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Organizing a Rail Office: Keys to Success Tammy Nicholson Iowa 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 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 complaints Organizing 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