The upgrading of New England Central Railroad tracks in the New London area will have to wait, now that the federal government has rejected a request for $10.5 million in grants to fund rail improvement projects in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

"It was a disappointment that we didn't get it," said Todd O'Donnell, co-owner of New London's Union Station.

The projects would have jump-started the process of upgrading outdated tracks between New London and Palmer, Mass., to accommodate freight cars that are up to modern standards. The current maximum load for freight cars in southeastern Connecticut is 263,000 pounds, while the national standard is 286,000 pounds.

Charles Hunter, an official with Florida-based RailAmerica Inc. and general manager of New England Central Railroad, said in a phone interview Friday that the grant process was very competitive, with only about 3 percent of applications receiving funding.

In all, $500 million in Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery grants were made available this year from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Grant announcements were made last month.

There is no guarantee of TIGER funding for next year, Hunter said, though he remained hopeful the project would gain federal support at some point in the near future. He pointed out that New England Central was among the recipients of $7.9 million in the latest wave of federal grants, much of which will be used for 18.8 miles of freight-rail upgrades between St. Albans, Vt., and the Canadian border.

"With the north end funded," Hunter said, New England Central's plans to upgrade tracks in Massachusetts and Connecticut represent "the last piece of the puzzle."

"Hopefully, we can make it happen in the future," added O'Donnell of New London's Union Station.

New England Central's request for $10.5 million in grants was sponsored by the state Department of Transportation and strongly supported by U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, Hunter said. The railroad had pledged to kick in $4.5 million to the project, which had the added benefit of connecting New London's deepwater port to northern New England.

The only TIGER grant application receiving approval in Connecticut was $10 million for improvements to Hartford's intermodal transportation system connecting Main Street and Camden Union Station.

l.howard@theday.com