Review and Evaluation of New Jersey Rail Grant Program
Short line railroads are crucial to economic activity and the transport of goods, and their operations are critical for maintaining a low volume of goods transported by trucks on highways. In order to preserve the railroad system’s operations and network, many state departments of transportation (DOT)s have programs, which provide loans or grants for rehabilitation and improvement projects. The purpose of the rail investments is to promote and sustain economic development and maintain a balanced transportation system where rail is more economically viable than other transportation systems. In this study, New Jersey rail grant program is reviewed and summarized in detail. This paper compiles information from the literature, similar rail grant programs of other departments of transportation, and other sources to comprehensively analyze and report on the economic, traffic, and external impacts of rail grants programs. Several state-of-the art methodologies are reviewed and discussed throughout the analysis. NJDOT’s application scoring method is discussed. All available scorecards from previously funded and non-funded applications are studied, and some scoring issues are highlighted. By using the data obtained from a targeted survey conducted by the authors, a systematic scoring technique is suggested for implementation for the purpose of improving the process. This study found that ratings derived from current evaluation criteria cannot always clearly differentiate between projects. More specifically the current structure produces evaluation results within a small range. Based on a review of the cost benefit analysis and other rating categories, this paper demonstrates a need to improve the quantification of benefits.
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Supplemental Notes:
- This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AR040 Standing Committee on Freight Rail Transportation.
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Corporate Authors:
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20001 -
Authors:
- Ozbay, Kaan
- Bartin, Bekir
- Allen, W Bruce
- Iyer, Shrisan
- Robins, Martin
- Weiner, Marc
- Nassif, Hani
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Conference:
- Transportation Research Board 95th Annual Meeting
- Location: Washington DC, United States
- Date: 2016-1-10 to 2016-1-14
- Date: 2016
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Features: Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 16p
- Monograph Title: TRB 95th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Evaluation and assessment; Freight traffic; Grant aid; Short line railroads
- Identifier Terms: New Jersey Department of Transportation
- Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Finance; Freight Transportation; Railroads; I10: Economics and Administration;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01591884
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: 16-5718
- Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
- Created Date: Feb 29 2016 4:53PM