Railroad Crossing Funding Programs

The Commission's Rail Crossings and Engineering Branch (RCEB), along with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), administers three funding programs for railroad crossings:

Section 130 - Railway-Highway Crossing Program

Section 190 - Grade Separation Program

Maintenance Fund - Maintenance of Automatic Warning Devices

RCEB receives and evaluates all nominations/applications for the Section 130 and Section 190 Programs. Upon selection of crossings for the Section 130 and Section 190 Programs, Caltrans administers the funding for each Program.

Section 130 - Rail-Highway Crossing Program

The Section 130 Railway-Highway Crossing Program provides federal funds to local roadway authorities and railroads to eliminate hazards at existing public at-grade highway-rail crossings. This includes, but is not limited to, closure of a crossing.

Refer to the Section 130 funding guidelines for details.

For more information, please contact Matthew Cervantes at matthew.cervantes@cpuc.ca.gov or (213) 266-4716.

Section 190 - Grade Separation Program

The Section 190 Grade Separation Program provides state funds to local agencies to grade separate at-grade crossings (crossings), or alter or reconstruct existing grade separations.

Refer to the Section 190 funding overview for details.

For more information, please contact Zaida Amaya at zaida.amaya@cpuc.ca.gov or (415) 793-8406.

General information

In accordance with Section 2452 of the California Streets and Highways Code, the California Public Utilities Commission (Commission) establishes the highway-rail Grade Separation Priority List (Priority List) for grade separation projects by July 1st of each year.  The California Transportation Commission and Caltrans use the Priority List to allocate available funds for the fiscal year (FY) to assist local agencies to finance grade separating at-grade crossings of city streets, county roads, or state highways or altering or reconstructing separations.  The Priority List prioritizes funding for qualified grade separation projects.

The Commission initiates a new Order Instituting Investigation (OII) every two (2) years to establish the Priority List for the subsequent two fiscal years. Prior to the commencement of the first fiscal year, the Commission issues an interim decision to adopt the Priority List for that fiscal year. Following the removal of projects that received funding during the first fiscal year, the Commission adopts a revised Priority List for the second fiscal year through a final decision issued prior to the start of that fiscal year.

Status for FY 2024-2025 and FY 2025-2026:

On June 20, 2024, the Commission issued an interim decision under Decision 24-06-001 to establish the new Priority List for FY 2024-2025.

On June 12, 2025, the Commission issued the final decision under Decision 25-06-008 to establish the new Priority List for FY 2025-2026.

Call for grade separation projects for Fiscal Years 2026-2027 and
2027-2028

The Commission is currently accepting applications for the Priority List for Fiscal Years 2026-2027 and 2027-2028. Application forms must be submitted by October 24, 2025, to be considered.

Status for FY 2026-2027 and FY 2027-2028:

On June 12, 2025, the Commission issued an Order Instituting Investigation 25-06-010 to establish the new Priority List for Fiscal Years 2026-2027 and 2027-2028. 

Maintenance Fund

The Railroad Crossing Automatic Warning Device Maintenance Fund provides funds to railroads to pay for the local government's share of the costs of maintaining automatic warning devices at railroad crossings.

Refer to the Maintenance Fund overview for details.

For more information, contact Mariam Yani at mariam.yani@cpuc.ca.gov or (213) 576-7103.