nymtc regional freight plan - New York Metropolitan Transportation ...

A Freight Plan for the NYMTC Region
The region requires dedicated and predictable funding for all modes of freight transportation.
The highway freight needs discussed in this plan have no dedicated funding
source save for the NYS Industrial Access Program, although existing sources at the
Federal and state level are often used. For example, traditional Federal funding sources
such as Surface Transportation Program funds (STP) or Highway Bridge Repair and
Replacement funds can be used to improve clearances for interstate standard trucks, and
Interstate Highway funds can be used to increase highway capacity. To the extent that
funds could be spent to expand capacity or to better manage the regional highway system,
this would benefit truck freight. However, little highway expansion is foreseen for a variety
of reasons, including funding constraints, community opposition, and environmental
issues (the region is in non-attainment of Federal air quality standards). These constraints
do not preclude capital improvements that would address traffic bottlenecks or improve
road geometries and clearances. Nationally, public/private funding has been used for
projects that provide connections to limited access highways but not for the highways
themselves.
The rail funding situation is complicated by the fact that most of the rail infrastructure
used for freight in the NYMTC region is publicly owned but privately operated by either a
Class 1, regional, or shortline railroads. This means that public funds must be made available
and/or public/private partnerships created. The public ownership of rail freight
infrastructure provide certain advantages in that the responsible agencies make capital
improvements and maintain the system so as to benefit both passenger and freight transportation.
Public ownership also presents certain challenges given the natural primacy
accorded to maintaining the viability of the region’s massive passenger rail system. In
addition to the facilities owned by state and local agencies, Amtrak owns portions of the
Northeast Corridor. One section, the Hell Gate Bridge, carries almost all of the rail freight
traffic that currently reaches geographic Long Island. This section requires a significant
sum of money for track and deck improvements solely to keep it in a state of good repair.
In addition, these improvements are necessary to support heavier rail freight cars.
The large private railroads spend large sums of their own funds to maintain their existing
systems and do not have the capital for large new projects. Evidence of this is the operating
ratios, which in most cases exceed 70 percent of most Class 1 railroads. This leaves
little capital available for large expansion projects. According to the Freight Rail Bottom
Line Report commissioned by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials, America’s Class 1 railroads could have difficulty providing additional capacity
in the future. The report examined the capacity that would be available under several
financing scenarios. Under a constrained investment scenario with railroads providing
additional investment above that provided today they could accommodate additional
carload traffic but could not keep pace with growing demands. 1 The report estimates that
Class 1 railroad state of good repair nationwide could cost $4 billion to $5 billion annually
over the next 20 years and another $3.5 billion annually for improvements beyond state of
1
Invest In America, Freight Rail Bottom Line Report, American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials, page 3.
Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 7-3