Sierra Northern Railway is set to receive more than $26 million in federal grant funding to overhaul its Oakdale rail infrastructure, U.S. Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla announced Monday. The money will fund an expanded overcrossing, new switching tracks, upgraded crossing signals, and a brand-new intermodal facility meant to boost the short line's freight capacity.
The announcement, made Oct. 26, confirms that Sierra Northern Railway will receive more than $26 million in federal grant funding, according to the Oakdale Leader. The funding will go toward improving railroad performance, expanding the Willowood Overcrossing, upgrading signals at five at-grade crossings, and providing more reliable connectivity and safety along the line, the newspaper reports.
A separate accounting of the same federal funding round put the figure slightly higher, at $26.8 million, with the award supporting upgrades to rail, transload, intermodal, and grade crossing infrastructure at the port facilities in Oakdale, according to a report via Yahoo News. That account also states Sierra Northern will contribute 44% toward the project's cost itself. The same report describes the scope of work as adding yard and switching tracks, expanding the Willowood Overcrossing, constructing a new intermodal facility, and upgrading signals at five crossings.
What the Money Will Actually Build
Beyond the crossing work, the investment includes modernizing outdated signals, building the new intermodal facility, and doubling the railcar's capacity, per the Oakdale Leader's reporting. Those upgrades are designed to increase the short line's capacity.
Senator Schiff said the investment will increase Oakdale's capacity and improve traveler safety and transportation reliability, according to the Oakdale Leader's account of the announcement. Senator Padilla, in the same announcement, said modernizing crossings and expanding Oakdale's capacity will strengthen goods movement, support local businesses, and power California's economy. Schiff and Padilla have also advocated broadly for investment in California's transportation infrastructure, the paper notes, and recently announced more than $53 million from the Department of Transportation for repairs to highways and roads across the state.
Part of a Much Larger Federal Push
The Oakdale award is one piece of a much bigger federal effort. A total of 105 projects in 45 states and the District of Columbia were awarded grants under the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program, totaling $2.3 billion, as reported by Yahoo News. The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association said 87 of those projects, with awards totaling $1.885 billion, went specifically to short-line railroads like Sierra Northern.
A Short Line With Growing Ambitions
Sierra Northern Railway operates roughly 130 miles of track across three non-contiguous segments in California, according to Trains.com. Per a separate description from Railway Gazette, the railway runs a 92-kilometer line between Riverbank and Oakdale east to Sonora, along with a 26-kilometer line connecting West Sacramento to Woodland. The company's principal commodities include timber, agricultural products, machinery, and chemical products, and it interchanges with both Union Pacific and BNSF Railway at West Sacramento, with an additional BNSF connection at Riverbank.
The railway has also been expanding its footprint in other ways. Sierra Northern acquired RailPower in February 2025 to grow its efforts to build low- or zero-emission locomotives, per Trains.com's reporting. Ridgewood Infrastructure, which owns the railway, has said it sees meaningful opportunities to build on Sierra's foundation by driving additional freight volumes and expanding its transload capabilities, the same outlet notes.
For Oakdale, the federal award represents an infrastructure investment for the short line, arriving as federal regulators wind down the final round of CRISI grants issued under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
