State Rail Planning Best PracticesVolume 2

AASHTO SCORTDonald Ludlow, MCP, AICP

September 10, 2015

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Presentation Map

Best Practices

What is “State Rail Planning Best Practices Volume 2”

Lingering Gaps and Potential Improvements

Discussion

Experience of the States

State Rail Planning Best Practices Volume 2

• Summarizes state rail planning activity since the publication of Vol 1 (2009)

• Objective: To serve as a resource to inform the development of future state rail plans.

• Rapid expansion The number of states engaged in state rail planning (e.g. producing a “State Rail Plan”) has increased from 12 to over 40

• Maturation of Rail Planning The practice has matured to encompass a wide range of approaches

Context

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Presentation Map

Experience of the States

What is “State Rail Planning Best Practices Volume 2”

Best Practices

Lingering Gaps and Potential Improvements

Discussion

Motivation for Developing a State Rail Plan

Why did your state develop its most recent state rail plan?States developed state rail plans to quality for HSIPR Programs and to improve comprehensive multimodal planning.

Plans Increasingly Data Driven

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 plans, followed by STB and Amtrak data.

Funding, Prioritization, Coordination are Top Issues

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.

Increasing Sophistication of State Rail Plans

How has state rail planning changed since PRIIA?Rail planning has become more comprehensive, oriented toward passenger rail, and with a focus on funding and implementation. • Comprehensive• Oriented to passenger rail operations• Focused on capital planning and

prioritization• Reflective of broad stakeholder outreach• Customized to unique state circumstances“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

• Developing inventory of existing conditions• Safety analysis• Compiling past studies• Developing passenger project lists

What was Easy and Why?

What was Difficult, Why, and How to Overcome

What was Difficult How was it overcomeStaffing the rail plan “We borrowed from the Planning Section to assist with the

rail plan even though they did not know rail”Funding the plan Combining Federal and state funding and leveraging staffPrioritizing projects “Prioritized short term projects and developed strategies

for longer-term needs”Data acquisition and integration

“Reliance on a consultant team with national freight railroad experience”

PRIIA compliance (for states that do not own or operate 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 plan.”

Predicting the future Relying on available data, best judgement of state and rail stakeholders

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Presentation Map

Best Practices

What is “State Rail Planning Best Practices Volume 2”

Experience of the States

Lingering Gaps and Potential Improvements

Discussion

• Outreach• System Performance and Capacity• Communicating Effectively• Project Selection and Prioritization• Multimodalism• Coordination• Funding and Financing /Investment Plans• Other Topics

Best Practice Categories

Outreach Best Practice Examples

• Identify stakeholders • Develop information resources • Conduct targeted outreach

matching the activity to the audience

• A mechanism to allow for continuous feedback

• Distill strategic meaning from findings and integrate into the state rail plan goals, prioritization, and implementation

WISCONSIN SURVEY RESPONSES BY COUNTY

System Capacity/Performance Best Practice Examples

• Identify and obtain data to support measurement

• Adapt national forecast information• Develop sketch planning tools to

predict statewide / corridor level current and future capacity

• Work closely with carriers in developing metrics and vet findings with carriers

• Document methodology in lay terms for general audience

WASHINGTON RAIL SYSTEM UTILIZATION 2010 AND 2035

“Most rail plans nationwide take on a very lengthy, wordy form. In order to use the plan as a tool with elected officials and other key administration staff, the plan itself was developed in a ‘reader friendly’ format, and the typical detailed data which was used to arrive at the recommendations/plan, was provided in appendices.” – State Survey Respondent

Communicating Effectively Best Practice Examples

• Develop and leverage carrier relationships• Develop executive summary or summary report to

communicate to mass audience• Utilize graphics, maps, and visualization

Communicating Effectively Best Practice Examples

NORTH CAROLINA RAIL PLANNING PROCESS DIAGRAM

• Identify potential funding / financing approaches (from Federal, state, local, private sources)

• Identify gaps in funding and strategies to close gaps through alternative financing or other methods

• Prioritize projects (where possible) against state / Federal rail planning goals, utilizing available data or insight of rail agency and stakeholders– Qualitative prioritization– Quantitative prioritization

• Vet findings with rail stakeholders and incorporate into state rail plan

Funding and Financing Best Practice Examples

Funding and Financing Best Practice ExamplesMICHIGAN INVESTMENT PACKAGES

MINNESOTA FIVE-YEAR FREIGHT RAIL EXPENDITURES SUMMARY

VIRGINIA I-95 CORRIDOR DESCRIPTION (INCLUDING FUNDING)

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Presentation Map

What is “State Rail Planning Best Practices Volume 2”

Experience of the States

Discussion

Lingering Gaps and Potential Improvements

Best Practices

• Disconnects (strategic-programmatic, forecasts)– Disconnect between history, inventory of assets, and demand

data to strategic actions (vision, goals, objectives, investments)

• Uniformity (pluses and minuses) – Advantage of a common base and approach– Potential lack of customization to state specific circumstances

• Implementation– Could be improved to reflect full depth of data analysis and

consultations conducted (e.g. advice on how to advance the findings of the rail plan)

Lingering Gaps and Potential Improvements

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Presentation Map

What is “Big Data”

What do “Big Data” allow us to do?

Opportunities for the Future

Discussion

Challenges of Using “Big Data”

• By the end of 2015, 46 states will have finalized or substantially completed rail plan plans or updates– Is the “Golden Age” of rail planning over?– Project pipeline development

• How do we integrate lessons learned during post-PRIIA period?– Watch the first-generation “update” states for cost-saving approaches

and other best practices

• What does the DRIVE Act mean for state rail planning?– What does the PRIIA period of rail planning portend for freight plans?

Discussion

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Questions and Discussion

Donald Ludlow, MCP, AICPManaging Director 1050 Connecticut Ave. NW, 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20036 T: +1 202 772 3368 | C: +1 703 216 2872 | dludlow@cpcstrans.com | www.cpcstrans.com

• Strategy, economic analysis, policy, specific to transportation and energy sectors • Multimodal transportation practice (road, rail, air, marine, pipeline)• Global presence and experience• Over 1000 projects in more than 90 countries

Global management consulting firm (formerly consulting arm of Canadian Pacific Railway, est. 1969)

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Introduction to CPCS

Recent North American project experience:• Alternative Funding and Financing

Mechanisms for Passenger and Freight Rail Projects (NCRRP 1)

• Arizona State Freight Plan (ongoing)• Quebec Provincial Freight Plan• Multi-modal Freight Transportation

Within the Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Basin (NCFRP 35)

• Dozens of multimodal freight studies

CPCS countries of work experience (shaded) and offices

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Summary of Recent CPCS Experience

Freight Rail

100+ Strategy projects

8 Transactions$3+ billion in deals

Port & Terminals

35+ Strategy projects

30+ Transactions$5+ billion in deals

Multi-modal

Transport30+ Strategy

projects

Passenger & Transit

10+ Strategy projects

3 transactions$3 billion in deals