East Central Intergovernmental Association Passenger Rail Feasibility Study Proposal prepared by Quandel Consultants, Inc. QUANDEL CONSULTANTS 525 Dunham Rd. Suite 3 St. Charles, IL 60174 312-285-8191 quandelconsultants.com December 18, 2020 East Central Intergovernmental Association c/o Chandra Ravada, Director of Transportation 7600 Commerce Park Dubuque, IA 52002 Re: PROPOSAL for the PASSENGER RAIL FEASIBILITY STUDY Dear Mr. Ravada: Quandel Consultants is pleased to submit our proposal for completing the Passenger Rail Feasibility Study between Chicago/Rockford and Dubuque. Our passion and history with intercity passenger rail in this region give us unique understanding of the importance of re-establishing a once prominent service to better connect our Midwestern cities and states. Quandel is an experienced engineering consulting firm that specializes in intercity passenger railroad planning and design and is distinctively qualified to conduct this feasibility study. The attached proposal includes the qualifications of our team, a description of our successful projects, and a scope and schedule specifically tailored to meet your requirements. The personnel on our team have been carefully selected to include a combination of elite qualifications suited specifically for the needs of this project. We recognize the need to have a deep bench of knowledgeable staff who have prior experience and strong relationships with CN, BNSF, and Amtrak, who understand the current challenges faced with establishing passenger rail service in a freight-centric railroad environment. Your Project Manager for this very important study will be Daniel Schulte, PE. Dan is the Senior Director of Engineering at Quandel and has served as project manager on numerous intercity passenger and commuter rail projects throughout the Midwest. Dan is highly motivated by community-driven solutions for maximizing opportunities to access modern transportation systems. Dan will lead this project from Quandel’s St. Charles, IL office, conveniently located less than an hour drive from the East end of the study area. Dan will be supported by both seasoned veterans and determined younger staff, all focused on supporting a better regional passenger rail system. Additional key Quandel staff include Dave Simon, PE – Railroad coordination lead; Bill Otter – Railroad Infrastructure Expert; Mark Walbrun, PE – Passenger Stations Expert; Melanie Johnson, PE – Grant Writing Expert; and Charles Hoppesch - Railroad Operations expert. Quandel is thrilled to be working with our valued subconsultants - Images, Inc. and ESH Consult. Images provides the gold standard in stakeholder and public engagement expertise for passenger rail projects, and ESH is a highly sought after, nationally recognized passenger rail and transit ridership and economics analyst. Thank you for the opportunity to submit this proposal for this interesting and exciting project! We look forward to collaborating with the ECIA Project Team to prepare this study and set the groundwork for grant opportunities. Included with the proposal, in a separate file, is our cost proposal, which is valid for 90 days. If you have any questions or comments concerning our submission, please contact us at your convenience. Respectfully submitted, Quandel Consultants, Inc. Charles H. Quandel, P.E., Daniel R. Schulte, P.E., Chief Executive Officer VP, Senior Director of Engineering ENGINNERING SOLUTIONS FOR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS INTRODUCTION TO QUANDEL CONSULTANTS Brief History of Firm Quandel Consultants (Quandel) is a Chicago-based professional engineering firm specializing in intercity passenger rail. For the past twelve years Quandel has worked hand in hand with federal, state, and local governments and host railroads to develop shared-use rail corridors and implement new and improved intercity passenger rail service. The founders of Quandel have been engaged in passenger rail planning since the 1990s when they were the lead planners of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative (MWRRI). Since our founding in 2007, Quandel has grown to 28 professionals dedicated to rail planning, engineering, operations, and program management making us one of the largest “pure” rail engineering firms in Illinois. Our staff has worked on all facets of rail projects including planning and environmental studies, design and engineering for capital projects, oversight of construction, operations and maintenance. A key component of many of our projects is an operational analysis of combined services in shared rail corridors. Quandel has worked on an array of projects evaluating shared passenger/freight corridors and shared passenger/trail corridors. We utilize Berkley Simulation Software’s Rail Traffic Controller software, a sophisticated rail simulation modeling tool, and our strong relationships with host railroads and the Federal Railroad Administration to collaboratively solve issues related to disparate services operating in a single right-of-way. With two offices in Chicagoland supported by several satellite offices throughout the country, Quandel effectively serves our public and private clients including Wisconsin DOT, Michigan DOT, Illinois DOT, Indiana DOT, Ohio DOT, Minnesota DOT, Iowa DOT, Missouri DOT and Colorado DOT. We have worked with virtually all the Class 1 freight railroads, Metra, All Aboard Florida, Amtrak, Ann Arbor Area Transit Authority, and Northern Indiana Transportation District and enjoy excellent relationships with client personnel. Staff Location and Availability Our Project Manager, Daniel Schulte, will lead this project from our St. Charles, IL office with support from key staff residing in Chicago, Madison, WI and Grand Rapids, MI. Dan has been with Quandel for 11 years supporting Midwest intercity passenger rail projects in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin – he has extensive experience in planning, design, construction and operations of mixed passenger/freight railroads. Dan and all key staff identified in the following pages are available for immediate work on this project. We have carefully developed a work plan to advance the work within the expected timeline listed in the Request for Proposal, and this work plan accommodates staff time on other projects. Quandel is excited to be teaming with two strategic subconsultants – Images, Inc. and ESH Consult. Images staff will support the project from its Naperville, IL office, and ESH is based in Virginia. East Central Intergovernmental Association Passenger Rail Feasibility Study 3 QUALIFICATIONS & RELEVANT EXPERIENCE OF KEY STAFF Daniel Schulte, P.E. Project Manager Dan Schulte offers over 16 years of experience on transportation planning and engineering projects, spending the last 11 years at Quandel focused on intercity passenger rail projects in the Midwest. Dan understands the process and unique challenges associated with reinstating passenger service on a freight railroad that has not supported passenger trains for a long time. As the PM for this Study, Dan will facilitate the progression of work in a transparent manner with ECIA Project Team, as well as develop a positive report with other stakeholders including the host railroads. The confidentiality of information provided by the railroads will be of utmost importance to sustaining a positive working relationship, and Dan will ensure that the study’s analysis and results are factual, accurate and representative of the needs of each affected agency. At Quandel, Dan has served as a project manager for several multi-faceted passenger rail projects, including supporting the Michigan DOT Office of Rail implementation of its $400 million accelerated rail improvement program between Dearborn and Kalamazoo. In this role, Dan is an integral team member supporting MDOT for the management of the railroad infrastructure, including program management, design, construction support, and development of capital and maintenance planning for the corridor. He has sustained relationships with stakeholders for this project including MDOT, Amtrak, freight operators and several local agencies. The project’ continued success is in large part due to Dan’s efforts to continually improve the relationship between MDOT and Amtrak, and to develop projects specifically competitive for FRA grant programs. Dan has led the effort to secure $62 million in grants over the past In Illinois, Dan has served the past 4 years as the Program Engineer for Illinois DOT’s Chicago to Quad Cities Passenger Rail Corridor Enhancement Program. In this role, Dan has coordinated a multi- disciplined design team through the Preliminary Engineering and NEPA phase for the planned re- installation of Amtrak service to Moline, IL on the former Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, now owned by Iowa Interstate Railroad. David Simon, P.E. Railroad Coordination Lead Dave Simon joined Quandel consultants in 2020 after a 32-year career with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT). He served in many roles during that time, most recently as the Director of the Bureau of Transit, Local Roads, Railroads and Harbors. Dave managed numerous program activities that directed the development, implementation and financing of highway, transit, railroad, and waterway infrastructure projects. One of Dave’s key roles was addressing legislative and citizen concerns regarding department policies and transportation system condition. As Chief of Railroads & Harbors, Dave worked extensively with all the railroads that operate in Wisconsin and led many railroad