Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. FHWA/TX-11/0-6268-1 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date ABANDONED RAIL CORRIDORS IN TEXAS: A POLICY AND December 2010 INFRASTRUCTURE EVALUATION Published: March 2011 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Curtis Morgan, Jeffery Warner, Jun (Jade) Huang, Rebecca Barkley – Report 0-6268-1 TTI Lisa Loftus-Otway, Nathan Hutson, Alejandra Cruz Ross, Rachel Niven – CTR 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 0-6268 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 2008–June 2010 P. O. Box 5080 Austin Texas 78763-5080 14. Sponsoring Agency Code 15. Supplementary Notes Research performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. Research Project Title: Acquisition, Uses, & Funding Options for Abandoned Rail Corridors URL: http//:tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6268-1.pdf 16. Abstract The use of existing and abandoned railroad rights-of-way has been a proven method of acquiring linear corridors for the construction of roadways since the formation of the Texas Highway Department. Either paralleling existing rail lines or re-using corridors first used by railroad companies exhibited tremendous wisdom since the railroads had dictated development patterns throughout the state in the half-century prior to the road building era. The long period of railroad system consolidation since the end of World War II has resulted in the loss of many abandoned rail corridors that could now be extremely valuable if put to use either as new transportation corridors (roadway, transit, etc.) or multiuse recreational trails (hiking, biking, skating, etc.). This project evaluated the current Texas Administrative Code statutes governing the Texas Department of Transportation acquisition and use of abandoned rail corridors, suggested changes to these existing statutes, characterized the abandoned rail lines in the state, and identified potential uses of existing and prospective abandoned corridors in Texas. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Abandoned Rail, Corridor Preservation No restrictions. This document is available to the public through NTIS: National Technical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, Virginia 22161 www.ntis.gov 19. Security Classif.(of this report) 20. Security Classif.(of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 280 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized ABANDONED RAIL CORRIDORS IN TEXAS: A POLICY AND INFRASTRUCTURE EVALUATION by Texas Transportation Institute Texas A&M University Curtis Morgan Jeffery Warner Program Manager, Multimodal Freight Associate Transportation Researcher Transportation Program Assistant Research Scientist Jun (Jade) Huang Rebecca Barkley Assistant Transportation Researcher Undergraduate Student Researcher Center for Transportation Research The University of Texas at Austin Lisa Loftus-Otway Nathan Hutson Research Engineer/Science Associate III, Research Scientist Associate III Attorney-at-Law Alejandra Cruz Ross Rachel Niven Research Engineer/Scientist Associate II Graduate Student Researcher Report 0-6268-1 Project 0-6268 Project Title: Acquisition, Uses, & Funding Options for Abandoned Rail Corridors Performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration December 2010 Published: March 2011 TEXAS TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE The Texas A&M University System College Station, Texas 77845-3135 DISCLAIMER The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data, opinions, findings, and conclusions presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official view or policies of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), The Texas A&M University System, or the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI). This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. In addition, the above listed agencies assume no liability for its contents or use thereof. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project was conducted in cooperation with TxDOT and FHWA. The research team thanks the TxDOT project director, Mark Werner, P.E., and the TxDOT program coordinator, Maria Burke, P.E. Additionally, the researchers would like to thank other members of the TxDOT Rail Division Staff: Gil Wilson, Jennifer Moczygemba, P.E., and Bill Glavin, P.E., and TxDOT Research and Technology Implementation office staff: Duncan Stewart, Ph.D., P.E.; and Frank Espinosa. The research team would also like to thank Angie Parker of TxDOT’s Office of General Counsel who acted as a project monitoring committee member. We would also like to thank the following railroad and Washington State Department of Transportation (WS DOT) personnel who were interviewed as part of the project: • Dennis Eytcheson, General Director Network Strategies BNSF Railway Company. • Kristy D. Clark, General Attorney, BNSF Railway Company. • Susan Odom, Manager Network Strategy, BNSF Railway Company. • Scott Witt, State Rail and Marine Director, WS DOT. • Andrew Wood, Deputy Rail and Marine Director, WS DOT. • George Xu, Ph.D., MBA, Executive Manager, Strategic Planning and Research, WS DOT. • Brent Thompson, Finance and Contract Manager, WS DOT. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... xi List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 Background ................................................................................................................................. 1 Significance of Evaluation .......................................................................................................... 2 Previous Research ....................................................................................................................... 2 Report Organization .................................................................................................................... 4 Part I: Legislative and Policy Items ............................................................................................ 5 Chapter 2: Introduction to Legislative and Policy Issues ......................................................... 7 Legal Definitions ........................................................................................................................ 8 Chapter 3: Federal Legislation and Policy Issues .................................................................... 11 Background ............................................................................................................................... 11 Federal Regulation: The Basic Cycle for the Abandonment of a Rail Line ............................. 15 The System Diagram Map .................................................................................................... 15 Notice of Intent to Abandon ................................................................................................. 16 Times for Protests or Comments........................................................................................... 17 Procedure .............................................................................................................................. 17 Granting of the Permission ................................................................................................... 17 Railbanking ............................................................................................................................... 19 Railbanking under the NTSA................................................................................................ 20 Railbanking for Public Use Condition .................................................................................. 24 Reinstating the Rail Service .................................................................................................. 25 Alternatives to Abandonment and Railbanking ........................................................................ 26 Forced Subsidies and Sales ................................................................................................... 26 Voluntary Sales and Operations ............................................................................................ 27 Chapter 4: Texas Legislation and Policy .................................................................................. 29 Early and Past Regulation to Preserve Rail Corridors .............................................................. 29 Rural Rail Transportation Districts ....................................................................................... 29 Governor’s Executive Order AWR 93-4 .............................................................................. 29 Texas Legislative Activities .....................................................................................................