Measuring the Benefits of Intercity Passenger Rail: A Study

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evidence of use during the Amtrak Lone Star era of the late 1970s. The Fort Worth Intermodal Transit Center is an extensive facility that includes Amtrak, local commuter rail and bus transit, Greyhound intercity bus and rental car services. Free parking is provided for passengers at all Heartland Flyer stations except for the endpoints in Oklahoma City and Fort Worth. The station in Oklahoma City is privately owned; while parking at the station is generally available for Amtrak patrons, parking can be restricted if the station’s Great Hall has been reserved for an event. Stations are unstaffed (except in Fort Worth); however, “train hosts” from advocacy groups provide travel assistance to passengers at stations along the route. Consist The collection of rail vehicles (motive power and rolling stock) that comprise a train is known as the train’s consist. The Heartland Flyer’s typical consist is a P42DC locomotive, two Superliner coach cars, one Superliner coach/café car, and a non-powered control unit (NPCU). Figure 3-3 shows a typical Heartland Flyer consist. Figure 3-3: Typical Heartland Flyer Consist (Researcher Photo) The inclusion of the NPCU allows for bi-directional or “push-pull” configuration, which means that the Heartland Flyer does not need to be turned around and pointed in the opposite direction at each end of the route. The following paragraphs describe additional details about each component of the Heartland Flyer consist. Motive Power A General Electric P42DC Genesis Series I diesel-powered locomotive provides motive power for the Heartland Flyer. Amtrak uses this locomotive on many of its routes across the country. Figure 3-4 shows a typical P42DC locomotive used on the Heartland Flyer. 56
Figure 3-4: Typical P42DC Locomotive Used on Heartland Flyer (Researcher Photos) The P42DC Genesis Series I diesel-powered locomotive was built by General Electric Corporation Transportation Division in Erie, Pennsylvania. The locomotives used on the Heartland Flyer during the time of this study were constructed in late 1996 and early 1997, placing them at nearly 15 years in operation. The P42DC locomotive has a maximum speed of 110 miles per hour with 4,250 horsepower, although track geometries and signaling systems prevent the maximum speed from being achieved on most Amtrak routes. Non-Powered Control Unit The Heartland Flyer is equipped with a non-powered control unit for push-pull operations. The NPCU used on the Heartland Flyer and many other Amtrak routes equipped for push-pull operation is a former F40PH locomotive with the power element removed. In place of the engine is an empty space for the as-needed storing of passenger baggage, accessible from a rolling door on the side of the unit. Consequently, these units are also called cab-baggage or “cabbage” units. Figure 3-5 shows a typical NPCU used on the Heartland Flyer. Figure 3-5: Typical NPCU Used on Heartland Flyer (Researcher Photos) 57
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1. Report No. SWUTC/10/169116-1 2.
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ABSTRACT In recent years, the polic
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LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 3-1: He
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION In i
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ail service along intercity corrido
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planning faces a variety of challen
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of travel (in the absence of rail s
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participate in the study. Throughou
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such as medical appointments or fun
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Heartland Flyer annually. Induced t
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Heartland Flyer identified in this
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DISCLAIMER The contents of this rep
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION In its Dece
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to Fort Worth intercity corridor wa
Page 35: • An overview of intercity passen
Page 38 and 39: passenger deficit for the year 1969
Page 40 and 41: In April 2009, the Federal Railroad
Page 42 and 43: conditions across the United States
Page 44 and 45: Table 2-2: State-Supported Routes i
Page 46 and 47: Oklahoma and Texas support service
Page 48 and 49: conducted by the Southeastern Wisco
Page 50 and 51: Discussion of State-Supported Rail
Page 52 and 53: • The 1993 Illinois Passenger Rai
Page 54 and 55: INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL PLANNING T
Page 56 and 57: Data Needs for Intercity Passenger
Page 58 and 59: supported routes. The following par
Page 60 and 61: • Third, the total non-business r
Page 62 and 63: demand model varies, Horowitz and F
Page 64 and 65: Survey Design Literature Deploying
Page 66 and 67: Table 2-4: Elements Included in On-
Page 68 and 69: question. This pattern is consisten
Page 70 and 71: a particular corridor. For example,
Page 73 and 74: CHAPTER 3: DESCRIPTION OF HEARTLAND
Page 75 and 76: • After passing through Davis, th
Page 77 and 78: minutes early. A later section of t
Page 79 and 80: corridor. Table 3-1 shows a snapsho
Page 81 and 82: enefits resulting from the route’
Page 83 and 84: state of Oklahoma (71). This action
Page 85: served by the route are Pauls Valle
Page 89 and 90: during non-peak times when the usua
Page 91 and 92: effect during this research study w
Page 93 and 94: HEARTLAND FLYER SERVICE DATA The fo
Page 95 and 96: Examining the 10-year monthly avera
Page 97 and 98: surprisingly, is Oklahoma City-Fort
Page 99 and 100: Figure 3-9: Heartland Flyer On-Time
Page 101 and 102: CHAPTER 4: DATA COLLECTION The main
Page 103 and 104: amenities that could increase rail
Page 105 and 106: pool be increased to 3,000. The IRB
Page 107 and 108: Summary of Data Collection Tables 4
Page 109 and 110: Ineligible Passengers Several group
Page 111 and 112: QUALITY CONTROL After completing th
Page 113 and 114: For the access mode to station ques
Page 115 and 116: One question on the survey asked th
Page 117 and 118: trip). However, researchers determi
Page 119 and 120: eporting how far passengers were fr
Page 121 and 122: CHAPTER 5: DATA ANALYSIS This chapt
Page 123 and 124: survey item by the total number of
Page 125 and 126: Comparing the total column in Table
Page 127 and 128: Tables 5-5 and 5-6 display another
Page 129 and 130: Heartland Flyer Market Area Researc
Page 131 and 132: Table 5-9: Passenger Trip Purpose,
Page 133 and 134: PASSENGER CHARACTERISTICS Passenger
Page 135 and 136: is entirely possible that a passeng
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In both April and July, the two mos
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Table 5-19: Passenger State of Resi
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Figure 5-2: Residential Zip Codes o
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Gender Table 5-22 reports passenger
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Household Income Table 5-26 reports
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In FFY 2009, the Heartland Flyer ra
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Table 5-28: Passenger Alternatives
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Urban and Rural Mobility Another co
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passenger was approximately $120 in
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if the service did not exist (appro
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This study measured the mobility im
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questions on the passenger’s boar
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made is related to the similarity b
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valuable insight on the design of f
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REFERENCES 1. National Surface Tran
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35. Corey, Canapary & Galanis Resea
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74. Able Consulting. Tier 1 Environ
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Figure A-3: Purcell Amtrak Station
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Figure A-7: Fort Worth Amtrak Stati
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