Funding Strategies and Project Costs for State-Supported Intercity Passenger Rail: Selected Case Studies and Cost Data
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. FHWA/TX-05/0-4723-1 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date FUNDING STRATEGIES AND PROJECT COSTS FOR STATE- December 2004 SUPPORTED INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL: SELECTED CASE Resubmitted: June 2005 STUDIES AND COST DATA 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. C.A. Morgan, J.E. Warner, C.E. Roco, and S.S. Roop Report 0-4723-1 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) Texas Transportation Institute The Texas A&M University System 11. Contract or Grant No. College Station, Texas 77843-3135 Project 0-4723 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Texas Department of Transportation Technical Report: Research and Technology Implementation Office September 2003 - October 2004 P. O. Box 5080 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Austin, Texas 78763-5080 15. Supplementary Notes Project performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. Project Title: State-Supported Intercity Passenger Rail Corridors - Project Costs and Funding Strategies Employed by Other States 16. Abstract This report documents an investigation into project costs and funding strategies that U.S. states and coalitions of states use to fund intercity passenger rail projects. Four states (California, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) and one multi-state corridor (the Pacific Northwest Corridor in Washington and Oregon) with documented histories of funding intercity passenger rail projects were selected for in-depth review. Factors that were considered in the case studies included: state-level funding sources, project costs, and estimated costs for future projects. A secondary goal of this research was to develop project cost analysis tools, such as a cost-per-mile index, for use by state rail planners in evaluating proposed intercity passenger rail projects. The research team concluded that the development of universally applicable cost-per-mile indices for intercity rail was infeasible at present due to the great number of variables involved in rail construction and the relatively small sample size of recent, comparable projects. Variables involved include project-specific factors such as terrain type, drainage requirements, regional labor and material costs, signalization and communication upgrade requirements, and the condition/track classification/traffic levels of existing infrastructure. As a result, researchers developed example project cost data and model cost ranges by project type. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Rail Planning, Rail Funding, Rail Financing, Rail No restrictions. This document is available to the public Project Costs, Intercity Passenger Rail through NTIS: National Technical Information Service Springfield, Virginia 22161 http://www.ntis.gov 19. Security Classif.(of this report) 20. Security Classif.(of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 158 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized FUNDING STRATEGIES AND PROJECT COSTS FOR STATE-SUPPORTED INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL: SELECTED CASE STUDIES AND COST DATA by Curtis A. Morgan Assistant Research Scientist Jeffery E. Warner Assistant Transportation Researcher Craig E. Roco Associate Transportation Researcher and Stephen S. Roop Director, Multimodal Freight Transportation Programs Report 0-4723-1 Project 0-4723 Project Title: State-Supported Intercity Passenger Rail Corridors - Project Costs and Funding Strategies Employed by Other States Performed in Cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration December 2004 Resubmitted: June 2005 TEXAS TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE The Texas A&M University System College Station, Texas 77843-3135 DISCLAIMER The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official view or policies of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) or the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. Texas Transportation Institute v Multimodal Freight Transportation Programs ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors express their appreciation to the Texas Department of Transportation Project Manager Ms. Wilda Won, the TxDOT Program Coordinator Mr. Mario Medina, P.E., and the members of the Project Monitoring Committee: Mr. Gil Wilson, Mr. Ron Hagquist, Mr. Joe Holland, and Ms. Mary DeLeon. In addition, we would like to thank Mr. Andrew Griffith, P.E., of TxDOT’s Research and Technology Implementation (RTI) Office and the members of the RTI staff that supported this project. The authors would also like to acknowledge TxDOT and FHWA for sponsoring this research. Texas Transportation Institute vi Multimodal Freight Transportation Programs TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Figures................................................................................................................................ ix List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. x Chapter 1: State-Supported Passenger Rail Issues......................................................................... 1 Introduction................................................................................................................................. 1 Background Explanation of Primary Intercity Passenger Rail Planning Issues ......................... 2 Defining State-Supported Intercity Passenger Rail ................................................................ 2 Amtrak’s Role in Intercity and Commuter Rail...................................................................... 4 State-Supported Amtrak “403(b) Service” ............................................................................. 5 State Purchase of Rolling Stock.............................................................................................. 8 State Investment in Freight Rail Infrastructure....................................................................... 8 Recent Amtrak Reform Efforts............................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2: Detailed Case Studies................................................................................................. 13 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 13 Case Study Selection................................................................................................................. 13 Selection Criteria .................................................................................................................. 13 Case Study Recommendations.............................................................................................. 15 California .................................................................................................................................. 18 State Agency with Planning Authority ................................................................................. 18 Currently Supported Operations ........................................................................................... 19 State Funding History ........................................................................................................... 21 State-Level Funding Sources ................................................................................................ 22 Future Plans/Funding............................................................................................................ 27 Pennsylvania ............................................................................................................................. 28 State Agency with Planning Authority ................................................................................. 28 Currently Supported Operations ........................................................................................... 29 State Funding History ........................................................................................................... 30 State-Level Funding Sources ................................................................................................ 31 Future Plans/Funding............................................................................................................ 32 North Carolina .......................................................................................................................... 32 State Agency with Planning Authority ................................................................................. 32 Currently Supported Operations ........................................................................................... 33 State Funding History ........................................................................................................... 34 State-Level Funding Sources ................................................................................................ 35 Future Plans/Funding............................................................................................................ 37 Virginia ....................................................................................................................................