Illiana Rail Bypass Concept

7/30/2019 Illiana Rail Bypass Concept

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Illiana Rail Bypass ConceptA Railroad fo r the 21s tCentury

Presentation to Chicago Chapter

Transportation Research ForumMay 29, 2013


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Great Lakes Basin, LLC - Confidential 2

Introduction

Make no little plans. They

have no magic to stir mens

blood and probably

themselves will not be

realized. Make big plans;aim high in hope and work,

remembering that a noble,

logical diagram once

recorded will never die.

Danie l Hudson Burnham

Creator of the original IllianaMultimodal Bypass Concept.


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2012 Illinois State Rail Plan says

The rail lines built

more than a century

ago were not

conf igured for thevolumes and types of

freight being carr ied

cur rently, and Chicago

has become the largestU.S. rai l freight

chokepoint.



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The Wrigley Field Syndrome

21stCentury Trains on 19thCenturyROWs

Belt Railway Company ofChicago (red): 1883

Indiana Harbor Belt

Railroad (blue): 1897 PCC&StL Western Ave.

Corridor (purple): 1869

B&OCT Western Ave.

Corridor (purple): 1887

PFtW&C-PRR Main Line(yellow): 1859


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The Illiana Rail Bypass Concept

1. Provide a modern state-of-the art freight railbypass route around the Chicagometropolitan region.

2. Create a massive rail-based regionaleconomic development opportunity acrossIllinois and Indiana.

3. Delivera proactive solution for the regionsmultitude of rail infrastructure congestionissues.


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Illiana Belt Railroad Phase I


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Yes We Can!

In December 2008 CMAP Executive DirectorRandy Blankenhorn wrote,

As with our highway system, CMAP

recognizes that the region cannot build its wayout of (rail) congestion..

Yes We Can! With completion of the Illiana Rail

Bypass Route the Chicago region can build itsway out of current (and future) rail congestionproblems.


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In Support of the Bypass Concept

As a fifth term alderman (4th Ward), I understand alltoo well the negative impact of freight traincongestion in Chicago. Many south sidecommunities have long borne the brunt of pollution,

traffic delays and safety concerns created by freightcongestion.

While my primary focus may be on the positiveimpact of fewer trains in the communities I serve, Ifully recognize that the entire region and nation will

benefit from the smoother flow and expeditedtransport of freight through the Midwest.

Then-alderman Ton i Preckw ink le, June 2008


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The Illiana Rail Bypass SolutionTransforming Transportation for Tomorrow



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Illiana Route Across Illinois


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Chicago Terminal vs. Illiana Railroad

FRA Class 2 3

Top Speed = 40 mph

Average = 10-20 mph

Interlockings: 15 betweenElwood and Portage(Indiana).

Grade crossings: 50+

FRA Class 4

Top Speed = 60 mph

Average = 40 mph

Interlockings: Nonebetween Coal City andWellsboro (Indiana).

Grade crossings: None


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Transit time = 8-12 hrs.across the terminal*.

Limited sites open to

reciprocal switching. All UPRR mainline

corridors under restrictedaccess.

Require CMAQ grants fornew environmentallyfriendly locomotives.

Transit time = 2.25 hrs.across the terminal (25miles shorter).

100% open access; nocaptive shippers.

No restricted access mainlines on Illiana.

New environmentallyfriendly locomotives (Tier

4) will be self-funded.

Great Lakes Basin, LLC - Confidential


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Multiple owners, 20-plusdispatch centers (notalways in Chicago).

Metra curfews, multipleAmtrak intercity routes.

Most routes have286,000lb. GWR limit.

Single owner, singledispatch center locallybased.

Main lines are freightonly.

Illiana main lineconstructed with

315,000lb. GWR limit.



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Chicago Terminal vs. IllianaRailroad

Requires an additional $2billion of free public

money (sourcesunknown) to complete

CREATE.

Original route laid out inthe 1880s; no room for

expansion today.

Overloaded and

outdated per IDOT.

Combination of privateinfrastructure funds andUSDOT loan programsalready in existence (i.e.

no public money).

Original route laid out in2013; 25-foot trackcenters.

A Railroad for the 21stCentury.


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Key Illiana Operational Benefits

An alternate route for themore than 25% of Chicagoarea rail traffic that doesnot originate or terminate in

the region. Stakeholder outreach

revealed that municipalitieswould like freight rail not

terminating in the region tobypassthe region as muchas possible, CMAP GOTO2040 Regional Plan.


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Hazardous Materials Unit Trains

The NTSB has stated,Unit trains that carry

hazardous materials

present a special risk

because of the highconcentration of

hazardous materials.

Should there be a lessrisky, more competitiveroute around Chicago?


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CDOT Endorses Illiana Concept

Freight Rail Futures goals

were to:

Increase the efficiency offreight movement in the City.

Improve the city's economicdevelopment opportunities.

Support redevelopment ofurban neighborhoods.

City of Chicago Departmentof Transportation, November2003.


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CDOT Rationalization Scenario

The premise.is that the railroads and governmentagencies, faced with worsening rail congestion in theChicago area, seek to improve the fluidity of the regionsthrough traffic with investment in high-capacity rail

bypass corridors. High capacity railroad corridors to divert through traffic

and to improve fluidity of local traffic was assumed toprovide significant increased capacity for service to

shippers located in the region.


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Study Findings on a Bypass Route

Using the conclusions in the Critical Cargo Study, and the

input from several railroad executives, we assumed that at aminimum, about 100-miles of high-capacity grade separatedcorridor or corridors would be required to support Chicagos

anticipated traffic growth. Suffice it to say that there is not a consensus on which route

or combination of routes provides the best solution toChicagos transportation needs.

Absent a sponsoring agency and well funded study (as wasthe case in the Alameda Corridor) carriers are focusing theirefforts on maintaining the efficiency of the current routenetwork.



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Conclusions & Recommendations

Rationalization of the rail freight system would increasethe citys Gross Regional Product (GRP) by more than

$1 billion per year by the year 2020 and provide morethan 8,000 additional jobs.

Redevelopment of land freed up by rationalizationwould more than double these benefits.

While rationalization forfeits rail facilities in the city

(many of them redundant), the service improvementsunderrationalization would actually attract businessgrowth to Chicago.


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Northwest Indiana Rail Tsunami

Virtually all rail freight comingfrom East Coast to Chicagomust squeeze through a NWIndiana rail corridor with sixmainline tracks, myriad railconnections and more than864 at-grade highwaycrossings.

Illiana Rail Bypass will

provide significant amount ofmitigation and congestionrelief for Northwest Indianas

Rail Tsunami problem.


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The CREATE Script (circa 2011)

Even building all of CREATE (including the

passenger projects) by itself will not suffice in the

long run.

It now also seems likely that, in planning for the long term,something more than what is now contained in the CREATEScript may be needed.

Given the competing demand for track capacity nowexpected from growing passenger services, it is likely that

new projects, not now on the list will be needed.

If all CREATE projects built, freight delay minutes are stillprojected to increase 65% in 20 years



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Doubling Rail Freight by 2035

LOS Grade F

UP Geneva Sub

CSX Garrett Sub

NS Chicago Line

LOS Grade E

BNSF Chillicothe

Sub UP Villa Grove Sub



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The Future of Crude Oil Logistics


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The Importance o f Rai l


If you have rail, you have a scarce

resource. If you have dual rail service

sites, you have a crown jewel resource.

Mark Sweeney (McCallum Sweeney Consulting) at

2004 International Economic Development Council Site

Selectors Panel.


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27Great Lakes Basin, LLC - Confidential 27

Existing Development Obstacles

The Chicago Metropolis 2020 Freight Plan

Technical Report Conclusions

There is a limited supply of well placed industrial land in

the region.

There are very few locations in the six county regionwhere large tracts are available on major rail lines andclose to interstate expressways.

Preferred industrial sites with both road and railaccessare relatively rare in the Chicago region.


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The 90-mile Linear Industrial Park

More than 50,000 acresof rail-served developableland along proposedroute;

Equals one-third the landmass of the City ofChicago.

Provides opportunity fordevelopment of multiple

1,000-acre Megasites. The Rochelle

Syndrome on steroids.


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Rail-Based Tourism Development



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Building Blocks for Metra

Assist with local matchfor financing MEDextension to Peotoneand Kankakee.

Construct new MEDstation and servicingyard at South SuburbanAirport industrial park.

SouthEast ServiceCrete to Beecher ROW.



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Collateral Benefi ts

Financial support forNICTD West LakeExtension to Dyer andLowell, Indiana via

ex-Monon Route.

South Shore FreightConnection at

Burnham, Illinois andaccess to Port ofChicago.



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HSRAmtrak Benefits

Alternate main lineroute for UP St. Louisto Chicago (Joliet)intermodal trains.

Preservation ofChicago to IndianapolisHSR route.

Amtrak Chicago toToledo, Cleveland.



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Alternative Regional Bypass Routes

NYC-NS Kankakee Belt Manual block single track.

Few sidings.

Closed access, ownership.

Poor eastern connections.

G&Ws TP&W Line

Manual block single track. Poor overall condition.

Poor eastern connections.


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Illiana Corridor Financing Strategy

RRIF RailroadRehabilitation andImprovement Finance

TIFIA TransportationInfrastructure Financeand Innovation Act

Private Activity Bonds(IL Finance Authority)

Private InfrastructureFunds


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Supported by GOTO 2040

The region will need to be proactive in terms ofplanning for changes in terms of freight travelpatterns and global market dynamics. The

resiliency of the freight system will be enhancedby,

sufficient right of way and corridor

protection for freight systems;

preserving and enhancing multimodaltransportation options; and

providing operational flexibility.


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CMAP GOTO 2040

By proactively planning forresiliency in thefreight system, the region can substantiallybenefit by making the region ready-to-go

for economic development opportunitiesthat require global access or a central locationfor Midwest and national markets.

(Current Market Conditions - Addressing MarketDynamics, GOTO 2040 ComprehensiveRegional Plan, Chapter 12.2, page 311.)


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G L k B i LLC C fid i l 38

What Comes Next???

Chicago DOT and ReebieAssociates made the casefor the Illiana Rail Bypassplan in Freight Rail

Futures for the City ofChicago (November2003).

The Illiana Rail Bypass

Concept represents theopportunity of a generation,perhaps of our lifetime.

Documents

Illiana Rail Bypass Concept