Guidebook for Intercity Passenger Rail Service and Development (2016)

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1 Although there are many existing resources that cover topics related to intercity passenger rail planning and development, some best practices are available only to the few public agencies and private entities successful in implementing intercity passenger rail services and some best practices have not been documented by a formal research study or otherwise shared within the broader community of those interested in intercity passenger rail development. NCRRP Report 6 has been created and developed to enhance dissemination of these valuable resources so they may be put into practice. The overall objective of NCRRP Project 03-01 was to develop a guidebook to help public and private organizations plan, develop, and manage intercity passenger rail services. To complete this objective, NCRRP Project 03-01 researchers 1. Reviewed existing resources (e.g., policies, guidance documents, research studies, analytical tools, best practices, and other resources) used by public agencies and private entities to support intercity passenger rail service planning and development activities. 2. Identified and obtained feedback from potential users of the NCRRP Project 03-01 guide- book to determine topics where substantial gaps exist in the knowledge base concerning development and planning for intercity passenger rail. 3. Conducted limited new research in the form of targeted syntheses of selected topics in intercity passenger rail service and development to complement existing resources. 4. Generated a user-friendly guidebook outlining the strategies, tools, and techniques used by public agencies and private entities to support planning and decision making in develop- ment of intercity passenger rail service. NCRRP Report 6 is a resource that can be put into use immediately by the passenger rail practitioner community in support of intercity passenger rail service planning and develop- ment. The report reflects a progression from initial consideration of establishing an intercity passenger rail program or service, to service planning and design, to operations and ongoing maintenance of the project, thus generally following the steps outlined in NCRRP Report 5, which lists four major stages (i.e., visioning, planning, design and construction, and operations and maintenance) as the conceptual framework for intercity passenger rail project develop- ment. Chapters of the guide describe program development phases under each stage as they relate to overall program development: • Visioning: – Chapter 1 (Introduction). Summarizes the need for the guide and the passenger rail service development process. – Chapter 2 (Intercity Passenger Rail Program Establishment). Presents an overview of the activities to undertake in the initial program establishment phase. • Planning: – Chapter 3 (Project Feasibility/Service Development). Addresses the tasks associated with the service planning phase. S u m m a r y Guidebook for Intercity Passenger Rail Service and Development

2 Guidebook for Intercity Passenger rail Service and Development – Chapter 4 (Environmental Requirements). Summarizes the tasks necessary to address environmental requirements in the planning phase. • Design and Construction: – Chapter 5 Discusses projects and considerations addressed during design and construction. • Operations and Maintenance: – Chapter 6 (Service Planning). Summarizes activities and tasks associated with ongoing service operations. – Chapter 7 (Ongoing Service Management). Summarizes activities and tasks associated with ongoing service management. • Appendices. Appendixes A through E provide full targeted synthesis discussions for the five areas selected by the panel, while Appendix F is the contractor’s final report: – Appendix A: Liability/Insurance Requirements Relating to Intercity Rail Passenger Service. Examines liability issues associated with differing structures of intercity passenger rail operations, insurance requirements of host railroads, and potential problem areas/ needs prior to and during service startup. – Appendix B: Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) Section 209 Cost Formula Transparency, Costing Granularity, and Related Issues. Offers additional guidance and understanding of the pricing policies/principles/processes under which individual service item costs are provided to include rail access and other costs from host railroads for service; documents ongoing negotiations to provide more information on each service component; and provides more information on its dis- aggregated, zero-based cost. – Appendix C: Robust Service Delivery: Building Resilient and Dependable Passenger Rail Service. Explains processes associated with providing robust intercity passenger rail service redundant/resilient enough to recover from adverse events and/or adding new frequencies or special event (non-routine) service as needed. – Appendix D: Performance Measurement and Quality Assurance Techniques. Describes existing and emerging tools, methods, and metrics that can be used by guidebook users to track and document performance of intercity passenger rail programs at the state/ regional level to include performance tracking of both the host railroad and/or service operator as well as methods of tracking and promoting high-quality, customer-service- based, and best-practices-driven oversight/feedback/service improvement techniques by the state/rail authority. – Appendix E: Role of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board Regarding Intercity Rail Passenger Service. Describes and explains the emerging role of the U.S. Surface Trans- portation Board (STB) in regulation and oversight of new intercity passenger rail services; identifies when, how, and why STB approval must be sought in both planning initial service and making operational changes after service begins; outlines existing statutes; and discusses the inclusion of STB in the PRIIA Section 209 implementation process. – Appendix F: Contractor’s Final Report. Describes the actions and methods used to gather information for the project and includes, as an annex, a table of existing and available reports identified during the literature review, which users may find useful as further reference into the areas discussed in this guidebook. Active hyperlinks to the referenced documents are included and should be accessible via the PDF of the report available on the TRB website.