WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration on Thursday announced $4.6 million in railway infrastructure funding for the University of Delaware, a grant that is part of the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program.

Nationally, CRISI awarded more than $368 million to 46 projects in 32 states and the District of Columbia.

These investments will play a crucial role in modernizing rail infrastructure and strengthening supply chains to reduce congestion and get people and goods where they need to go faster and cheaper. The program also looks to create good-paying jobs that benefit urban and rural communities.

UD was awarded up to $4.6 million to develop and implement a railroad engineering program at Morgan State University, a historically black university in Baltimore.

The new project would be modeled after UD’s, with the goal of an active undergraduate and graduate railroad concentration under the transportation engineering degree within the grant’s anticipated four-year period of performance.

It will also look to engage high school students in railroad engineering with MSU’s internship program and seeks to expand similar initiatives at other HBCUs through the development of procedures and a template.

UD, a University Transportation Center, will provide a 20% match.

President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law has nearly tripled funding for CRISI — to $1 billion a year for the next five years.

Strengthening supply chains and increasing the productive capacity of the economy are key tenets of President Biden’s plan to get goods from ships to shelves more quickly and lower costs for American families.

“Americans deserve a world-class rail system that allows people and goods to get where they need to go more quickly and affordably, while reducing traffic and pollution on our roads,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “We’re proud to award these grants to improve passenger rail for riders and strengthen the freight rail that underpins our supply chains and makes our economy work.”

CRISI aims to advance intercity passenger and freight rail projects that promote FRA’s key goals of safety, economic growth, transportation equity, and sustainable and resilient infrastructure.

By statute, a minimum of 25% of this funding must be awarded to rural projects, and this announcement includes nearly double that to rural communities, which underscores the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to the needs of such areas.

In addition, $87.6 million is for projects that support the development of new intercity passenger rail service, and $25.7 million will target trespassing.