Alabama Department of Transportation Year 2001 Alabama Rail Plan Update Alabama Department of Transportation Bureau of Multimodal Transportation Rail Section Year 2001 Alabama Rail Update Produced by BURK-KLEINPETER, INC. Engineers, Architects, Planners, and Environmental Scientists 600 Lurleen Wallace Boulevard, Suite 180 Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401-1734 In Association with Parsons Transportation Group 1133 15th Street, NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20005-2701 January 2002 Alabama Department of Transportation Year 2001 Alabama Rail Plan Update Table of Contents page Title Page Table of Contents........................................................................................................... i List of Figures.............................................................................................................. iv List of Tables .................................................................................................................v Executive Summary............................................................................................ES.1 1. Introduction Purpose and Authority ................................................................................................1.1 General Trends in the Rail Industry............................................................................1.3 Mergers and Acquisitions ...........................................................................................1.3 Abandonments ............................................................................................................1.4 Increasing the Weight of the Standard 100-Ton Rail Car...........................................1.4 Federal Rail Assistance Programs ..............................................................................1.5 Implications for the State of Alabama ........................................................................1.7 2. Alabama Railroad Inventory General Overview .......................................................................................................2.1 Class I Railroads .........................................................................................................2.1 Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF) ..................................................2.1 Canadian National/Illinois Central Railroad (CNIC) ...........................................2.4 CSX Transportation (CSXT) ................................................................................2.4 Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS)..................................................................2.4 Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS)...........................................................2.4 Class II Railroads........................................................................................................2.9 Class III Railroads ......................................................................................................2.9 Alabama and Florida Railroad Company (AF) ....................................................2.9 Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway (AGR) ..............................................................2.9 Alabama Railroad Company(ALAB) ...................................................................2.9 Andalusia & Conecuh Railroad Company(ACRC) .............................................2.9 The Bay Line Railroad, LLC (BAYL)................................................................2.10 Birmingham Southern Railroad Company (BS).................................................2.10 Eastern Alabama Railway (EARY) ....................................................................2.10 Georgia Southwestern Railroad, Inc. (GSWR)...................................................2.10 January 2002 i Alabama Department of Transportation Year 2001 Alabama Rail Plan Update H & S Railroad Company, Inc. (HS) ........................................................................2.11 Heart of Georgia Railroad, Inc. (HOG) ....................................................................2.11 Huntsville and Madison County Railroad Authority (HMCR) ................................2.11 Jefferson Warrior Railroad Company (JEFW) .........................................................2.11 Luxapalila Valley Railroad Company (LXVR)........................................................2.11 M&B Railroad, LLC (MNBR) .................................................................................2.11 Pine Belt Southern Railroad Company (PBRR) .......................................................2.12 Redmont Railway Company, Inc. (RRC) .................................................................2.12 Sequatchie Valley Railroad (SQVR) ........................................................................2.12 Conecuh Valley Railroad (COEH) ..........................................................................2.12 Southern Electric Railroad Company, Inc. (SERX) .................................................2.12 Tennessee Southern Railroad Company (TSRR) .....................................................2.12 Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks (TASD)....................................................2.12 Three Notch Railroad Company, Inc. (TNHR) ........................................................2.13 Wiregrass Central Railroad (WGCR) .......................................................................2.13 3. Line Density and Usage Rail Traffic Originated and Terminated in Alabama..................................................3.1 Intrastate Rail Traffic..................................................................................................3.2 Traffic Volume by Geographical Area .......................................................................3.3 Traffic Neither Originating nor Terminating within the State but only Passing Through the State........................................................3.4 Traffic Density on Major Line Segments ...................................................................3.5 4. Light Density Lines Class I Railroad Line Segments with Less than One Million Gross Ton-Miles per Route-Mile (GTM/M)...........................................................................................4.1 Traffic Density on Shortline Segments.......................................................................4.3 5. Abandonments Abandonments Between 1971 and 1992.....................................................................5.1 Abandonments since the 1992 Rail Plan Update........................................................5.1 Rate of Abandonments................................................................................................5.3 Filing for an Abandonment.........................................................................................5.4 6. Intermodal Facilities Types of Intermodal Facilities ....................................................................................6.1 COFC/TOFC...............................................................................................................6.2 January 2002 ii Alabama Department of Transportation Year 2001 Alabama Rail Plan Update Intermodal Terminals..................................................................................................6.2 International Services..................................................................................................6.3 Third Generation Intermodal Technology ..................................................................6.3 The Double-Stack "Revolution" .................................................................................6.3 Intermodal Equipment Utilization ..............................................................................6.4 Intermodal Facilities in Alabama................................................................................6.4 7. Passenger Rail Overview of Passenger Rail Service in the U. S.........................................................7.1 Light Rail systems.................................................................................................7.1 Heavy Rail Transit ................................................................................................7.9 Railroad Commuter Service..................................................................................7.9 The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)............................................7.9 Amtrak Routes and Traffic Passenger Rail Service in Alabama ..........................................................................7.11 The Crescent .......................................................................................................7.11 The Sunset Limited..............................................................................................7.13 High Speed Passenger Rail Corridors.......................................................................7.14 Magnetic Levitation............................................................................................7.16 Steel Wheel Technology.....................................................................................7.16 Tilting Trains ......................................................................................................7.16 High Speed Rail in Alabama.....................................................................................7.16 Appendices 1. History of Rail Abandonments in Alabama, 1971-1992 2. Abandonments and Alternatives to Abandonment 3. Glossary of Terms January 2002 iii Alabama Department of Transportation