State Rail Plan Georgia State Rail Plan Final Report Master Contract #: TOOIP1900173 PI # 0015886 State Rail Plan Update – FY 2018 4/6/2021 State Rail Plan Contents 1. The Role of Rail in Statewide Transportation ......................................................................................... 1-7 1.1. Purpose and Content ...................................................................................................................... 1-7 1.2. Multimodal Transportation System Goals ...................................................................................... 1-8 1.3. Role of Rail in Georgia’s Transportation Network .......................................................................... 1-8 1.4. Role of Passenger Rail in Georgia Transportation Network ......................................................... 1-16 1.5. Institutional Governance Structure of Rail in Georgia ................................................................. 1-19 1.6. Role of Federal Agencies .............................................................................................................. 1-29 2. Georgia’s Existing Rail System ................................................................................................................ 2-1 2.1. Description and Inventory .............................................................................................................. 2-1 2.2. Trends and Forecasts .................................................................................................................... 2-54 3. Proposed Passenger Rail Improvements and Investments .................................................................... 3-1 3.1. Potential Improvements to Amtrak Services .................................................................................. 3-1 3.2. Previous Passenger Rail Studies ..................................................................................................... 3-4 4. Freight Rail Issues, Opportunities, Improvements and Proposed Investments ..................................... 4-1 4.1. Grade Crossing Issues and Opportunities ....................................................................................... 4-1 4.2. Short Line Railroad Issues and Opportunities, Initiatives and Investments ................................... 4-9 4.3. Issues and Opportunities of Unused Rail Lines ............................................................................ 4-15 4.4. Port-Related Issues and Opportunities ........................................................................................ 4-16 4.5. Rail’s Role in Economic Development and Freight Mobility......................................................... 4-25 5. The State’s Rail Service and Investment Program .................................................................................. 5-1 5.1. Vision, Goals, and Objectives.......................................................................................................... 5-1 5.2. Coordination ................................................................................................................................... 5-3 5.3. Rail Agencies ................................................................................................................................... 5-4 5.4. Program Effects .............................................................................................................................. 5-4 5.5. Passenger and Freight Elements – Funding Plan ............................................................................ 5-7 5.6. Studies and Reports ...................................................................................................................... 5-13 5.7. Passenger and Freight Investment Program ................................................................................ 5-14 5.8. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 5-39 6. Coordination and Review ....................................................................................................................... 6-1 6.1. Approach to Stakeholder and Public Participation......................................................................... 6-1 i State Rail Plan 6.2. Stakeholder and Public Involvement in Development of the State Rail Plan................................. 6-1 6.3. Issues Identified during the Rail Planning Process ....................................................................... 6-12 6.4. Considerations of Recommendations Identified by Stakeholders ............................................... 6-13 6.5. State Rail Planning Coordination .................................................................................................. 6-13 Tables Table 1-1: Content of the Georgia State Rail Plan .......................................................................................... 1-7 Table 1-2: Georgia Freight Modal Shares (2017) .......................................................................................... 1-11 Table 1-3: Modal Share of Freight Passing through Georgia to/from Florida (2017) .................................. 1-11 Table 1-4: 2017 Tonnage and Commodity Group for Shipments to, from within Georgia .......................... 1-12 Table 1-5: 2017 Rail Mode Share by Distance and Commodity Group for Shipments to, from within Georgia ...................................................................................................................................................................... 1-13 Table 1-6: 2017 Tonnage and Rail Mode Share for International Trade to and from Georgia .................... 1-14 Table 1-7: Distribution of Georgia Road and Rail Networks by Functional Classification ............................ 1-15 Table 1-8: Summary of Amtrak Routes in Georgia ....................................................................................... 1-17 Table 1-9: Summary of Amtrak Accessibility-2018 ....................................................................................... 1-17 Table 2-1: Operating Route Mileage in Georgia ............................................................................................. 2-1 Table 2-2: Total Class I Railroad Mileage Operated in Georgia (2019) ........................................................... 2-3 Table 2-3: Interchanges with Western Railroads ........................................................................................... 2-3 Table 2-4: East Coast Ports Served by CSX ..................................................................................................... 2-3 Table 2-5: NS Connections to Western Carriers ............................................................................................. 2-5 Table 2-6: NS Service to Major East Coast Ports ............................................................................................ 2-5 Table 2-7: Short Line Railroads in Georgia ..................................................................................................... 2-9 Table 2-8: Automotive Rail Facilities ............................................................................................................ 2-19 Table 2-9: Georgia Amtrak Station Amenities .............................................................................................. 2-22 Table 2-10: Route Ridership FY2014 - FY2018 .............................................................................................. 2-24 Table 2-11: 2018 Top Georgia Origin-Destination Station Pairs ................................................................... 2-25 Table 2-12: Percent of Fully Allocated Operating Cost Covered by Passenger-Related Revenue, Rolling Average for Past Eight Quarters ................................................................................................................... 2-26 Table 2-13: Passenger-Miles per Train-Mile, Rolling Average for Past Eight Quarters ................................ 2-26 Table 2-14: Change in Effective Speed, Endpoint OTP, and All Station OTP, FY2018 Q1-Q4 ....................... 2-27 Table 2-15: Total Delay and Top Two Largest Delay Codes for Amtrak-Responsible Delays, in Minutes of Delay per 10,000 Train Miles, FY2018 Q4 .................................................................................................... 2-28 Table 2-16: Total Delay and Top Two Largest Delay Codes for Host-Responsible Delays, in Minutes of Delay per 10,000 Train Miles, FY2018 Q4 .............................................................................................................. 2-28 Table 2-17: Customer Satisfaction Indicator Scores, FY2018 Q4 ................................................................. 2-29 Table 2-18: Georgia Public Grade Highway-Rail Crossings ........................................................................... 2-41 Table 2-19: Measures of Rail Impact ............................................................................................................ 2-48 ii State Rail Plan Table 2-20: Total Economic Impacts by Type in Georgia.............................................................................. 2-51 Table 2-21: Total Economic Impacts of Rail in Georgia by Type................................................................... 2-51 Table 2-22: Annual Fuel and Emissions Savings to the U.S. of Georgia Rail ................................................. 2-54 Table