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Washington State High Speed Rail Corridor:Corridor Management Workplan and
WSDOT Capital Improvement Program
Oregon Passenger Rail Leadership CouncilSalem, OR
January 31, 2013
John SiboldCascade Rail Corridor Director
State Rail and Marine Director, WSDOT
Paula J. Hammond, P.E.Secretary
Steve ReinmuthChief of Staff
Pacific Northwest High-Speed Rail Corridor
Amtrak Cascades Intercity Passenger Rail
• 467-mile corridor 300 miles in Washington 134 miles in Oregon 33 miles in British Columbia
• Eleven daily train trips totaling 4,015 trips annually: 4 daily round trips between Seattle & Portland 2 round trips between Seattle & Vancouver, B.C. 2 round trips between Eugene & Portland
• Five trainsets: Washington owns three Amtrak owns two Oregon will add two in 2013
Website www.AmtrakCascades.com
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Designated high-speed rail corridors eligible for federal funding
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Obligated HSIPR funding
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Types of passenger rail:Choosing the right tool for the right job
Local / Regional
Local / Regional
State Federal
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Amtrak Cascades Budget
• Economic climate 2011-2013
• Operating fees - Amtrak
– Washington pays $9 million per year; Oregon pays $5.5 per year
• Equipment maintenance fees - Talgo
– Washington pays $4 million per year
– Oregon will pay maintenance for their trainsets
• PRIIA (Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act) – Oct. 2013
– Funding disappears for one Amtrak Cascades train between Seattle and Portland on Oct. 1, 2013.
– Oct. 1, 2013, Washington and Oregon must absorb the costs currently paid by Amtrak: estimated at $5 million for Washington and $2.5 million for Oregon.
• Maintenance of capital improvements - 20 years (2017 start)
– Washington pays ~$3 million per year
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Corridor management actionsWashington, Oregon & British Columbia
March 2012 WSDOT-ODOT Memorandum of Understanding
January2013
Corridor Management Workplan
Summer 2013
Agreement negotiation complete
October 2013
PRIIA Section 209 implementation: states pay 100%
Future
actions
Joint governance, corridor
plan and capital program
Corridor accomplishments-to-date
• Appointed Corridor Director
• Established on-time performance task force – (WA, OR, BC, Amtrak, BNSF, UP, Sound Transit)
• Marketing program collaboration
• State rail plan coordination
• WSDOT/ODOT monthly team meetings
• Initiated Corridor Management Workplan
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High-speed rail corridor branding
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Corridor workplan highlights
• Establishes initial vision and goals to guide corridor operation
• Defines Corridor Director’s roles and responsibilities
• Identifies significant issues to be addressed in agreements
• Establishes framework for integrated operations:
– Schedule changes
– Performance measurement
– Marketing
– Grant applications
– Fare increases
– Maintenance agreements
– Customer inquiries
– Recommended project priorities
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Corridor next steps
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Activities Deliverables Level of effort
2013 Prepare for PRIIA implementation:
initiate cooperative operation of
the service; negotiate agreements
Agreements:
WSDOT-ODOT interagency
WSDOT-ODOT-Amtrak tri-party
WSDOT-ODOT-Talgo tri-party
Staff driven, within existing
resources, and adding of additional
project staff when needed.
2014 PRIIA implementation: refine roles
and responsibilities; identify near-
term program priorities
Updated WSDOT-ODOT interagency
agreement
Updated corridor workplan
Preliminary corridor business plan
Staff driven, within existing
resources, and adding of additional
project staff when needed.
2015 Address institutional structure:
explore options for governance and
partner engagement
Recommended governance
structure
Consultant / staff / stakeholder and
public involvement
Estimated cost: $500,000 -
$750,000
Unfunded
2016 Develop corridor strategy: vision,
goals and objectives; needs and
opportunities; improvement
strategies
Corridor long-range plan Consultant / staff / stakeholder and
public involvement
Estimated cost $350,000 - $600,000
Unfunded
2017 Corridor business plan: near- and
mid-term program priorities
Corridor capital improvement plan
Corridor financial plan
Consultant effort / staff
Unfunded
Developing an intercity passenger rail program
• Intercity passenger rail is very expensive to build, maintain and operate
• Fares collected do not cover operating expenses; state or regional public funding must be provided year after year
• Federal grant programs are very competitive
• So far, Washington state has spent over $480 million in state funds to develop the program
• Each step requires a public funding source and buy-off from the host railroad: conceptual planning, rail traffic modeling, preliminary engineering, NEPA clearances, right-of-way acquisition, final design, and construction
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Developing Washington’s intercity passenger rail program
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Step 1, first 5 years: Set direction for the program
1994 Addition of a second daily round trip between Seattle and Portland
1995 WA, OR, BC: Options for Passenger Rail in the Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor
FHWA/FRA/WSDOT MOU for NEPA
Reinstated service between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.
1996 EIS Notice to Proceed
1998 Plan and environmental overview
Addition of a third round trip between Seattle and Portland
1999 Additional service between Seattle and Bellingham
2000 Plan update and Notice to Proceed rescinded
Developing Washington’s intercity passenger rail program
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Step 2, next 5 years: Refine the plan and environmental documentation to prepare for funding opportunities
2003 Plan update and environmental on first individual project completed
2006 Long-range plan (update)
Addition of a fourth daily round trip between Seattle and Portland
2009 Program Environmental Assessment
Addition of second train to Vancouver, B.C.
2010 Federal funds awarded: $794.9 million
Developing Washington’s intercity passenger rail program
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Step 3, next 10 years: Deliver the program; continue refining the plan in preparation for future funding opportunities
2010 - 2017 HSIPR program implementation: Coordinate with FRA and BNSF: agreements, approvals, design, environmental and construction
State rail plan and corridor planning
2017+ Implement additional service between Seattle and Portland with
travel time and on-time performance improvements
Fulfill service outcome and maintenance commitments
Continued planning in anticipation of future funding
Long-term development yields funding which yields greater responsibility
• Long history of program development and investment
• Commitments for 20 years beginning 2017:
– Two additional round trips between Seattle and Portland, for a total of six
– 10-minute time savings
– Improved on-time performance to 88%
– Maintenance costs
WSDOT is reducing costs and raising revenue to minimize the need for increased subsidy for operations due to the elimination of federal subsidies on Oct. 1, 2013, and to cover additional maintenance costs.
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Washington awarded nearly $800 million for high-speed rail improvements
Washington was successful in securing nearly $800 million in federal funds for 20 projects due to strategic state investments.
• Building additional rail-line capacity
• Upgrading tracks, utilities, signals, passenger stations and advanced warning systems
• Purchasing new locomotive and train equipment
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Keys to success
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• Incremental approach allows public to see benefits quickly
− Adding daily service one round trip at a time
− Environmental work per project rather than corridor-wide
• Collaborative planning and stakeholder engagement
• Supportive Governor, legislative champion, and WSDOT executive management
• Funding source available (state and/or federal)
• Developing and adhering tolong-range plan
• Rail plan integrated into Washington Transportation Plan
• Implementable projects
− “fundable pieces”
Questions to consider to move forward
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• What is the appropriate level of public subsidy?
• How can we achieve financial sustainability for the service?
• What will qualify for HSIPR funding in the future?
• What strategies can be employed to satisfy greatest demand, increase ridership and reduce costs?
• What are the opportunities to improve connections between public transit and intercity passenger rail?
• Is your project list valid? Are projects scoped and viable?
• Have you developed reliable cost-estimates?
• What is your process for making decisions about service changes?
An opportunity for Oregon?
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• No matter what alignment between Portland and Eugene is selected, improvements will be needed in the most heavily used portion of the Eugene to Vancouver, BC rail corridor: part of the Portland rail “Triangle” located between Portland’s Union Station and the Columbia River.
• This is an opportunity to begin implementation of a series of projects to support intercity passenger rail while working on the Oregon Passenger Rail EIS project.
The Portland “Triangle”
Contact information
John Sibold
Cascades Rail Corridor Director
WSDOT State Rail Director
360.705.7900 or [email protected]
Hal Gard
ODOT Rail Administrator
503.986.4321 or [email protected]
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