Freight and Passenger Rail Transportation in Iowa

1
Freight and Passenger Rail Transportation in Iowa
Iowa State University December 6, 2010
2
Rail in Iowa

• Passenger Rail
• Background
• Iowas Vision
• Activities
• HSIPR applications

• Freight Rail
• Rail in Iowa
• Railroad Revolving Loan
• and Grant Program
• Rail Port Funding (2010)
• 2008 Flood Relief

3
Iowas Railroads

• 19 railroad companies
• 3,716 railroad employees
• 4,023 track miles (over 50,000 acres of land)
• 4471 public at-grade crossings 718 grade
  separations

• In Iowa, railroads spend nearly 300 million
  annually for maintenance and improvements.
• Pay over 245 million in wages benefits to
  Iowans 128 million in retirement benefits
• Pay income, sales and property taxes

4
Iowas Rail System In 1915
5
Todays Rail System
6

• Rail Revolving Loan and Grant Program
  (RRLGP)

• Building access to rail for Iowas businesses
• Rail network improvement projects for Iowas
  communities
• New for 2010- Rail Port Funding

7
RRLGP 2008 Flood Recovery

• 3.9 million awarded to seven Iowa railroads
• Restored rail service to much of eastern Iowa by
  rebuilding track

8
Highway/Railroad Surface Repair Program

• Program began in 1976
• Funding Source State 900,000 and 1M from
  Federal Aid Crossing Safety Program
• In 2000 Primary Program created
• Crossing life was 4-5 years
• DOT staff hired
• Partnership in construction with DOT and Railroad
  field staff

9

• Federal Aid Highway-Railroad Crossing Safety
  Program
• All Funding Source
• Section 1401 of SAFETEA-LU
• FY 2009 - 4.2 million
• FY 2010 - 3.6 million
• Project Eligibility - all safety improvements on
  public roads including new crossing signal
  devices, upgrading of existing signals, increased
  sight distance, increased lens size, crossing
  surface rebuilds, crossing closures, raised
  medians and other safety improvements.
• Project Participation flexible 10 match by
  railroad and/or highway authority on signal work
• Project Prioritization B/C ratio for warning
  devices

10
IA 17/UP mainline - Four Quadrant Gates
11
Amtrak in Iowa

• Amtrak Routes-
• National System Serving Iowa

• California Zephyr
• Southwest Chief

12
Amtrak in USA

• Passenger Rail - Intercity System

Iowa to Chicagos Union Station, a passenger rail
hub
Fifteen States have Amtrak Intercity Service
(shown in pink plus Virginia)
13
Midwest Regional Rail Initiative Plan
Midwest Planning
13
14
Commuter Service

• Passenger Rail - Commuter System

Leave the car at home and take the train to work
Source Commuter Rail Feasibility Study for the
Des Moines Metropolitan Area 2000
15
Iowas Passenger Rail Vision
Iowa Connections Effort

• Create a passenger rail network that connects
  Iowans to each other and the country, and makes
  Iowa a more attractive place to live, work and
  visit.

Insert Iowa Connections front page
16
Iowas Vision
Implement Iowas Vision in Phases
17
Iowas Planning and Activities to be READY for
Passenger Rail

• 1990s legislation creating Passenger Rail
  Service Revolving Fund
• 1996 Midwest Regional Rail Initiative member
  state
• 1998 Route Feasibility Study (Chicago to Omaha)
• 2000 Rail System Plan
• 2006/2007 Transportation Enhancement funding of
  depot improvements on California Zephyr route
• 2006/2007 Requested Amtrak feasibility studies
• 2007 Amtrak feasibility study Chicago to Dubuque

5
18
Iowas Planning and Activities to be READY for
Passenger Rail

• 2007 Iowa passed legislation joining the Midwest
  Interstate Passenger Rail Compact
• 2008 Amtrak feasibility study Chicago to Iowa
  City
• 2008 Formed Passenger Rail Advisory Committee
  (statewide membership)
• 2009 Appropriated 3 million to the Passenger
  Rail Service Revolving Fund
• 2009 Updating State Rail Plan
• 2010 Appropriated Funding to Match Federal Funds
  for future grant opportunities
• 2010 Prepared a Draft 10 Year Strategic Plan

5
19
Passenger Rail Funding
Federal Funding

• Federal Funding
• American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (Recovery
  Act) February 2009
• 8 billion High Speed and Intercity Passenger
  Rail
• FY10 Appropriations Funding
• 2.5 billion High Speed and Intercity Passenger
  Rail
• Competitive Grants
• States must apply for funds

20
National Planning
Preliminary National Rail Plan
The Groundwork for Developing Policies to Improve
the United States Transportation System
21
National Planning
Preliminary National Rail Plan
22
Future Corridor Volumes Compared to Current
Corridor Capacity2035 without improvements
National Planning
Source National Rail Capacity Study, 2007
23
Strategic Transportation Goals
National Planning
Preliminary National Rail Plan
Current Performance
24
National Planning
Preliminary National Rail Plan
Next steps

State Rail Plans
National Rail Plan
Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of
2008 (PRIIA)
25
FRAs High Speed Rail Strategic PlanMajor
Elements
National Planning

• Investment strategy
• Express high speedover 150 mph
• Corridor high speedover 90 mph
• Conventional intercity railup to 90 mph
• Focuses on 100 to 600 mile trip lengths
• Federal Funding is a down payment - A starting
  point onlywill not build the full system

26
Passenger Rail Applications
Funding Iowa Received

• American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (Recovery
  Act)
• Iowa awarded funding for
• California Zephyr route BNSF Ottumwa
  Subdivision/Crossovers
• 17.3 million federal grant
• No state match required
• Installation for 4 new crossovers to reduce
  congestion and improve On-Time Performance
• Chicago to Omaha (for planning)
• 1 million federal grant
• 1 million state match required
• For planning, environmental analysis, route study
  and preliminary engineering

27
Passenger Rail Applications
Funding Iowa Received

• FY 2010 funding
• Iowa and Illinois awarded funding for
• Chicago to Iowa City
• 230 million federal funding
• Total Project Cost 310 million (80 federal
  funding/ 20 state match)
• For environmental analysis, track construction
  and improvements, layover facility, equipment
  acquisition, and station improvements
• Complete funding for implementing new service
• Future costs for operating subsidy

28
Whats next?

• Chicago to Iowa City
• Two daily round trips
• Maximum 79 mph
• Each train carries 230 passengers
• Total route 219.5 miles
• Travel time less than 5 hours
• New station at Iowa City
• 246,800 riders per year

29
Whats next?

• Chicago to Iowa City - Benefits
• Transportation options for Iowans
• Create jobs during construction and after
  service is in operation
• Improve Iowas infrastructure
• Sustainable/Livable communities
• Positive Economic Benefits (B/C1.7)
• Highway user safety benefits (7.4 M/year)
• Increased business activity (25 M/year)

30
Tammy Nicholson Office of Rail Transportation Iowa
Department of Transportation 515-239-1052 Tamara.
nicholson_at_dot.iowa.gov
www.iowarail.com