WSDOT Passenger Rail Service Outcome Agreements SCORT Annual Meeting JASON BIGGS P.E., Operations Program Manager – Rail, Freight, and Ports Division February 2017

Amtrak Cascades corridor 467-mile corridor 300 miles in Washington 134 miles in Oregon 33 miles in British Columbia 18 stations from Vancouver, BC to Eugene, Oregon Current daily roundtrips Four between Seattle and Portland Two between Seattle and Vancouver, BC Two between Portland and Eugene, Oregon Starting in 2017 – Service Outcomes Two additional roundtrips between Seattle and Portland Improve reliability to 88% Shorter travel times between Seattle and Portland A service of the states of Washington and Oregon

Service Outcome Agreements Why are they needed? Definition and protection of public benefit Planned investments on Host Railroad owned corridors FRA Requirement for funding eligibility What do they provide? Sets forth how the corridor will be operated Defines Roles and Responsibility (State, Amtrak, Host RRs) Defines Reliability standard Corrective measures (if applicable)

Example requirements from WSDOT Service Outcome Agreements Obligation of WSDOT to construct improvements Obligation of WSDOT to maintain improvements (separate agreement) Amtrak permitted to operate new service Defines Operating Schedules Access and frequency for new service levels by host railroad Identifies On-Time Performance levels by host railroad Memorializes Maximum minutes of delay by host railroad Defines Term Length - 20 yr commitment

WSDOT Service Outcome – Reporting & Analysis Reporting and analysis is required to FRA on the service outcomes that includes contractual obligations of: At least an average of 88% on-time reliability Delay Ceiling thresholds to be met Report frequency includes weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly

Cascades Performance Database - Reporting Tool WSDOT, in coordination with BNSF and Amtrak, developed a comprehensive data source for Cascades train performance The database compares host railroad and Amtrak delay codes and minutes Imports data directly from external partners (Amtrak and BNSF) about all delays, reconciles differences, and reports data Allows WSDOT to document, analyze, verify and report compliance

Cascades Performance Database project timeline

Challenges met – lessons learned Timing - Early partner engagement is essential Start early to develop the parameters of the agreement Establish clear expectations and commitments among partners Recognize the long-tem commitments (20 Years) Resources – Resources are available and committed throughout life of SOA Discuss potential obstacles, such as access to proprietary data, data collection, and timing for release of data Understand the stakeholder’s business model and relationship to other agreements Acknowledge there will be differences on approach and create a process to address them fairly

Questions? For more information, please contact: Jason Biggs, P.E. Rail, Freight, and Ports Division Operations Program Manager BiggsJR@wsdot.wa.gov 360-705-6902