The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) State Rail and Marine Office is updating the State Freight Rail Plan to meet both federal requirements (Public Law 110-432, Division B) and the state requirements of RCW 47.76.220. The State Freight Rail Plan update will qualify the state for new federal grants authorized through the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA). The due date for completion of this plan is December 31, 2009.

A draft version of the new plan has been sent to the Advisory Committee for comment.  Comments are due in the State Rail and Marine Office no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 30, 2009.  Please send comments to:

E-mail:

GrahamT@wsdot.wa.gov

Mail:

WSDOT State Rail and Marine Office
PO Box 47407
Olympia, WA 98504-7407

The plan and its appendices are provided below for your comments.

Washington State 2010-2030 Freight Rail Plan (pdf 3 mb)
Washington State 2010-2030 Freight Rail Plan Appendices (pdf 1 mb)

In May 2009, members of advocacy organizations, cities, counties, federal agencies, railroads, metropolitan planning organizations, ports, regional transportation planning organizations, tribes, other state agencies, and other WSDOT offices were invited to participate on an advisory committee. The role of this committee is to:

• Help develop the vision and goals of the State Freight Rail Plan.
• Provide assistance to update information for the freight rail system, capacity, and needs.
• Help identify and assess port access and rail abandonment issues.
• Help assess and evaluate beneficial impacts of rail infrastructure improvements on society.
• Help WSDOT understand concerns of local communities and organizations.
• Share information.

For a list of the organizations that make up our Advisory Committee:
Advisory Committee Member Organizations.

Surveys
Recently two surveys were sent to key stakeholders regarding projects and rail line abandonment.

1. The Projects Survey was sent to railroads, tribes, ports, shippers, MPOs, and RTPOs. WSDOT is still accepting surveys at this time. This is the list of projects received so far.  Please complete the survey by clicking on the link above or download the pdf version here.
2. The Abandonment Survey was sent to railroads, ports, and shippers. The purpose of this survey is to look at what rail lines might be at-risk of abandonment in the future.  Please complete the survey by clicking on the link above or download the pdf version here.

We held an Open House for the public on Thursday, October 22, 2009, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., in Olympia, WA.  We invited the public to drop by to look at what we are doing, ask questions, and talk with staff.  We had over 30 people in attendance.



The State Rail and Marine Office publishes a monthly electronic newsletter. If you would like to receive this newsletter, please go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/news, click on "E-mail Updates", enter your e-mail address, then under News and Information, select State Rail and Marine News.

If you have any questions or would like to provide feedback on the Washington State Freight Rail Plan, please send your comments to: grahamt@wsdot.wa.gov or you can call Teresa Graham at 360-705-7901.