WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration is soliciting applications for $24 million in grant funding to “initiate, restore, or enhance intercity passenger rail service.”

The funds are part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation act, and can be applied to operating assistance including staffing, administrative costs, host-railroad access costs, station expenses, and lease payments on rolling stock, among other uses. Amtrak and other intercity passengers are eligible to apply, as are states, groups of states, cities, and other governmental agencies.

“We’re encouraging applicants to leverage federal Restoration and Enhancement grants to support large-scale, intercity passenger rail improvements,” FRA Administrator Ronald L. Batory said in a press release.

The official Notice of Funding Opportunity, with more details, is available here. Notably, the list of projects to receive funding priority in funding includes “applications that …restore service over routes formerly operated by Amtrak, including routes in the Gulf Coast region between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Orlando, Florida,” a description tailor-made for the ongoing efforts of the Southern Rail Commission to restore service on that route.