STATE RAIL PLANNING AND MAP-21 Johnson Bridgwater OKLAHOMA DOT Federal Programs Manager Rail Programs Division
Let me introduce… S.I.D.! S TAKEHOLDERS (state/ region/ nation) I SSUES (past/ present/ future) D ATA (types/ sources) Your stakeholders will lead you to issues which will lead you to data needs…
STAKEHOLDERS LOCAL: the public/ COG’s/ MPO’s/ major cities STATEWIDE: railroads/ industrial parks/ government agencies REGIONAL: other states NATIONAL: assure compliance and needs for federal agencies such as USDOT/ FRA/ FHWA; both current and future
ISSUES emerge: By working with ALL railroads to establish specific details regarding their networks and their businesses… …we were able to capture items such as expected growth (Farmrail shipment of crude oil), downward trending commodities, or possible emerging markets (AOK coal to Mexico)
DATA STB Waybill Data– a nice place to start, but plan on extensive post-analysis correction; again, extensive stakeholder outreach allowed for issues to emerge and data correction and “ground-truthing” of freight flows to take place
Also, then able to perform very accurate commodity-based dis- aggregation, again corrected for time and locale– WAYBILL DATA WILL ALWAYS BE AT LEAST A FULL YEAR BEHIND
Outflow analysis can be utilized to define likely regional or national partnerships– THIS ELEMENT IS A KEY TO MANY OF THE RECENT PLANNING DISCUSSIONS
ADVANCE FREIGHT ISSUES THROUGH: -in the rail plan, address the rail INDUSTRY and the transportation NETWORK -VISION/GOALS/OBJECTIVES OF THE DEPARTMENT/ STATE/ REGION/ NATION -STRATEGIC ISSUES SUGGESTED studies focused on supply chain and business needs infrastructure upgrades focused on weight economic development communication and education Our state rail plan serves as a stepping stone…
Based on our recent analysis, our approved state rail plan will only form a portion of what will be needed for future rail plan updates…
Comparison of original to revised FRA state rail plan guidance courtesy of:
MAP-21 and Freight Rail Issues - does not mention freight RAIL as part of the “primary freight network” to be designated by USDOT (though freight rail moves about 40% of US ton-miles) WILL NEED TO DETERMINE HOW THIS INTERACTION IS ACCOUNTED FOR -does not MANDATE state freight plan, but moving towards that– suggests forming state freight advisory committees ALSO CONSIDER REGIONAL DISCUSSION GROUPS ( for instance, WASHTO MAP-21 Freight Discussion Group) -will establish freight performance measures DEFINITELY SUGGESTS STRONG NEED FOR STATE PLANNING NOW TO AVOID “STICKER SHOCK” -advances project match from 80% to 90% for grade separations and intermodal connectors (does not call out rail in general, Rail Title yet to be issued) BUT TO BE ELIGIBLE, PROJECT NEEDS TO BE REPRESENTED IN A PLAN OR POLICY PAPER– AGAIN, NEED FOR PLANNING IS REAL DESPITE NOT BEING “MANDATORY”
Oklahoma is currently developing a corridor approach to freight transportation to help focus investment, minimize disruption, and maximize efficiency