WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation has extended a $31.4 million Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing loan to the Sierra Northern Railway and Mendocino Railway for infrastructure improvement work, DOT’s Build America Bureau announced on Monday. Funding will finance almost 100% of work including expansion of 6.7 miles of Sierra Northern’s Oakdale Branch for car and locomotive storage; rehabilitation of Mendocino Railway’s Noyo Canyon Tunnel No. 1, and work on 27 bridges and 40 miles of track.
“Sierra’s and Mendocino’s RRIF loan will help modernize the rail line, which will greatly enhance existing freight service and make the railroad more attractive to new freight customers.” Build America Bureau Executive Director Morteza Farajian, Ph.D, said in a press release. “We are pleased that a shortline railroad has been able to take advantage of our low-interest financing and deliver improvements that might not have been possible otherwise.”
The work should be completed in 2027.
“The RRIF loan helps enhance our freight and passenger services in Mendocino County by providing additional jobs, improving safety, lowering emissions, and advancing our regional transportation options,” said Mendocino Railway President Robert Jason Pinoli.
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