Iowa DOT Freight Rail Architecture

Presented at the:Second SymposiumInnovations in Freight Demand Modeling & Data ImprovementSHRP2 Strategic Highway Research ProgramWashington, D.C. USA

October 21-22, 2013Iowa DOT with Parsons BrinckerhoffRail Freight Commodity Models: A First Generation Effort in Iowa

1Outline2Evolution of Iowa DOT Activities Statewide Traffic ModelInterest in Truck & Rail Commodity ModelsRail Commodity Architecture Confidential Rail Waybill in IowaFAF3 to County Processing of Commodity FlowsRail Freight ModelingApplicability to States, MPOs and Decision Makers

Evolution of Iowa DOT Activities3History of Statewide Modeling in Iowa4First Generation Traffic Model Developed 2005-2007Focused on Auto and Truck TrafficApplied for Planning, Engineering & Safety StudiesResource for MPO and RPA (Regional Planning Affiliation) Modeling (the DOT serves nine MPOs)Known as iTRAMSecond Generation Statewide ModelIn progress 2012-2014 Provides an update to the 2007 traffic modelBegins an emphasis on freight and commodity movements

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Iowas Central Location6

iTRAM Traffic Analysis Zones (1,951)Interest in Commodity Flow Issues7Need for Commodity Flow Models Estimate Freight Rail Capacity NeedsServe Passenger Rail ModelsUse in Business Decision MakingNew Warehouse, Distribution Center LocationShort Line Railroad PlanningRail Ownership ChangesStudy PartnersIowa DOT: Offices of Systems Planning and Rail Federal Railroad Administration

Iowa Corn Ton-Miles by Rail

LUPA/2012One Suggested Reporting Metric of iTRAM Freight Commodity Model

iTRAM Freight Commodity Architecture9Sequencing of Activities in iTRAM Update10Prepare Comprehensive Model Architecture Traffic Model UpdateTruck Model UpdateRail Commodity ModelsInterface between the Moving PartsFocus of this Presentation is Rail Commodity Data Inventory & ProcessingModel Development Issues

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Freight Flows by Mode12* - unit of measure is thousand tons** - does not include through tripsSource: FHWA FAF3.4, Iowa, Table KT_BYMODE, Year 2011Freight ModeWithinFromToTotal of within, to and from IowaTonnage% of TotalTonnage% of TotalTonnage% of TotalTonnage% of TotalTruck252,19697%58,98662%44,23147%355,41379%Rail6,3892%20,31821%37,10840%63,81514%Water00%5,8886%8681%6,7562%Air8690%9,63010%11,34112%21,8405%Multiple modes & mailPipelineOther and unknownTotal259,454100%94,822100%93,548100%447,824100%In this table for commodity flows within Iowa, the truck mode dominates with 98% of the freight movements with rail carrying 2%. Rail becomes a serious contender as a freight mode only when a commodity is leaving or entering Iowa. 24% of freight tons leaving Iowa travel by rail and 45% of freight tons entering Iowa travel by rail. This finding is consistent with the top commodity categories by weight within, into and out of Iowa. Cereal grains, feed, fertilizer and other agricultural products go out by rail. Coal dominates products entering Iowa by rail. Similarly the water mode carries a negligible share of the freight within and into Iowa. However, when it comes to freight traveling out of Iowa, 7% of freight tonnage goes by water. This finding is consistent with the location and direction of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers with respect to Iowa.

12Architecture Highlights (Rail)13Rail Models produce both Rail and Truck DemandNetwork Rail Assignment Deliverables Include:Freight Rail AssignmentTruck Trip Tables (to and from rail heads)Approach must be Iowa-centricInvestigate observed rail commodity flowsAddress agriculture goods movements, including a variety of exports and import of fertilizer and other.Develop future flows of rail commodities

Confidential Rail Waybill14STB Confidential Rail Waybill15Review of the Surface Transportation Board (STB) Carload Waybill SampleComplete file (900 character) compared to the public use version (247 character)Restricted distribution but used by many states for state transportation plansTabulations by origin-destination and Surface Transportation Commodity Code (STCC)From/To IowaThrough MovementsRail Network Assignment of Waybill DataOak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) rail networkCounty to county flows

Quick Summary of Waybill16Coverage: All U.S. railroads that terminate more than 4,500 revenue carloads must participateSample size based on number of carloads on waybill.In Iowa BNSF (48%) and UP (40%) dominateContents of WaybillPaperwork (waybill) for moving the shipmentCommodity type and weight (Surface Transportation Commodity Code)Number and type of freight cars for shipmentType of moveRouting informationOrigin and termination freight stationsRailroads used and interchange locations between railroadsOrigin-DestinationStandard Point Location Code (SPLC)State and county (FIPS)Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) areasRevenueExpansion factor

STB Class I Railroads plus Iowa Interstate RR 17

National Class I Rail Network18

Mapping the Waybill Sample19Develop national coordinate systemGIS projectionMiles/degree latitude-longitude at Des Moines Create assignment network from ORNL rail networkESRI shapefile to assignable networkReplace lat-long with national coordinatesImpedance based on ORNL main line class variableMove waybill into workable database formatOrigin/termination county, Canadian province or Mexican stateCounty centroid coordinatesLocate nearest rail nodes to county centroids for selected waybill recordsAssign selected waybill records onto network

Iowa Waybill Total Annual Tons20

Iowa Rail Exports: Food Products21

Trailer/Container on Flatcar to Iowa Interchanges22

Iowa Rail Exports: Farm Products23

Next Steps24Detailed rail network inside IowaLocate points where commodities are loaded onto network (originating and trans-shipment)Add link and node details (ownership, track rights, tracks, travel times, signaling, interline junctions)Validate against waybill routingsClean up national network and national zone systemEliminate extraneous linksCompatible to detailed Iowa link and node variables Disaggregate to Iowa TAZsIowa employment 2007 Economic CensusFuture flows

FAF3 Processing to Counties25FAF3 Disaggregation to Counties26Match counties to FAF3 regions3143 counties including Hawaii and AlaskaRenumbered counties and FAF3 regionsRelate types of employment to the origins and destinations of SCTG category commodity flowsDevelop county as share of FAF3 region allocation factors

Balance FAF3 regional flows to counties

Base County Employment Data27Bureau of Economic AnalysisLargely developed from state unemployment insurance reporting (form ES-202)Employment not covered by unemployment insurance added by BEAReported by two digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) at county levelCounty Business PatternsDerived from census business establishment surveys and federal administration recordsSubject to data suppression when individual firms can be identifiedReported by six digit NAICS but data suppression increases with added detail Commodity-Employment Regressions: Fuel Oils (SCTG 18)28

NAICSDefinitionNormalized WeightCBP_324Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing0.79CBP_4247Petroleum and Petroleum Products Merchant Wholesalers0.21Three Sets of Commodity Flow Tables29Annual county to county domestic flows by mode and commodityNeed modes other than rail for mode choice analysesFour modes truck, rail, water, and multimodal and forty-three commodities165 commodity flow tables produced of 172 possibleAnnual foreign region to county import flows by mode and commodityAnnual county to foreign region export flows by mode and commodity

3143 counties3143 counties3143 counties8 Regions

Rail Freight Modeling30Network Coding Elements31

Model Components: Base Year and Future Commodity Flow Tables32Annual base year rail commodity flow tables built from Iowa Carload Waybill Sample Two digit STCC commodity code (max of 38 commodities)Compare against FAF3BEA economic areas, counties, points of entry, major generators within Iowa with rail accessFour sets of tables defined by movementBase and future year commodity flow tables (all modes) built from FAF3Base: reallocated from FAF3 zones to BEA areas/counties, etc.Future: IPF base tables using FAF3 growth estimatesModel Components: Commodity Mode Shares33Estimation data set by commodityObserved flowsCarload Waybill SampleFAF3 commodity flow tablesCost to ship commodity by mode per ton per mileNetwork skimmed and scaled distancesApplication within stateNew commodity source or consumption locationAdded or removed intermodal facilityIowa Processed Food (SCTG 7):Rail Domestic Shipment Origins34

Iowa Processed Food (SCTG 7):Rail Domestic Shipment Destinations35

Iowa Processed Food (SCTG 7):Truck Domestic Shipment Destinations36

Iowa Animal Feed (SCTG 4):Rail Domestic Shipment Destinations37

Iowa Alcoholic Beverages (SCTG 8):Rail Domestic Shipment Destinations38

Cereal Grain (SCTG 2) Shipments from OBrien County (Tons 1000s)39Domestic ModeIowaBalance USCanadaMexicoAmericasEuropeAfrica SW and Central AsiaEastern AsiaSE Asia and OceaniaTruck3903.8515.53.00.00.00.30.10.00.00.0Rail94.0127.05.865.80.10.50.00.01.50.0Water0.0134.10.02.91.50.64.60.49.90.0Multi-Modal7.696.80.02.10.30.00.50.06.60.1OBrien County Iowa Grain Flows and Ethyl Alcohol Manufacturing Employees40

OBrien County Iowa Grain Flows and Farm Product Wholesalers Employees41

Rail Domestic Coal Tons42

Rail Domestic All Commodity Tons43

Rail Domestic All Commodity Tons44

Screen Line Locations45Screen Line 1Screen Line 2Screen Line 3Total Commodity (Tons 1000s) Screen Line Crossings46Screen Line 1Screen Line 2Screen Line 3FAF3CWSFAF3CWSFAF3CWSEast to West9,83412,2518,79114,735West to East145,768132,670149,177128,946North to South23,44038,103South to North18,51813,291Major Tasks Remaining47Repeat FAF3 disaggregation for 2040Finalize commodity tablesRail network for assignmentClean up ORNL network outside IowaAdd waterways as pseudo rail modeIncorporate detailed Iowa rail network Rail access points inside detailed zonesMode choice model development and implementationHighway versus rail/highway versus railRail versus waterAssignment procedure and export of truck portion of truck-rail flowsPackage final product in selected software

Applicability to States, MPOs and Decision Makers48Uses of the Iowa Rail Commodity Model49Summary statistics: Rail ton-miles by commodity within Iowa, base and future.What if Analysis:Test placement of a new truck-rail intermodal or mega-warehouse/distribution center.Test the viability of a new short line railroad.Rail ownership changes.

Transferability50May not be readily transferable to smaller scale geographies such as MPOs or corridors. Scale of MPO may preclude accuracy since the disaggregation process from county to TAZ depends on local employment or land use data.At state or regional scales, the iTRAM rail freight commodity concept is expected to be transferable Local knowledge is required in the adapting process (CWS)While very much a work in progress, the iTRAM rail freight model is expected to advance the practice of freight modeling nationwide.

Contact Information51Ron EashParsons Brinckerhoff230 West Monroe Street Suite 900Chicago IL 60606

eashrw@pbworld.com