WASHINGTON STATE RAIL PLAN 2019-2040 WASHINGTON STATE RAIL PLAN 2019- 2040 August 2020 Prepared by: Washington State Department of Transportation Rail, Freight, and Ports Division Title VI Notice to Public It is the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) policy to assure that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, national origin or sex, as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise discriminated against under any of its programs and activities. Any person who believes his/her Title VI protection has been violated, may file a complaint with WSDOT’s Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO). For additional information regarding Title VI complaint procedures and/or information regarding our non-discrimination obligations, please contact OEO’s Title VI Coordinator at (360) 705-7090. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Information This material can be made available in an alternate format by emailing the Office of Equal Opportunity at This material can be made available in an alternate format by emailing the Office of Equal Opportunity at wsdotada@ wsdot.wa.gov or by calling toll free, 855-362-4ADA(4232). Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing may make a request by calling the Washington State Relay at 711. Notificación de Titulo VI al Público Es la política del Departamento de Transportación del Estado de Washington (WSDOT, por sus siglas en inglés) asegurarse que ninguna persona, por razón de raza, color, origen, nacionalidad o sexo, según provee el Título VI de la Ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964, pueda ser excluido de la participación, negado los beneficios de o ser discriminado de otra manera bajo cualquiera de sus programas y actividades. Cualquier persona que crea que su protección bajo el Titulo VI ha sido violada, puede presentar una queja o reclamación ante la Comisión para la Igualdad de Oportunidades en el Empleo de Estados Unidos (EEOC, por sus siglas en inglés). Para obtener información adicional sobre los procedimientos de quejas y/o reclamaciones bajo el Titulo VI y/o información sobre nuestras obligaciones anti-discriminatorias, pueden contactar al coordinador del Título VI en la EEOC 360- 705-7090. Información del Acta Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Este material es disponible en un formato alternativo enviando un email/correo electrónico a la Comisión Estadounidense de Igualdad de Oportunidades en el Empleo [email protected] o llamando gratis al 855- 362-4ADA (4232). Personas sordas o con discapacidad auditiva pueden solicitar llamando Washington State Relay al 711. 20-07-0186 CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION. 1 1.1 Background and context . 1 1.2 Vision and goals for Washington’s rail system . 2 1.3 Transportation planning in Washington . 4 1.4 Alignment with planning activities . 5 1.5 Plan development . 6 CHAPTER 2 RAIL SYSTEM OVERVIEW . 8 2.1 Rail system elements . 8 2.2 Freight services . 11 2.3 Passenger services. .15 2.4 Strategic Rail Corridor Network . 17 2.5 Roles and responsibilities . .18 CHAPTER 3 FREIGHT RAIL SYSTEM STRENGTHS AND CHALLENGES . .21 3.1 Trends that may affect the freight rail system . .21 3.2 Existing and future demand for freight rail transportation . 25 3.3 Class I railroads . 33 3.4 Short line railroads . .35 CHAPTER 4 PASSENGER RAIL SYSTEM STRENGTHS AND CHALLENGES . .38 4.1 Trends that may affect passenger rail demand . .38 4.2 Long distance . .39 4.3 Intercity . .43 4.4 Commuter . 54 CHAPTER 5 INTEGRATED RAIL SYSTEM . .57 5.1 Rail system capacity . .57 5.2 Multimodal connectivity for freight rail . .65 5.3 Multimodal connectivity for passenger rail . .69 5.4 The rail system in communities. .72 CHAPTER 6 RAIL SYSTEM STRATEGIES . .80 6.1 Freight rail strategies . 80 6.2 Passenger rail strategies. .83 6.3 Integrated rail system strategies . .86 CHAPTER 7 RAIL INVESTMENTS AND INITIATIVES. .92 7.1 Freight rail . 92 7.2 Passenger rail . .96 7.3 Integrated rail system . 100 CHAPTER 8 RAIL FUNDING SOURCES . 106 8.1 Federal . 106 8.2 State. 109 CHAPTER 9 CONCLUSION . 112 APPENDIX A: ILLUSTRATIVE LIST OF INVESTMENTS. 113 APPENDIX B: EXISTING AND FUTURE DEMAND FORECASTING RESULTS OF INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL AND FREIGHT RAIL TRANSPORTATION . 126 APPENDIX C: PASSENGER RAIL MULTIMODAL CONNECTIVITY ANALYSIS AND CANDIDATE IMPROVEMENTS . 151 APPENDIX D: CROSSWALK BETWEEN THE FRA STATE RAIL PLAN GUIDANCE AND THE STATE RAIL PLAN FORMAT . 278 EXHIBITS Exhibit 2-1: Washington state rail system by owner . 9 Exhibit 2-2: Primary rail corridors used for passenger rail services in Washington state . .10 Exhibit 2-3: Short line railroad operators in Washington state . 12 Exhibit 2-4: Palouse River and Coulee City (PCC) rail system. .14 Exhibit 2-5: Strategic Rail Corridor Network designation in Washington state . .17 Exhibit 3-1: How Positive Train Control works . 23 Exhibit 3-2: Freight rail shipment by tonnage in Washington state . .26 Exhibit 3-3: Annual rail freight volume in Washington state by trade type, 2016 (in millions of tons) . 26 Exhibit 3-4: Freight Rail Demand Forecast Scenarios . 27 Exhibit 3-5: Statewide rail tonnage by movement type, 2016 and 2040 forecasted scenarios (table) . 28 Exhibit 3-6: Statewide rail tonnage by movement type, 2016 and 2040 forecasted scenarios . 28 Exhibit 3-7: Statewide rail tonnage by trade type, 2016 and 2040 forecasted scenarios . 29 Exhibit 3-8: Statewide rail tonnage by service type, 2016 and 2040 forecasted scenarios . 30 Exhibit 3-9: Top rail commodities by tonnage, 2016 and forecasted 2040 scenarios. .32 Exhibit 4-1: Empire Builder and Coast Starlight ridership, fiscal year 2000 – 2019. .40 Exhibit 4-2: Empire Builder and Coast Starlight on-time performance, fiscal year 2010 – 2019 . 41 Exhibit 4-3: Empire Builder and Coast Starlight ridership projection, fiscal year 2018 – 2040 . 41 Exhibit 4-4: Amtrak Cascades ridership between 2000 and 2019 . .44 Exhibit 4-5: Amtrak Cascades passenger miles between 2010 and 2019 . 44 Exhibit 4-6: Amtrak Cascades on-time performance between 2010 and 2019 . .45 Exhibit 4-7: Amtrak Cascades operating cost, revenue and farebox recovery rate for Washington-funded trains .46 Exhibit 4-8: Amtrak Cascades scenarios for demand forecasting . .47 Exhibit 4-9: Amtrak Cascades ridership, 2018 and 2040 scenarios . 48 Exhibit 4-10: Amtrak Cascades ridership forecast by year, 2018-2040 . .49 Exhibit 4-11: 2019 Amtrak Cascades delays by category (minutes) between Vancouver, BC and Portland, OR . 51 Exhibit 4-12: Sounder train annual ridership by lines, 2010 – 2019 . 55 Exhibit 5-1: Volume-to-capacity ratios and level of service grades . .58 Exhibit 5-2: Level of service estimation for base and forecast year scenarios. .60 Exhibit 5-3: Mainline level of service analysis for base year 2016 . .61 Exhibit 5-4: Mainline level of service analysis for 2040 Low Growth Scenario . 62 Exhibit 5-5: Mainline level of service analysis for 2040 Moderate Growth Scenario . .63 Exhibit 5-6: Mainline level of service analysis for 2040 High Growth Scenario. .64 Exhibit 5-7: Truck Freight Economic Corridors in Washington state . 68 Exhibit 5-8: Modal connections and supporting infrastructure at Washington state passenger rail stations 70 Exhibit 5-9: Washington rail incidents, 2009 – 2018 . 73 Exhibit 5-10: Washington rail crossing/trespassing incidents, 2010 – 2018 . .73 Exhibit 5-11: Crude oil transportation volume in Washington state by mode, January 1 – December 31, 2018 76 Exhibit 7-1: Freight Rail Investment Bank 2019-2021 projects . 93 Exhibit 7-2: Freight Rail Assistance Program 2019-2021 projects . .94 Exhibit 7-3: PCC system prioritized investment needs by branch line . 95 Exhibit 7-4: Sound Transit System Access Fund projects for Sounder stations . 101 Exhibit 7-5: Washington Rail Crossing Projects Funded by FHWA Section 130 Program (2017 Funding). 102 Exhibit 7-6: Funded grade separation projects . 103 Exhibit 7-7: Unfunded grade separation projects in design phase . 103 Exhibit 7-8: Proposed planning requirements for railroads moving oil in Washington state . 104 Exhibit 8-1: FASTLANE/INFRA awards for rail projects in Washington state . 108 Exhibit 8-2: TIGER and BUILD awards for rail projects in Washington state . 108 Exhibit 8-3: FRIB/FRAP 2019-2021 project locations . 110 WASHINGTON STATE RAIL PLAN 2019- 2040 | CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background and context Rail is an integral part of the statewide multimodal transportation system The Washington State Rail that keeps people and businesses moving. Serving freight and passengers, the rail system provides efficient transportation critical to maintaining our Plan is a single, integrated economy, environment and quality of life. The Washington State Rail Plan plan for both passenger comes during a time of change for rail transportation in the state, with the rail transportation system facing important near and long-term challenges and freight rail that include: • Addressing issues related to the December 2017 Amtrak Cascades derailment at DuPont, WA • Meeting the increasing demand for passenger and freight rail services in Washington in partnership with private rail carriers that own much of the network over which passenger and freight trains operate • Developing more efficient and effective connections between rail and other modes of transportation • Ensuring the sustainability of Washington’s public and private short line railroads that face infrastructure investment needs in order to preserve these important services to communities The Washington State Rail Plan is a single, integrated plan for both passenger and freight rail and is the planning foundation for future actions. To address rail system challenges and identify opportunities for improvement, the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) plan describes the rail system and the state’s interest in it, identifies potential actions to improve the rail system, and recommends strategies consistent with Washington’s’ transportation policy goals of economic vitality, preservation, safety, mobility, environment, and stewardship.