Evaluation of Rail Freight Line Reactivations in Small and Mid-Size Communities Using Data from Federal Railroad Administration’s Grade Crossing Inventory

Abstract

This study explores the characteristics and performance of projects that have rehabilitated dormant rail to allow for the restoration of freight service to communities with populations of 500 or more. Drawing on data from Federal Railroad Administration’s Grade Crossing Inventory, it assesses the locational and operational characteristics of twenty-seven lines identified by the study team as having been reactivated between 2004 and 2022 after three or more years of inactivity. The results show that sixty-one communities regained service, and more than half are on lines that have attracted enough traffic for public funding to sustain daily train operations. In most instances, the number of train movements per day is two or more, although a few have seen a decline in the number of movements, and timetable speeds are commonly limited to 10 or 20 mph. The large number of instances in which operations are restricted to the bottom end of this speed range and the thirteen accidents that occurred at grade crossings in the communities over the final 6 years of the study period suggest that more investment is needed before higher-density operations become feasible. Moreover, a variety of factors may result in the hazard indices used by state governments to prioritize grade crossing investment understating the risks of train activity on reactivated lines. Nearly three-fourths of grade crossings have only passive warning equipment.