Business Plan Chicago to Iowa City Intercity Passenger Rail Route, March 21, 2012

Overview of the Passenger Service Connects Iowa City, Quad Cities and Chicago, 219.5 miles Twice‐daily service each way, 4 hours and 15 minutes travel time 246,800 passengers first year (676 per day) Project construction cost $310 million (80% federal, 14.5% Illinois, 5.4% Iowa) On‐time performance 90% or better (trains arrive within 10 minutes of schedule) Competitive passenger rail service operator selection Iowa’s annual share of operating cost support averages $3 million

Business Plan Chicago to Iowa City Intercity Passenger Rail Route, March 21, 2011

This business plan describes the methods by which the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) will partner with Iowa counties and cities to fund Iowa’s share of the operating and maintenance cost for the Chicago- Iowa City passenger-rail service, an average of $3 million per year.

The Chicago-Iowa City Passenger Rail Program, February 23, 2011

Iowa’s share of the match will come from a combination of state appropriations and local funding. In FY 11, Iowa lawmakers approved intent language to provide up to $20 million over four years to help fund Iowa’s mmitment for matching federal passenger rail funding. To date, the legislature has appropriated $10 million to be used for the match. • Illinois announced in January 2010 that it would use $45 million from its state capital plan for construction of the route.

Cedar-Iowa River Rail Transit Project Feasibility Study, November 9, 2006

Five Seasons Transportation & Parking (FSTP) and the Johnson County Council of Governments (JCCOG) are interested in evaluating the feasibility of prospective passenger rail service(s) that would operate over existing trackage of the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway Company (CRANDIC), seen below left, and/or the Iowa Interstate Railroad System (IAIS), seen below right, connecting Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and the Amana Colonies. To perform the study, FSTP and JCCOG selected R.L. Banks & Associates, Inc. (RLBA) as Prime Contractors, HNTB Corporation (HNTB) and Snyder & Associates, Inc. (Snyder) as Subcontractors, hereafter Consultant Team. Both railroads participated in the study and contributed time and resources, as did many local government and civic organizations. The purpose of the study is to determine whether it is feasible to establish regularly scheduled passenger rail service and/or special event excursion rail service, in conjunction with the Five Seasons Transit system, Iowa City Transit, East Central Iowa Transit, Coralville Transit and the University of Iowa CAMBUS.

Iowa Rail Route Alternatives Analysis, June 1998

The development of new rail systems in the first part of the 21st century is the result of a wide range of trends that are making it increasingly difficult to maintain regional mobility using the two dominant intercity travel modes, auto and air. These trends include the changing character of the economic structure of industry. The character of the North American industrial structure is moving rapidly from a manufacturing base to a service based economy. This is increasing the need for business travel while the increase in disposable income due to higher salaries has promoted increased social and tourist travel. Another trend is the change in the regulatory environment. The trend towards deregulation has dramatically reduced the willingness of the airlines to operate from smaller airports and the level of service has fallen due to the creation of hub and spoke systems. While new air technology such as regional jets may mitigate this trend to some degree in medium-size airports, smaller airports will continue to lose out. Finally, increasing environmental concerns have reduced the ability of the automobile to meet intercity travel needs because of increased suburban congestion and limited highway capacity in big cities. Against this background the rail mode offers new options due to first, the existing rail rights-of-way offering direct access into major cities that, in most cases, have significant capacity available and, second, a revolution in vehicle technology that makes new rail rolling stock faster and less expensive to purchase and operate. This study is designed to evaluate the potential for rail service making an important contribution to maintaining regional mobility over the next 30 to 50 years in Iowa. The study evaluates the potential for rail service on three key routes across Iowa and assesses the impact of new train technology in reducing costs and improving rail service. The study also considers the potential for developing the system on an incremental basis. The service analysis and recommendations do not involve current Amtrak intercity service. That service is presumed to continue on its current route and schedule. The study builds from data and analyses that have been generated for the Midwest Rail Initiative (MWRI) Study. For example, the zone system and operating and capital unit cost assumptions are derived from the MWRI study. The MWRI represents a cooperative effort between nine Midwest states, Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) contracting with Transportation Economics & Management Systems, Inc. to evaluate the potential for a regional rail system. The 1 The map represents the system including the decision on the Iowa route derived from the current study. Iowa Rail Route Alternatives Analysis TEMS 1-2 system is to offer modern, frequent, higher speed train service to the region, with Chicago as the connecting hub. Exhibit 1-1 illustrates the size of the system, and how the Iowa route fits in to the whole.

Midwest Regional Rail Passenger Initiative and Passenger Rail Service in Iowa Status Report

This report provides the status of the Passenger Rail Service Revolving Fund and the development and operation of the midwest regional rail system and the state's passenger rail service.

July 2009 Rail Company Abandonment Plans Map, 2009

This is a map of railroad lines in Iowa under study to be abandoned.

Rail service map : [Iowa], 1983

This map shows operational and abandoned service rail lines in Iowa.

Midwest Regional Rail Passenger Initiative and Passenger Rail Service in Iowa, 2014

This report provides the status of the Passenger Rail Service Revolving Fund and the development and operation of the midwest regional rail system and the state's passenger rail service.

Evaluation of "FIBERMESH" Synthetic Fibers in P.C. Concrete Bridge Barrier Rail, MLR-88-17, 1988

Ten bridges were chosen to have their concrete barrier rails constructed with one rail having "Fibermesh" synthetic fibers added and the other rail without the fibers. The rails were constructed in 1985, 1986, or 1987. All the bridges were inspected in 1988 and no consistent reduction in cracking was achieved using Fibermesh fibers in the p.c. concrete bridge barrier rails.

Midwest Regional Rail Passenger Initiative and Passenger Rail Service in Iowa, 2015

This report provides the status of the Passenger Rail Service Revolving Fund and the development and operation of the midwest regional rail system and the state's passenger rail service.

Issue review : multimodal transportation funding.

Funding for non-road multimodal transportation is a means to provide for future transportation needs and alternatives to provide safe and efficient transportation options. The state supports multimodal transportation in the annual infrastructure budget. Most of the state's appropriations for these non-road modes of transportation are provided from the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund, or infrastructure-related funds such as restricted capital from tax-emempt bond proceeds. Projects that have received funding include commercial and general aviation infrastructure, public transit infrastructure, freight rail, and passenger rail. In addition, recreational trails that encourage walking and cycling are considered part of multimodal transportation. This issue review provides a general overview of the multimodal transportation grant programs that are funded by the state and administered under the Department of Transportation, or DOT. Other means of state funding for multimodal transportation, a sampling of federally funded programs and how other states fund some of their multimodal transportation programs will be briefly discussed.

Bridge Rail and Approach Railing for Low-Volume Roads in Iowa, TR-592, 2010

Bridge rail and approach guardrails provide safety to drivers by shielding more hazardous objects and redirecting vehicles to the roadway. However, guardrail can increase both the initial cost and maintenance cost of a bridge, while adding another object that may be struck by vehicles. Most existing low volume road (LVR) bridges in the state of Iowa are currently indicated to not possess bridge rail meeting “current acceptable standards”. The primary objective of the research summarized in this report was to provide the nations bridge and approach rail state of practice and perform a state wide crash analysis on bridge rails and approach guardrails on LVR bridges in Iowa. In support of this objective, the criteria and guidelines used by other bridge owners were investigated, non-standard and innovative bridge and approach guardrails for LVR’s were investigated, and descriptive, statistical and economical analyses were performed on a state wide crash analysis. The state wide crash analysis found the overall number of crashes at/on the more than 17,000+ inventoried and non-inventoried LVR bridges in Iowa was fewer than 350 crashes over an eight year period, representing less than 0.1% of the statewide reportable crashes. In other words, LVR bridge crashes are fairly rare events. The majority of these crashes occurred on bridges with a traffic volume less than 100 vpd and width less than 24 ft. Similarly, the majority of the LVR bridges possess similar characteristics. Crash rates were highest for bridges with lower traffic volumes, narrower widths, and negative relative bridge widths (relative bridge width is defined as: bridge width minus roadway width). Crash rate did not appear to be effected by bridge length. Statistical analysis confirmed that the frequency of vehicle crashes was higher on bridges with a lower width compared to the roadway width. The frequency of crashes appeared to not be impacted by weather conditions, but crashes may be over represented at night or in dark conditions. Statistical analysis revealed that crashes that occurred on dark roadways were more likely to result in major injury or fatality. These findings potentially highlight the importance of appropriate delineation and signing. System wide, benefit-cost (B/C) analyses yielded very low B/C ratios for statewide bridge rail improvements. This finding is consistent with the aforementioned recommendation to address specific sites where safety concerns exist.

Midwest Regional Rail Passenger Initiative and Passenger Rail Service in Iowa status report

This report provides the status of the Passenger Rail Service Revolving Fund and the development and operation of the Midwest regional rail system and the state’s passenger rail service.

Relative Technical Efficiency of European Transportation Systems

Talouden kasvaessa myös tavarankuljetusmäärät kasvavat. Kuljetusjärjestelmät ja niiden sujuva toiminta on erittäin tärkeää taloudellisen kasvun kannalta tällä hetkellä, ja se tulee olemaan yhä tärkeämpää tulevaisuudessa. Tulevaisuudessa tarvitaan kokonaisvaltainen ja selkeästi tehokkaampi kuljetusjärjestelmä, mikäli tulevaisuuden kuljetusvirrat halutaan hoitaa kestävästi. Tässä opinnäytetyössäni tutkin kolmen eurooppalaisen kuljetusjärjestelmän (rautatiet, lentoliikenne ja konttiliikenne meritse) suhteellista teknistä tehokkuutta ja menetelmänä on data envelopment analysis (DEA). Vertailtaessa kuljetusjärjestelmiä löytyi suuria eroja kuljetusmuotojen välille. lentoyhtiöt suoriutuivat huomattavan tasaisesti eli tehokkaiden ja ei-tehokkaiden toimijoiden välillä ei ollut suuria eroja. Rautatiepuolella erot venyivät huomattavan suuriksi niin eri yritysten välillä kuin jopa saman yrityksen sisällä eri vuosina. Pikaisemmassa laivayhtiöiden tarkastelussa erot niiden välillä olivat lähes yhtä pieniä kuin lentoyhtiöiden välillä. Tarkasteltaessa omistajuuden vaikutusta lentoyhtiöiden toiminnassa huomattiin, että yksityisessä omistuksessa olevat yritykset olivat huomattavasti tehokkaampia matkustajien kuljettamisessa. Rahtipuolella merkittäviä eroja ei havaittu. Merkittävät korrelaatiot eri mallien välillä antoivat joitain viitteitä myös kuljetuspoliittiseen päätöksentekoon; investoinnit matkustajienkuljetuksiin raiteilla parantaisivat koko rautatiepuolen teokkuutta, mutta myös samalla lentopuolen matkustajakuljetuksen tehokkuutta.