended October 2024); Iowa DOT RRLG round $5.1m (approved October 2024) and $3.3m FY2026 funds; State Rail Plan listings of $18.8m short-range passenger and $592.0m short-range freight (plan listings, not committed)
- Technology areas
- Track & civil, Signalling & train control
Key figures
Iowa mainline track3,801 miles
1 source · primary
- ● Iowa State Rail Plan executive summary · 3,801 miles of mainline track, 17 operating freight railroad companies carrying over 270 million tons, 2 Amtrak routes with 6 stations carrying over 40,000 passengers; investment program counts and totals (published undated · checked 2026-10-08)
RRLG round 2024$5.1 million
2 sources · all primary
- ● RRLG award release 8 October 2024 · Iowa Transportation Commission approved $5.1 million for six rail projects: $4,303,349 in loans and $760,000 in grants (published 2024-10-08 · checked 2026-10-08)
- ● Iowa DOT Railroad Revolving Loan and Grant Program · Programme page: three categories, 0% ten-year loans for Rail Network Improvement, rail port planning grants up to $100,000, Transportation Commission approval; recent totals $5.1 million (8 October 2024), $6.3 million (11 October 2022), $6.2 million (12 October 2021) (published undated · checked 2026-10-08)
RRLG FY2026 funds$3,346,847
1 source · primary
- ● FY2026 RRLG applications and funding recommendations · Presentation to the Transportation Commission, 9 September 2025: appropriation $2,000,000 plus loan repayments $1,346,847 for a total of $3,346,847; five applications, four recommended (published 2025-09-09 · checked 2026-10-08)
Iowa Interstate CRISI$29,883,200
2 sources · 1 primary
- ○ Iowa receiving $97 million for transportation efforts (KCRG, Senator's announcement) · Lists FRA CRISI awards under the IIJA announced 25 October 2024: Iowa Interstate $29,883,200 for the Colfax, De Soto, Rock River and Atkinson bridges; CRANDIC $19,040,000; East Erie Commercial Rail $48,412,512 for locomotive remanufacturing. Secondary: the federal amount for the Iowa Interstate award is read here because the railroad's release prints none and no USAspending record was found (published 2024-10-25 · checked 2026-10-08)
- ● Iowa Interstate Railroad: FRA Awards Grant to Iowa Interstate · Railroad's own release of 29 October 2024: CRISI grant for design and construction of bridges at Colfax and De Soto in Iowa, the Rock River and Atkinson in Illinois; railroad commits a match of nearly $6 million; Iowa DOT and Illinois DOT named as partners; the page prints no federal amount (published 2024-10-29 · checked 2026-10-08)
Chicago-Quad Cities Corridor ID$500,000
2 sources · 1 primary
- ● Iowa State Rail Plan (full document) · Full 2025 plan: railroad inventory (Iowa Interstate the one Class II; Cedar Rapids & Iowa City and Iowa Northern Class III), Corridor ID entry for Chicago-Moline accepted December 2023 with a $500,000 grant, investment program Tables 5.5 and 5.10 (short-range passenger 2 projects $18,800,000; short-range freight 64 projects $591,963,355; long-range passenger 10 projects $1,081,750,000; long-range freight 64 projects $726,219,000), CN's announced Iowa Northern acquisition; cover prints 'Accepted by the Federal Railroad Administration on December 29, 2025; Last revised June 2026' (published undated · checked 2026-10-08)
- ○ Midwestern states get big wins in federal Corridor ID inaugural round (MIPRC) · 15 December 2023: lists Chicago-Quad Cities (new service) under Illinois among the FY22 Corridor ID selections; no Iowa-sponsored corridor listed. Secondary: FRA's own page returns 403 (published 2023-12-15 · checked 2026-10-08)
RRLG round 2022$6.3 million
2 sources · all primary
- ● RRLG award release 11 October 2022 · Iowa Transportation Commission approved $6.3 million for six rail projects: $4,818,115 in loans and $1,490,440 in grants (published 2022-10-11 · checked 2026-10-08)
- ● Iowa DOT Railroad Revolving Loan and Grant Program · Programme page: three categories, 0% ten-year loans for Rail Network Improvement, rail port planning grants up to $100,000, Transportation Commission approval; recent totals $5.1 million (8 October 2024), $6.3 million (11 October 2022), $6.2 million (12 October 2021) (published undated · checked 2026-10-08)
Buyers
| Buyer | Type | Tenders | Contracts awarded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway | Freight railroad | 2 | 0 |
| Iowa Department of Transportation (Rail Transportation) | State DOT | 2 | 0 |
| Iowa Interstate Railroad | Freight railroad | 1 | 0 |
| Iowa Northern Railway | Freight railroad | 1 | 0 |
Tenders
| Tender | Buyer | Status | Value band | Next key date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa Northern welded rail upgrade | IANR | Awarded | $5–25m | |
| RRLG programme round, October 2024 | Iowa DOT | Awarded | $5–25m | |
| RRLG programme round, October 2022 | Iowa DOT | Awarded | $5–25m | |
| CRANDIC main line tie replacement | CRANDIC | In execution | $5–25m | Published October 2024 |
| CRANDIC Cedar Rapids yard safety | CRANDIC | In execution | $5–25m | |
| Iowa Interstate four-bridge replacement | IAIS | Planned | $25–100m | Announced October 2024 |
Cities
| City | Network status | Networks |
|---|---|---|
| Ames | Home of the Iowa DOT Contracts and Specifications Bureau, which lets state construction and maintenance work. No rail network. | |
| Cedar Rapids | Freight hub on the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Railway, Iowa Northern and Iowa Interstate; a CRISI tie-renewal project on the CRANDIC main line runs from Cedar Rapids to Hills. A 2015 study looked at passenger rail on the CRANDIC to Iowa City; none is funded. | |
| Iowa City | End point of the Chicago to Iowa City intercity passenger concept studied since 2008; no passenger service and no Iowa-held federal award for it in the sources read. Served by freight on the Iowa Interstate and CRANDIC. | |
| Waterloo | Iowa Northern Railway territory, now part of CN; the 2025 State Rail Plan lists a bridge replacement at Waterloo among Iowa Northern projects. |
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
- State rail plan investment (2)
- Chicago iowa city (2)
- Cn iowa northern (2)
Full detail withheld: 3 fields. In the United States edition · See a fully open example
Sources
- ● Iowa DOT Iowa Passenger Rail · Amtrak California Zephyr (Burlington, Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa, Osceola, Creston) and Southwest Chief (Fort Madison) over BNSF; Chicago to Iowa City milestones: 2010 joint award of $230 million to Iowa and Illinois, 2011 commitment of $177 million to Illinois for Phase 1, 2013 Phase 2 conceptual design, FRA commitments of $5 million each in 2014 and 2018 for Phase 2 studies (published undated · checked 2026-10-08)
- ● Iowa DOT Railroad Revolving Loan and Grant Program · Programme page: three categories, 0% ten-year loans for Rail Network Improvement, rail port planning grants up to $100,000, Transportation Commission approval; recent totals $5.1 million (8 October 2024), $6.3 million (11 October 2022), $6.2 million (12 October 2021) (published undated · checked 2026-10-08)
- ● Iowa State Rail Plan executive summary · 3,801 miles of mainline track, 17 operating freight railroad companies carrying over 270 million tons, 2 Amtrak routes with 6 stations carrying over 40,000 passengers; investment program counts and totals (published undated · checked 2026-10-08)
- ● Iowa State Rail Plan (full document) · Full 2025 plan: railroad inventory (Iowa Interstate the one Class II; Cedar Rapids & Iowa City and Iowa Northern Class III), Corridor ID entry for Chicago-Moline accepted December 2023 with a $500,000 grant, investment program Tables 5.5 and 5.10 (short-range passenger 2 projects $18,800,000; short-range freight 64 projects $591,963,355; long-range passenger 10 projects $1,081,750,000; long-range freight 64 projects $726,219,000), CN's announced Iowa Northern acquisition; cover prints 'Accepted by the Federal Railroad Administration on December 29, 2025; Last revised June 2026' (published undated · checked 2026-10-08)
- ○ Iowa receiving $97 million for transportation efforts (KCRG, Senator's announcement) · Lists FRA CRISI awards under the IIJA announced 25 October 2024: Iowa Interstate $29,883,200 for the Colfax, De Soto, Rock River and Atkinson bridges; CRANDIC $19,040,000; East Erie Commercial Rail $48,412,512 for locomotive remanufacturing. Secondary: the federal amount for the Iowa Interstate award is read here because the railroad's release prints none and no USAspending record was found (published 2024-10-25 · checked 2026-10-08)
- ○ Midwestern states get big wins in federal Corridor ID inaugural round (MIPRC) · 15 December 2023: lists Chicago-Quad Cities (new service) under Illinois among the FY22 Corridor ID selections; no Iowa-sponsored corridor listed. Secondary: FRA's own page returns 403 (published 2023-12-15 · checked 2026-10-08)
- ● STB approves CN acquisition of Iowa Northern with conditions · Surface Transportation Board release 25-02 of 14 January 2025: approves CN's acquisition and operation of Iowa Northern's roughly 218 mile Iowa system (Docket FD 36744) with gateway, oversight and local-service conditions (published 2025-01-14 · checked 2026-10-08)
- ● USAspending award 69A36525422060CRSIA (FRA CRISI to CRANDIC) · FRA CRISI award: final design and construction for tie replacement along 56 miles of main line, raising track class 1 to 2; federal $19,040,000, non-federal $4,760,000, total $23,800,000; signed 6 August 2025; period 1 June 2025 to 31 March 2027 (published 2025-08-06 · checked 2026-10-08)
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