state rail planning best practices volume 2 aashto scort donald ludlow, mcp, aicp september 10, 2015
TRANSCRIPT
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 | [email protected] | 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