The Potential for Mode Conversion to Rail Service in Wisconsin
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The Potential for Mode Conversion to Rail Service in Wisconsin CFIRE 09-13 CFIRE July 2016 National Center for Freight & Infrastructure Research & Education Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering College of Engineering University of Wisconsin–Madison Authors: Ben Zietlow, Ernie Perry, Teresa Adams, Caitrin O’Shea, Thirunavukkarasu Sivappha, Soren Walljasper, Andrew Umentum: University of Wisconsin–Madison Elizabeth (Libby) Ogard: Prime Focus LLC Principal Investigator: Ernie Perry, PhD National Center for Freight & Infrastructure Research & Education University of Wisconsin–Madison This page intentionally left blank. Technical Report Documentation 1. Report No. CFIRE 09-13 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. CFDA 20.701 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date July 2016 The Potential for Mode Conversion to Rail Service in Wisconsin 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author/s 8. Performing Organization Report No. Ben Zietlow, Ernie Perry, Teresa Adams, Caitrin O’Shea, Thirunavukkarasu Sivappha, CFIRE 09-13 Soren Walljasper, Andrew Umentum: University of Wisconsin–Madison. Elizabeth (Libby) Ogard: Prime Focus LLC 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE) University of Wisconsin-Madison 11. Contract or Grant No. T002688 1415 Engineering Drive, 2205 EH Madison, WI 53706 12. Sponsoring Organization Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Wisconsin Department of Transportation Final Report 9/1/2014–6/1/2016 Research and Library Services Section Division of Business Management 14. Sponsoring Agency Code 4802 Sheboygan Ave., Room 104 Madison, WI 53705 15. Supplementary Notes Project completed by CFIRE with support from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. 16. Abstract The team built upon the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s study regarding industries that drive the Wisconsin economy, and complemented the efforts of the Wisconsin Central Group and Wisconsin Manufacturers Commerce by geo-locating shippers and determining their proximity to rail access. Outreach was completed to identify the drivers, incentives and barriers to increasing rail access and the resulting economic impact. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Accessibility, Economic Impacts, Freight No restrictions. This report is available through the Transportation Research Trains, Incentives, Railroads Information Services of the National Transportation Library. 19. Security Classification (of this report) 20. Security Classification (of this 21. No. of Pages 22. Price page) Unclassified 87 -0- Unclassified Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of form and completed page is authorized. DISCLAIMER This research was funded by the National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education. The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the information presented herein. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the US Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program, in the interest of information exchange. The US Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views of the National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education, the University of Wisconsin– Madison, or the US DOT’s RITA at the time of publication. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade and manufacturers names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the object of the document. Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. i List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. iii List of Maps .................................................................................................................................... iv Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 2: Review of Wisconsin Rail Literature ........................................................................... 4 History ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Freight Rail System ..................................................................................................................... 6 Burlington Northern-Santa Fe (BNSF) ...................................................................................... 6 Canadian National (CN) ........................................................................................................... 6 Canadian Pacific (CP) .............................................................................................................. 7 Union Pacific (UP) .................................................................................................................... 8 Wisconsin & Southern Railroad (WSOR) .................................................................................. 8 Escanaba and Lake Superior ................................................................................................... 9 Tomahawk Railway (Genesse & Wyoming) .............................................................................. 9 Wisconsin Northern Railroad (Progressive Rail, Inc.) ............................................................... 9 Freight Market ........................................................................................................................... 10 Public Agency Support ............................................................................................................... 14 Federal Push .......................................................................................................................... 14 State Efforts ........................................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 3: Survey of Wisconsin Shippers .................................................................................. 21 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 21 Operational Profile.................................................................................................................. 21 Logistics Profile ...................................................................................................................... 22 Rail Access and Freight Rail Use ........................................................................................... 22 Rail Funding and Resources .................................................................................................. 23 Chapter 4: Spatial Analysis of Shippers’ Proximity to Rail Access ............................................. 24 Study Area ............................................................................................................................. 24 Data ....................................................................................................................................... 24 Methodology........................................................................................................................... 25 Results ................................................................................................................................... 33 Chapter 5: Estimation of WEDC Shippers’ Potential Demand for Rail Service ........................... 40 Study Area ................................................................................................................................. 40 Intermodal Transportation and Inventory Cost Model ................................................................. 43 ITIC-IM Inputs and Parameters .............................................................................................. 43 i Commodity Data Considerations ............................................................................................... 47 Base Case and Policy Case Assumptions ................................................................................. 48 Results and Discussion .............................................................................................................. 50 Base Case ............................................................................................................................. 50 Policy Case with Three Percent Threshold ............................................................................. 50 Policy Case with 1.5-Percent Threshold ................................................................................. 51 Policy Case with Zero-Percent Threshold ............................................................................... 52 Chapter 6: Conclusions and Recommendations ........................................................................ 55 Appendix A: Wisconsin Rail User Survey–Winter 2015 Appendix B: Freight Railroad Infrastructure Improvement Program (FRIIP) and Freight Railroad Preservation Program