Organizing a Rail Office: Keys to Success

Tammy NicholsonIowa Department of Transportation

Office of Rail Transportation

Iowa’s Railroads

19 railroad companies, including 5 Class 1’s

3,947 track miles (over 50,000 acres of land)

4348 public at-grade crossings; 718 grade separations

325 million tons of rail freight from, to or through Iowa

Railroads normally spend over $400 million annually on maintenance and improvements.

Pay $276 million in wages & benefits to Iowans; benefits to 8900 retirees and their families

Pay income, sales and property taxes

Organizing a Rail Office : Keys to Success

Iowa DOT’s Office of Rail Transportation

• Programs administered include • Policy, Legislation, Advocacy & Communications• Railroad Revolving Loan and Grant Program• Highway/Railroad Agreements • Crossing safety• Surface repair• Passenger Rail• Rail and Freight Policy• Track inspection

• Small but mighty staff of 15

Organizing a Rail Office : Keys to Success

Keys to Success

• Establish a partnership with Railroads– Regular programs provide a foundation

• Crossing Safety• Surface Repair• Track Inspection

– Rail Advisory Committee• Meet twice a year with management and government affairs• Policy, legislation, funding programs, railroad activities and concerns

– Winter Meetings• Meet once a year with public works staff• Upcoming safety/surface/highway projects (DOT) and capital

investment projects (Railroads)

Presentation Title: Organizing a Rail Office : Keys to Success

Keys to Success

• Establish a partnership with Railroads (Continued)– Field Presence

• DOT has 3 field assigned inspectors• Serve as “eyes on the ground” for other staff• Provide field experience and knowledge to office staff • Interact daily with railroad staff on projects and inspections

• Partnership Results– Allows both DOT and Railroads to be prepared for opportunities such as TIGER, HSIPR, MAP 21 – Facilitates problem resolution

Presentation Title: Organizing a Rail Office : Keys to Success

• Integrate functions with all of Iowa DOT– Serve as a rail resource for other parts of the DOT and

local jurisdictions• Highway project interaction with railroads• Provide rail data • Assist Districts in response to public concerns

– Contribute rail expertise to help resolve issues• Facilitate communication between DOT, local jurisdictions

and railroads• Provide technical knowledge

– Responsive to citizen questions or complaintsOrganizing a Rail Office : Keys to Success

Keys to Success

• Gain knowledge and understanding of rail industry– Recognize that railroads are privately held companies and

do not operate in the same way as government– Investments made from business decisions– Beholden to owner/shareholder rather than public

Organizing a Rail Office : Keys to Success

Keys to Success

• Interact with planning, funding and legislative functions at your State DOT – Iowa DOT’s Rail Office is part of Planning,

Programming and Modal Division– Meet regularly with Policy and Legislative staff on

issues and state/national developments– Gain knowledge of transportation funding– Be an active part of DOT planning functions

Organizing a Rail Office : Keys to Success

Keys to Success

• Staff Development– Allow staff to operate at their full potential – Management Philosophy• Each person has a primary responsibility• Part of their time is to work collaboratively on teams

– Value your employees and reward teamwork– Promote access/interaction with staff from other

states• Active in SCORT, TRB, research programs, MWRRI

Organizing a Rail Office : Keys to Success

Keys to Success