Short Line Rail: Its Role in Intermodalism and Distribution

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Villages/Integrated Logistics Centers; City Logistics; Pooled Shipping; The Logistics Campus; Transload/Transflow/Team Tracks; Shared Rights of Way; and some creative Operating Strategies. These options could easily be worked in combination with demand management options such as off-peak pick-up and delivery to production and consumption facilities, peak pricing and tolling, truck-only lanes, etc. These possible land use and rail operating and management options could play important roles in reducing truck traffic in metropolitan areas. However, there is no evidence that such options are currently being actively considered in addressing metropolitan area congestion issues, at least in conjunction with short line, regional and Class I railroads that service those metropolitan areas with significant truck congestion issues. The report recommends that a meta-architecture be developed for modeling freight transportation in the United States that allows a logical and integrated data flow from the National level all the way through to the operations and management level within metropolitan areas. It is suggested this meta-architecture and the processes for involving not only the assorted public agencies and officials currently concerned with transportation planning in the United States, but also those from the private sector, be built around recommendations contained in Transportation for Tomorrow and modifications to the Metropolitan Transportation Plan process. Four metropolitan areas are identified that may provide good base-case pilot project sites for testing, at least the modifications in the MTP process with explicit short line/regional and Class I railroad participation in evaluating possible rail-oriented options in solving metropolitan freight congestion issues. The possible pilot project sites include: Chicago-Northwestern Indiana and Dallas-Fort Worth for the large metropolitan areas. These two areas provide contrasts in population growth, while each has extensive destination traffic, as well as through traffic traversing the metropolitan area. For the smaller metropolitan areas – Portland-Vancouver (OR-WA) and Providence- Pawtucket-New Haven-Meriden-Bridgeport-Milford – similarly provide contrasts in population growth rates, while both have significant levels of destination traffic. 11
Project Purpose Chapter 1: Introduction The purpose of this project is to investigate the potential role of short line railroads in the U.S. to perform intermodal terminal operations and distribute/pick-up containers/trailers in metropolitan areas. Included in this project is an investigation of the potential for short line railroads to serve industrial parks and/or freight villages. This research report reviews the literature on short line operations in the U.S., their current role in originating and distributing rail freight traffic and their capacity to take on intermodal terminal operations and functions. Further, we examine transload/transflow operations vis-à-vis short line railroads, as well as the viability of industrial park/freight villages as short line served entities. The research included discussions with knowledgeable officials at The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, FHWA and existing short line operators regarding their current situation, plans and constraints. In addition, discussions were held with senior officials in Class I railroads, senior members of industrial real estate organizations, academics and senior consultants in the transportation industry. These comments, suggestions and recommendations have been incorporated in this report, as noted in the body of the report and citations. In addition, the report frames some options available to enhance these types of operations on short line railroads. It identifies potential candidate short line railroads for pilot projects to test these options. Finally, beyond this report, the research culminates in proposals for funding the pilot projects by external agencies. Freight Transportation: Its Role in the Economy and Everyday Life Transportation is an integral part of our daily lives. It is one of the primary means whereby people, commerce and employment are connected and bound together. Not only does it play this role in our economic activities, but it also connects and binds our social activities. The interaction between our economic and social activities often plays itself out in very complicated ways that frequently lead to transportation problems, such as congestion, accidents and increased costs to all the parties involved. We will return to this interplay later in this report. Freight transportation has a dominant influence in our economy. Starting with the transportation of various components, raw materials, etc. that have to be assembled from the different corners of the world through to the final delivery of finished goods, food stuffs and materials to the end consumer, freight transportation plays an important role in every link of the supply chain. With the advent of internet shopping and the delivery of goods to our door, the importance of freight transportation has increased (Crainic and Laporte, 1997; Crainic, 1999; Valsaraj, 2008). 12
Page 1 and 2: Short Line Rail: Its Role in Interm
Page 3 and 4: 1. Report No. 2. Government Accessi
Page 5 and 6: TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tabl
Page 7 and 8: Table 6.6: Interim Projections: Per
Page 9 and 10: Figure 6.9: Percent of Population L
Page 11 and 12: Summary Freight transportation has
Page 13: half million. If that growth rate c
Page 17 and 18: Further, meeting America’s surfac
Page 19 and 20: some short lines controlled by gove
Page 21 and 22: through abandonment or sale (For mo
Page 23 and 24: impact on hundreds of communities h
Page 25 and 26: I-20 I-20 @ Fulton Street 1,172,700
Page 27 and 28: I-75 M-39 M-39 I-96 Houston I-610 I
Page 29 and 30: New York- Northeastern NJ SR 100 I-
Page 31 and 32: I-805 I-805 @ I-15 Interchange San
Page 33 and 34: Columbus Columbus & Ohio River Rail
Page 35 and 36: Of the short line and regional carr
Page 37 and 38: Chicago SouthShore & South Bend Rai
Page 39 and 40: The FEC has 133 pound-per-yard (66
Page 41 and 42: Portland The Portland, OR-Vancouver
Page 43 and 44: Chapter 4: Forecast Freight Traffic
Page 45 and 46: movement of freight in this country
Page 47 and 48: illion tons and generating about 1.
Page 49 and 50: 31 Nonmetallic mineral products 86
Page 51 and 52: SOURCE: FHWA, 2008. U.S. Army Corps
Page 53 and 54: System (NHS) in 2002 and are expect
Page 55 and 56: Table 4.6: Share of Vehicle Miles o
Page 57 and 58: Forecast Freight Traffic Growth in
Page 59 and 60: Figure 4.8: Major Truck Routes on N
Page 61 and 62: Chapter 5: Forecast Freight Rail Tr
Page 63 and 64: After decades of steady decline (se
Page 65 and 66:
7 and paperboard Other prepared foo
Page 67 and 68:
containers. Trailers accounted for
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SOURCE: U.S. DOT, 2008. Association
Page 71 and 72:
Chapter 6: Forecast Population Grow
Page 73 and 74:
Figure 6.2: Total Population by Reg
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Source: Hobbs and Stoops, 2002 Figu
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Figure 6.7: Percent of Total Popula
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Increased land area, coupled with p
Page 81 and 82:
Figure 6.9: Percent of Population L
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increase in population. Texas, Nort
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.Nebraska 57,734 33,681 17,569 108,
Page 87 and 88:
areas described above will continue
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at least 10,000 trucks per day, inc
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impose an unacceptably high cost on
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measures of congestion typically fo
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(Note: Improved methodology and mor
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A third factor causing trips to be
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Another way to get more productivit
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these options, see Still Stuck in T
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and expertise to support the above
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commuting and other passenger trave
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focus is on highways, with six exis
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Figure 7.4: Corridors of the Future
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Because freight transportation dema
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increasingly squeezes service from
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will be transported and for what pr
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As previously described, when the F
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If the freight railroads cannot mai
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determines to some great extent the
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- means that, once on the move, the
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declining to become ever more depen
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For example, to reduce emissions an
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Furthermore, with the issue of biod
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climbs to the equivalent of the cur
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from water-cooled reactors. The 4S
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within that time period. While thes
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“franchise” and any perceived t
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Commission states “Federal policy
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Chapter 11: A Role for Large-Scale
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At the international, national and
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eyond the shipper and carrier frame
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planned or forecast scenarios and p
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exogenous inputs into this model fr
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they need better information and to
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knowledge. It is important to know
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Figure 11.2: “Four-Step” Proces
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friction factor. With limited surve
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• Truck Prohibitions - Some freew
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Chapter 12: Freight Villages/Integr
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Freight Villages/Integrated Logisti
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the number of trucks coming into th
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customers within the geographically
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A possible solution for the second
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The options available for the servi
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servicing, or “passing” through
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Shared Rights of Way The option of
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Chapter 14: Metropolitan Area Railr
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Figure 14.1: Regional Collaboration
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include freight in this collaborati
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Transportation Planning Process SOU
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metropolitan area. For the smaller
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areas that had three or more interc
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Class I carriers, there are real is
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Acknowledgements The author wishes
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Daniel Beagan, Michael Fischer and
Page 195 and 196:
Federal Highway Administration. The
Page 197 and 198:
Paul Krugman. The Return of Depress
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Wesley J. Reisser, “A New Tri-Pol
Page 201:
World Almanac Education Group, “W
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Short Line Rail: Its Role in Intermodalism and Distribution

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