Guidebook for Implementing Passenger Rail Service on Shared Passenger and Freight Corridors (2010) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 33-51
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From page 33... ...
• Operating costs and cost sharing – Amtrak avoidable-cost methodology. – Fully allocated costs for commuter rail.
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Modeling is something of an art, and a model cannot represent everything about a route. Interpreting results requires judgment, 34 Guidebook for Implementing Passenger Rail Service on Shared Passenger and Freight Corridors
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Tuesday (Day 2) Sunday (Day 0)
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In many cases, these requirements limit the choice to two comprehensive rail operations simulation software packages that are widely used in the railroad industry for capacity evaluation and project and service planning. These packages have been used in almost all recent passenger rail service developments where corridor operations were sufficiently complex to warrant the use of detailed modeling.
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From page 37... ...
RAILSIM was recently used to plan Caltrain commuter service developments between San Francisco and San Jose, California, a predominantly passenger corridor with limited local freight service. It is also widely used in the New York City region on predominately commuter corridors, such as the Long Island Railroad, Metro-North Commuter Railroad, and New Jersey Transit, and in the Chicago area by Chicago Metropolitan Rail (METRA)
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From page 38... ...
Passenger rail agencies that have participated in RTC-based capacity analysis report that they have been satisfied with the results and the resulting decisions regarding the need for capacity investments. The situation will be similar on a busy commuter rail corridor (often used by an intercity passenger service for final miles into a city center)
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From page 39... ...
by the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) in California to manage track and service improvements on this corridor.
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The need for additional capacity should be based on objective analyses as described in Section 3.2, to ensure that the corridor is able to accommodate planned and forecast passenger and freight services with planned investment. If necessary, a passenger rail agency will need to negotiate funding for track and signal system improvements and additional line capacity needed for passenger service.
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From page 41... ...
Commuter rail agencies can directly fund infrastructure improvements sufficient to provide the capacity consumed by the passenger rail service, plus any signaling and track quality improvements required for passenger service. This approach would be used where the host railroad is willing to accommodate the passenger service but requires that existing capacity for freight operations is preserved, including maintaining spare capacity for future freight growth.
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For example, a railroad may plan to replace an older automatic block signal (ABS) system with 42 Guidebook for Implementing Passenger Rail Service on Shared Passenger and Freight Corridors
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Another cost-sharing possibility occurs where a state agency is able to contribute funds from freight rail and grade crossing safety improvement programs. This was the case in Washington State on portions of the Portland, Oregon, to Seattle, Washington, and Sounder commuter service lines.
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From page 44... ...
As well as selecting equipment for a specific service and developing a process for obtaining suitable equipment, the passenger rail agency has to determine the number of cars required. Fleet planning can be a simple manual process for smaller passenger services, usually involving calculating trip and terminal turn-around times and designing a schedule for a few train sets.
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From page 45... ...
The discussion is primarily concerned with the costs of operating a privately owned freight railroad that hosts a passenger rail service. Costing principles are the same where the host railroad is owned by a public agency, but the public agency normally does not expect to make a profit on invested capital and may treat expenses like depreciation differently.
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46 Guidebook for Implementing Passenger Rail Service on Shared Passenger and Freight Corridors
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From page 47... ...
Transportation Fuel and Power In most cases, each operator uses its own fleet of locomotives, and diesel fuel is purchased separately by or on behalf of each operator. On a shared electrified railroad, power costs must be shared.
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From page 48... ...
At present Amtrak is the designated operator of all intercity passenger rail services on shared corridors, using Amtrak's rights of access at avoidable costs. Amtrak already has operating agreements with all the major railroads, which include agreed-upon compensation for track use, usually expressed as a cost per train-mile.
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From page 49... ...
In some cases, a passenger operator has agreed to fund an additional dispatcher position so that passenger service can receive more focused attention, potentially reducing delays. Alternatively the passenger rail agency may fund a coordinator as a liaison between the host railroad and the passenger operator and agency, to help manage passenger service performance.
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From page 50... ...
The manner in which these technical issues are brought into negotiations between the passenger rail agency and a host freight railroad depends on the details of each service, as summarized in the following paragraphs. Amtrak Intercity Service with No Service-Specific Infrastructure Investments Amtrak compensates host freight railroads for intercity passenger operations on an avoidablecost basis.
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From page 51... ...
Commuter Operations Hosted by a Freight Railroad The commuter rail agency will have to compensate the freight railroad for all or most fully allocated costs. The details of individual agreements are highly variable and will reflect local circumstances, especially track and signal system improvements funded by the commuter rail agency.
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