VIRGINIA STATE RAIL PLAN Executive Summary
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2017 VIRGINIA STATE RAIL PLAN Executive Summary Enclosure 9 Virginia’s rail network is a valuable asset that drives the economy, reduces congestion, improves safety, and saves taxpayer money. Continued investment in rail infrastructure will ensure the mission and vision of the Commonwealth’s transportation network is achieved. CONTENTS 02 BENEFITS OF RAIL IN VIRGINIA 07 FUTURE OF RAIL IN VIRGINIA 09 VIRGINIA’S VISION FOR THE FUTURE 15 PRIORITY IMPROVEMENTS AND INVESTMENTS Enclosure 9 BENEFITS OF RAIL IN VIRGINIA VIRGINIA’S RAIL SYSTEMS Virginia’s rail network is state. The Commonwealth significant state investments a valuable asset for the recognizes the privately have leveraged private and Commonwealth. It provides owned rail network as part of a federal funds to improve an efficient means of moving multimodal system with public freight and passenger rail freight and passengers both benefits and growing economic transportation and support the within and through the impacts. Since the 2000s, overall transportation system. TRAVEL SAFE 18 LIVES SAVED AND 3,000 CRASHES AVOIDED EACH YEAR Shipping by rail avoids Passenger travel by rail avoids about about 1.7 billion miles 271 million miles of personal of truck travel in Virginia driving in Virginia BREATHE EASIER 3M TONS OF CO2 EMISSIONS AVOIDED (6.4% OF TOTAL IN VIRGINIA PER YEAR) CO2 On average, railroads Moving freight by2 rail instead The total estimated level are four times more fuel of truck generates 75% less of rail service in Virginia in efficient than trucks greenhouse gas emissions 2015 was about 25 billion ton-miles SAVE MONEY $123M PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE SAVINGS (6% OF ANNUAL VDOT MAINTENANCE BUDGET) 8 = 240 100 = 340 PASSENGER PASSENGER FREIGHT SEMI-TRAILER RAILCARS VEHICLES RAILCARS TRUCKS GROW THE ECONOMY RAIL SERVICES DRIVE 6% OF VIRGINIA’S TOTAL ECONOMY. MORE THAN 6,000 JOBS CREATED DIRECTLY BY RAIL NETWORK $2.2 BILLION about 9 cents per FREIGHT RAIL in annual benefits ton-mile of rail use $190 MILLION about 46 cents per PASSENGER RAIL in annual benefits passenger-mile of rail use Benefits are largely derived from savings from diverting freight and passengers from highways to rail and includes congestion savings and crash reduction benefits. Enclosure 2 9 Virginia’s Rail Systems, continued By diverting freight and Virginia in Hampton Roads in Crescent Corridor serves passenger traffic from road some capacity. the Virginia Inland Port – an to rail, Virginia’s rail network • CSX Transportation’s I-95 intermodal container transfer relieves congestion, saves Corridor spans the entire facility in Front Royal – lives, improves air quality, Eastern U.S., linking cities, and carries several Amtrak helps grow the economy, ports, and manufacturing services into the Northeast. and complements the regions along the eastern • Norfolk Southern’s Heartland Virginia highway network seaboard. This corridor Corridor links Virginia’s Port while reducing capital and also carries the majority of to Midwest markets, carrying maintenance expenditures. Virginia’s Amtrak passenger intermodal containers from Virginia’s rail network is services, and serves as the the docks in Hampton Roads a critical link in a larger gateway to Washington, D.C. to consumers in Chicago. rail system within the for Virginia Railway Express • Amtrak services are shown eastern United States; it commuter trains. on the map as light blue connects the state’s ports, • CSX’s National Gateway also shading along the privately businesses, and communities uses the I-95 Corridor route owned freight corridors. to other major population through Virginia. This key rail Amtrak services operate over centers, customers, and artery diverges from the I-95 privately-owned railroads manufacturing regions Corridor in Washington, D.C. in Virginia. State-supported throughout the nation to link the Port of Virginia regional trains provide one- and the world. Corridors and other mid-Atlantic ports seat rides from Virginia’s within the Commonwealth with cities and markets in the major cities to Washington, have unique characteristics U.S. Midwest. D.C. and the Northeast that provide alternative Corridor, while Amtrak transportation options and • Norfolk Southern’s Crescent Corridor runs from north long-distance trains carry diverse public benefits to the passengers through Virginia economy. Many of Virginia’s to south, serving consumer markets and manufacturing between the Northeast, freight corridors also carry Southeast, and Midwest. passenger trains. All of the regions between New freight corridors are privately- Orleans, Memphis, and the owned and serve the Port of Northeast. In Virginia, the Enclosure 3 9 VIRGINIA IS A CRITICAL LINK IN THE NATIONAL RAIL NETWORK Enclosure 4 9 PASSENGER ROUTES Passenger trips to, from, and existing rail bottlenecks to from Washington, D.C. to within Virginia are growing better connect the entire Lynchburg and Roanoke. and highways in Virginia Southeast region with Passenger volumes on state are increasingly congested. Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. supported Amtrak service Passenger rail service Since 2013 Virginia has totaled over 830,000 riders provides an alternative to provided dedicated funding in FY2016. When combined congested highways, and the to support and expand with long distance service, Commonwealth therefore intercity passenger rail passenger volumes exceeded invests in Amtrak intercity operations across the state. 2.5 million riders. Virginia passenger routes, as well Virginia’s busiest passenger also supports commuter as Virginia Railway Express rail routes parallel the heavily rail operations provided by commuter service to improve traveled I-95 corridor, where Virginia Railway Express, mobility and meet the growing a growing number of state- which serves the heavily demand for travel. Projects supported Amtrak trains congested I-95 Corridor from and plans underway in CSXT’s serve Richmond, Newport Fredericksburg to Washington, RF&P subdivision and the Long News, and Norfolk. Additional D.C. as well as the I-66 Bridge across the Potomac to state-supported Amtrak Corridor between Manassas Washington, D.C. will alleviate services extend southwest and Washington, D.C. Enclosure 5 9 FREIGHT ROUTES As the economy grows, so intermodal rail corridors that goods, 120,000 carloads of do the freight demands on connect Virginia to the nation, chemical products, 103,000 Virginia’s highways. The providing a cost-effective way carloads of food products, and Commonwealth recognizes the to bring needed raw materials 85,000 carloads of pulp and public benefits and economic and products to our ports, paper products, keeping more impact of investments manufacturers, and consumers, than 5.5 million trucks off the in a multimodal freight and to carry Virginia-made Commonwealth’s highways. transportation system. The products and materials to Savings in pavement freight rail network has a destinations throughout the maintenance costs alone are unique role supporting the Port nation. In 2012, Virginia’s rail estimated to be over $123 of Virginia’s target markets network carried more than million per year, almost 6% of in the Midwest. Both CSX 800,000 carloads of coal, VDOT’s annual maintenance and Norfolk Southern have 534,000 carloads of mixed budget. Enclosure 6 9 FUTURE OF RAIL IN VIRGINIA FUTURE OF RAIL Virginia’s passenger and freight are reflected in a decrease invests in the rail network as rail networks are affected by in coal traffic. Population part of a multimodal approach many external factors that growth, an aging population, to meet the growing demand drive demand for services. and increasing highway for freight and passenger Freight rail corridors serving congestion along the “urban transportation service and the Port of Virginia and the crescent” between Washington support the economic changes main north-south freight and Hampton Roads is and travel preferences routes are experiencing helping drive demand for of Virginians. growth in intermodal traffic, environmentally friendly and while changes in domestic safe alternatives to automobile energy production and use travel. The Commonwealth RAIL INDUSTRY DRIVERS Growth in Changes in Congestion Environmental Intermodal Energy Production: Traffic Oil, Gas and Coal Changes in Amtrak Demographic Aging Northeast Changes Infrastructure Rail Governance Framework Corridor Enclosure 7 9 FREIGHT Expected Evolution of Major Freight Freight tonnage is Port of Virginia Markets expected to grow by 50% Shipments Growth in intermodal traffic in Virginia by 2040 TEUs anticipated to more will impact operational Movement by rail will increase by than triple from 2.1 M in approach to major freight 14%; additional rail investment 2012 to 7.2 M in 2040. corridors. Intermodal can enhance rail’s modal share Capacity to move 45% by movement relies on tight and keep additional freight from rail in 2040, up from timetables and high demand congested roadways. 35% today. for on-time performance. NETWORK SIGNIFICANCE The Washington, D.C. Vehicle use per road-mile Economic Growth metropolitan area has has been increasing Virginia’s rail network is a key the nation’s highest rate for decades. link between two mega-regions, of congestion. Since the mid-1960s Virginia has the Northeast mega-region and The Hampton Roads area also experienced a decline in relative the Piedmont Atlantic mega- experiences high levels capacity as both population and region to the south. Most of the of congestion. state gross domestic product (GSP) nation’s population growth and [Measuring Traffic