Kyle Railroad asks Goodland to serve as public partner for federal rail grants to upgrade track

Genesee & Wyoming representatives told the Goodland City Commission they plan a multi-phase upgrade of the Kyle Railroad and asked the city to serve as the public-entity applicant for federal grant programs to make the work competitive.

The presenter described the project as "essentially a giant upgrade project" that would include new rail, new ties, surfacing work, improved crossing panels and installation of wayside detectors to improve safety and allow higher operating speeds. He said the full project would be nearly $100 million and would be split into phases, with an estimated cost of about $43 million per phase and the railroad matching roughly 50 percent of the eligible costs.

The company cited two federal programs: CRISI (Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements) as well as the BUILD (previously RAISE/TIGER) competitive program. The presenter said CRISI typically awards about 30–40 projects annually from a roughly $300 million program and that the BUILD program requires a public-entity partner; he asked the commission to consider applying for BUILD on the railroad's behalf. "If we are awarded, you would be awarded," the presenter said, adding that Genesee & Wyoming would work with the city on a flow-down agreement to reimburse the city for costs and protect the city from financial responsibility.

Company representatives said they had already hired AECOM to prepare engineering materials and that applications are due February 24. They estimated the schedule from application to award could be up to nine months, followed by roughly one year to finalize an agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation and about a year of construction for phase 1; phase 2 would take additional time. The presenters said track work could increase portions of the line from current low-speed classifications (commonly around 10 mph) to track classifications allowing operations "up to 25 miles per hour," improving reliability and crew utilization.

During questions, commissioners raised municipal workload, staff time, and financial exposure for the city. Presenters said the railroad would pay consultant costs (they estimated a $750,000 engineering contract to prepare materials) and would reimburse any city expenses tied to the application process. The presenter offered to return with a formal agreement for commission consideration and said the company would also pursue CRISI funding directly.

Next steps: city staff indicated they would work with the railroad to develop a formal agreement and bring it back to the commission for action at a future meeting.