1、State Rail Planning Best Practices Volume 2 May 2016ii | State Rail Planning Best Practices Foreword State Rail Planning Best Practices, Volume 2 is a companion to State Rail Planning Best Practices, First Edition, which was first published in 2009 to provide AASHTO members and the broader rail plan
2、ning community with practical guidance on how to develop state rail plans that comply with federal guidelines while also accounting for the unique circumstances of each state. Volume 2 complements the First Edition by summarizing states activity over the last 5 years to develop state rail plans sinc
3、e the enactment of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA). This report draws from the latest generation of state rail plans to document current best practices. The report also summarizes the experiences of states that participated in a state rail planning survey conducted by AASHT
4、O in 2013. The objective of this report is to serve as a resource to inform and improve the development of future state rail plans. Acknowledgement The following document State Rail Planning Best Practices, Volume 2 was developed by Donald B. Ludlow, AICP of Cambridge Systematics, Inc., now of CPCS
5、Transcom, Inc. on behalf of the AASHTO Rail Resource Center and the Standing Committee on Rail Transportation. AASHTO would also like to thank the state departments of transportation rail officials for their participation in the completion of the document. 2016 by the American Association of State H
6、ighway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publishers. ISBN: 978-1-56051-647-7 Pub Code: SRPG-1S 2016 by the American Association of State Highway an
7、d Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.State Rail Planning Best Practices | iii Table of Contents Foreword . ii Section 1Introduction . 1 1.1 Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8、 . . . . . . . . . 1 1.2 Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Section 2Survey of State Rail Planning Officials: The Results 3 Section 3Best Practices 9 3.1 Outreach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9、 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 3.2 System Performance and Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 3.3 Communicating Effectively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 3.4 Project Sele
10、ction and Prioritization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 3.5 Multimodalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 3.6 Coordination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11、. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 3.7 Funding and Financing/Investment Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 3.8 Other Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Section 4Gaps in Best Practices 3
12、5 4.1 Strategic and Programmatic Disconnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 4.2 Other Gaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Section 5Conclusion 39 2016 by the American Association of State High
13、way and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.Section 1Introduction State rail planning activities have changed dramatically since enactment of the landmark rail planning legislation contained in the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act
14、of 2008 (PRIIA). When it was published in November of 2009, State Rail Planning Best Practices provided immediate insight and guidance to state rail agencies and stakeholders as they developed the first generation of post-PRIIA plans. Since 2009, the practice of state rail planning has continued to
15、evolve. The latest generation of post-PRIIA plans features greater orientation toward passenger rail planning and greater focus on project evaluation. Since PRIIA was enacted, the number of states with current state rail plans blossomed from a dozen or so to over 40. During this period of rapid expa
16、nsion of state rail planning activity, the practice has matured to encompass a wide range of approaches. 1.1 Objective The primary objective of Best Practices, Volume 2 is to identify best practices from a broad body of recently completed state rail planning work to empower future planners with idea
17、s and examples that will improve the efficacy of their efforts. This guidance will be timely as states contemplate future actions following a flurry of recent state rail planning activity from 2009 to 2015. 1.2 Approach This report draws from nearly 40 of the most recently completed or nearly comple
18、ted state rail plans to identify changes in rail planning since 2009, to identify best practices, and to provide guidance on lingering challenges. To support the development of this report, AASHTO conducted a nationwide survey of state rail planning officials in 2013. The survey gauged the experienc
19、es of state DOTs in preparing the latest generation of state rail plans. The findings illuminated some key questions about the state of state rail planningincluding the primary motivations for developing a plan, details on who developed it, and how it was developed. One of the most important outcome
20、s of the survey was that it produced a list of persistent challenges that states still face. The report contains three major sections. Section 2 summarizes the state survey, Section 3 describes the latest best practices, and Section 4 identifies lingering gaps in state rail planning and potential im
21、provements. State Rail Planning Best Practices | 1 What is state rail planning? For the purposes of this report, state rail planning is the activity culminating in the development of a state rail plan an official document that guides state freight and passenger rail development and policies. Figure
22、1-1. Denver Union Station 2016 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law. 2016 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation
23、 of applicable law.State Rail Planning Best Practices | 3 Section 2Survey of State Rail Planning Officials Twenty state rail planning officials participated in the survey during the summer of 2013 and provided valuable insights on their experiences and observations. Why did your state develop its mo
24、st recent state rail plan? States developed state rail plans to quality for High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) programs and to improve comprehensive multimodal planning. Who developed your most recent state rail plan? Most states relied on a combination of consultants and agency staff to de
25、velop the state rail plan . Figure 2-1. Motivation for Developing State Rail Plan Figure 2-2. Who Developed State Rail Plan 50 To qualify for HSIPR Program To improve comprehensive multimodal planning Other 40 30 20 10 15 5 25 35 45 0 25% 6% 69% Combination of consultant and sta Relied almost entire
26、ly on consultant Agency sta 2016 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.4 | State Rail Planning Best Practices How did you fund the development of your state rail plan? The majority of surveyed stat
27、es utilized a combination of state and federal funding to pay for the plan . What are the principal data sources informing the state rail plan? Data from freight railroads, including empirical and qualitative data, are the single most important source of data for the current generation of state rail
28、 plans, followed by STB and Amtrak data. “We are incorporating more passenger rail data and information.” State DOT Respondent Figure 2-3. Funding Development of State Rail Plan Figure 2-4. State Rail Plan Data Sources 44% 57% State funds State and federal funds 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Data from f
29、reight r ailr oads STB c arload waybill sample Data from Amtrak FHWA FAF Survey responses Data from commuter r ailr oads 2016 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.State Rail Planning Best Practice
30、s | 5 What are the most important issues in state rail planning? Rail funding, project lists/prioritization, coordination, and multimodal/economic issues are the most important issues in state rail planning . How has state rail planning changed since PRIIA? Rail planning has become more comprehensiv
31、e, oriented toward passenger rail, and focused on funding and implementation. “This has become a much higher-level policy issue. It is not a simple compilation of inventory. We have developed visions, goals, and programs to the extent possible.” State DOT Respondent Figure 2-5. Most Important Issues
32、 in State Rail Planning Funding rail projects Project lists and prioritization Coordination of planning activities Multimodal eects Short lines and the economy Leveraging resources Multi-state planning Implementing rail plans MAP-21 and rail Working with the FRA Railroads and energy Emergency manage
33、ment Since PRIIA, state rail planning has become more: Comprehensive. Oriented to passenger rail operations. Focused on capital planning and prioritization. Reflective of broad stakeholder outreach. Customized to unique state circumstances. 2016 by the American Association of State Highway and Trans
34、portation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.6 | State Rail Planning Best Practices What were the greatest challenges you faced in developing your state rail plan? State rail agencies grappled with institutional challenges, data scarcity, and prioritization
35、approaches, among other major obstacles. What was difficult? Why? Staffing the rail plan Loss of institutional knowledge with retirements of rail-focused staff across many states . Limited staff knowledge of rail issues. Limited time given other staff responsibilities. Rail activities are divided be
36、tween several divisions (e.g. public transportation, highways Section 130, multimodal planning). Finding funding for the plan Difficult to assemble funding from state and federal sources. Prioritizing projects Private railroad priorities change constantly. Railroads planning horizon is shorter term
37、(e.g. 5-year program) versus states (5 to 30 years). Priorities of the state may be different from freight railroads. Data acquisition and integration Freight rail demand and operations data is difficult to obtain and apply. Integrating freight and passenger data has proven difficult. PRIIA complian
38、ce (for states that do not operate or own assets) The challenge of complying with PRIIA without appearing to advocate for passenger rail in states that do not own or operate any rail or where there is political opposition. Coordination with other plans Difficult to synchronize with state Long Range
39、Transportation Plan, MAP-21 Statewide Freight Plan. Coordination of public outreach Developing a common vision among multiple stakeholders. Engaging rail users (passenger and especially shippers). Predicting the future Understanding future freight flows and the states role in helping freight railroa
40、ds to be better positioned for future demands. 2016 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.State Rail Planning Best Practices | 7 How did you overcome your challenges in developing your state rail p
41、lan? State rail agencies overcame challenges by working harder and smarter, and by leveraging skills and talents from other agency divisions. Challenge Examples of state ingenuity and grit (State DOT responses) Staffing the rail plan “We borrowed staff from the Planning Section to assist with the ra
42、il plan (project management and process expertiseeven though they did not know rail).” Finding funding for the plan Combining state and federal funds and leveraging staff. Prioritizing projects “Prioritized short-term projects and developed strategies for longer- term needs.” Data acquisition and in
43、tegration “Reliance on a consultant team with national freight railroad experience.” PRIIA compliance (for states that do not operate or own assets) “Did the best we could with what data was available.” Coordination with other plans “Rail staff was a part of the technical review of the long-range pl
44、an. We held separate public meetings but coordinated dates so that we did not overlap too closely.” Coordination of public outreach “We had an advisory committee composed of our major stakeholders, which we found effective. Also had an extensive outreach program both for the general public and inter
45、est groups such as corridor governing groups and regional planning agencies.” Predicting the future Relying on available data and best judgment of state and rail stakeholders. Figure 2-6. Philadelphia 30th Street Station 2016 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
46、 All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law. 2016 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.State Rail Planning Best Practices | 9 Section 3Best Practices The best practices high
47、lighted in this report are based on a careful analysis of publicly available state rail plans. The plans fall into several categories, as shown in the figure below: 1) PRIIA plan complete; 2) PRIIA plan underway; 3) pre-PRIIA plan; 4) no state rail plan. By the end of 2015, 46 of 50 states plus the
48、District of Columbia will have developed a state rail plan that follows PRIIA. What is easy in state rail planning (low-hanging fruit)? Compiling existing information from reports and public data sources, and developing passenger project lists are the easiest chores of state rail planners. What is e
49、asy? Why? Developing inventory of existing conditions System data is readily available from railroads. Safety analysis Safety data is readily available from FRA. Compiling past studies Available and familiar to state rail planners. Developing passenger project lists Amtrak and commuter railroads provide detailed project information; public agencies depend on funding from state and are accustomed to sharing. Figure 3-1. Status of State Rail Plans PRIIA plan complete 33 13 3 2 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 PRIIA plan under
