Track A Feasibility Study

Track A Extension Feasibility Study Phase II: Elkton to Perryville MD, Alongside the AMTRAK Northeast Corridor

Objective and Task Description

The objective of this project is to conduct a commuter and freight rail feasibility study that would examine ridership and economic development potential, as well as the engineering feasibility, of extending Track A from Elkton to Perryville, Maryland. This study is intended to take the logical next step subsequent to the MDOT/Cecil County Track A Extension Feasibility Study - from Newark, Delaware to Elkton, Maryland. That study, in turn, was a continuation of Delaware Department of Transportation’s (DeIDOT) Regional Rail Study (1996), which determined the Track A extension to be necessary if commuter rail service were to continue west to Elkton - thus linking Elkton, Newark, and Wilmington by commuter rail service.  Moreover, this feasibility study will finally complete the incremental development of a true regional rail study along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) through the Wilmington Area Planning Council (WILMAPCO) region.

Further, it is also the objective of this proposed project, consistent with the Intermodal Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA, 1991) and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21^st Century (TEA-21, 1998), to ensure state and local participation and decision-making in Inter-governmental and inter-jurisdictional efforts in this region associated with:

• Enhancing freight and passenger rail infrastructure and service coordination,
• Linking rail investments to economic development and growth management strategies, and
• Developing possible infrastructure improvements in support of of homeland defense and national security.

The purpose of this proposed project is to examine the feasibility of eliminating the gap in commuter rail service and the bottleneck in freight rail service along the NEC between Perryville and Newark, focusing on the segment between Perryville and Elkton. To those ends, this proposal is consistent with a number of established public policies and goals, including those of TEA-2l, the Maryland Smart Growth Initiatives, the Livable Delaware Initiatives, the Delaware and Maryland State Transportation Plans, the Delaware and Maryland State Rail Plans, the Delaware Transit Corporation’s Delaware’s Long Range Plan for the 21^st Century, and the Cecil County Comprehensive Plan. It is also consistent with public/private consensus developed by the 1-95 Corridor Coalition and articulated in the Coalition’s Mid-Atlantic Rail Operations Study.^[1] Additionally, this proposal is consistent with several of the recommended actions of the WILMAPCO regional Metropolitan Transportation Plans (MTP) for 2020 and 2025, especially those under the defined strategies to link transportation and land use and to improve regional mobility.

The only gap in parallel commuter rail service along the entire NEC is now in the W1LMAPCO region: between Perryville and Newark. The MARC Penn Line service terminates at Perryville and the SEPTA R2 regional rail service terminates at Newark. Seamless commuter rail service through the region, eventually linking Perryville, North East, Elkton, Newark, Churchmans Crossing, Wilmington, Edgemoor/Fox Point, and Claymont - when warranted by respective population and employment densities - would provide residents, tourists and visitors here on business better access to the business, cultural, educational, and employment opportunities throughout the region. It would also support the region’s traditional centers of commerce and culture by creating redevelopment and transit-oriented development (TOD) opportunities. Enhanced levels of commuter service in Perryville and future or new service in North East and Elkton would clearly support Cecil County’s continuing efforts to direct managed growth to its towns and development district, and such an investment would be consistent with Smart Growth.

Our unfortunate gap in commuter rail service is also a chokepoint for freight service.  All three of Delaware’s counties^[2], Maryland’s other eight Eastern Shore counties, and Virginia’s two Eastern Shore Counties are served by the Norfolk Southern, the Eastern Shore railroad, or short lines south of the Davis connection in Newark. Virtually all of the rail traffic passing through Davis going south is routed through Harrisburg via the NS Port Road through Perryville and along the NEC to Davis. Especially because the NEC is reduced to just two tracks between Perryville and North East, freight (or commuter) traffic cannot ordinarily be scheduled during Amtrak’s peak hours of operation along the NEC. Consequently, if Track A (or some alternative dedicated commuter/freight track) were to be extended to Perryville then it could also be used to significantly enhance Norfolk Southern rail freight access to Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Annes, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties by linking the Port Road to the DelMarVa Secondary.  Moreover, the elimination of this bottleneck could be a highly significant economic development and business retention tool for Cecil County, Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and for the entire State of Delaware.

OUTCOME AND FINAL PRODUCT:

This feasibility study will have as an end product a final report thatwould answer the following questions:

• Is the extension of Track A (or some alternative dedicated commuter/freight track) from Elkton to Perryville environmentally, technically, and financially feasible?
• Given the land use and demographic trends, at what point would the implementation of extended SEPTA R-2 and/or MARC commuter rail service be financially reasonable?
• What is the feasibility of establishing a connection between the CSX main line and the NEC to support system redundancy?

The Final Report will include an Executive Summary, Appendices, and any graphics, diagrams, or photographs appropriate to the confirmation recommendations contained therein.

In addition, three Technical Memoranda will serve as interim benchmarks of progress. The first Technical Memorandum will include results of the field survey work and update demographic projections. The second of the Technical Memoranda will include results of tin engineering analysis as well as rider demand forecasts, financial analysis, and conclusions regarding demand. The third Technical Memorandum will include results of the complete environmental analysis and the conclusions of the technical engineering element.

After all three Technical Memoranda and the Final Report have been completed, a presentation will be made to the WILMAPCO Council to highlight conclusions and recommendations.

Public Participation

This feasibility study is being undertaken based upon continuing, substantial, public input that clearly expressed the need for the enhancing and expansion of freight and commuter rail infrastructure and service coordination in the region. In part, such input has been offered during the public outreach elements of the WILMAPCO 2020 MTP development and the 2025 MTP update, the Regional Transit Service Needs Analysis Study, the Newark-Elkton Intermodal Transportation Plan, and the DelDOT Regional Rail Study.  Such public input continues to be offered, in part, at DelDOT CTP/TIP hearings and MDOT CTP Tour hearings.

In addition, to ensure adequate state and local public participation in the decision making process associated with any possible future investments or policy actions, two public workshops are envisioned during the course of the study.  A formal presentation of the findings and recommendations of this engineering and marketing feasibility study is planned for the WILMAPCO Council, with invitees from the PAC, the TAC, and public stakeholders.

Benefit

This project will build upon the Track A Extension Feasibility Study, Phase I and the 1996 DeIDOT Regional Rail Study’s examination of the feasibility of ”Station West”, which previously envisioned the ultimate extension of the SEPTA R-2 regional rail service from Newark to a station in or near Elkton. The Regional Rail Study’s string-line analysis of the Amtrak Northeast Corridor in Cecil and New Castle Counties determined that any extension of commuter rail service to Elkton was not possible with the current track configuration.  Rather, such service would he possible only if the parallel Track A were extended. Currently, Track A is used in New Castle County for SEPTA regional rail commuter trains to Newark, Norfolk Southern railroad freight traffic, and access to the DelMarVa Secondary line at Davis.

Given that determination, Feasibility Study, Phase II and the findings of the Phase I study, this Track A Extension will examine:

• The engineering feasibility of extending Track A (or some alternative dedicated commuter/freight track) from Elkton to Perryville,
• The ridership potential between Perryville and Elkton and Perryville and Wilmington and
• The feasibility of establishing a connection between the CSX main line and the NEC to support system redundancy.

Participates

Although the Cecil County Office of Planning, Zoning, Parks and Recreation will serve as project manager for this project, its potential long-term benefits obviously could accrue to the entire urbanized area, as well as both counties and both states Therefore, the following agencies/jurisdictions have been invited to participate as stakeholders in a project management advisory and review committee:

• Amtrak (Susan S. Quatresols, Government Affairs)
• Cecil County Government (Anthony J. Di Giacomo, Principal Planner)
• CSX Corporation
• Delaware Department of Transportation (Ralph Reeb, Director of Planning)
• WILMAPCO (Heather Dunigan, Senior Planner)

^[1] The broader significance of this proposed regional project in Cecil County is evidenced by the fact that the Mid-Atlantic Rail Operations Study’s executive summary (p. 8) cites the freight/passenger train conflicts on this portion of the NEC among Delaware’s problems requiring near-term solutions within 5 years.