Shared Use Corridors New Jersey Transit’s Passenger Rail Perspectives D. C. Agrawal Assistant Executive Director Corporate Strategy, Policy, & Contracts [email protected] January 13, 2008 Sunday, January 20, 2008 1 NJ TRANSIT has been operating passenger rail services in Shared Use Corridors for over 25 years • Commuter Rail – Intercity Rail Commuter trains on Amtrak-owned NEC • Commuter Rail – Freight Rail – Commuter trains on Conrail (CSX/NS)-owned lines – Freight trains (Conrail and NS) on NJ TRANSIT-owned lines • Light Rail – Freight Rail Freight trains (Conrail) on NJ TRANSIT-owned lines 2 Sunday, January 20, 2008 2 NJ Transit - Amtrak • Operations – 430 NJ Transit trains each weekday – Over 200,000 persons a day or over 80% of NJ Transit ridership touches NEC • Legal Framework – NJ Transit’s rights on NEC pursuant to federal law (3R/ 4R/NERSA) – NJ Transit contract negotiations governed by STB rulings; however, current payments above STB “avoidable cost” methodology 3 Sunday, January 20, 2008 3 NJ TRANSIT – Amtrak Shared Use Costing Principles • Capital Costs – Sole Benefit Projects – all costs –paid for by NJT: $1.2b • Kearny Connection – connected NJ TRANSIT’s M&E Lines to NEC • Secaucus Junction – new Transfer Station on NEC • Newark Airport Station – new NEC train station with rail connection to airport – Joint Benefit Capital Program – NJT: 50%; Amtrak: 50% $600m Cost allocation share agreed to in 1996 on a program level rather than by project basis e.g.: NEC State-of-Good Repair projects between Trenton and New York 4 Sunday, January 20, 2008 4 NJ TRANSIT – Amtrak Shared Use Costing Principles • Annual Operating Costs – Sole Benefit Interlockings, maintenance & other costs: $2.5m – Common NEC O&M functional costs allocated based $30.0m on operational data: • Track maintenance – ton miles / speed-factored gross ton miles • ET maintenance – kWh consumed • Signal maintenance – train movements • Dispatching – train movements – Issues • Liability • Station revenues 5 Sunday, January 20, 2008 5 Commuter Rail – Freight Rail • Operations – 58 NJ Transit trains per day on 6-mile segment of Conrail (near Newark) Lehigh Valley Line – 15-20 Conrail/NS trains per day on NJ Transit’s 530-mile rail system • Legal Framework – Both commuter and freight railroad rights pursuant to federal laws (3R/4R/NERSA) 6 Sunday, January 20, 2008 6 Commuter Rail - Freight Rail Shared Use Costing Principles • Capital Costs – Each railroad responsible for 100% of costs for sole-benefit projects; • New passenger rail station on freight railroad • Freight only switches – Both railroads share in costs for joint benefit projects on a negotiated basis • Trackage Rights (O&M Costs) Each railroad pays other on AAR cost basis • Train operations – 45 cents per car-mile • Switch maintenance. Each party reimburses the other for “sole-benefit” switches - $1,810 per year • Liability – “No-Fault” 7 Sunday, January 20, 2008 7 Light Rail – Freight Rail Hudson Bergen LRT • Prior to LRT startup, freight service moved to parallel freight lines • 14-mile LRT line. No shared track. Small shared use corridor with intrusion detection fence. • 618 LRT trips/day South Jersey River Line • Shared use tracks on 27 of 32- mile LRT line • Temporal separation between LRT – freight operations • 110 LRT trips/day 8 Sunday, January 20, 2008 8 Light Rail – Freight Rail Shared Use Costing Principles • South Jersey River Line – Follows freight-commuter rail trackage rights agreement principles with respect to: – Capital costs – Operating costs – Liability (Additional coverage requirements for this LRT operation) • New LRT Startups under Planning/Design Issues to be negotiated on case-by-case basis – Design – Construction – Operations – Liability 9 Sunday, January 20, 2008 9.