Notice2024-17185
Request for Information on Collaboration and Data Sharing for Railroad Operations Analysis
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 5, 2024
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Railroad Administration
Abstract
On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The BIL provides historic appropriations for railroad transportation grant programs administered by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and authorizes new programs to enhance rail safety and to repair, restore, improve, and expand the nation's rail network. Among those new programs is the Corridor Identification and Development Program (CID Program), which creates a new framework to facilitate the development of new, enhanced, and restored intercity passenger rail corridors throughout the country. Railroad Operations Analysis (OA) uses data to assess changes to railroad operations and/or capital project improvements to railroad infrastructure and is frequently part of the planning process for rail projects. OA involves the collaboration of various rail stakeholders and the sharing of data and information. As a result of the CID Program, there is an increased need for FRA and rail stakeholders to participate in OA and evaluate OA results. FRA finds value in conducting OA in a collaborative manner to promote increased confidence in the OA among stakeholders and support Federal FRA investments in infrastructure projects. In this RFI, FRA seeks public comments on the challenges involved in OA, how FRA may address those challenges, and how FRA may improve OA for Federally funded railroad projects.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 150 (Monday, August 5, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 150 (Monday, August 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63471-63473]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17185]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA-2024-0083]
Request for Information on Collaboration and Data Sharing for
Railroad Operations Analysis
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Request for information (RFI).
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SUMMARY: On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law (BIL). The BIL provides historic appropriations for
railroad transportation grant programs administered by the Federal
Railroad Administration (FRA) and authorizes new programs to enhance
rail safety and to repair, restore, improve, and expand the nation's
rail network. Among those new programs is the Corridor
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Identification and Development Program (CID Program), which creates a
new framework to facilitate the development of new, enhanced, and
restored intercity passenger rail corridors throughout the country.
Railroad Operations Analysis (OA) uses data to assess changes to
railroad operations and/or capital project improvements to railroad
infrastructure and is frequently part of the planning process for rail
projects. OA involves the collaboration of various rail stakeholders
and the sharing of data and information. As a result of the CID
Program, there is an increased need for FRA and rail stakeholders to
participate in OA and evaluate OA results. FRA finds value in
conducting OA in a collaborative manner to promote increased confidence
in the OA among stakeholders and support Federal FRA investments in
infrastructure projects. In this RFI, FRA seeks public comments on the
challenges involved in OA, how FRA may address those challenges, and
how FRA may improve OA for Federally funded railroad projects.
DATES: Written comments on this RFI must be received on or before
September 19, 2024. FRA may consider comments filed after this date to
the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to docket number FRA-2024-0083 and be
submitted by at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Search by using the docket
number and follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
docket number for this RFI.
Note: All comments received, including any personal
information, will be posted without change to the docket and will be
accessible to the public at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. You should
not include information in your comment that you do not want to be
made public. Input submitted online via <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> is not
immediately posted to the site. It may take several business days
before your submission is posted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information concerning
this notice, please contact the FRA Office of Railroad Development
staff via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4f1f0e171d0e06030b0a190f2b203b61282039"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5b0b1a03091a12171f1e0d1b3f342f753c342d">[email protected]</span></a>. If additional assistance is
needed, you may contact Bryan Bertoli, Community Planner, at email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#81e3f3f8e0efafe3e4f3f5eeede8c1e5eef5afe6eef7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6a0818130b0444080f181e0506032a0e051e440d051c">[email protected]</span></a> or telephone: 405-406-5575; Eric Pihl,
Transportation Industry Analyst, at email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e683948f85c8968f8e8aa6828992c8818990"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3e5b4c575d104e5756527e5a514a10595148">[email protected]</span></a> or
telephone: 303-594-3559; in FRA's Office of Railroad Development.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
For purposes of this RFI, Railroad OA means the analytical process
for identifying and testing means for achieving operational objectives
based on assumptions regarding, and hypothetical variations to, the
infrastructure, characteristics of train movements, and the conditions
under which those train movements operate. Operational objectives for
an OA may include, but are not limited to, the introduction of a new
rail service; the expansion of an existing rail service (e.g., the
operation of additional service frequencies or trains); changes in
train characteristics (e.g., length, horsepower per ton, etc.); changes
to stops made by trains en route (e.g., at stations, shipper
facilities, or yards); and improvements to the operational performance
of an existing service (e.g., through a reduction in travel times and/
or improvements to operational reliability).
FRA involvement in OA may include funding, overseeing, and
participating in project planning and project development studies for
the improvement of railroad service, particularly intercity passenger
rail service, throughout the country, and funding the implementation of
the railroad capital investments identified through those studies.
OA, when conducted for projects in which FRA is involved,
frequently involves the collaboration of different participants with
varying roles, interests, and priorities.
OA participants include FRA, Project Sponsors,\1\ owners and
operators of railroad facilities, and consultants acting on behalf of
these entities. There are also individuals and organizations that may
have an interest in the OA results for federally-funded projects but do
not directly participate in the development of OA.
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\1\ ``Project Sponsor means the entity responsible for
implementing a capital project that may also be an applicant seeking
or a grantee receiving federal financial assistance.'' FRA Guidance
on Development and Implementation of Railroad Capital Projects (Jan.
11, 2023) at page 3, available at <a href="https://railroads.dot.gov/elibrary/fra-guidance-development-and-implementation-railroad-capital-project">https://railroads.dot.gov/elibrary/fra-guidance-development-and-implementation-railroad-capital-project</a>.
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OA is an important means for assessing options for capital
improvements to railroad facilities (e.g., main line track and signal
improvements, station configuration, etc.), as well as potential
changes to railroad operations. These alterations to railroad capital
improvements and/or operations can represent a major portion of the
overall cost of a railroad development project. These alterations may
also contribute to a project's environmental impacts, which are
initially considered during the project planning stage and continue to
be assessed through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
process. For example, project planning elements specifically include
environmental resource consideration and resilience planning.\2\ OA
results paired with environmental resource consideration may inform
which preliminary project alternatives are identified and then
developed based on the project's purpose and need. After the completion
of the project planning stage, preliminary project alternatives are
advanced into project development stage activities, which may include
environmental review required under NEPA.
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\2\ See id. at 6.
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Generally, the Project Sponsor, or a consultant acting on behalf of
the Project Sponsor, will use tools, such as train performance
calculators and railroad operations simulation software, to generate OA
outputs. Software used for operations modeling requires the integration
of existing and proposed conditions relevant to the analysis, referred
to as input data. Input data includes train movement information and
infrastructure information. Train movement information reflects
physical and operational characteristics of trains that have a direct
effect on their performance and includes but is not limited to: number
of trains operating over the subject territory broken down by general
train type; average operating characteristics of trains by train type
(e.g., length, horsepower per ton, etc.); specific operating timetables
for scheduled services (e.g., including passenger and employee
timetables); significant time-specific requirements for unscheduled
services; detailed historical movement information; and the recommended
Compound Annual Growth Rate by train type.
Infrastructure information is data that captures the physical
characteristics of the geographic territory being analyzed and is
necessary for OA. Engineering track charts are referenced as these
typically include information such as signals, platforms, bridges, and
grade crossings. Infrastructure information collected for OA includes
documentation of other relevant transportation projects under
development or in the process of implementation within the study area.
Significantly, the infrastructure input data used for OA will directly
determine how trains can operate over the subject territory.
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Based on a specific set of train movement and infrastructure inputs
for a given case, OA outputs can capture the way in which trains move
over the subject territory and include train-specific metrics that
allow for evaluation of operational performance and reliability. OA
output data includes but is not limited to: train performance
calculator outputs; time-distance diagrams; tabular results of
operational performance metrics with description of variables
calibrated for the OA (e.g., locomotive performance); proposed
infrastructure improvements under analyzed scenarios, including
existing, no-action, and action scenarios; and native OA software files
of both inputs and outputs.
Access to the underlying information supporting an OA (i.e., input
and output data) is essential for understanding the OA model itself and
the results it produces. Moreover, access to OA data allows
stakeholders, including FRA, to understand the nature of existing and
proposed future railroad operations and to better assess the
feasibility of Federally funded transportation investments and
projects. Access to OA data also supports a more collaborative OA
approach, allows stakeholders to have greater confidence in the OA
model and output, and may reduce disputes related to OA data that can
increase the time and costs for a railroad project.
Information Requested
FRA seeks to ensure that the creative and problem-solving process
at the core of OA is as effective and collaborative as possible. As
such, with the questions below, FRA is requesting public comment to
gain a better understanding of the potential challenges involved in the
development of OA and the review of OA results to assess what
improvements can be made for Federally funded railroad projects.
Respondents to this RFI are encouraged to consider the full range of
railroad development efforts in which FRA may be involved or otherwise
support, including, but not limited to intercity passenger rail
development projects. FRA requests that responses include, as
applicable, a reference to the numbered questions. Respondents are also
encouraged to address in their responses any topics they believe to be
relevant and are not limited to addressing the questions listed below.
1. What challenges and issues have you experienced with the
development of OA?
2. What challenges and issues have you experienced with the review
of OA results for Federally funded projects?
3. What type of assistance from FRA would be beneficial for the
development of OA?
4. Have you experienced any challenges or issues that limit access
to OA data? Please explain.
5. How do you suggest FRA encourage data sharing for OA?
6. What roles and responsibilities should participants undertake to
promote a collaborative OA?
7. What factors contribute to the success of a collaborative OA?
8. In the absence of access to all data inputs required for an OA,
are there alternative methods or means to obtain sufficient information
to conduct an OA or review OA results?
9. Please share any other additional feedback or comments on OA
and/or data sharing.
FRA will review responses to this RFI to better understand
challenges involved in OA by responsive parties. FRA will determine how
and whether FRA may address those challenges, and what further steps
FRA should take with respect to OA.
Privacy Act Statement
FRA notes that anyone is able to search (at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>) the electronic form of all filings received into
any of DOT's dockets by the name of the individual submitting the
filing (or signing the filing, if submitted on behalf of an
association, business, labor union, or other organization). You may
review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement published in the Federal
Register on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19476), or you may view the privacy
notice of <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a> at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/privacy-notice">https://www.regulations.gov/privacy-notice</a>.
Issued in Washington, DC.
Paul Nissenbaum,
Associate Administrator, Office of Railroad Development.
[FR Doc. 2024-17185 Filed 8-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P
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