NEW CHALLENGES AND APPROACHES

Mergers and Other Major Railroad Service Changes

In recent years, state and local transportation planners in some areas have faced a new challenge.  A number of railroad mergers, acquisitions and other transactions have posed significant environmental concerns for some communities by shifting rail traffic between routes and increasing traffic at terminals.  Increased train traffic adds to risks at highway crossings, generates noise for sensitive receptors, and can delay emergency services as well as other highway traffic when crossings are blocked.  Terminal expansion can add additional truck traffic to secondary streets as trucks travel between the terminal and the interstate highway system. 

TEA-21 funds may be used by state and local governments to plan for any impacts which are the result of federal government actions and funds may also be used for projects designed to ameliorate such impacts.  The Surface Transportation Board has issued environmental regulations covering these matters.  Any community facing a major shift in rail traffic should contact the STB for a copy of the regulations, at: http://www.stb.dot.gov/ .

The STB has undertaken a review of the rules under which it evaluates merger applications.  This rulemaking may address some of the environmental issues when it is issued in June, 2001.  While the rulemaking may change some of the specifics, the overall process will largely remain the same.  Railroads wishing to merge first notify the STB of their intention to file an application.  This is the first notice communities will get of a proposed merger.  The applicants, as they are termed, then provide an application and an initial environmental survey.  Communities should obtain and review these documents, which will contain estimates of train volumes in specific corridors, proposed terminal expansions, track abandonment and other matters of concern.  The STB Section for Environmental Analysis also conducts outreach efforts to alert communities of pending mergers.

Under current practice, the STB conducts an environmental analysis (if the scale of the transaction warrants), which will identify areas where possible environmental problems exist.  Applicants and representatives of these areas then work together to reach agreement on mitigation measures.  The difficulty for both parties is that at this time there is no clear standard for what level of mitigation is required.  For example, the environmental analysis will measure delays to vehicles, noise impact to nearby residents and possible safety impacts.  However, mitigation projects that substantially mitigate these impacts may be very expensive, and there is no clear standard for how the costs should be shared between railroads and communities.  If there are different alternatives that could be used to mitigate the environmental consequences, the railroad and community need to reach agreement on which measure to select, determine financing, and obtain permission to implement the project, which might require the state or other private entities to participate.  Reaching agreement on mitigating the environmental impacts of mergers and other transactions that require STB approval will remain  difficult until clear standards and responsibilities are promulgated by the Board.

Among the environmental mitigation measures communities may wish to consider are whistle bans.  New FRA regulations ease the establishment of such zones which offer a way to reduce noise pollution from additional trains while preserving safety.  For further information, see FRA's website on whistle bans at:
http://www.fra.dot.govhttp://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/95

Integrated Intermodal Planning

ISTEA introduced and TEA-21 continued an emphasis on freight and intermodal planning in the regional and local planning process.   Several organizations, in some cases continuing initiatives begun before ISTEA, have successfully inculcated an intermodal approach to transportation planning that includes the needs and impacts of freight transportation.  Two examples of major metropolitan areas that provide useful models for others are Seattle and Chicago.

In Seattle, the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRCOG), the MPO for the greater Seattle area, faced the challenge of a rapidly growing economy, booming intermodal container shipments through its port, and the desire to accommodate this growth in an environmentally friendly manner.  Highway traffic congestion was severe, and growth in port activity and increased delays at rail crossings caused by growing train volumes were an important part of the problem and destined to grow worse. 

PSRCOG and Washington State DOT approached the problem in the intermodal fashion encouraged by ISTEA.  In order to assure that freight concerns were recognized, a Regional Freight Mobility Roundtable was formed, with wide participation from shippers, modal representatives, and all levels of government. 

Perhaps the most significant product of these cooperative efforts is the FAST-corridor partnership,  (Freight Action Strategy for the Seattle-Tacoma-Everett corridor).  Addressing the overall freight and passenger needs of this critical corridor, a program of projects was developed to attack the overall problem, rather than just move the bottleneck to the next jurisdiction.  Projects include rail-highway grade separations, improvements in highway connectors between the ports, and other improvements, benefitting all users.  The total cost of the package is $354 million, with funding coming from all levels of government and private interests.   Commuter rail, while not directly related to the FAST partnership, has been initiated in the corridor, through the cooperation of BNSF Railway and local governments.  For a detailed review of this major effort, planners are urged to review materials at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mobility/fast   or contact: Peter Beaulieu, Freight Mobility/Corridor Strategies, Puget Sound Regional Council, 1011 Western Avenue, Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98104, (206) 587-4825 or Daniel O= Neal, Chairman, Puget Sound Freight Mobility Roundtable, c/o The Greenbrier Companies, 555 Andover Park West, Suite 109, Tukwila, WA 98188.

Chicago illustrates the importance of building freight partnerships and incorporating the partnership into intermodal planning efforts.  Chicago= s MPO, the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) has solicited freight input from the Intermodal Advisory Task Force (IATF) since 1994, including freight sector input in its planning process through formal data collection efforts and industry outreach.  Truck congestion, increases in intermodal transportation, and rail-highway-rail interchange traffic (called A the rubber-tire interchange@ ) are the Chicago and northeastern Illinois area= s primary concerns.  One of eleven CATS Task Forces responsible for developing elements of the Transportation Improvement Plan, IATF identifies, assesses and responds to issues and opportunities affecting intermodal transportation facilities and resources and provides overall guidance for the development of the intermodal component of the Regional Transportation Plan. 

One example of CATS= success is the agreement between Canadian National Railroad and Illinois Central Railroad to relocate CN intermodal facilities to IC= s yard in Harvey, Illinois, 20 miles south of Chicago. The CN acquired added capacity and improved connections to ports in Vancouver and Halifax.  The increased intermodal activity at the yard has highlighted the need for additions to the network of intermodal connectors and initiated a partnership process with the public sector, involving the CN, IDOT, county and municipal highway agencies, and operators.  CATS and IATF are the point of contact among these parties.

CATS staff has pursued improvements to intermodal transportation by incorporating specific system and policy statements in the intermodal component of the 2020 Regional Transportation Plan and by maintaining an inventory of the region= s major intermodal facilities and resources in GIS format.  For additional information on the studies and projects of CATS, consult their website at: http://www.catsmpo.com or contact Gerald Rawling, Director of Operations Analysis, Chicago Area Transportation Study, 300 West Adams, Chicago, Illinois 60606, (312) 793-3469.                                         

Questions concerning process overview, participation and project advancement should be addressed to:

Robert E. Martin, Director Intermodal Planning and Economics Staff, 202/493-6407 or John N. Paolella, Director Industry Finance Staff, 202/493-6413, Office of Policy and Program Development, FRA.