SEDA-COG JRA Strategic Plan 2012
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2012 SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority Five-Year Strategic Plan “EXHIBIT A” August 8, 2012 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS SEDA-COG JOINT RAIL AUTHORITY (JRA) BOARD MEMBERS Jerry S. Walls, FAICP, Chairman (Lycoming County) Frank Dombroski (Montour County) Michael Krentzman, Vice Chairman (Mifflin John Gummo (Clinton County) County) Commissioner John Showers (Union County) Scott Harvey, P.E., Treasurer (Lycoming County) Dr. John Spychalski (Centre County) Frank Sawicki, Assistant Treasurer (Northumberland County) Rick Jenkins (Columbia County) Don Kramer, Secretary (Clinton County) Rob Postal (Mifflin County) Dave Park, Assistant Secretary (Columbia County) Sam McCartney (Centre County) Dennis Reitz (Northumberland County) Tom Herman (Montour County) Eric Winslow, P.E., (Union County) JRA COMMITTEES Operating Agreement Committee, Michael Krentzman, Chairman Capital Budget and Property Management Committee, Rick Jenkins, Chairman Passenger Excursions Committee, Dr. John Spychalski, Chairman JRA STAFF Jeffery Stover, Executive Director George Fury, Property and Maintenance-of-Way Manager Kay Aikey, Program Assistant JRA RAIL SYSTEM OPERATOR AND AFFILIATES Susquehanna Union Railroad Company (Holding Company) North Shore Railroad and Affiliated Companies Nittany & Bald Eagle Railroad (NBER) Juniata Valley Railroad (JVRR) Lycoming Valley Railroad (LVRR) Union County Industrial Railroad (UCIR operates on tracks owned by the West Shore Railroad North Shore Railroad (NSHR) Corporation and the Lewisburg & Buffalo Creek Shamokin Valley Railroad (SVRR) Railroad, which are not part of the JRA System) STRATEGIC PLANNING CONSULTANTS Delta Development Group, Inc. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania in association with: Cambridge Systematics, Inc. Bethesda, Maryland August 8, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................1 Preamble ........................................................................................................................................1 Purpose ..........................................................................................................................................3 Process ...........................................................................................................................................3 Vision, Mission, Values, Core Functions and Guiding Principles ........................................................4 Objectives and Recommendations ..................................................................................................4 Plan Maintenance and Implementation ...........................................................................................4 Organizational Analysis .................................................................................................................... 14 Introduction and Overview ........................................................................................................... 14 JRA and North Shore System Accomplishments.................................................................................. 16 History ......................................................................................................................................... 21 Rail freight Preservation Strategy ........................................................................................................ 21 Organizational Structure ............................................................................................................... 24 JRA Board ............................................................................................................................................. 24 JRA Committees ................................................................................................................................... 24 JRA Staff ............................................................................................................................................... 26 Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis ............................................ 27 Performance Metrics .................................................................................................................... 30 Facility Needs Assessments ........................................................................................................... 33 Asset Management ....................................................................................................................... 33 Risk Management ......................................................................................................................... 34 Systems Analysis .............................................................................................................................. 35 Rail freight Market Demand Analysis ............................................................................................ 35 RailCar Traffic Trends ........................................................................................................................... 36 Marketing and Business Development Approach ............................................................................... 38 Anticipating Future Challenges ............................................................................................................ 39 Key Findings and Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 39 i | P a g e Rail-Served Sites and Industrial Areas............................................................................................ 40 Rail Yards ............................................................................................................................................. 41 Rail-Served Industrial Sites .................................................................................................................. 42 Track and Bridge Condition Assessments ....................................................................................... 45 JRA Financial Requirements ............................................................................................................. 47 Revenues and Expenditures .......................................................................................................... 47 Capital Improvement Requirements .............................................................................................. 50 Appendices Appendix A – SEDA-COG JRA Articles of Incorporation Appendix B – SEDA-COG JRA Bylaws Appendix C – SEDA-COG JRA 2007 Operating Agreement Appendix D – Rail Passenger Excursion Agreement Appendix E – Rail Yard Site Plans Appendix F – SEDA-COG JRA Guidelines for Asset Upgrades, 2010 Appendix G – Proposed Code of Conduct and Ethics Policy Appendix H – Acronyms ii | P a g e EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PREAMBLE The SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) Joint Rail Authority (hereinafter referred to as either the “JRA” or the “Authority”) was created in 1983 under the Pennsylvania Municipality Authorities Act of 1945, to respond to the impending loss of rail freight service in portions of Central Pennsylvania. Spurred by the bankruptcy of the six major Northeast Railroads in the 1970s, and to ensure access to rail service for the region, the federal government formed the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) in 1976. Due to Interstate Commerce Commission regulations limiting its ability to compete with truck transportation, Conrail was initially unprofitable despite heavy federal funding. Easing of federal regulations in the early 1980s through the Staggers Rail Act of 1980 and Northeast Rail Service Act of 1981, made possible the abandonment of many unprofitable lines, some of which were located in Central Pennsylvania. SEDA-COG recognized the need to provide continuing access to rail service for rail-dependent businesses and for the purposes of future regional economic development. Without such service, many regional businesses would be facing the prospect of closing their doors or relocating, as many were unable to ship materials and products through other means. To prevent this, SEDA-COG began contemplating the acquisition of several lines from Conrail. Following the approval of a Rail Service Preservation Strategy by the SEDA-COG Board of Directors in March of 1983, the SEDA-COG JRA – an autonomous entity of SEDA-COG – was incorporated by Centre, Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, and Union Counties to, as stated in the ordinances approving the incorporation: “[F]inance, construct or otherwise acquire, purchase, hold, lease or sub-lease, either in the capacity of lessor or lessee, land, rail lines, buildings or other facilities to be devoted wholly or partially for the operation of rail lines, for public uses, or for any other purpose permitted by the Municipality Authorities Act of 1945, whether said projects are situated in the Counties of Centre, Columbia, Montour, Northumberland or Union, or elsewhere in the Commonwealth." With the goal of protecting the region’s rail-dependent industries and rail-related jobs, the JRA was to provide public oversight of the soon-to-be-acquired rail lines and see to the implementation of the Rail Service Preservation Strategy. Today, the JRA owns five rail lines encompassing nearly 200 miles of track that traverses through nine Central Pennsylvania counties (i.e., Blair, Centre, Clinton, Columbia, Lycoming, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, and Union)