Washington state short line rail inventory and needs assessment.

Details

• Creators:
  Sage, Jeremy ; Casavant, Ken ; Eustice, J. Bradley
• Corporate Creators:
  Washington State University. Freight Policy Transportation Institute
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Case Studies Financing Freight Transportation Infrastructure Inventory Needs Assessment Railroad Tracks Short Line Railroads
• Publication/ Report Number:
  WA-RD 842.1
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Washington
• Corporate Publisher:
  Washington (State). Dept. of Transportation. Research Office
• Abstract:
  The recently completed State Rail Plan for the state of Washington identified several key issues facing the state’s
  
  rail system. Among these key issues are abandonment, port access and competitive needs of the ports and local
  
  production regions, as well as intermodal connectivity. Nearly 2000 miles of rail line had been abandoned in
  
  Washington State before the late 1990’s, and another 70 have been abandoned since. Many of these miles included
  
  were a result of the Class I railroads stepping away from their less profitable lines. These same actions by the Class I
  
  railroads also generated opportunity for the creation of many of the state’s short-line railroads on branch and light
  
  density lines. The rail system grew smaller during the 1980s and 1990s, and many of the state short lines were not
  
  upgraded to meet the standards and conditions required for modern freight rail load limits (286,000 pounds per car).
  
  Further investment is needed should the state or owner seek new or improved operations. This study found that more
  
  than 55 percent (740 miles) of all short line miles within Washington are not able to efficiently handle 286,000 pound
  
  rail cars. Overcoming this deficiency and bringing the state’s short line system to Class II operating status could require
  
  infrastructure investments of approximately $610 million. This need exceeds the current funding support offered by the
  
  state, even if considered over a 20 year horizon with private industry and/or local jurisdictions providing significant
  
  match. Three short line case studies in this report help identify the societal benefits associated with a functioning short
  
  line system within the state’s dynamic transportation network. These case studies, along with information about the
  
  attributes that contribute to the success or failure of investments in load centers, illustrate the benefits of state
  
  investment in the short line railroad system.
  
  
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  Agreement T1462, Task 04
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:be301bf236c990f626bb7655a0e1bb927aac14a529c78256f051ec2b2c682169
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/29053/dot_29053_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 11.48 MB ]