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North Dakota State Rail Plan

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North Dakota State Rail Plan 2040 NORTH DAKOTA STATE RAIL PLAN Prepared for NOVEMBER, 2017 North Dakota Department of Transportation 2040 North Dakota State Rail Plan November 2017 The North Dakota 2040 State Rail Plan stakeholder and public participation plan is consistent with the North Dakota Department of Transportation Public and Non-Metropolitan Local Official Participation Plan for Statewide Planning and Programing Activities 2040 North Dakota State Rail Plan Acknowledgements The State Rail Plan was made possible by the efforts of the following individuals and organizations who contributed to the successful completion of this project: Executive Steering Committee Alan Anderson/Jay Schuler .................................................................... North Dakota Department of Commerce Greg Wilz ..................................................................................North Dakota Department of Emergency Services Grant Levi/Tom Sorel ...................................................................... North Dakota Department of Transportation Justin Kringstad ................................................................................................... North Dakota Pipeline Authority Julie Fedorchak .................................................................................... North Dakota Public Services Commission Denver Tolliver .................................................................................. Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute Executive Advisory Committee Michael Bachmeier .............................................................................................. Federal Railroad Administration Stephanie Hickman ....................................................................Federal Highway Administration – North Dakota Dan Bernhardson ............................................................................................... American Crystal Sugar Company Derrick James .............................................................................................................................................. Amtrak Russ Ormiston .............................................................................................................................. Bobcat Company Colleen Weatherford ............................................................................................................. BNSF Railway (BNSF) Tyler Hamman ......................................................................................................................Lignite Energy Council Mark Johnson .............................................................................................. North Dakota Association of Counties Rebecca Geyer ................................................................................ North Dakota Department of Transportation Jim Styron ....................................................................................... North Dakota Department of Transportation Tricia Kriel ............................................................................ North Dakota Emergency Management Association Sarah VanDeVelde ............................................................... North Dakota Emergency Management Association Dan DeRouchy ............................................................................................................ North Dakota Grain Dealers Blake Crosby............................................................................................................ North Dakota League of Cities Arik Spencer ........................................................................................... North Dakota Motor Carrier Association Kari Cutting ........................................................................................................ North Dakota Petroleum Council Greg Johnson .............................................................................................................. North Dakota Port Services Scott Rising ............................................................................................................. North Dakota Soybean Council Daniel L. Zink ......................................................................................................... Red River Valley & Western RR Bob Sinner ................................................................................................................ Sinner Brothers & Bresnahan Project Steering Committee Kevin Sonsalla ........................................................................................ North Dakota Department of Commerce Jeff Thompson..........................................................................North Dakota Department of Emergency Services Ben Ehreth ...................................................................................... North Dakota Department of Transportation Justin Kringstad ................................................................................................... North Dakota Pipeline Authority Darrell Nitschke ................................................................................... North Dakota Public Services Commission Alan Dybing ....................................................................................... Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute North Dakota Department of Transportation Project Team Ben Ehreth, Project Manager Rebecca Geyer, Planning/Rail Section Leader James Styron, Rail Planner 2040 North Dakota State Rail Plan Contents Chapter 1. The Role of Rail in North Dakota ................................................................... 1-1 1.1 PURPOSE AND USE ............................................................................................................1-1 1.2 PLAN SCOPE ......................................................................................................................1-1 1.3 NORTH DAKOTA MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM GOALS ....................................1-1 1.4 BACKGROUND ON THE U.S. RAILROAD INDUSTRY ..............................................................1-2 1.4.1 Evolution of the Rail Industry ............................................................................................... 1-2 1.4.2 History of Rail Transportation in North Dakota ................................................................... 1-5 1.4.3 National Freight Rail System ................................................................................................ 1-6 1.5 ROLE OF FREIGHT RAIL TRANSPORTATION IN NORTH DAKOTA ...........................................1-8 1.6 FREIGHT RAIL OPERATORS IN NORTH DAKOTA ................................................................. 1-11 1.7 ROLE OF INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL IN NORTH DAKOTA ................................................. 1-14 1.8 LEGAL AUTHORITIES FOR RAIL TRANSPORTATION ............................................................ 1-16 1.8.1 Freight Transportation Planning ........................................................................................ 1-16 1.8.2 Freight Rail Operations ....................................................................................................... 1-17 1.8.3 State Authority ................................................................................................................... 1-18 1.8.4 Passenger Rail Operations .................................................................................................. 1-19 1.8.5 Local Government Authority in Rail Transportation .......................................................... 1-20 1.8.6 Metropolitan Planning Organization Authority ................................................................. 1-20 1.9 RAIL TRANSPORTATION ORGANIZATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS .......................................... 1-22 1.9.1 Railroads ............................................................................................................................. 1-22 1.9.2 Federal Agencies ................................................................................................................ 1-22 1.9.3 State of North Dakota Agencies ......................................................................................... 1-25 1.10 RAIL PROGRAMS, PLANNING EFFORTS, PROCESSES, POLICIES, AND REGULATIONS ............ 1-28 1.10.1 State Rail Programs ............................................................................................................ 1-28 1.10.2 Safety Programs ................................................................................................................. 1-31 1.10.3 North Dakota Rail Programs ............................................................................................... 1-33 1.10.4 Current and Proposed Rail Planning Efforts ....................................................................... 1-33 1.11 RAIL POLICIES .................................................................................................................. 1-37 1.11.1 2015 Legislative Session Actions ........................................................................................ 1-37 Chapter 2. North Dakota’s Existing Rail System .............................................................. 2-1 2.1 CLASS I RAILROADS ............................................................................................................2-1 2.1.1 BNSF Railway ........................................................................................................................ 2-1 2.1.2 Canadian Pacific Railway ...................................................................................................
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