Measuring the Benefits of Intercity Passenger Rail: A Study
Measuring the Benefits of Intercity Passenger Rail: A Study
Measuring the Benefits of Intercity Passenger Rail: A Study
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• An overview <strong>of</strong> intercity passenger rail in <strong>the</strong> United States with a focus on statesupported<br />
intercity passenger rail corridors;<br />
• A discussion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> context, challenges, and data needs for passenger rail planning;<br />
• A review <strong>of</strong> on-board survey design literature; and<br />
• An analysis <strong>of</strong> survey instruments used in past studies <strong>of</strong> state-supported rail corridors.<br />
Chapter 3 introduces <strong>the</strong> Heartland Flyer, <strong>the</strong> 206-mile intercity passenger rail route between<br />
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Fort Worth, Texas, that was <strong>the</strong> focus <strong>of</strong> this study. The chapter<br />
includes a description <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> route, <strong>the</strong> route’s history, operating details, and service data.<br />
Chapter 4 provides <strong>the</strong> details <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> data collection process used in <strong>the</strong> on-board survey <strong>of</strong><br />
Heartland Flyer passengers undertaken in Task 4 <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> study. Information reported in Chapter<br />
4 includes <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> on-board survey instrument, a description <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> on-board<br />
survey data collection process, and <strong>the</strong> details <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> quality control process employed during<br />
Task 5 <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> study. Chapter 5 reports <strong>the</strong> findings <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> analysis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> on-board passenger<br />
survey data in four areas: travel characteristics, passenger characteristics, mobility impacts, and<br />
economic impacts. Also included in this chapter is an estimate <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> diverted and<br />
induced trips on <strong>the</strong> Heartland Flyer service. The final chapter, Chapter 6, summarizes <strong>the</strong><br />
research and discusses potential applications <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> study’s findings for statewide intercity<br />
passenger rail planning, corridor-level planning studies, station-area site planning, and future onboard<br />
surveys <strong>of</strong> existing and future intercity passenger rail routes.<br />
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