Washington State High Speed Rail Corridor: Corridor Management Workplan and WSDOT Capital Improvement Program Steve Reinmuth Paula J. Hammond, P.E. Chief of Staff Secretary John Sibold Cascade Rail Corridor Director State Rail and Marine Director, WSDOT Oregon Passenger Rail Leadership Council Salem, OR January 31, 2013
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 2
Designated high-speed rail corridors eligible for federal funding 3
Obligated HSIPR funding 4
Types of passenger rail: Choosing the right tool for the right job Local / Local / State Federal Regional Regional 5
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 6
Corridor management actions Washington, Oregon & British Columbia March 2012 WSDOT-ODOT Memorandum of Understanding January Corridor 2013 Management Workplan Summer Agreement negotiation 2013 complete October PRIIA Section 209 2013 implementation: states pay 100% Future Joint governance, corridor actions plan and capital program 7
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 8
High-speed rail corridor branding 9
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 10
Corridor next steps Activities Deliverables Level of effort 2013 Prepare for PRIIA implementation : Agreements: Staff driven, within existing initiate cooperative operation of WSDOT-ODOT interagency resources, and adding of additional the service; negotiate agreements WSDOT-ODOT-Amtrak tri-party project staff when needed. WSDOT-ODOT-Talgo tri-party 2014 PRIIA implementation : refine roles Updated WSDOT-ODOT interagency Staff driven, within existing and responsibilities; identify near- agreement resources, and adding of additional term program priorities Updated corridor workplan project staff when needed. Preliminary corridor business plan 2015 Address institutional structure: Recommended governance Consultant / staff / stakeholder and explore options for governance and structure public involvement partner engagement Estimated cost: $500,000 - $750,000 Unfunded 2016 Develop corridor strategy : vision, Corridor long-range plan Consultant / staff / stakeholder and goals and objectives; needs and public involvement opportunities; improvement Estimated cost $350,000 - $600,000 strategies Unfunded 2017 Corridor business plan: near- and Corridor capital improvement plan Consultant effort / staff mid-term program priorities Corridor financial plan Unfunded 11
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 12
Developing Washington’s intercity passenger rail program 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 13
Developing Washington’s intercity passenger rail program 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 14
Developing Washington’s intercity passenger rail program 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 15
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. 16
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 17
Keys to success • 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 • Developing and adhering to (state and/or federal) long-range plan • Rail plan integrated into Washington Transportation Plan • Implementable projects “fundable pieces” − 18
Questions to consider to move forward • 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? 19
An opportunity for Oregon? • 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 The Portland “Triangle” working on the Oregon Passenger Rail EIS project. 20
Contact information John Sibold Cascades Rail Corridor Director WSDOT State Rail Director 360.705.7900 or siboldj@wsdot.wa.gov Hal Gard ODOT Rail Administrator 503.986.4321 or Hal.Gard@odot.state.or.us 21
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