Benefit-Cost and Economic Impact Assessment of Rail Connectivity Improvement Alternatives in Tennessee-Case Studies: Shelby, Marion, and Dyer Projects

Details

• Creators:
  Xi, Rui ; Zhang, Chuduo ; Jin, Mingzhou ; Yu, Andrew J.
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Corporate Contributors:
  Tennessee. Department of Transportation ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Rail transit
  • Benefit cost analysis
  • Evaluation and assessment
  • Sustainable development
  • Multimodal transportation
  • Case studies
  • Performance measurement
  • Rail connectivity
  • Integrated assessment
• Publication/ Report Number:
  RES2025-05
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Tennessee
• Corporate Publisher:
  Tennessee. Department of Transportation
• Description:
  Strengthening rail connectivity is widely recognized as a strategy for improving freight efficiency, regional development, social benefits, and the environment. This study develops a structured, transferable framework for evaluating the comprehensive impacts of rail infrastructure investments through a forward-looking 20-year benefit-cost analysis, incorporating capital expenditures, operating cost savings, environmental externalities, and broader social and regional development effects. The framework applies an integrated, systemwide assessment rather than isolated performance metrics, ensuring consistent treatment of cost and benefit streams across different project contexts. Three real-world rail connectivity improvement projects in Tennessee are evaluated through the proposed framework to illustrate the potential economic, social, and environmental outcomes with sensitivity analyses.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/92826/dot_92826_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.34 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8a935d1c88e4535006caa5dbbf4aa9910080db02ac5aa93eb3c019bf8a953d3109bca9bc499ec6c83013fe4faebd00ca466f8de82f20c7c1d46f8f53a2e559cb