Passenger Rail Panel Sean M. Craig, Assistant General Counsel - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Passenger Rail Panel Sean M. Craig, Assistant General Counsel

November 15, 2019

Passenger trains operate on ~3,300 miles, or 16% of the CSX network

CSX Hosts: Trains per Day

• Avg. Daily

Ridership Miles

• n CSX

Amtrak 40 10,000 3,226 MARC 40* 12,500 116 VRE 32 19,500 59 Total 112 ~42,000

*Does not include Friday Brunswick extra

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CSX is a tenant on:

− MBTA − Amtrak NEC/Hudson Line − Metro North − SEPTA − SunRail − Tri-Rail − METRA

CSXT’s approach with Passenger Agencies

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 Help communities understand freight / passenger challenges  Actively manage agency relationships

Communication

 Build trust through shared safety culture  Prove we are their partner  Demonstrate shared commitment to improvements

Commitment

 Proactively provide information to passengers  Address passenger concerns upfront

Coordination

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CSX requires new passenger operations to pass the following four tests:

• SAFETY

– Safety cannot be compromised

• CAPACITY

– Capacity must ensure safe and reliable operations and ensure access and room for current and future freight customers

• COMPENSATION

– Compensation must offset all expenses of the additional passenger service

• LIABILITY

– Indemnified against any new liability that, but for the new passenger service, would not exist

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Modeling is needed to analyze operations and to facilitate the development of sound investment plans on a dynamic network

The modeling process attempts to …

• Measure impact of modifications to physical plant
• Minimize capital expenditures
• Avoid design mistakes
• Plan investment timing (prioritize)
• Develop long range facility plans
• Plan for future traffic schedules and volume
• Identify and test solutions to improve rail flow and reduce delay
• Utilize model results to analyze schedules

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To insure safe operations, passenger trains operating above 90 MPH must do so on dedicated tracks separated from freight.

• Sealed from highways and pedestrians

– HSR requires grade separations

• Dispatched and maintained by the passenger entity

– CSX core business is moving high tonnage trains at conventional speeds

• If the right-of-way is shared, the freight operator must be able to access both its

present and future customers to meet its common carrier obligation. – Freight carriers must not be isolated on one side of the right-of-way

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Passenger Projects that diminish existing and future freight capacity are inconsistent with the true objectives of planners.

• A cost-effective, reliable freight rail system is vital to state economies
• Absent additional capacity, new passenger trains diminish freight capacity:

– More trucks on the highway – Congestion on vehicular arteries increases – Pollution increases

• Passenger agencies that consume the existing, “cheap” capacity for passenger

trains must: – Replace the capacity consumed, previously available for future freight demands – Add capacity required to maintain fluidity as the freight volume returns

• Passenger operations must be transparent to freight operations
• Detailed modeling required