Randy Wade TRB Intercity Passenger Rail Committee Tuesday January 25, 2011 Washington, DC

 NCHRP Report 657: A Guidebook for Implementing Passenger Rail Service on Shared Passenger and Freight Corridors -- $500,000  Provides a general overview of all aspects of planning, cost estimating, engineering, modeling, negotiating, and implementing shared use corridor service nchrp_rpt_657.pdf

 NCFRP 30 Web-Based Screening Tool For Shared-Use Rail Corridors - $500,000  Feasibility screening tool  Low cost  Publicly available data  State and local rail program staff  Eliminate from further consideration: infeasible service proposals

 NCHRP Project 08-86: Understanding Capacity Modeling for Shared-Use Passenger and Freight Rail Operations - $350,000  “How to” guidebook for state and local rail staff  RTC and similar capacity models  Goal: informed participation by state and local staff in capacity modeling

 NCHRP Project 08-85: Comprehensive Economic Effects of Highway-Rail At-Grade Crossing Crashes $350,000  Multi-dimensional cost model for evaluating vehicle-train collisions.  Delays to rail and highway shipments  Societal costs  Hazardous materials impacts  Pollution impacts from delays and rerouting.  Improved decision-making

 Authorized in Section 306 of PRIIA  $5 million  Administered by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS)  Specific research projects will be selected by an advisory board  State transportation agencies; economists, scientist, and engineers; Amtrak, the Alaska Railroad, freight railroads, transit operating agencies, railway labor organizations, and environmental organizations.

 Modal energy efficiency comparisons  Innovative funding  Use of abandoned railroad corridors  Inter-operability  Risk management  Environmental Justice  Co-location of energy and rail facilities  Model validation  Data source standardization  Intermodal rail connections

 Freight access to HSR  Intercity auto data collection  Performance measures  Project delivery  Institutional and organizational structures  First and last mile  PTC benefits  Intergovernmental coordination  Residential and commercial density information

 Emissions analysis and modal comparisons  Interline ticketing  NEPA Process  P3  Safety -- mixed traffic  Using existing ROW  Alternative energy and efficiency  Quantifying public and private benefits  Enhanced conventional vs. very high speed

 Intermodal schedule optimization  Grade crossings shared use corridors  Signaling and train control  Track maintenance standards  Effective project oversight  Vehicle energy management  Car trains  Mega and regional planning  FRA vs. new agency

 International perspective on rail finance  State federal and local MPO roles in IC rail  Performance measure criteria  Public involvement strategies  Passenger rail equipment overview  Ridership and revenue forecasting techniques  State capital share financing issues  Tier 1 NEPA screening and alternatives analysis

 Financing techniques - TIFIA and RRIF  Estimating operating costs  Economic impact analysis  Intermodal connectivity  Institutional structures for intercity rail management  Station design

Randy Wade Passenger Rail Director HNTB Corporation 10 West Mifflin Street, Ste. 300 Madison, WI Tel: (608)