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MDOT Michigan State Rail Plan Tech Memo 2 Existing Conditions

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MDOT Michigan State Rail Plan Tech Memo 2 Existing Conditions Technical Memorandum #2 March 2011 Prepared for: Prepared by: HNTB Corporation Table of Contents 1. Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 2. Freight Rail System Profile ......................................................................................2 2.1. Overview ...........................................................................................................2 2.2. Class I Railroads ...............................................................................................2 2.3. Regional Railroads ............................................................................................6 2.4. Class III Shortline Railroads .............................................................................7 2.5. Switching & Terminal Railroads ....................................................................12 2.7. State Owned Railroads ...................................................................................16 2.8. Abandonments ................................................................................................18 2.10. International Border Crossings .....................................................................22 2.11. Ongoing Border Crossing Activities .............................................................24 2.12. Port Access Facilities ....................................................................................24 3. Freight Rail Traffic ................................................................................................25 3.1. Current Rail Imports, Exports and Michigan‘s Economic Base .....................25 3.2. Economic Value-Chain Dependency on Commodities Shipped by Rail .......29 3.3. Michigan‘s Rail Intensive Locations and Trading Relationships ...................35 3.4. Previous Forecasts of Rail Flows (FAF2) .......................................................37 3.5. Michigan‘s Economic Restructuring ..............................................................43 3.6. Canadian and Cross-Border Considerations ...................................................46 4. Passenger Rail Service Profile ...............................................................................53 4.1. Current Amtrak Service ..................................................................................53 4.2. Passenger Rail Utilization ...............................................................................56 5. Federal and State Funding Programs for Freight & Passenger Rail Development 61 5.1. Federal Funding Programs ..............................................................................61 5.2. State Rail Funding Programs ..........................................................................70 6. Review of Existing Studies ....................................................................................78 6.1. Statewide Plans and Programs ........................................................................78 6.2. Regional Plans and Studies .............................................................................87 6.3. Multi-State and National Studies and Plans ...................................................98 List of Tables Table 1: Class I Railroads Operating in Michigan ......................................................... 3 Table 2: Class II Regional Railroads Operating in Michigan ........................................ 6 Table 3: Michigan Class III Shortline Railroads ............................................................ 8 Table 4: Michigan Switching and Terminal Railroads ................................................ 13 Table 5: Total Freight Rail Mileage by Class .............................................................. 15 Table 6: Abandoned and Discontinued Railroads in Michigan.................................... 19 Table 7: Railroad Intermodal Terminals in Southeast Michigan ................................ 20 Table 8: Major Equipment Depots in Michigan ........................................................... 21 Table 9: Top Rail Import Commodities to Michigan ................................................... 26 Table 10: Top Rail Export Commodities from Michigan ............................................ 27 Table 11: Michigan Basic and Near-Basic Industries .................................................. 29 Table 12: Rail Import Dependency for Michigan Industries ....................................... 30 Table 13: Rail Export Dependency for Michigan Industries ....................................... 32 Table 14: Rail Internal Dependency for Michigan Industries ...................................... 33 Table 15: Top 10 Rail Import Counties in Michigan ................................................... 34 Table 16: Top 10 Rail Export Counties in Michigan ................................................... 35 Table 17: Top 10 Origins of Michigan Rail Imports .................................................... 36 Table 18: Top 10 Destinations of Michigan Rail Exports ............................................ 37 Table 19: FAF3: Imports to Michigan by Commodity Group (2007-2040) ................ 38 Table 20: FAF3: Exports from Michigan by Commodity Group (2007-2040) ............ 39 Table 21: FAF3: Imports to Michigan by Origin (2007-2040) ..................................... 40 Table 22: FAF3: Exports From Michigan by Destination (2007-2040) ....................... 41 Table 23: Employment Trend and Forecast for Michigan Industries .......................... 42 Table 24: Employment Forecast from top Rail-Importing Counties ........................... 43 Table 25: Employment Forecast from top Rail-Exporting Counties .......................... 44 Table 26: Nature of Michigan Rail Trade .................................................................... 50 Table 27: Michigan's Imports and Exports with Canada ............................................. 51 Table 28: Michigan's Imports and Exports with Mexico ............................................. 52 Table 29: Fastest Growing Rail Passenger Pairs to and From Michigan ..................... 57 Table 30: Annual Amtrak Ridership by Route ............................................................. 58 Table 31: Michigan Boardings and Alightings 1999 - 2010 ........................................ 59 Table 32: Michigan Rail Loan Assistance Program History ........................................ 71 Table 33: Freight Economic Development and State-Owned Line Funding ............... 72 Table 34: Grade Crossing Program Expenditure History ............................................ 73 Table 35: Annual State of Michigan Subsidy of Amtrak Operations ......................... 75 Table 36: Michigan Capital Investments in Passenger Rail Service ............................ 76 List of Figures Figure 1: Michigan Railroads ......................................................................................... 5 Figure 2: Michigan State-Owned Rail Lines ................................................................ 17 Figure 3: International Border Crossings .................................................................... 22 Figure 4: Value Trend in Michigan‘s Leading Exports to Canada .............................. 47 Figure 5: Value Trend in Michigan Exports to Canada by Mode ............................... 48 Figure 6: Current Michigan Intercity Passenger Rail Service ...................................... 54 Figure 7: 10-Year Trend in Michigan Passenger Rail Utilization ............................... 60 Figure 8: Proposed Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal ............................................ 89 Figure 9: Proposed Midwest Regional Rail System ................................................... 101 1. Introduction The railroad industry has played a key role in the development of Michigan throughout the state‘s history. The first steam locomotive operations began on the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad in 1837, the same year that Michigan became the 26th state of the Union. Since their introduction, railroads have been vital to the trade of natural resources and finished products in the state, and the population, commercial and industrial growth of Michigan is closely linked to the availability of rail transportation. Michigan‘s rail network peaked in the early 20th century, when there were over 9,000 miles of rail lines in the state. Over the past 100 years the rail network has shrunk to its current size of approximately 3,600 miles as the result of a long series of abandonments, bankruptcies and consolidations. However, rail is still a critical component of the state‘s multimodal transportation network. Freight railroads play a key role in connecting Michigan to the national economy. Michigan has an extensive rail system, ranking 12th nationally in the number of miles of track among the 50 states with approximately 4,400 miles.1 Intercity passenger rail service is provided on three routes, including the federally designated high speed rail corridor from Pontiac/Detroit to Chicago, operated by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) which connect major urban centers in the state with Chicago, IL. The purpose of this Technical Memorandum is to provide a detailed description of the rail infrastructure that is in place in Michigan today. This report will also describe the conditions under which both freight and intercity passenger trains operate within the state. 1 Association of American Railroads, State Rankings 2008. Michigan
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