Request for Information on Collaboration and Data Sharing for Railroad Operations Analysis, 63471-63473 [2024-17185]

Agencies

• Federal Railroad Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 150 (Monday, August 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63471-63473]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[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

[[Page 63472]]

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 https://www.regulations.gov. 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 https://www.regulations.gov. You should 
not include information in your comment that you do not want to be 
made public. Input submitted online via www.regulations.gov 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 [email protected]. If additional assistance is 
needed, you may contact Bryan Bertoli, Community Planner, at email 
[email protected] or telephone: 405-406-5575; Eric Pihl, 
Transportation Industry Analyst, at email: [email protected] 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 https://railroads.dot.gov/elibrary/fra-guidance-development-and-implementation-railroad-capital-project.
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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.

[[Page 63473]]

    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 https://www.regulations.gov) 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 regulations.gov at https://www.regulations.gov/privacy-notice.

    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