Intercity Passenger Rail Service Research Articles

Users’ Willingness to Ride an Intercity Passenger Rail: A Case Study From Louisiana

Intercity passenger rail services must be designed in a way that users will be willing and able to ride. This study examines potential users’ current travel behaviors and willingness to ride a proposed passenger rail between New Orleans and Baton Rouge in Louisiana, US. By analyzing a user preference survey with discrete choice experiment (DCE), the results show a strong support of the proposed rail service, but distinct deficiencies in the current multimodal transportation environment connecting to and from proposed stations. In addition, previous analyses include potentially faulty assumptions about trip purposes, which have critical implications for service design. The findings of this study reflect the priorities of likely rail passengers and advance efforts to plan for successful passenger rail service operation in Southeast Louisiana. The potential user-based and data-driven approach of this case study can also be used for planning other passenger rail services in the US.

High-Speed Rail as a New Mode of Intercity Passenger Transportation

High-speed rail is a new mode of intercity passenger transportation. We review the history of high-speed rail development of the United States (US) and compare it with that of peer countries. With the rapid progress of HSR and the successful competition with cars and air travel between medium and long distances (150 and 1,200 km), HSR has an increasing role in intercity travel worldwide. Decision makers, transportation planners, system designers, and operators as well as political leaders need to understand HSR’s operational boundaries for intercity travel to determine which HSR will outperform the others and under which conditions. Our analysis uses a simple time-distance factor to clarify the dominance. To confirm the validity of HSR in intercity passenger rail services, a comparison with the external competition of car and air travel is necessary. Meanwhile, an internal examination of operational performance considering sophisticated variables is imperative. Based on numerous HSR projects, we select four interrelated trade-off elements: the passenger access time and travel time associated with the total on-line travel time, the area coverage associated with the station density, the station density associated with speed, and the transit unit size, frequency, and loading factor associated with the independent line capacity. After examining the interrelations and trade-offs, we present a practical case study of one of the major US economic corridors — the Northeast Corridor. The case study explores the geospatial metadata and concludes that three major system efficiency challenges exist; therefore, it provides corresponding engineering measures to convert an independent dead-end terminal into an integrated through-running station, which are the priority for converting Amtrak, the US national rail service, into an accelerated HSR service. It is time to renew the government’s interest in paying systematic attention to the comprehensive effect of HSR.

The use of focus groups to foster stakeholder engagement in intercity passenger rail planning

Recent changes in the United States (U.S.) passenger rail policies have affected a number of National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) corridors. One of the major changes is that, since the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) of 2008 was passed, all short-distance Amtrak corridors should become state-supported. Stakeholder and public involvement is strongly advocated by the U.S. Department of Transportation as a fundamental component of the transportation planning process and an important step to keep the public informed and engaged in decision making. Thus, states should attempt to engage the public in any funding decisions that might affect passenger rail service changes (such as line discontinuance). In addition, states should seek the input of the stakeholder and public to evaluate the alternative transportation investment options available in case such service changes occur. Nevertheless, both literature and practice of stakeholder engagement on policy making and planning of strategic operational changes and/or other broader decision making is scarce.This article presents a case study of stakeholder engagement in transportation decision making pertaining to decisions of investments in passenger rail and state and local fund allocation, using a focus group approach. This engagement aimed to (1) consult stakeholders in a group setting in an attempt to produce shared knowledge and (2) explore how the transportation investment decision-making process can incorporate public preferences and community values in a participatory manner via the assessment of potential investment directions. The goals of the study are to explore whether stakeholder engagement at a smaller-size projects and/or broader policy and planning decision making can be beneficial, and whether focus groups are suitable to facilitate such engagement.The findings verify that stakeholder involvement can provide states and other decision-makers with valuable insights on several topics supporting future policy and funding decisions. For example, in the case explored, the engagement of the stakeholders revealed that public investments towards the continuation and potentially improvement of the intercity passenger rail services are in line with the communities’ goals and are viewed as more beneficial than alternative transportation investments that can enable mobility in the area. In addition, the findings suggest that the benefits of engaging stakeholders in transportation decision making go beyond the act of gathering stakeholders’ input; focus groups or similar dynamic forums can facilitate the production of innovative ideas and shared knowledge while fostering collegiality among stakeholders. Finally, the findings of the case study also verify that focus groups can be a suitable approach to engage and consult a small group of stakeholders for higher-level transportation investment decision making. Overall, the case study results indicate that stakeholder engagement can benefit smaller-size projects and/or broader policy and planning decision making, such as decisions involving the financing of an intercity passenger rail line and investment directions towards operational changes of the line and/or alternative transportation modes and infrastructure.

Improving Intercity Passenger Rail Planning using Evidence from Passenger Survey Data

Federal mandates require that states develop comprehensive state rail plans that clarify a vision for the role of intercity passenger rail services in the state’s transportation system and a program of projects necessary to achieve that vision. In that context, this paper presents an analysis of more than 10,000 surveys obtained during the past 10 years from passengers of five U.S. state-supported intercity passenger rail routes. The purpose of the analysis is to support the development of state rail plans by gaining valuable insight into passenger behavior, the market area for passenger rail services, and the broader mobility impacts of passenger rail services. The market area analysis found that approximately three-quarters of rail passengers live within 30 mi of a rail station, affirming the use of this distance as a radius for planning purposes. The mobility analysis indicated that automobile is the primary alternative to passenger rail services among passengers of the five routes; statistical models of alternative mode preference yielded significant insight into strategies that states can implement to increase the mode shift of automobile and airplane passengers to rail services. The findings and recommendations of this paper can be used by planners and policymakers to implement a practical yet data-driven approach to the development of passenger-related components of state rail plans, providing a clear linkage between investment strategies and statewide mobility goals.

Assessing the impacts of state-supported rail services on local population and employment: A California case study

The State of California has been financially supporting Amtrak intercity passenger rail services since 1976. This paper studies the impacts of this support on local population and employment at both county and city levels. We use datasets which include geographic, transportation, and socioeconomic characteristics of California counties and cities from 1950 to 2010. Propensity score, one-to-one matching models are employed to draw units from the control group, which are counties/cities that do not have a state-supported Amtrak station, to match with units from the treatment group, which are counties/cities that do. Using regression analysis, we find that state-support Amtrak stations have significant effect on local population in the long term, and the effect increases with time. However, the effect on civilian employment is almost non-existent. This suggests that state-supported Amtrak services can provide quality rail mobility and accessibility, which attract people to live in a rail-accessible region. However, the economic influence seems limited.

Case Study of Benefit–Cost Analysis of an Intercity Passenger Rail Service

The economic assessment of transportation projects is evolving from a reliance on user benefits (travel time, cost, or safety) to encompass a wider spectrum of potential benefits, fostered by advances in economics and recognition that different project modes deliver different portfolios of benefits. Sponsors develop projects to address specific problems in their communities. This progression in how investments are evaluated opens the door for projects whose outcomes span a variety of benefit categories rather than concentrating on traditional user benefits and permits an improved intermodal comparison of candidate investments. Transit and intercity rail projects are particular beneficiaries of the broader project assessment approach. This paper presents a case study of how a comprehensive approach to project assessment was applied to the Northern Lights Express project that would reintroduce passenger rail service between the cities of Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota, the state's largest economies. Owned and operated by BNSF Railway, Amtrak's service in the corridor ended in 1985. Six stations are planned: Target Field in Minneapolis; stations in Coon Rapids, Cambridge, and Hinckley, Minnesota; a station in Superior, Wisconsin; and Union Depot in Duluth. The goal for the analysis was threefold: ( a) to confirm that the investment would yield a positive return; ( b) to communicate with partners, stakeholders, and the public about the project's expected outcomes; and ( c) to contribute to the selection of an alternative. The benefit–cost ratio was estimated for eight alternatives that varied by physical alignment and service plan.

American Long-Distance Locomobility and the Spaces of Actor-Network Theory

Much of the discourse surrounding national intercity passenger rail service in the United States revolves around why it has lagged so far behind European and Asian counterparts. However, a more interesting question might be why it has survived despite competition from faster, more nimble transport modes, discriminatory public policy, and the ascension of neoliberal discourse hostile to public endeavor. This paper uses the concept of durability in actor-network theory to offer some insights into how the system has achieved a remarkable but problematic stability, and how that durability relates to an imagined role for national intercity passenger rail in a future of increasingly constrained material resources. This paper also demonstrates the application of actor-network theory (ANT) in a way that can serve as a useful introduction to and template for the use of that methodology.

Model for Optimal Selection of Projects to Improve Running Time and Operating Cost Efficiency on Passenger Rail Corridors

Recent proposals for expanded intercity passenger rail service in the United States have included plans for incremental improvements to existing Amtrak service. Improvements to existing services aim to accommodate faster and more frequent passenger train operation, generally on track owned and operated by freight railways. Various projects and approaches can be considered when the running time of passenger trains is being decreased on a particular corridor. Raising the maximum operating speed can yield different benefits on different sections of the route, and conditions on adjacent sections can interact. For instance, the marginal travel time benefit of improving segments of a line from a maximum speed of 79 to 110 mph is less than the benefit of other improvements to eliminate segments currently restricted to lower speeds. Therefore, to maximize the potential of limited resources, project investments must be selected carefully to improve performance in a cost-effective manner. This paper presents a methodology for optimally selecting projects or establishing program budgets to reduce running time on a passenger rail corridor with consideration of capital, maintenance, and operating costs. The proposed project selection model is formulated with genetic algorithms. In the model, a route is divided into sections that can be independently upgraded, and the objective function is formulated as minimization of running time along the route. This model can aid in quickly and efficiently developing a strategic plan for improving running time on passenger rail corridors.

Amtrak after PRIIA – New opportunities for continuing the revitalization of intercity passenger rail

Aspirations toward creating a new role for intercity passenger rail service and anxieties about the apparent expansion of government have anchored a debate that has persisted over much of Amtrak's existence. Amid controversy, the corporation has played a key role in creating a meaningful niche for short-distance intercity passenger rail service under the management of state and regional sponsors. However, questions continue to surround the form and function of Amtrak's long-distance routes. With the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA), Congress mandated the creation of new tools to engage state and regional sponsors of intercity passenger rail service and to reexamine the form and function of long-distance routes.In PRIIA's wake, there is an opportunity to consider the progress that has been made and to identify the potential for further change. This paper builds from the following question: Does the progress that intercity passenger rail experienced under PRIIA make it feasible to consider redirecting Amtrak's mission toward supporting the development of a competitive market for intercity passenger rail services? Amtrak's ubiquitous role in providing intercity passenger rail service is indisputable. However, with a redefined mission, Amtrak could be reoriented to support the creation of a competitive marketplace.

THE MUDDLING CROWN: VIA RAIL AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

ABSTRACTThis article is an analysis of VIA Rail and its relationship with the federal government. Canada's publicly‐owned intercity passenger rail service is in a state of slow and steady decline, best illustrated by its small and falling user rates, and despite receiving significant subsidies, the federal government is indifferent to the needs of this transportation provider. Unlike other Canadian state‐owned enterprises, or Crown corporations, VIA Rail has been neither privatized nor modernized and, instead, is languishing as a publicly‐owned firm. While the current Conservative government of Stephen Harper favors a smaller role for the state, and it has both set about modernizing and eliminating other Crowns, it has not followed such a course with VIA Rail. Drawing on John Kingdon's (1984) multiple streams model to outline the empirical data as well as to illustrate how this firm interacts with its political superior, it will argue that the indifference towards this firm is due to both the specific characteristics of VIA Rail and the highly centralized decision‐making structure of Canada's Westminster Parliamentary system. Unless the federal government decides to implement fundamental organizational and governance changes at this firm, Canadians will continue to be served by a marginal rail service provider.

Urban Mass Transit and Housing Price in China: An Exploratory Analysis of Guangzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu

This study investigates the spatial impact of urban transit systems on housing prices with a focus on three Chinese metropolitan areas -- Guangzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu. Based on a dataset of 7,348 housing properties located in 14 cities, a spatial hedonic modeling approach is adopted to assess the accessibility impact of three different types of urban mass transit systems -- bus, metro and intercity passenger rail -- on housing values. After controlling for physical characteristics of housing property, characteristics of the neighboring environment and locational accessibility, our study finds that the spatial impact of urban transit systems vary substantially across different metro areas as well as by different types of service. While a developed metro system in cities such as Guangzhou, tends to have a positive impact on housing prices, a negative impact is also confirmed in cities like Chengdu, where major metro networks are still under development. Conversely, the impact of the newly deployed intercity passenger rail services on housing prices are confirmed to be significant, although varied across different regions.

Bicycle Network Connectivity for Passenger Rail Stations

Interest in improving and adding intercity passenger rail service is growing in the United States and the rest of the world. Passenger rail development is complex and includes many factors including how well it is integrated into cities. Transportation trends in the United States show that more people are choosing alternative transportation options and that auto ownership is declining. The development of new rail systems and improvement of existing systems need to consider all users, including those who access stations with alternative transportation such as bicycles. An analysis approach is proposed to compare how well rail stations allow access to bicycles by studying their connectivity to low-stress bicycle links and how well they allow access to workplaces and residences. The approach is demonstrated with a case study in Salem, Oregon. This city is on Amtrak's Cascades Corridor and is currently undergoing an environmental impact study for improved service. The existing station and two alternative station locations are analyzed. The results indicate that the two stations located adjacent to downtown provide superior bicycle connectivity to workplaces and residences compared with the station located near the airport.

Value capture beyond municipalities: transit-oriented development and inter-city passenger rail investment in China’s Pearl River Delta

Existing research rarely systematically reviews how China has funded or will fund expanding transit systems. We argue that fiscal regulations have shaped how China’s municipal governments plan for and invest in passenger rail services and land development around stations, and that policy reforms are necessary to bring successful transit-oriented development and transit operation for China’s next round of urbanization. Using Pearl River Delta (PRD) as the study case, we review the planning and funding processes for an inter-city passenger rail services, and reveal how a new funding and planning framework has been developed out of pre-existing organizational and legal constraints. The central piece of this innovation is a value capture framework beyond municipal boundaries, which tighten the connection between transit funding and transit-oriented development. The PRD experience has implications for other megaregions in China.

Economic Impacts of Amtrak Intercity Passenger Rail Service in Michigan

Amtrak operates three trains on routes in Michigan: the Wolverine, the Blue Water, and the Pere Marquette. Using the methodology established in the 2009 Michigan Passenger Rail Station Community Benefits Study, this study considered the economic impacts of Michigan Amtrak service in the 22 communities served by these routes. Results from the 2009 study were updated to reflect current ridership and ticket revenue data, as well as findings from passenger surveys conducted in spring 2011. Considering individual traveler savings, passenger spending at local businesses, and Amtrak-related expenditures, Amtrak service generated an estimated economic impact to the state of Michigan in excess of $45.8 million in 2011. The average economic impact (excluding Amtrak expenditures) was $37.87 per passenger. Every $1.00 invested by the state of Michigan for operations of the Blue Water and Pere Marquette routes returned $1.84 in economic impact to local communities and travelers along these routes. The findings of this analysis contribute to a small but growing body of literature that quantifies the economic impacts of existing Amtrak passenger rail service and have several applications for passenger rail planning, policy development, and outreach activities.

Public Policy or Popular Demand?

This essay examines the transition from a rail-based intercity transportation system in California in 1910 to a road/private auto-based system thirty years later, with hypotheses that the transition could be explained by either corporate and state decisions for supplying infrastructure or by public demand. The essay examines trends of automobile ownership, road investment, bus organization and service provision, intercity passenger rail service provision, and intercity rail revenues, both within California and to and from California in each of the three decades. It concludes that public preference for private automobility explains most of the transition but that unserved demand remained for fast passenger train service between the state's large metropolitan areas. Failure to serve that demand derived from California's legacy of popular disdain for the private railroad industry.

Economic Impacts of Intercity Passenger Rail Service

Recent policy and funding developments have stimulated interest in high-speed and intercity passenger rail. Given the present economic climate of the country, particular interest lies in the impacts of new or expanded passenger rail services on local or regional economies. Using evidence from rail passenger surveys, this paper examines the economic impacts of existing state-supported passenger rail service in a growing intercity corridor of the south central United States. Economic impacts were measured by analyzing passengers' self-reported expenditures on selected items during their rail trip. The results of the analysis showed an estimated spending impact on local communities of more than $18 million in total, with more than $1.3 million of local sales tax generated by rail passengers in the study corridor. If the service were discontinued, an estimated 30% of these impacts would be lost. The findings of this analysis inform passenger rail planning efforts by providing better understanding of the financial considerations and also assist rail planners in developing local support for new rail projects.

Estimation of option and non-use values for intercity passenger rail services

This paper considers option and non-use values of intercity passenger rail services in Korea. The total economic value of a given transport service can be classified into use, option and non-use values, but other grouping rules can be applied, respectively. The use value is the consumer’s surplus from the actual ride of a specific mode. The option value, on the other hand, can be defined as a traveller’s willingness to pay for reserving a travel mode, which is not his or her main choice, as a standby alternative. Finally, the non-use value represents benefits that are not attributable to the actual use or option use, but to the vicarious, altruistic, functional and existing worth of a transport service. A random stated preference survey based on a double-bounded dichotomous choice is conducted. A survival model is applied to the data collected. Calculations are based on trip makers’ willingness to pay for option and non-use values, using the parameters of the estimated survival model. Some concluding remarks are also presented.

Why has the market not been created for Channel Tunnel regional passenger rail services?

Summary Development benefits from the Channel Tunnel for the British regions beyond London depend largely upon the availability of through rail services to and from Europe. This paper examines the failure of deregulation, privatization and government policy to set up the forecast market in such a way that the British regions are included in the European matrix of high‐speed intercity passenger rail services.

High-Speed Ground Transportation is Coming to America—Slowly

Over the past four decades, the United States has invested heavily in highways and airport improvements, and in general has opted not to develop intercity passenger rail service. Over the same period, by contrast, Europe and Japan have committed large sums of money to developing high-speed guided ground transportation and building extensive new high-speed rail networks. The United States launched a high-speed ground transportation (HSGT) initiative in the mid-1960s and abandoned it in the mid-1970s. Now the Clinton administration proposes to support HSGT development, but the level and type of support remains to be worked out. This paper explores the prologue to and current prospects for HSGT development in the United States.

Exhaust Emissions From Two Intercity Passenger Locomotives

To enhance the effectiveness of intercity passenger rail service in mitigating exhaust emissions in California, the California Department to Transportation (Caltrans) included limits on exhaust emissions in its intercity locomotive procurement specifications. Because there were no available exhaust emission test data on which emission reduction goals could be based, Caltrans funded a test program to acquire gaseous and particulate exhaust emissions data, along with smoke opacity data, from two state-of-the-art intercity passenger locomotives. The two passenger locomotives (an EMD F59PH and a GE DASH8-32BWH) were tested at the Association of American Railroads Chicago Technical Center. The EMD locomotive was eqiupped with a separate Detroit Diesel, Corporation (DDC) 8V-149 diesel engine used to provide 480 V AC power for the trailing passenger cars. This DDC engine was also emission tested. These data were used to quantify baseline exhaust emission levels as a challenge to locomotive manufacturers to offer new locomotives with reduced emissions. Data from the two locomotive engines were recorded at standard fuel injection timing and with the fuel injection timing retarded 4 deg in an effort to reduce NOx emissions. Results of this emissions testing were incorporated into the Caltrans locomotive procurement process by including emission performance requirements in the Caltrans intercity passenger locomotive specification, and therefore in the procurement decision. This paper contains steady-state exhaust emission test results for hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and particulate matter (PM) from the two locomotives. Computed sulfur dixoide (SO2) emissions are also given, and are based on diesel fuel consumption and sulfur content. Exhaust smoke opacity is also reported.