prepared for North Carolina Statewide North Carolina Department of Transportation Multimodal Freight Plan prepared by Cambridge Systematics, Inc. Rail Profile with AECOM February 7, 2017 report North Carolina Statewide Multimodal Freight Plan Rail Profile prepared for North Carolina Department of Transportation prepared by Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 730 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 500 Atlanta, GA 30318 with AECOM 701 Corporate Center Drive, Suite 475 Raleigh, North Carolina 27607 date February 7, 2017 North Carolina Statewide Multimodal Freight Plan Table of Contents 1.0 Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 1-1 1.1 Purpose ...................................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.2 Methods and Data Overview ..................................................................................................... 1-1 1.3 Section Organization.................................................................................................................. 1-2 2.0 Inventory ............................................................................................................................................. 2-1 2.1 Facilities ..................................................................................................................................... 2-1 2.1.1 Railroad System ............................................................................................................ 2-1 Rail Lines ...................................................................................................................... 2-1 At-Grade Roadway/Rail Crossings ............................................................................... 2-4 2.1.2 Major Rail Facilities ....................................................................................................... 2-4 Major Rail Yards ........................................................................................................... 2-6 Intermodal Facilities and Multi-modal Terminals .......................................................... 2-6 Ports/Marine .................................................................................................................. 2-6 2.2 Freight Significant Corridors ...................................................................................................... 2-8 2.2.1 National Multimodal Freight Network ............................................................................ 2-8 2.2.2 Intermodal Corridors ................................................................................................... 2-11 Crescent Corridor........................................................................................................ 2-11 National Gateway Corridor ......................................................................................... 2-12 2.2.3 North Carolina Statewide Rail Plan Freight Corridors ................................................ 2-12 3.0 Network Usage and Performance ..................................................................................................... 3-1 3.1 Industries Served ....................................................................................................................... 3-1 3.1.1 Employment .................................................................................................................. 3-1 3.1.2 Goods Movement Demand ........................................................................................... 3-4 3.2 Markets Served .......................................................................................................................... 3-6 3.2.1 Market Overview ........................................................................................................... 3-6 3.2.2 Trading Partners ........................................................................................................... 3-6 3.2.3 Rail Traffic Generators ................................................................................................ 3-11 3.3 Level of Service ....................................................................................................................... 3-13 3.4 System Deficiencies ................................................................................................................. 3-18 3.4.1 Bottlenecks ................................................................................................................. 3-18 3.4.2 Constraints .................................................................................................................. 3-19 3.5 Safety ....................................................................................................................................... 3-20 3.5.1 Rail Safety Initiatives in North Carolina ...................................................................... 3-20 National Railroad Safety Oversight............................................................................. 3-20 Cambridge Systematics, Inc. i North Carolina Statewide Multimodal Freight Plan Crossing Safety ........................................................................................................... 3-21 Inspection and Oversight ............................................................................................ 3-23 Public Awareness and Education ............................................................................... 3-23 3.5.2 North Carolina Rail Accident Statistics ....................................................................... 3-23 Train Accidents in North Carolina ............................................................................... 3-24 Other Rail Accidents or Incidents in North Carolina ................................................... 3-26 At-grade Roadway/Rail Crossing Incidents in North Carolina .................................... 3-27 Rail Incidents involving Hazardous Materials in North Carolina ................................. 3-27 4.0 Future Performance/Long-Term Trends .......................................................................................... 4-1 4.1 Future Activity/Demand.............................................................................................................. 4-1 4.2 Trends and Implications of Growth ............................................................................................ 4-2 4.2.1 Trends ........................................................................................................................... 4-2 Demographic, Economic, and Land Use Pattern Trends ............................................. 4-2 Freight Trends ............................................................................................................... 4-3 4.2.2 Implications of Growth .................................................................................................. 4-8 Highway Congestion and Freight Rail .......................................................................... 4-8 Passenger Train Delays ............................................................................................. 4-13 5.0 Needs Assessment ............................................................................................................................ 5-1 5.1 Rail Service Needs – Freight ..................................................................................................... 5-1 5.2 Freight Rail Needs and Opportunities........................................................................................ 5-2 Appendix A. Rail Capacity Analysis ............................................................................................... A-1 A.1 Data Sources ............................................................................................................................. A-2 A.2 Methodology and Results .......................................................................................................... A-6 A.2.1 Prepare 2014 rail traffic Origin-Destination (OD) matrix for assignment using the 2014 Carload Waybill data ............................................................................................ A-7 A.2.2 Forecast 2045 rail flows using national FAF4 database and prepare 2045 rail traffic OD matrix for assignment ................................................................................... A-9 Forecasting Methodology ............................................................................................. A-9 Adjustments to FAF4 based Forecasts....................................................................... A-10 Forecasting Results and Preparation of 2045 OD Matrix ........................................... A-10 A.2.3 Update rail network information in the TRANSCAD Model using available information .................................................................................................................. A-12 A.2.4 Perform 2014 and 2045 rail tonnage assignment using the TRANSCAD Model ....... A-13 A.2.5 Convert rail mainline annual tonnage flows to average daily carload and intermodal train volumes ............................................................................................. A-15 A.2.6 Collect Rail Mainline Passenger Train Service Frequency Information and Assign to Rail Mainline Segments .........................................................................................