Economic Impacts of Amtrak Intercity Passenger Rail Service in Michigan

By conservative, reliable, objective, and preliminary estimates, the United States could generate at least $660 million annually – $26.4 billion over four decades – by building and operating faster, more frequent, more dependable, and more highly integrated passenger rail service in four corridors: The Northeast; the Chicago Hub; California; and the Northwest. Numerous studies by a variety of national and international organizations and government agencies suggest that the actual cost of building and/or improving passenger rail service lines is significantly less than the cost per mile of other modal alternatives. In fact, in many corridors, passenger rail is the only feasible option for adding capacity, given the practical constraints facing aviation and highway expansion. Further, by integrating improved, higher speed intercity passenger rail service into the existing transportation system, major issues of congestion, mobility and economic inequality can be addressed.

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Amtrak Acela: The Challenge of High-Speed Passenger Rail Service

10.4135/9781526404398 ◽

2006 ◽

Author(s):

Ann Benson ◽

Jessica Hermo ◽

James S. O’Rourke

Keyword(s):

High Speed ◽

Passenger Rail ◽

Rail Service

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Guidebook for Intercity Passenger Rail Service and Development

10.17226/23535 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Curtis A. Morgan ◽

Jeffery E. Warner ◽

Emmanuel S. "Bruce" Horowitz ◽

David P. Simpson ◽

Benjamin Sperry ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Passenger Rail ◽

Rail Service

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

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.3141/2608-09 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2608 (1) ◽

pp. 78-85

Author(s):

Francis E. Loetterle ◽

Melanie Johnson ◽

Charles Quandel ◽

Carey Barr ◽

Andrew Komendantov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Economic Assessment ◽

Cost Ratio ◽

Benefit Cost Analysis ◽

Benefit Cost Ratio ◽

Project Assessment ◽

Passenger Rail ◽

Target Field ◽

Benefit Cost ◽

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.

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Results From the 2011 Hiawatha Service Passenger Study

2012 Joint Rail Conference ◽

10.1115/jrc2012-74129 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Benjamin R. Sperry ◽

Curtis A. Morgan

Keyword(s):

Critical Role ◽

Major Elements ◽

State Funding ◽

Research Project ◽

Trip Purpose ◽

Passenger Rail ◽

Wisconsin Department ◽

Before And After ◽

The Impact ◽

Rail Service

The Hiawatha Service is an Amtrak intercity passenger rail service operating a 90-mile route between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois. The route has experienced a steady growth in ridership in recent years, carrying more than 815,000 passengers during the 12-month period ending September 2011. Owing to the route’s trip-time competitiveness with the automobile, frequent daily service, an intermodal connection with the airport in Milwaukee, and the multi-state funding partnership between the states of Wisconsin and Illinois, the Hiawatha Service is a model of how passenger rail can be an integral part of the multimodal transportation system in an intercity corridor. In January 2011, researchers from the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) passenger rail research group, with financial support from the University Transportation Center for Mobility (UTCM) and in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), initiated a research project to examine the mobility impacts of the Hiawatha Service intercity passenger rail route. One of the major elements of this research project was an on-board survey of Hiawatha Service passengers, implemented in Spring 2011. This paper reports a summary of selected findings from the 2011 TTI/WisDOT Hiawatha Service passenger survey. The survey obtained valuable information about the current passengers, including data on passenger trip purpose, activities before and after the rail trip, travel alternatives to the Hiawatha Service if the route was not available, motivations for choosing rail for the trip, the impact of potential service changes on increasing ridership, and demographic profile data. A majority of passengers traveling on weekdays were regular commuters or business travelers while personal trips are dominant on weekends. Nearly 70 percent of passengers would drive if the rail service was not available, suggesting that the Hiawatha Service plays a critical role in relieving highway congestion in the region. The results of this study can be used by public agency planning staff and policymakers to guide the development of new intercity passenger rail services in similar corridors across the U.S.

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Benefits Forgone

Intelligent Transportation and Planning ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-5210-9.ch005 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 95-116

Author(s):

Eric C. Peterson

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

International Organizations ◽

The United States ◽

Government Agencies ◽

Actual Cost ◽

Passenger Rail ◽

Feasible Option ◽

The Cost ◽

Rail Service ◽

Practical Constraints

By conservative, reliable, objective, and preliminary estimates, the United States could generate at least $660 million annually – $26.4 billion over four decades – by building and operating faster, more frequent, more dependable, and more highly integrated passenger rail service in four corridors: The Northeast; the Chicago Hub; California; and the Northwest. Numerous studies by a variety of national and international organizations and government agencies suggest that the actual cost of building and/or improving passenger rail service lines is significantly less than the cost per mile of other modal alternatives. In fact, in many corridors, passenger rail is the only feasible option for adding capacity, given the practical constraints facing aviation and highway expansion. Further, by integrating improved, higher speed intercity passenger rail service into the existing transportation system, major issues of congestion, mobility and economic inequality can be addressed.

Download Full-text