Sponsored by The U.S. and Canada s Passenger Rail Projects for 2006
TOP Holding Steady with $60 BILLION Total Project Purse New Mexico s Rail Runner Express service is a new addition to this year s Top ranking. The Albuquerque-based commuter rail service came in at No. 37, with $240 million in project costs. 24 While total project costs have remained steady with a $60 billion project purse, this year s survey reveals that transit agencies have been hit hard by skyrocketing costs for construction materials, fuel and the need for additional funding for security expenses. The demand for construction materials, especially steel and concrete, has risen in the past few years due in large part to China s building boom and damage from recent hurricanes in the U.S. The net result has been sky-high costs. With materials prices rising, bids are going up, resulting in project delays that in turn generate further unforeseen costs for transit agencies. According to the U.S. Department of Labor s Bureau of Labor Statistics, material prices climbed an average 1.8% annually until 2004. In 2005, those costs jumped 12.5%. New York s MTA retains the No. 1 spot with $11.7 billion in project costs and nearly 6,700 railcars in METRO s 12 th annual rail study. By Janna Starcic, Senior Editor Surging costs Fifty-eight percent of respondents to the Top survey said projects have been impacted by these increased construction-related costs. New Jersey Transit experienced increases of 20% to 35% on a wide range of projects. Increased costs have also forced the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation to delay several projects while it seeks additional funding. Some agencies such as the North County Transit District in Oceanside, Calif., haven t felt the impact because their contracts were awarded at an earlier date with set unit prices. In addition, the continued leap in fuel prices has forced agencies to implement fare increases to help offset costs. Thirty-five percent of properties in the Top boosted fares last year due to the surge at the fuel pump. In January, Denver s Regional Transportation District (RTD) raised fares 25 cents to help compensate (Continued on pg. 30)
Rank The U.S. and Canada s TOP PASSENGER RAIL PROJECTS FOR 2006 Agency City State Cost of Projects New cars on order Total Railcars Heavy Railcars Light Railcars Railcars Locomotives Annual Rail Riders Other Railcars Rank 05 1 MTA New York City Transit New York NY $11,700 660 6,687 6,285 0 0 76 402 1,4 1 2 Santa Clara Valley Transportation San Jose CA $5,400 0 100 0 100 0 0 0 6.8 3 3 Sound Transit Seattle WA $3,800 35 61 0 0 58 11 3 1.3 4 Photo courtesy of OC Transpo 4 Charlotte Area Transit System Charlotte NC $3,326 16 4 0 0 0 0 4 0.263 5 5 Regional Transportation District Denver CO $3,100 40 77 0 77 0 0 0 10.6 35 6 Dallas Area Rapid Transit Dallas TX $3,000 0 115 0 115 0 0 0 17.4 6 7 MTA Long Island Rail Road Jamaica NY $2,673 232 1,112 0 0 978 46 134 80 7 8 Connecticut Department of Newington CT $2,200 0 280 0 0 280 24 0 33.6 19 Transportation 8 Port Trans-Hudson Corp. Jersey City NJ $2,200 340 327 327 0 0 0 0 60.8 9 10 San Francisco Municipal Railway San Francisco CA $2,000 0 223 0 151 0 0 72 53 13 11 MTA Metro-North Railroad New York NY $1,975 30 1,326 0 0 1,125 65 201 74.5 12 12 Southeastern Pennsylvania Philadelphia PA $1,700 104 879 345 185 349 8 0 143 8 Transportation 13 Los Angeles County Metropolitan Los Angeles CA $1,600 48 225 104 121 0 0 0 23 11 Transportation 14 Valley Metro Rail Phoenix AZ $1,400 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 15 Metropolitan Transit Houston TX $1,231 0 18 0 18 0 0 0 11.2 15 16 Chicago Transit Chicago IL $1,125 0 1,190 1,190 0 0 4 0 186.8 18 17 Caltrain San Carlos CA $1,000 0 124 0 0 124 29 0 9.4 23 18 Triangle Transit Research Triangle NC $809 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 Park 19 Utah Transit Salt Lake City UT $800 12 51 0 51 0 0 0 12.9 28 20 Societe de Transport de Montreal Montreal PQ $725 0 759 759 0 0 0 0 217 24 21 Amtrak Washington DC $718 0 1,795 1,661 0 0 1 134 25.4 30 22 Metro St. Louis MO $676 0 87 0 87 0 0 0 15 22 23 TriMet Portland OR $675 0 116 0 105 0 0 11 35 25 24 OC Transpo Ottawa ON $653 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 1.7 ~ 25 Edmonton Transit Edmonton AB $536 26 37 0 37 0 0 0 11.5 37 26
Rank The U.S. and Canada s TOP PASSENGER RAIL PROJECTS FOR 2006 Agency City State Cost of Projects New cars on order Total Railcars Heavy Railcars Light Railcars Railcars Locomotives Annual Rail Riders Other Railcars Rank 05 26 San Diego Trolley San Diego CA $532 0 134 0 134 0 0 0 34 16 27 Massachusetts Bay Transportation Boston MA $519 129 1,023 408 205 410 80 0 215 20 28 New Jersey Transit Corp. Newark NJ $516 234 910 0 0 841 172 69 65 2 29 South Florida Regional Transportation Pompano Beach FL $402 4 28 0 0 26 10 2 2.8 32 30 Port of Allegheny County Pittsburgh PA $393 0 83 0 83 0 0 0 7.3 31 31 North County Transit District Oceanside CA $376 12 162 0 134 28 7 0 33.6 29 32 Southern California Regional Rail Los Angeles CA $358 0 155 0 0 155 39 0 10.7 33 33 Calgary Transit Calgary AB $353 33 116 0 116 0 0 0 36.1 36 34 Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Atlanta GA $345 0 338 338 0 0 0 0 70 ~ 35 Miami-Dade Transit Miami FL $309 0 136 136 0 0 0 0 17 17 36 Metro Transit Minneapolis/ MN $289 3 24 0 24 0 0 0 7.9 45 St. Paul 37 Mid-Region Council of Governments/ Albuquerque NM $240 0 10 0 0 10 5 0 0 ~ New Mexico Department of Transportation 38 Sacramento Regional Transit District Sacramento CA $237 0 76 0 76 0 0 0 12 34 39 Northern Indiana Chesterton IN $114 0 68 0 0 68 0 0 3.8 38 Transportation District 40 Alaska Railroad Corp. Anchorage AK $78 4 42 42 0 0 60 0 0.5 40 41 Trinity Railway Express Dallas/Fort Worth TX $75 0 30 0 0 17 6 13 2.15 ~ 42 Virginia Railway Express Alexandria VA $73 11 84 0 0 84 19 0 3.8 39 43 Capital Metropolitan Transportation Austin TX $60 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 41 44 Nashville Regional Transportation Nashville TN $40 0 11 0 0 11 3 0 0 44 45 Niagara Frontier Transportation Buffalo NY $38 0 27 0 27 0 0 0 0.019 46 46 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Washington DC $22 62 9 9 0 0 0 0 193 10 47 Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Cleveland OH $21 0 108 60 48 0 0 0 7.8 47 48 Central Arkansas Transit Little Rock AR $8 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 0.2 48 49 Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Tampa FL $7 0 9 0 0 0 0 9 0.425 Bay Area Rapid Transit District Oakland CA $0.08 0 78 78 0 0 12 0 1.2 43 28
Railcar Fleet Mix 23% 9% Light Other 5% 63% Heavy Heavy railcars continue their domination of the fleet mix with a total of 12,683 an 8% increase over 2005. Meanwhile, commuter railcars lost a 5% share of the mix, with a total of 1,897 railcars. for rising fuel costs. The agency expects to pay $11 million more for fuel in 2006. Transit systems (76% of respondents) are also diverting more monies to bolster security as a continued response to Sept. 11 and the Madrid bombings. Most systems in our listing said last year s bombings in London had not altered current security planning. Rank and file MTA New York City continues is reign at the No. 1 spot in the rankings with $11.7 billion in project costs, while a stable of 6,687 railcars also makes it the ranking leader for fleet size. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation in San Jose, Calif., took over the No. 2 position, with a $5.4 billion purse 46% less than New York s MTA. New Jersey Transit, runner up in 2005 and a perennial player in the top 10 portion of this listing, dropped to No. 28, with $516 million in project costs. Other big shifts in the rankings include the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit falling 36 places to No. 46, with a $22 million total. A notable absence from the list is the New Orleans Regional Transit, due to a loss of funding and the uncertainty of future plans byproducts of Hurricane Katrina. Billions Total Project Costs (2002-2006) Top 10 Largest Rail Fleets 80 70 60 40 30 20 10 0 $53 $58 $65 $60 $60 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Project costs remain steady at $60 billion, with no shift since 2004. Upward movers in the rankings include Denver RTD, which soared 30 places to No. 5 with $3.1 billion in costs. New additions to this year s Top rankings include New Mexico s Rail MTA New York City Transit 6,687 Amtrak 1,795 MTA Metro-North Railroad 1,326 Chicago Transit 1,190 MTA Long Island Railroad 1,112 Massachusetts Bay Transportation 1,023 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit 9 New Jersey Transit 910 Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation 879 Societe de Transporte de Montreal 759 The 10 largest fleets in the listing comprise 82% of the total with 16,631 railcars, a 3% increase from last year. Runner Express service at No. 37, with $240 million in project costs for its -mile extension from Bernalillo to Santa Fe. Another newbie to the listing is Ottawa, Ontario s OC Transpo, No. 24 on the list with $653 million in project costs. Total new railcars on order by the Top number 2,093 with a $4.3 billion price tag. With a 660-railcar order, New York MTA is the purchase leader. Other Top order totals include 541 remanufactured cars and 1,359 option cars. Project highlights Some noteworthy projects being undertaken by agencies in the listing include Alaska Railroad Corp. s (No. 40) move into final design and track construction for an intermodal transportation center at its rail yard in Anchorage at a cost of $60 million. In addition, the agency plans to rebuild an older passenger railcar to include a bedroom suite, full kitchen and dining and conference areas, at an estimated cost of $1.4 million. Across the country, New Jersey Transit will launch its first multi-level railcars in late 2006 as a way to alleviate capacity constraints. The agency has on order a total of 231 of these new railcars at an average cost of $1.9 million per car. Each car will offer 15% to 20% more capacity than single-level versions. Neighboring Port Trans- Hudson is slated to complete construction of its $2.2 billion permanent station at the World Trade Center site. Dallas Area Rapid Transit, No. 6 on our list with $3 billion in project costs, is on track with its 45-mile light rail expansion project connecting southeast, downtown and northwest Dallas with the cities of Carrollton, Farmers Branch and Irving, as well as a second light rail alignment through Dallas central business district. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer. If you know of an agency that has plans for the future, but was missed in this year s survey, please let us know so we can include it next year. Special thanks to Bob Grove of Port of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh for being the first to respond to the survey. 30