Rail Freight Solutions to Roadway Congestion--Final Report and Guidebook (2007)

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125 All of the preceding sections on research literature, case studies, mode choice factors, freight trends, and data together provide a structural foundation for the final product of this project, which is a Guidebook for planners. This last chapter of the Final Report describes the structure of an analysis framework that forms the foundation and structure for the Guidebook. This structure has three dimensions: • Planning Process Framework. The methodology described in the Guidebook must be designed to address the relevant issues and needs faced by transportation planners at both public agencies and private transportation companies. • Decision-Making Framework. The methodology described in the Guidebook must be structured to encompass the benefit and cost considerations involved in the mode choice decisions made by freight shippers and the investment decisions made by public agencies. • Structured Sequence of Steps. The methodology must pro- vide a structured series of steps that can be adapted to apply to a broad set of circumstances ranging from simple to complex multi-modal projects. The Guidebook is also available for download from the NCHRP section of TRB’s web site (www.trb.org). 7.1 Planning Process Framework As the gap between highway demand and capacity is fore- cast to accelerate in the future, there has been increasing recognition of the importance of multi-modal planning and, specifically, the need for more attention to rail freight issues and opportunities in the transportation planning process. This has led both public agency planners and private trans- portation company officials to recognize a need for tools and methods that they can use to address freight transportation planning issues. These needs fall into three broad topic areas: • Processes for Public Investment Planning. Traditionally, most state DOTs and MPOs have focused their infrastruc- ture planning largely on highways and given less attention to rail investment, for the fundamental reason that they control investment in highways while they typically do not own or control investment in railroads or rail right of way. However, there is a growing recognition that (1) more multi-modal public planning is needed for freight move- ment; (2) such planning should include rail as well as highway options for freight movement; and (3) rail freight planning, if done well, can help address a wide range of issues relating to security, congestion, safety, and air quality. • Methods to Identify Transportation Issues and Assess Po- tential Solutions. Before expanding multi-modal invest- ment analysis for freight movement, it is necessary for state and regional transportation planning agencies to (1) clar- ify the range of possible transportation issues that should be addressed, (2) define the range of potentially feasible rail and highway solutions to be assessed, and (3) apply appro- priate methods to assess their relative benefits and costs. For instance, while there is a current emphasis on address- ing problems of growing highway congestion, planners need workable ways of assessing these needs and identify- ing feasible rail-freight solutions for them. • Approaches for Private-Public Cooperation. Given the private ownership of many railroad and truck-rail inter- modal facilities, it is necessary for rail freight planning to involve both private and public sectors. At the same time, key representatives of cargo shipping, trucking, and railroad companies also have a strong interest in seeing improved planning and investment, as they are keenly aware of the current shortcomings and needs for improvement in existing road and rail infrastructure sys- tems serving freight movement. Thus, there is clear opportunity for enhancing private-public cooperative re- lationships in freight infrastructure planning. C H A P T E R 7 Framework Structure

To address these three sets of needs, the guide must (and does) have separate sections providing: (1) screening crite- ria to identify situations where analysis of rail freight solu- tions is warranted, (2) steps for calculating benefits and costs of rail freight alternatives, and (3) instructions on how the information can be best used as part of a broader pub- lic-private dialogue between transportation agencies and railroads. 7.2 Decision-Making Framework The core of the guide is a set of steps for assessing the rela- tive benefits, costs, and practical feasibility of implementing alternative policies, programs, or investments to encourage rail freight solutions as a way of reducing roadway congestion. Figure 7-1 shows the elements of decision-making. It can be summarized as follows: • The first part of the process is to identify applicable situa- tions where rail freight solutions are potentially applicable and focus only on them. • The second part of the process is to evaluate rail freight al- ternatives by considering the technical feasibility (benefit measurement) perspective of planners and the practical feasibility (funding and regulation) perspective of deci- sion-makers. • The third part of the process is to develop funding and im- plementation plans that account for differences in the distribution of benefits and costs, as well as effectiveness, among public and private parties. That is necessary to enable the public-private cooperation required for any strategy involving shippers, railroads, and roadway planning/oper- ating agencies and to help ensure its success. To carry out this process, the Guidebook lays out a strat- egy involving three phases of analysis: • Preliminary assessment: situations where rail solutions ap- pear feasible, • Detailed analysis: evaluation of rail options, and • Decision-making: Multi-criteria and benefit-cost analysis. These phases are shown in Table 7-1 and explained in the text that follows. Phase 1—Initial Screening. In general, public agencies are looking for particular rail projects or programs that can help to relieve highway congestion. As such, there is a need for guidance in identifying the types of situations where rail might help; expected benefits associated with congestion relief; and the specific types of projects or programs that might be ap- propriate given local conditions. These assessments are part of the first phase of the analysis, which focuses on determining whether there is a reasonable chance that the costs of rail proj- ects or programs can be justified in terms of their contribution to congestion relief. This phase involves carrying out five steps to (1) screen for relevancy of rail freight solutions, (2) gauge 126 Figure 7-1. Decision-Making Process for Rail Freight Investment.

magnitude of the road congestion problem, (3) characterize the local pattern of freight shipping, (4) characterize available rail resources, and (5) use “sketch planning” approaches to assess the potential viability (benefit and cost) of available options. Phase 2—Detailed Analysis. Only if there seems to be potential for a particular project or program should the analysis proceed to Phase 2 for a more detailed analysis of the proposed options. The logical place to begin is by look- ing at specific rail investment options and estimating how they could affect cost or any of the service factors that influ- ence total logistics costs. The next step is to use a logistics cost or mode-split model to determine whether service improvements, if obtained, would be likely to affect road/rail choices and, if so, to estimate how many trucks might be diverted to rail. Given the potential diversion, it is then possible to estimate the effects on highway perform- ance using various highway models. The changes in highway performance can then be compared to the costs associated with the rail initiatives to see if further consideration is warranted. Thus, Phase 2 makes use of (1) rail cost or per- formance analysis, (2) logistics cost or mode-split analysis, (3) highway performance analysis, and (4) economic and financial evaluation. Phase 3—Decision-making Support. The final phase puts results in the context of decision choices. First, findings must be placed in the context of other options, such as doing nothing and living with congestion, building more highways, expanding the capacity of existing highways, or using tolls, fees, or regulations to restrict traffic flows. Second, each option must be considered from the perspective of its economic, political, and practical feasibility for the various participants. This includes consideration of the levels and types of benefits that might accrue to each party and confir- mation of the sufficiency of benefits for shippers to accept a change of mode. It requires direct interaction with the ship- ping community in any of several ways and an assortment of steps for the assurance of traffic volumes. Third, for the pub- lic evaluation component, additional analysis of social and broader economic impacts might be needed. Thus, Phase 3 makes use of procedures for comparing alternatives in a broader context that may include regional economic models and/or multi-criteria assessment tools. 7.3 Structured Sequence of Steps The Guidebook consists of sections that readers can con- sult or ignore as appropriate for their particular situations. The sections fall into the following groups: Initial Grounding. Guidebook Chapters 1 and 2 provide a basic grounding in freight analysis issues. • Chapter 1(Introduction) defines the coverage of this guide. It classifies the types of situations, issues, and solutions that 127 Phase Major Activities Main Question & Desired Outcome Methodology 1 Preliminary assessment: situations where rail solutions appear feasible - Can rail help relieve highway congestion by handling more freight? - Identification of promising rail projects or programs aimed at specific solutions to congestion problems - Review information on freight facilities & traffic flows - Use framework to identify problems& potential solutions - Use simple models to estimate costs & benefits of potential solutions 2 Detailed analysis: evaluation of rail options - Do benefits of proposed actions justify their costs? - Analysis of costs & benefits of rail solutions, including economic & environmental factors. - Estimate project costs and impacts on rail service - Traffic diversion study - Benefits analysis 3 Decision-making: Multi-criteria & benefit-cost analysis - Is this project or program as good as or better than other approaches? - Comparative analysis of major alternatives - Consider alternatives including rail, highway investments, and public policy regarding taxation & finance. Table 7-1. Major phases of the decision-making process.

can be considered in planning and evaluation of rail freight solutions to traffic congestion. • Chapter 2 (Background: Context) provides information for readers who are not already experts on rail freight plan- ning. It discusses the process of rail freight planning and factors affecting rail/truck diversion. General Guidance. Guidebook Chapters 3 and 4 provide the basic core guidance on technical analysis and discussions to ascertain the potential for rail freight to help reduce traffic congestion growth. • Chapter 3 (Guidance for Evaluation of Alternatives) outlines a series of five basic analysis steps that can be conducted by planners at relatively low cost to screen available rail freight options for reducing congestion and identify when further discussion and analysis are warranted. • Chapter 4 (Guidance for Public-Private Dialogue) discusses needs, uses, and procedures for bringing highway and freight planners in discussion with representatives of insti- tutional players and private-sector freight operators in order to design cooperative strategies that can be accept- able to key parties. Technical Analysis Methods. The Guidebook’s final chap- ter provides material for advanced use in analyzing options and presenting results in ways that can gain support among diverse parties. • Chapter 5 (Detailed Analysis Methods) describes the avail- ability and application of various analysis tools, methods, and data sources for assessing road and rail options, diversion between them, and the relative benefits and costs involved. 128