SWUTC Research Project Description
Title of Project: Measuring the Benefits of Intercity Passenger Rail: A Study of the Heartland Flyer Corridor
Project Number: 169116
Principal Investigator:
Curtis Morgan
(979) 458-1683
P.I. Affiliation: Texas A&M University
curtis-m@tamu.edu
Project Monitor:
Mr. Joe Kyle
Division Manager
Railroad Programs
Oklahoma Department of Transportation
200 NE 21st Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Phone: (405)-521-4203
Project Status: Active
Date Started: 9/1/08
Estimation Completion Date: 8/31/09
Estimated Cost - Current Fiscal: $30,000
Estimated Cost - Total Planned: $30,000
Project Summary:
Project Abstract:
In its January 2008 Transportation for Tomorrow report, the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission identified the need for a “fast and reliable” intercity passenger rail network as a key component of America’s mobility future, with a focus on developing new or improving existing passenger rail service in intercity travel corridors of 100 to 500 miles in length. As our nation moves forward with the development of an intercity passenger rail network, the burden falls upon policymakers to ensure that the significant investment of public resources necessary to build such a system is being spent in the most efficient manner possible. The introduction of a passenger rail route on an intercity corridor will divert some trips from other modes (highway, intercity bus, and air), but will induce some additional trips. Some of these new trips will be made by travelers who had no other option (such as those without access to an automobile, disabled, or the elderly), while other new trips are simply more attractive given the availability of passenger rail. In all of the above cases, the provision of passenger rail provides distinct and measurable benefits to the public investment; to guide the spending of public resources, a better understanding of these benefits is desired.
The objective of this study is to gain a greater understanding of the mobility implications of providing passenger rail service in a short to medium distance (100 to 500 mile) intercity travel corridor. To accomplish this objective, a travel survey will be distributed to passengers on-board the Heartland Flyer, an intercity passenger rail line that runs a 206-mile route between Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Fort Worth, Texas. Measures that will be studied include the number of automobile, intercity bus, and air trips diverted onto the passenger rail route, as well as the number of trips that are induced by the provision of passenger rail service in the Oklahoma City to Fort Worth intercity travel corridor.
Project Objectives:
The objective of this study is to conduct a survey of Heartland Flyer intercity rail passengers to gain a greater understanding of the mobility implications of providing passenger rail service in a short to medium distance (100 to 500 mile) intercity travel corridor. Measures that will be studied include the number of automobile, intercity bus, and air trips diverted onto the passenger rail route, as well as the number of trips that are induced by the provision of passenger rail service in the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Fort Worth, Texas intercity travel corridor.
Task Descriptions:
Task 1: Literature Review
Task 1 of this project will consist of a review of literature associated with the project topics. The literature review will focus on identifying methods used by planners to forecast ridership for intercity passenger rail routes with an emphasis on estimating the diverted and induced travel components. It is anticipated that studies of existing intercity passenger rail routes and feasibility studies for proposed intercity passenger rail routes (both conventional and “higher-speed”) will be the primary sources for this information. Additionally, current literature on the design of traveler surveys for intercity passenger rail will be reviewed in this task.
Task 2: Design of Survey Instrument
Task 2 of this project will consist of designing the survey instrument that will be used to gather the data from Heartland Flyer passengers. It is anticipated that the travel survey will include questions regarding passenger demographics, trip information, mode of access to the rail station, and what the passenger would have done if the Heartland Flyer was not available for the trip. Findings from Task 1 (as they relate to the design of travel surveys for intercity passenger rail routes) will be utilized in this task to improve the design of the travel survey instrument as appropriate. Furthermore, input will be sought from project stakeholders (Oklahoma and Texas Departments of Transportation, Amtrak, and others) on what additional questions could reasonably be added to the travel survey to meet those organizations’ data or measurement needs. The survey instrument developed in this task will be sent to the aforementioned organizations for their review. Additionally, since the research involves human subjects, the survey will be submitted to the Texas A&M University Institutional Review Board for approval.
Task 3: Pilot Study & Evaluation
Task 3 of this project will consist of the research team conducting a pilot study of the survey instrument designed in Task 2. The pilot study will be undertaken with the goal of identifying unforeseen issues or problems that may be associated with the design and implementation of the survey instrument as it was developed in Task 2. The findings of the pilot study will be used to make changes to the travel survey instrument and data collection methodology, as appropriate. If there are significant changes to the survey instrument or methodology, the survey will be sent to the project stakeholders for review and a revised application will be submitted to the Texas A&M University Institutional Review Board for approval.
Task 4: Data Collection
Task 4 of this project will consist of the research team utilizing the travel survey instrument (as revised from Task 3) to survey passengers on-board the Heartland Flyer. Data will be collected on both weekdays and weekends to ensure that a broad sample of travelers and trip purposes are represented. Specific dates for data collection will be determined by the research team based on reviews of ridership trends and stakeholder input. The findings of Task 1 as they relate to the design of travel surveys will be consulted to determine the number of samples that should be collected to ensure a statistically significant data collection effort.
Task 5: Data Input & Review
Task 5 of this project will consist of the travel survey responses being keyed into a computer database for analysis. Additionally, the completed travel surveys will be thoroughly reviewed to ensure the integrity of the responses. Travel surveys with missing or incomplete responses will be discarded or integrated into the remainder of the data set in a way that is consistent with the treatment of missing or incomplete data in similar travel survey efforts documented in research literature.
Task 6: Data Analysis
Task 6 of this project will consist of a full analysis of the travel survey data set. It is anticipated that the data analysis will include a demographic profile of the Heartland Flyer ridership, information about rail passengers’ trip purposes and modes of access to the rail stations, and the impact of the provision of intercity passenger rail in the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Fort Worth, Texas intercity travel corridor as measured by the number of mode-trips or mode-miles that would have been made by passengers on other modes if the Heartland Flyer was not available. Also, the number of induced trips on the Heartland Flyer will be estimated. Geographical information systems-based tools will be utilized to develop the outputs of this task.
Task 7: Final Report
Task 7 of this project will consist of the development and writing of a final project report. In addition to the final report, a presentation detailing the activities and results of the project will be developed and presented to project stakeholders, if desired. A similar presentation for communicating the research outcomes to non-stakeholder audiences at conferences, seminars, or professional meetings will also be developed.
Index Terms:
Railroad transportation, Passenger transportation, Ground transportation, Intercity transportation, Public transit, Transit operating agencies, Mobility, Research projects