THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY 2009 New York State Rail Plan 2009 New York State Rail Plan THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY 2009 New York State Rail Plan Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY v Introduction v 2020 Vision for Rail vi Rail Infrastructure Needs and Investment Program viii CHAPTER 1 – STATE RAIL VISION, GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES 1 1.1 Role of Railroads in New York State 1 1.2 Vision of Rail Transportation in New York State 4 1.3 Goals, Objectives and Strategies for Rail Service in New York State 7 CHAPTER 2 – PLAN PURPOSE and AUTHORITY 15 2.1 Purposes of the State Rail Plan 15 2.2 State and Federal Legislation and Planning Requirements 16 CHAPTER 3 – THE RAIL SYSTEM IN NEW YORK STATE 21 3.1 Overview of New York State’s Rail Network 21 3.2 Summary History of Railroads in New York State 24 3.4 Recent Major Rail System Changes Impacting New York 26 CHAPTER 4 – FREIGHT RAIL 29 4.1 Freight Rail Network in New York State 29 4.2 Freight Activity, Traffic Density and Service Description 33 4.3 Freight Terminals, Intermodal Facilities, and Major Yards 46 4.4 Rail System Asset Conditions: Freight Rail Service 48 4.5 Rail Line Abandonments: Recent, Proposed and At-Risk Lines 51 4.6 Corridor and Freight Planning Efforts 53 4.7 Rail Freight System Issues and Needs 58 CHAPTER 5 – INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL 73 5.1 The Intercity Passenger Rail Network in New York State 73 5.2 Existing Passenger Rail Services, Stations, and Routes 74 5.3 Passenger Rail Intermodal Facilities 78 5.4 Route Ownership/Facility Assets/Conflicts 81 5.5 Intercity Passenger Rail Service Performance 82 5.6 Rail System Asset Condition: Intercity Passenger Service 86 5.7 Passenger Rail Issues at International Border Crossings 87 5.8 Intercity Passenger Rail Studies in New York State 88 5.9 Intercity Passenger Rail Issues and Needs in New York State 90 5.10 Empire Corridor Mainline Third Track Initiative: Albany - Buffalo 93 5.11 Northeast Corridor 93 5.12 National Issues & Implications for New York State 94 CHAPTER 6 – COMMUTER RAIL 99 6.1 Commuter Rail Networks of New York State 99 6.2 Existing Commuter Rail Services, Ridership and Performance 100 6.3 Commuter Rail Intermodal Facilities and Connections 102 6.4 Rail System Asset Condition for the Commuter Railroads 104 6.5 Commuter Rail System Issues and Needs 106 2009 New York State Rail Plan i Table of Contents CHAPTER 7 – RAIL SAFETY AND SECURITY 111 7.1 Rail Safety 111 7.2 Rail Security 118 7.3 Rail Safety Issues 120 7.4 Rail Security Issues 122 CHAPTER 8 – ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT 123 8.1 Energy 124 8.2 Air Quality 126 8.3 Land Use and Community Impacts 130 8.4 Congestion Mitigation 131 CHAPTER 9 – ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 133 9.1 Economic Development and Transportation 133 9.2 Programs that Support Economic Development 134 9.3 Rail Line Preservation, Revitalization and Strategic Enhancement 136 9.4 Cross Border Trade 140 CHAPTER 10 – PLAN DEVELOPMENT AND OUTREACH PROCESS 143 10.1 The 2009 New York State Rail Plan 143 10.2 Alignment with Other Plans 143 10.3 Developing the State Rail Plan: Outreach and Collaboration 143 10.4 Public Comment Period 149 10.5 What’s Next? 149 CHAPTER 11 – RAIL FUNDING AND FINANCE OPTIONS 153 11.1 New York State’s Rail Capital Improvement Programs 153 11.2 Federal Funding Programs Available for Rail 154 11.3 Rail Funding Programs in Other States 158 11.4 Other Finance Options for Rail System Improvements 160 CHAPTER 12 – STATEWIDE RAIL NEEDS AND INVESTMENT PROGRAM 163 12.1 Introduction 163 12.2 Summary of Rail Industry Needs 163 12.3 Investment Policy for Funding Future Rail Needs 170 12.4 Long Range Service and Investment Program for Passenger Rail 172 12.5 Long Range Investment Program for Freight Rail 174 APPENDIX 177 (separately bound) APPENDIX A 2008 Rail Needs Survey APPENDIX B Long Range Service and Investment Program for Passenger Rail ii 2009 New York State Rail Plan Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Federal Transportation Expenditures by Mode 3 Figure 2 Intercity Rail Passenger Ridership Growth 1986-2008 22 Figure 3 Recent Intercity Rail Passenger Ridership Growth 22 Figure 4 Commuter Rail Systems Ridership Growth 1994-2007 23 Figure 5 Total Carloads of Rail Freight Carried 1991-2006 23 Figure 6 Total Tons of Rail Freight Carried 1991-2006 24 Figure 7 CSXT Operating on NYSDOT Oak Point Link Trestle 27 Figure 8 Rail Freight Network in New York State 30 Figure 9 Railroads in New York State - 2008 31 Figure 10 NYS Freight Service 34 Figure 11 NYS Freight Traffic - Total 35 Figure 12 NYS Freight Traffic - Originating 35 Figure 13 NYS Freight Traffic - Terminating 35 Figure 14 AAR Primary Rail Corridors 36 Figure 15 Existing Train Volume to Existing Corridor Capacity 37 Figure 16 Future 2035 Rail Traffic Volumes Compared to Existing Corridor Capacity 38 Figure 17 NS Portage Bridge over Genesee River, Letchworth State Park 44 Figure 18 Strategic Rail Corridor Network (STRACNET) 54 Figure 19 STRACNET & Defense Connector Lines in New York State 55 Figure 20 Rail Car Weight Limits in NY 61 Figure 21 Allowable Rail Car Clearances in New York State 63 Figure 22 Taxable Status of Rail ROW 71 Figure 23 Amtrak at Syracuse Intermodal Transportation Center 73 Figure 24 Amtrak Service - Number of Round-Trip Trains 76 Figure 25 Approximate Travel Times 77 Figure 26 Amtrak Stations in New York State 78 Figure 27 Rensselaer Rail Station 79 Figure 28 Amtrak-Served Stations in New York State 80 Figure 29 Host Railroads along Amtrak Service Routes 81 Figure 30 CN Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, Top Tier, Amtrak Service Only 82 Figure 31 NYS Amtrak Ridership Trends 83 Figure 32 Amtrak On-Time-Performance by Train FFY 2003-2008 84 Figure 33 Major Causes of OTP Delay FFY 2007 85 Figure 34 NYS Capital Investment in Intercity Rail Passenger Service 92 Figure 35 Long Island Rail Road 99 Figure 36 Metro-North Railroad 100 Figure 37 Metro-North Ridership 101 Figure 38 Long Island Rail Road Ridership 101 Figure 39 Stations Served by both Amtrak and Commuter Rail 102 Figure 40 LIRR and Metro-North Asset Inventory 104 Figure 41 Progress to SOGR for Remaining Metro-North Investment Categories 104 Figure 42 Progress Toward SOGR - LIRR Line Structures 105 Figure 43 MTA/ Long Island Rail Road’s East Side Access Project 106 Figure 44 Access to the Region's Core West of Hudson River 108 Figure 45 Metro-North Penn Station Access Study 109 Figure 46 Annual Grade Crossing Accidents vs. 3 Year Average 114 Figure 47 Annual Grade Crossing Injuries vs. 3 Year Average 114 Figure 48 Annual Grade Crossing Fatalities vs. 3 Year Average 114 Figure 49 Accidents, Injuries and Fatalities by Type in 2006 117 Figure 50 Energy Efficiency by Mode 124 2009 New York State Rail Plan iii Table of Contents Figure 51 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Economic Sector 126 Figure 52 Carbon Emissions 127 Figure 53 Cumulative Reduction in GHG Emissions 128 Figure 54 Railpower’s RP Series GenSet low-emission locomotive at Selkirk, NY 130 Figure 55 Railex Produce Dist. Center (upper left), Rotterdam Industrial Park 135 Figure 56 “Last Mile”: Typical Industrial Siding, Bushwick Branch, Brooklyn 135 Figure 57 Regional Rail System: Southern Tier Extension (in Red) 137 Figure 58 Southern Tier Extension Washout 2002 138 Figure 59 Southern Tier Extension - Restored 2002 138 Figure 60 Eastern States Rail Border Crossing Points (EBTC Study 2004) 140 Figure 61 New York City Workshop participants discuss the Rail Plan 145 Figure 62 Buffalo Workshop participants listen to a Rail Plan presentation 146 Figure 63 NYSDOT Commissioner Glynn addresses the Buffalo Rail Plan Workshop146 Figure 64 NYSDOT officials discuss workshop participants’ comments and recommendations 147 Figure 65 New York City Workshop participants consider Rail Plan information 148 Figure 66 New York City Workshop participants confer on the Rail Plan 148 Figure 67 2008 NYSDOT Rail Needs Survey 165 Figure 68 Rail Needs - Improvement Categories: 2009 - 2028 166 Figure 69 Rail Needs by Service Type: 2009 - 2028 167 Figure 70 Rail Needs - Improvement Categories: 2009 - 2013 168 Figure 71 Rail Needs by Service Type: 2009 - 2013 169 iv 2009 New York State Rail Plan Executive Summary EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction What could a vibrant rail system mean to New Yorkers? It could be a system that provides high-quality, faster, frequent and reliable passenger service between major cities across the state that is competitive with automobile and air travel times. It could provide reliable and cost-efficient freight service, using modern rail equipment, to businesses and shippers throughout the state, reducing the cost of many goods we purchase. These rail services would increase market share for passenger and freight rail transportation in the state, promote the state’s competitive position in the global economy and decrease highway and aviation congestion to significantly cut energy use, greenhouse gases and motor vehicle emissions. Importantly, this system would include safety improvements that reduce rail’s already low accident rate. These are the goals of the future rail system envisioned in this plan. What follows are the policies and strategies to get there. The 2009 New York State Rail Plan, the state’s first in 22 years, presents a 20-year plan for the state’s rail system (through 2030) and describes strategies and initiatives aimed at reversing past disinvestment in rail infrastructure and building a thriving rail transportation system so that it can effectively fulfill its critical role in the state’s multimodal transportation network.