The Humboldt Bay Alternative Rail Route Feasibility Study

Transcription

1 The Humboldt Bay Alternative Rail Route Feasibility Study The What, Where, Why, Who, When and How of a North State Transportation Study NCRA Rail Corridor Committee October 26, 2012

2 What is the Alternative Rail Route? Simply an Alternative to existing North-South line.

3 Where is the Alternative Rail Route? A new rail line extending from Humboldt Bay s harbor east to a connection with the national rail network in the Sacramento Valley

4 Not a new idea: Lentell 1909 Route for the Humboldt and Eastern Railroad Eastern route has a long history and is potentially half the length and has less tunnels and bridges than existing route

5 An Alternative East-West Rail Route Concept

6 When did this effort start In December 2011, a grass-roots citizenled effort (now EWRA) brought the alternative rail route concept to connect Humboldt Bay s harbor to the national rail network into the spotlight. In January 2012, the City of Eureka took action to lead an effort to inform other governmental agencies of the concept.

7 Who Supports the Feasibility Study In less than 10 months, EWRA and the City of Eureka have garnered support from 33 government agencies, labor, business, education, law enforcement and citizen groups representing a vast geographic region of Northern California.

8 Feasibility Study Support Local Government City of Eureka City of Fortuna City of Rio Dell County of Humboldt County of Tehama County of Trinity Wiyot Tribe Northern California Tribal Chairs Association

9 Feasibility Study Support Federal Government Six Rivers National Forest Shasta-Trinity National Forest

10 Feasibility Study Support Law Enforcement Humboldt County Sheriff s Office Eureka Police Officers Association Humboldt Deputy Sheriff s Organization

11 Feasibility Study Support Education Humboldt State University Humboldt County Office of Education

12 Feasibility Study Support Labor Building and Construction Trades Department of the American Federation of Labor Congress of Industrial Organizations State Building and Construction Trades Council of California Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 14 Building and Construction Trades Council of Humboldt and Del Norte Counties Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local No 3, California Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3

13 Feasibility Study Support Business Interests Upstate California Economic Development Council California Association for Local Economic Development Eureka Chamber of Commerce Humboldt Redwood Company Humboldt Association of Realtors Northwestern Pacific Railroad Union Pacific Railroad California Marine and Intermodal Transportation Advisory Council

14 Feasibility Study Support Other Supporters East-West Rail Advocates Landbridge Alliance Rail and Port Infrastructure and Transportation Committee Humboldt Bay Harbor Working Group

15 Recent Developments 1. UpState RailConnect Committee formed October 16, 2012 through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between City of Eureka; County of Humboldt; County of Trinity; County of Tehama; and Upstate California Economic Development Council. First meeting November 2012.

16 Potential Scope of Work Identification of a proposed route and alternatives Identification of land ownerships Assessment of market potential A conceptual development plan that will include: Ownership/governance of the rail line Prelim engineering Highway/port connectors Additional uses of the corridor (fiber optic, trail, etc) Estimated permitting needs Estimated environmental issues and mitigations Estimated development costs and timelines

17 Why an Alternative Rail Concept Now? Economic modeling has shown that Humboldt Bay s harbor has capacity for up to 10x its current level of activity creating a potential for: > 3,000 new jobs > $90 million in new wage payments > $400 million increase in Gross Regional Product

18 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

19 TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS

20 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

21 Federal Railroad Administration Final Report Comparative Evaluation of Rail and Truck Fuel Efficiency on Competitive Corridors November 19, 2009

22 FUEL EFFICIENCY Rail fuel efficiency ranges from 156 to 512 ton-miles/gallon, while truck fuel efficiency ranges from 68 to 133 tonmiles/gallon.

23 POTENTIAL PASSENGER SERVICE ALL FREIGHT DATA CAN BE APPLIED TO PASSENGER SERVICE.. DOT states that passenger trains are 3x more efficient than autos and 6x more efficient than air travel. LOCAL BUS SERVICE WILL EVENTUALLY BE REPLACED BY RAIL SERVICE DUE TO EFFICIENCY. THE EAST WEST RAIL HOLDS THE POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE ANOTHER FORM OF PASSENGER MOVEMENT. TRAINS ARE SIMPLY MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY AND EFFICIENT FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION.. WE NEED TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY TO ENSURE WE THINK GLOBALLY AND ACT LOCALLY.

24 Thank you! An Alternative East-West Rail Route Concept