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2000 Montana State Rail Plan Update 2000 Montana State Rail Plan Update
2000 Montana State Rail
Plan Update
2000 Montana State Rail
Plan Update
A report to
Montana Department of
Transportation
Submitted by
R.L. Banks & Associates, Inc.
Washington, DC and Tiburon, CA
In Association with
Harding ESE
Helena, MT
A report to
Montana Department of
Transportation
Submitted by
R.L. Banks & Associates, Inc.
Washington, DC and Tiburon, CA
In Association with
Harding ESE
Helena, MT






2000 Montana State Rail Plan Update

A Report To
Montana Department of Transportation


Table of Contents
Page

INTRODUCTION
1
STATE RAIL PLANNING
2

Federal Requirements
2

Montana's Current Rail Planning
2
History of Rail Planning in Montana
3

Public Service Commission
6
MONTANA'S RAILROADS
7
Description of Montana's Rail Network
7

Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company
9

Union Pacific Railroad Company
22

Montana Rail Link
23

Dakota, Missouri Valley and Western Railroad, Inc.
29

Central Montana Rail, Inc.
30

Montana Western Railway
31

Rarus Railway Company
33

Tongue River Railroad Company
35

Procedures for Analysis of Freight Lines
37

Rail Freight Traffic Flows
41

Relation of Montana's Rail Network to Regional and

National Networks
51

Relative Importance of Montana Railroads in Moving Freight

and Passengers, Compared with other Modes
54

Historical Growth and Changes in Montana's Rail Network
57

Railroad-Related Facilities
60
RAIL LINES AT RISK
62
RAIL PASSENGER SERVICE
69

Existing Amtrak Route
69

Future of Amtrak
70

Rail Passenger Service Deficiencies, Opportunities to Expand
70

Economic Feasibility of Passenger Rail on Other Primary State

Corridors
74


- i -





2000 Montana State Rail Plan Update

A Report To
Montana Department of Transportation

Table of Contents
(continued)
Page

RAIL PLANNING ISSUES
82

Grain Storage and Transport
82

Competition, Rail Mergers
85

Citizen Desire to Shift Freight from Road to Rail
86

Importance of Rail Transport of Coal in Montana
86

Railway-Highway Crossings
86
Rapidly Growing Service Industries
88
Funding Sources
89
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
91

Tables

1
Montana Local Rail Freight Assistance Projects
5
2
Montana Line Clearances
47
3
Low Density Rail Lines in Montana, by Railroad
64
4
Low Density Rail Lines in Montana, by Descending

Order of Risk
65

Maps

1
Montana State Rail Map
8
2
Montana 1999 Rail Traffic Density
43
3
Montana Track Classification
45
4
Montana Weight Limits and Line Clearances
46

Figure

1
Railroad Freight Traffic in Montana
42

Appendix

A
Port of Northern Montana Proposed Local Rail Freight Assistance Projects

- ii -







1

2000 Montana State Rail Plan Update


Introduction


PURPOSE

This is an update of the Montana State Rail Plan. The previous update was published
in 1993. The purpose of this 2000 State Rail Plan Update is to review the State's role
in rail planning, retain eligibility for Local Rail Freight Assistance (LRFA) funding,
update the description of Montana's rail system and examine the feasibility of new
passenger rail service.


METHOD OF PREPARATION

This report was prepared by going directly to primary sources to the extent possible.
Primary sources include railroad officials, railroad customers and Montana State
officials. Where data were not available from primary sources, secondary sources
were utilized. For example, waybill sample data were obtained from Montana
Department of Transportation and, with regard to 1999 data, directly from the Surface
Transportation Board.


SCOPE OF UPDATE

This update:


Reviews the state rail planning process,


Describes Montana's railroads, and relates them to Montana's total
transportation system,


Discusses rail lines at risk,


Evaluates the feasibility of additional passenger rail service, and


Discusses rail planning issues.




2



State Rail Planning


FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS

The federal requirements for a State Rail Plan are contained in 49 Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) Part 266. Section 266.17 states that the State Rail Plan shall be
based on a "comprehensive, coordinated and continuing planning process for all
transportation services within the State, and shall be developed with an opportunity for
participation by persons interested in rail activity in the State and adjacent States
where appropriate." Section 266.17 also specifies the format and contents of a State
Rail Plan.
1


The program of federal grants to fund Local Rail Freight Assistance (LRFA) was
established by Section 5 of the Department of Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. 1654 et.
seq.). Although the LRFA program has not been funded since 1995, a number of
states, including Montana, have repaid LRFA funds which continue to be utilized. A
state's eligibility to use LRFA funds includes the requirement for an updated state rail
plan.
2



MONTANA'S CURRENT RAIL PLANNING

General

Section 60-11-101 of the Montana Code Annotated provides that the Montana
Department of Transportation (MDT) is the designated state agency for rail planning,
developing and updating the Montana State Rail Plan, and administering federal funds
under the LRFA program.

Montana published its State Rail Plan in August 1979, and since then has prepared a
number of supplements, addendums and updates. The last comprehensive update
was prepared in 1993. An amendment, published in December 1997, analyzed the
Northern Express Transportation Authority (NETA) spur extension, and rehabilitation of
a segment of the Crosby, North Dakota-Whitetail, Montana, line operated by the
Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western Railroad, Inc. (DMVW).

This 2000 Montana Rail Plan Update is a comprehensive update of the State Rail
Plan.


1
49 CFR Part 266, Local Rail Freight Assistance to States, �266.17, Federal Register Vol. 55, No. 231,
November 30, 1990, page 49652.
2
49 CFR Part 266, Local Rail Freight Assistance to States, �266.7, Federal Register Vol. 55, No. 231,
November 30, 1990, pages 49650-49651.



3


Role of Rail Planning

Rail planning is an integral component of overall transportation planning in the Montana
Department of Transportation. Montana rail planning includes the following functions:


Monitoring Montanas rail infrastructure and operations

Acting when state interests are at stake

Coordinating rail with other transportation modes where appropriate

Overseeing the use of federal local rail freight assistance (LRFA) funding

Coordinating with Amtrak to facilitate increased use of rail and preservation of
existing service levels

Key Montana freight planning issues include the following rail-related issues
3
:


Loss of rail branch lines

Citizen concern over impacts on pavements from truck volumes

Citizen desire to shift freight from road to rail

This State Rail Plan Update is not the policy plan. Rather, TranPlan 21, Montanas
statewide multimodal transportation plan, is the policy plan. TranPlan 21, updated with
an Annual Report containing systems characteristics, policy goals and action status,
addresses all transportation modes including passenger rail and freight rail.


HISTORY OF RAIL PLANNING IN MONTANA
4


Montana began state rail planning when the federal government began providing local
rail service assistance (LRSA) funding in the 1970s, and produced its initial State Rail
Plan in 1979. State Rail Plan Updates were published in 1982, 1984 and 1993.
Supplements were published in 1980, 1983, and 1985-86. An Addendum was
published in 1990, and an Amendment in 1997.

State Rail Planning was a function of the Montana Department of Highways in 1979.
The 1982 Update was prepared by the Montana Department of Commerce after the
rail planning function moved to that department in 1981. Montana law MCA 60-11-101
designated the Montana Department of Transportation, created in 1991, as the state
rail planning agency. The 1993 Update was prepared by MDT.

The most important rail issue facing Montana in the 1970s and 1980s was the
bankruptcy of the Milwaukee Road and consequent efforts to preserve service on that
railroad's lines in Montana. Related to that, and also an important rail issue facing
Montana, was the near-absence of rail competition because of Burlington Northern's

3

Montana TranPlan 21, Volume I, Overview: Policy Goals and Actions, February 1995, page 19