Rail Safety Improvement Program - Applicant Guide for Research and Technology

Transport Canada is currently accepting applications under the Rail Safety Improvement Program (RSIP) for infrastructure, technology and research (ITR) projects, including grade crossing closures.

This applicant’s guide explains how to apply for research and technology funding. It includes information on who can apply, what expenses funding can cover and what you should include in your application.

Applicants must use the applicant form and templates to submit a complete application.

The deadline to submit applications is September 4, 2026, at 11:59 pm Pacific Time.

On this page

• 1. About the Rail Safety Improvement Program
  • 1.1 Description of the program
• 2. Eligibility
  • 2.1 Who can apply
  • 2.2 Eligible projects
  • 2.3 Eligible expenditures
  • 2.4 Ineligible expenditures
• 3. Intake priorities
  • 3.1 Program goals
  • 3.2 Merit Assessment Criteria
  • 3.3 Buy Canadian Policy
  • 3.4 Available funding
  • 3.5 Project timelines and cashflow
  • 3.6 Percentage payable
  • 3.7 Stacking limits
• 4. Before you apply
  • 4.1 Applicant information
  • 4.2 Project contacts
  • 4.3 Organizational profile
  • 4.4 Project details
  • 4.5 Project dependencies
  • 4.6 Results collection and indicators
  • 4.7 Templates
  • 4.8 Supporting documentation
• 5. Apply for funding
• 6. After you apply
  • 6.1 How projects are evaluated
  • 6.2 After our review
• 7. If your application is approved
  • 7.1 Contribution agreement
  • 7.2 Project risk assessment
  • 7.3 Reporting requirements
  • 7.4 Payment requirements
• Annex A: Performance Indicator Options for Reporting

1. About the Rail Safety Improvement Program

1.1 Description of the program

Transport Canada’s Rail Safety Improvement Program gives federal funding to projects that increase safety at high-risk grade crossings and along rail lines. It includes investments in infrastructure, technology, research, education, and awareness initiatives.

The program aims to reduce injuries and fatalities as well as reduce collisions, derailments, and trespassing accidents to build public confidence in the railways. These investments in safety also make the rail transportation network more resilient against climate change.

2. Eligibility

2.1 Who can apply

Eligible recipients include:

• a province or territory
• an Indigenous community, group or organization
• a municipality, local or regional government
• a road or transit authority
• a Crown corporation (including VIA Rail)
• a for-profit organization (like railway operators and railway owners)
• a not-for-profit organization, including academia
• a person

2.2 Eligible projects

To be eligible for funding, your project must research, test or develop technologies that can improve safety on federally or provincially regulated rail lines.

Examples include:

• testing camera or sensor systems installed around grade crossings
• using AI to better detect near misses and develop mitigation measures
• detecting trespassing hot spots with drones or other technologies
• testing locomotive camera systems
• using AI to detect grade crossing issues early (like defective gates and broken lights)
• advanced inspection technologies:
  • using drones and digital twins (a dynamic virtual replica of a physical object, system, or process) for bridge inspections
  • creating train inspection portals and testing AI-assisted defect detection
  • testing autonomous track geometry measurement systems
  • testing advanced wayside inspection systems
  • installing and testing advanced analytics to analyze data from multiple inspection systems

2.3 Eligible expenditures

• Must be reasonable and directly related to the project, as determined by Transport Canada
• Must be incurred after Transport Canada approved the project and before the project is completed

Eligible expenditures include:

• staff salaries and benefits
• buying or leasing capital assets, technology, equipment and supplies
• professional services (including accounting, translation, audit and consulting)
• planning, design and evaluation
• engineering and environmental reviews and follow-up measures
• building and rehabilitating assets (including fees paid to general contractors and labourers, materials, licenses, permits, and renting construction machinery and equipment)
• licenses and permits
• Indigenous consultations (specifically, project-related consultations the fall under the Crown’s legal duty to consult)
• administrative costs (including general administration, rent, insurance, office equipment rental)
• travel (including accommodations, vehicle rental and kilometric rates, bus, train, airplane or taxi fares)
  • Travel Directive of the National Joint Council supports the determination of amounts for reimbursement for the above eligible travel expenditures.
  • Before booking accommodations, please consult the city rate limits for the maximum amount that could be reimbursed for accommodation in each city.
• other costs the Minister or his/her delegated representative considers to be direct, reasonable, and incremental for the success of the project
  • These costs must be approved in writing before being incurred

Eligible expenditures can be cash-equivalent expenditures associated with in-kind contributions (for example, use of facilities, equipment, services etc.), from the recipient or third party but are not reimbursable.

In-kind contributions that are required to implement the project, should be included in the project budget to reflect the total cost of the project. A breakdown of the costs must be provided to demonstrate how the value for the in-kind was determined. The value of in-kind expenditures must be measured or appraised at fair value and an explanation must be provided in your proposal.

2.4 Ineligible expenditures

Some costs aren’t eligible for funding and won’t count towards the project’s total eligible expenditures. For example:

• costs incurred before the project approval date or after the final claim date
• overhead costs
• maintenance costs
• PST, GST, or HST that’s eligible for a rebate (and any other costs eligible for rebates)
• financing charges and interest payments on loans
• expenses already reimbursed through other sources of funding, federal statutes or funding programs

3. Intake priorities

3.1 Program goals

Projects funded under the Rail Safety Improvement Program must:

• improve safety at high-risk grade crossings and along rail lines
• reduce rail related accidents, including injuries and deaths
• increase public confidence in Canada’s rail transportation system

3.2 Merit Assessment Criteria

We will use the following criteria to assess your project. For details on the criteria, please see the explanation below.

3.3 Buy Canadian Policy

The Government of Canada’s Buy Canadian Policy applies to federal grants and contributions programs. The policy aims to support Canadian workers and industries, and the domestic economy by prioritizing Canadian suppliers, materials, goods and services.

Your proposal does not need to follow the policy to be eligible for funding or be approved. However, if you’re successful, you should consider (where possible) prioritizing Canadian suppliers, materials, goods, and services when carrying out project activities. You may be asked to report on how your project supported the policy.

3.4 Available funding

This call for proposals has a budget of up to $52.7 million of funding over 3 years (2026 to 2029).

The maximum amount payable for infrastructure, technology and research activities is $10 million per recipient, per fiscal year.

3.5 Project timelines and cashflow

Projects can last up to 3 years.

The program doesn’t provide advanced payments. You must show that you have enough funding available throughout the project, including start-up costs, to complete the work.

3.6 Percentage payable

The percentage payable by Transport Canada towards your eligible expenditures depends on the type of applicant and type of third-party contributors. TC will take this into consideration to determine the amount payable. Ultimately, the percent may change at the time of approval or throughout negotiation of the agreement when more current information is confirmed.

3.7 Stacking limits

The total amount of Canadian government funding cannot exceed 100% of total eligible expenditures. This includes:

• municipal funding

• provincial or territorial funding

• federal funding

Projects may also receive funding from other government programs. Funding received for the project from all sources will be considered in the calculation of the amount of funding approved from the Rail Safety Improvement Program.

4. Before you apply

The request for funding must be submitted to Transport Canada using GC Forms. Please see section 5. Apply for funding.

The application must include:

• an accurate project timeline
• a cashflow forecast for multi-year funding (when applicable)
• identification of all project funding sources, including recipient funding and third-party funding

You will have the chance to include this information in the template you submit to Transport Canada. You should also include letters from partner organizations confirming financial support.

To help you complete the application, the details for each section can be seen by expanding the sections below.

4.1 Applicant information

• Full legal name: Enter the full legal name of the person or organization applying. For example, if you’re applying on behalf of the City of Ottawa, the full legal name would be “City of Ottawa”.

• Street address: Enter the street address for the person or organization applying. For example, this could be your organization’s headquarters (for companies) or City Hall address (for municipalities).

• City, town, or community: Enter the city, town, or community where you or your organization are located.

• Province or territory: Select the province or territory where you or your organization are located.

• Postal code: Enter your or your organization’s postal code. Don’t include spaces (for exampleA1A1A1).

• Applicant type: Use the drop-down menu to select the type of applicant.

4.2 Project contacts

• Primary contact: The primary contact should be the project manager who completed the application. You must include at least two contacts, unless you’re applying as an individual.

• Secondary contact: The secondary contact should be someone with financial signing authority for you or your organization. They will need to attest that the information in the application is accurate and valid.

• First name: Enter each contact’s first name.

• Last name: Enter each contact’s last name.

• Job title: Enter each contact’s job title.

• Phone number: Enter each contact’s 10-digit phone number (numbers only; no spaces nor symbols). Example: 6135551234.

• Email address: Enter each contact’s email. Example: name@example.com. Make sure the addresses are valid and don’t include typos.

• Preferred language of communication: Choose each contact’s preferred language. We will use this language to communicate with them.

4.3 Organizational profile

• Mandate of organization: Your organization’s core purpose or mission. Briefly state your organization’s main goal or reason for existing.

• Organizational activities: Your organization’s key programs, services, or actions. Summarize your main activities, especially those related to rail safety or transportation.

• Organizational structure and governance: Your organization’s structure and who makes decisions. Describe the structure (for example: board, management) and how decisions are made.

• Describe your relevant experience and/or capacity to complete the project and undertake the activities carried out in the proposal: Describe your team’s qualifications, technical expertise, previous project experience, and organizational capacity to complete the project and carry out the proposed activities.

• Provide at least one example of a successful project your organization has completed: Describe a completed project that shows your abilities and results. Write a short description and include goals, outcomes, and impact.

4.4 Project details

• Project title: Provide a short and clear project title (maximum 120 characters). The title should make it easy to understand what the project is about at a glance. Avoid overly technical language or long descriptions. Please use the following format: Legal name - Project - Province. Example: ABC Rail - Research 123 - Ontario.
• Project Type: Which of the following options best describes your proposed project? - Select the option from the drop-down menu that best describes your proposed project. Select either:
  • Technology and research project that addresses a national safety or security issue and reduces the risk of fatalities, injuries, or property damage; or
  • Technology and research project that addresses a safety issue affecting railway operations or railway personnel.
• Project description: Provide a detailed description of the project.
• Total project cost: Enter the total project cost in Canadian dollars.
• Start and end dates: Enter the planned project start and end dates: Year, Month, Day.
• Transport Canada will be prioritizing research and technology projects that will:
  • help understand the behaviour, attitudes, and the impact of rail safety issues and will broadly share and disseminate this information
  • examine the safety of people near rail lines (such as researching the effectiveness restricting pedestrian access outside designated areas or addressing cybersecurity risks)
  • research, test, or promote new technologies or safeguards for the safety of railway workers along rail lines, at crossings, and within railyards (such as wearable technology and communication protocols)
• Please describe how the project’s goals and outcomes align with the Rail Safety Improvement Program’s goals: Describe in detail how the project goals and expected outcomes support the program’s goals.
• What data or evidence supports the need for this project? Provide relevant data, research findings, studies, audits, stakeholder consultations, or incident reports that show the need for the project. Explain how the evidence supports your proposed approach and identifies gaps or challenges in current rail safety practices.
• Are you testing or developing any new technologies, methodologies, or approaches? Describe any new or untested technologies, methods, or approaches the project will examine or develop. Explain how they differ from current practices and how they are expected to improve rail safety. Include any available preliminary data or supporting rationale.
• How will you collect and analyze data to demonstrate the effectiveness of your project? Describe the data that you will collect and how it will be used to evaluate project success. Include:
  • data collection methods
  • analysis methods
  • performance indicators or benchmarks, and
  • any comparisons to baseline or control data, (if applicable)
• What strategies will you use to share your findings or results? Describe how you will maximize reach - Describe how you will share project findings or results with stakeholders, such as industry, government, researchers, or the public. This may include publications, workshops, partnerships, conferences, or digital platforms. Explain how these activities will help maximize the reach and accessibility of the project results.
• Outline how the project creates impacts and/or benefits that are broad in scope. Describe how the project’s impacts or benefits extend beyond the immediate project area. Explain how the project could benefit multiple regions, stakeholder groups, or areas of rail safety, and how the results support broader rail safety or policy goals.

4.5 Project dependencies

• Is this project’s completion reliant on another project? Select either Yes or No.
• These follow-up questions appear only when "Yes" is selected in the previous question. If yes:
  • Please describe how you plan to mitigate this risk. Describe the steps you will take to reduce delays or disruptions caused by the dependency. Examples include contingency planning, stakeholder coordination, or phased implementation.
  • Is it an ongoing project? Select yes or no.
  • Is it a project that is seeking funding in this call? Select yes or no.

4.6 Results collection and indicators

• Select the indicators that apply to your project. You must select at least one: Select at least one indicator from the list provided by clicking the checkbox (see Annex A, below, for the list of performance indicator options for reporting purposes).
• If ‘Other’, please outline which indicator(s) you will collect and their respective outcomes: This follow-up question only appears when "Other" is selected in the previous question. Describe the indicator(s) you will collect and explain the expected outcomes for each one.
• Outline the performance measurement strategy with details describing the methodology you will use to measure the achievement of each outcome: For each indicator selected in the previous question, describe how you will collect and measure the data used to support the indicator. Example:
  • Objective: Reduce trespassing incidents at targeted locations.
  • Methodology: Collect and analyze trespass incident data from railway partners and local law enforcement quarterly. Apply a year-over-year comparison and calculate percent change to determine impact. Supplement with field observations and digital counter sensors, where installed.

4.7 Templates

Get a copy of the templates for the Research and Technology stream. Once you fill in your email address, you will automatically receive an email with a link to download the Excel document.

Rail Safety Improvement Program (RSIP) - Research and Technology stream templates (Excel, 40.36 KB)

Request a copy of the templates for the Research and Technology stream

 

The Excel document contains all four templates (one per tab):

1. Project plan

The Project plan template must be completed in full. Break down the proposed project into detailed project activities. For each activity, provide a start and end date.

2. Project budget

The project budget template must be completed in full. Carefully review the eligible expenditure categories listed in the left column. These categories are fixed budget components. Each budget item must be broken down by:

• component, and
• fiscal year

3. Sources of funding

The Sources of funding template must be completed in full. Carefully review each section of the template.

You must identify:

• all funding partners involved in the project, such as the provincial government or municipality
• the amount of funding you or your organization will be contributing, and
• the amount of funding requested from Transport Canada

Funding amounts must be broken down by:

• cash contributions
• in-kind contributions (total per third-party contributor, but further broken down by the following for recipient contribution):
  • staff salaries and benefits
  • professional fees, and
  • other project-related costs

4. Project risk management

The Project Risk Management template must be completed in full. Identify potential risks that could affect project delivery.

You must provide:

• at least three project risks
• the severity level for each risk (low, medium, or high), and
• the mitigation strategy that you will use to address each risk

Some examples of risks include:

• severe weather
• material supply delays
• permitting delays, and
• labour shortages

Severity level	Description	Example risks (Rail project context)
Low	Minimal impact on project delivery, safety, or budget. Risks can be managed with existing resources.	Minor changes to design drawings before approval Short administrative delay in getting routine permits
Medium	Some impact on project timeline or costs, but manageable with mitigation measures.	Additional environmental reviews or risk assessments, causing several weeks of delay Contractor staff turnover requiring minor schedule adjustments
High	Major impact on project costs, safety, or timelines. Immediate mitigation measures required.	Delays in securing land access agreements or permits from multiple jurisdictions Community opposition or Indigenous consultation issues causing construction delays or stoppages Extended outage of a critical safety system during upgrade

4.8 Supporting documentation

• Will you send any supporting documents (optional) by email after submitting this application? Select yes or no.

• If yes, list all documents you will email, and when you expect to send them.

5. Apply for funding

If you’re proposing multiple projects, you must create a separate application for each project.

You must submit your application by September 4, 2026 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time. We won’t consider applications we receive after this date.

Note: After you submit an application through GC Forms, you can’t update or delete it. Please email TC.RSIP.ITR-PASF.RTI.TC@tc.gc.ca if you need to resubmit or withdraw your application.

To apply:

1. Open the Application for Research and Technology which will open in GC Forms on the web (you do not need to create an account).
2. Complete the application on GC Forms. Make sure to complete all required fields.

   Tips for using GC Forms

   • Do not use your browser’s “Back” button
   • To save your progress, click “Save to device.” Note: the form does not auto-save
   • To load a saved file, click “Load your answers” and upload the saved file
   • Do not click “Load your answers” unless you saved a file before. If you do, your application will reset and you will need to start over
3. Review your application and make any changes. Errors or missing information could delay processing.
4. Click the “Submit” button at the end of the form. You will see a message that confirms your application has been submitted.

5. Download and save your application so you have a copy of your final submission. Note your submission ID found at the top of the page within your downloaded application file (first 5 alphanumeric characters – e.g. e53e4). You will need this when corresponding with Transport Canada. We suggest renaming your file using the following format. Note that there is a 120-character limit.

   Format: Submission ID - Legal name - Project - Province

   Example: e53e4 - ABC Rail - research 123 - Ontario.

6. Get a copy of the templates (section 4.7)
7. Fill out the templates as instructed.
8. Email the completed templates and any supporting documents to TC.RSIP.ITR-PASF.RTI.TC@tc.gc.ca. Make sure to include your submission ID in the subject line so Transport Canada can match them to your application. The total email size, including attachments, must be less than 25 MB.

Need help? Email TC.RSIP.ITR-PASF.RTI.TC@tc.gc.ca.

6. After you apply

We will review all submitted projects by fall 2026. Funding decisions will be communicated after the review process.

6.1 How projects are evaluated

Projects are assessed using the steps below.

6.2 After our review

Following the decision by the Minister of Transport, notifications will be sent to all applicants to inform them whether their project was selected for funding. Applicants selected for funding will receive an approval-in-principle letter, which will include the amount of funding to be allocated to their project, and any related funding conditions.

7. If your application is approved

7.1 Contribution agreement

It’s important to note that Transport Canada is not required to provide funding for a selected project until both parties sign a contribution agreement.

A contribution agreement is a written agreement between the Government of Canada and a recipient that describes the obligations with respect to the approved funding for the project. The contribution funding is subject to conditions and is to be accounted for to make sure that it is used for the intended purpose. Transport Canada may audit contribution agreements. The information contained in the application will help to define the content and terms of the agreement, including:

• project scope
• legal documentation requirements
• clauses
• terms and conditions
• performance measures
• payment requirements

Once the contribution agreement is signed, changes to the project’s scope, budget, structure or timelines require a written request from the recipient. If Transport Canada approves the changes, both parties must sign an amendment to the contribution agreement before the changes can take effect.

You are responsible for any costs outside of the approved project scope.

7.2 Project risk assessment

Transport Canada will complete a risk assessment for all approved projects before signing a funding agreement.

The assessment helps make sure the funding agreement requirements match:

• the project’s risk levels, and

• your ability to deliver results

The assessment will determine, as example:

• how often you will report project progress

• what financial documents you will submit with payment claims

• audit and/or site visit requirements

The risk assessment will be based on the information in the application and other relevant project details.

7.3 Reporting requirements

You may be required to submit schedules, plans and reports at a level of detail and frequency that allows Transport Canada to:

• monitor your project’s progress, including key milestones, achievements, issues and risks that could affect project completion

• review your project’s financial status, including any issues and risks that could affect spending plans or the project budget

• measure project performance and results using updated information and data

• review any voluntary procurement practices under the new Buy Canadian Policy

7.4 Payment requirements

Once the agreement is in place, you must submit requests for payment at least twice a year with the supporting documentation in accordance with the requirements. However, submitting payment requests more often is encouraged.

Annex A: Performance Indicator Options for Reporting