Solano Rail Facilities Plan Update DRAFT Solano Rail Facilities Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 1 1 DEMAND FOR FREIGHT RAIL .................................................................................................................. 3 1.1 BACKGROUND TO FREIGHT RAIL DEMAND ................................................................................... 3 1.2 CURRENT FREIGHT RAIL NETWORK IN SOLANO COUNTY .......................................................... 3 1.2.1 Class I .......................................................................................................................................... 4 1.2.2 Shortlines ..................................................................................................................................... 6 1.3 RAIL SERVED BUSINESS (RSB) FACILITIES ................................................................................... 8 1.3.1 How Rail Served Businesses (RSBs) are typically served ........................................................... 8 1.4 INDIVIDUAL RAIL SERVED BUSINESS (RSB) FACILITIES PROFILES ........................................... 8 1.5 CURRENT FREIGHT RAIL ACTIVITY IN SOLANO .......................................................................... 20 1.5.1 Class I ........................................................................................................................................ 20 1.5.2 Shortlines ................................................................................................................................... 20 1.6 FUTURE DEMAND FOR RAIL SERVICE ......................................................................................... 23 1.6.1 Key Rail Commodities in Solano and Trends ............................................................................. 23 1.6.2 Former Rail Served Businesses (RSBs) ..................................................................................... 25 1.6.3 Potential New Rail Served Business (RSB) Sites ....................................................................... 29 1.7 FREIGHT CAPACITY BOTTLENECKS AND NEEDS ....................................................................... 34 1.7.1 Current Bottlenecks .................................................................................................................... 34 1.7.2 Future Bottlenecks (10-year outlook).......................................................................................... 35 1.8 INITIAL CONCLUSIONS: KEY FREIGHT RAIL CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT NEEDS .................... 36 1.8.1 The Current Mainline Network .................................................................................................... 36 1.8.2 Shortline Facilities ...................................................................................................................... 37 1.8.3 RSB Facilities ............................................................................................................................. 37 2 CAPITOL CORRIDOR - REVIEW AND UPDATE OF 1995 PLAN ........................................................... 41 2.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 41 2.2 EXISTING CONDITIONS, PLANS, AND POLICIES .......................................................................... 41 2.3 STATION LOCATIONS ..................................................................................................................... 41 2.3.1 Current Solano Passenger Rail Service ..................................................................................... 41 2.3.2 Current Station Facility: Suisun-Fairfield Station ........................................................................ 43 2.3.3 Planned Station: Fairfield-Vacaville (FFV) Intermodal Station .................................................... 44 2.4 CURRENT CAPITOL CORRIDOR JOINT POWERS AUTHORITY STATION STOP CRITERIA ...... 44 2.5 POTENTIAL SOLANO-SPECIFIC STATION CRITERIA ................................................................... 46 2.6 FUTURE CAPITOL CORRIDOR/AMTRAK STATIONS ..................................................................... 51 2.6.1 Dixon: Major Changes since 1995 .............................................................................................. 51 2.6.2 Benicia: Major Changes since 1995 ........................................................................................... 53 2.7 RIDERSHIP POTENTIAL .................................................................................................................. 54 2.7.1 1995 Rail Plan Ridership and Current Ridership Comparison .................................................... 54 2.7.2 Current Ridership Summary ....................................................................................................... 54 2.7.3 Forecast Ridership: Model and Methodology ............................................................................. 56 2.7.4 Forecast Ridership: Current and Future 10-year ........................................................................ 57 2.7.5 Inter-county ridership .................................................................................................................. 59 2.8 RAILROAD OPERATIONS ................................................................................................................ 61 2.8.1 Passenger Service and Freight Railroads: Background ............................................................. 61 2.8.2 Passenger Service on UPRR: Current and Future 10-year level of service ............................... 61 2.8.3 Amtrak Long Distance Services ................................................................................................. 67 2.9 TRANSIT AND STATION CONNECTIVITY ....................................................................................... 68 2.9.1 Serving Intercity Rail Stations ..................................................................................................... 68 2.9.2 Current Station Access ............................................................................................................... 68 2.9.3 Future 10-year Fairfield-Vacaville Station Connection Needs .................................................... 70 2.9.4 Financing And Implementation ................................................................................................... 73 DRAFT Solano Rail Facilities Plan Update 3 REPORT ON RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE AND SAFETY .......................................................................... 82 3.1 THROUGHPUT, CAPACITY, AND FUTURE NEEDS ....................................................................... 82 3.1.1 Current Needs ............................................................................................................................ 82 3.1.2 Potential Projects – Near Term Horizon ..................................................................................... 82 3.1.3 Potential Projects – Long Term Horizon ..................................................................................... 83 3.1.4 Project Priorities ......................................................................................................................... 84 3.2 SAFETY ............................................................................................................................................. 86 3.2.1 Key Safety Findings of Previous Studies .................................................................................... 86 3.2.2 Updated and Prioritized Safety Projects ..................................................................................... 87 3.3 SEA LEVEL RISE .............................................................................................................................. 95 3.3.1 Current Sea Level Rise Policy Background in Solano ................................................................ 95 3.3.2 Solano Rail Infrastructure and Sea Level Rise ........................................................................... 96 3.3.3 Passenger Rail Operations and Sea Level Rise in Solano ......................................................... 96 4 NAPA-SOLANO RAIL CONNECTIONS UPDATE ................................................................................... 99 4.1 BACKGROUND NAPA-SOLANO 2003 STUDY ................................................................................ 99 4.2 APPROACH TO THE UPDATE ......................................................................................................... 99 4.3 RIDERSHIP DEMAND REVISITED ................................................................................................. 101 4.4 RAILROAD INFRASTRUCTURE REVISITED ................................................................................. 104 4.5 PASSENGER OPERATIONS REVISITED ...................................................................................... 110 4.6 CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................................................. 111 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................... 115 5.1 DRAFT CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................