Shared_Use_-_Data_SOW_07122016.docx

Stakeholder Engagement Strategy for Shared-Use Study and Data Needs Assessment

Statement of Work

I. Background The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an operating administration within the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT). FRA is the safety regulator of the U.S. railroad industry, responsible for promulgating and enforcing railroad safety regulations. FRA also administers rail-related financial assistance programs, develops and implements Administration policy concerning intercity passenger rail and freight rail service, and conducts research and development in support of improved railroad safety and efficiency.

The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Public Law 114-94, enacted December 4, 2015) authorized numerous Federal rail programs and established new requirements intended to improve the U.S. rail network. The FAST Act directed U.S. DOT and FRA to carry out a number of actions to help inform Federal rail policy, including conducting two studies that are the subject of this solicitation.

Section 11311 of the FAST Act requires the U.S. DOT to complete a study that evaluates the shared-use of right-of-way by passenger and freight rail systems, including the operational, institutional, and legal structures that best support improvements to the U.S. rail network. Areas of study include access and use of host railroad right-of-way, train performance standards, measuring public benefits, modeling, liability, and other issues. Reassessing these parameters – many of which have been in place for decades – is necessary to ensuring the rail system is well-positioned to meet the passenger and freight mobility demands of our growing population.

Section 11313 (a) of the FAST Act requires the U.S. DOT to conduct a data needs assessment to support the development of an efficient and effective intercity passenger rail network. The study is particularly focused on data needed to conduct cost-effective modeling and analysis for intercity passenger rail programs. Among other requirements, the FAST Act directs the U.S. DOT to identify the limitations and accessibility of existing data and develop recommendations to address data issues, including whether additional data collection is required.

The shared-use study and data needs assessment as outlined in the FAST Act contain several commonalities and areas of intersection, including the same December 4, 2018 completion deadline, specifying modeling as an area of analysis, and requiring consultation with similar stakeholder groups in conducting the respective studies. Because of the commonalities and the ability to realize efficiencies in work effort and resources, FRA intends to complete the shared-use study and data needs assessment as a single undertaking (“combined study”).

II. General Objective The topics that the FAST Act directs the U.S. DOT to analyze in the shared-use study and data needs assessment have far-reaching implications to the past, present, and future performance of rail passenger and freight transportation. The various stakeholders involved in rail project development and operations often hold entrenched and sometimes differing positions on these topics and related, underlying issues. Many of these study areas are subject to or the result of statutory requirements, Federal regulations, and business negotiations among the affected parties.

In order to maximize the potential value and insights to be gained from these studies, executive-level support and participation from the stakeholders identified in the FAST Act as consulting entities is required. As such, this work effort should develop a plan to identify and engage stakeholders to participate in the subsequent shared-use study and data needs assessment.

III. Description of Work The scope of work for this effort will include, at a minimum, the following tasks and respective deliverables:

Task 1: Stakeholder Engagement Strategy The contractor shall work with FRA to develop a dedicated stakeholder engagement plan for the combined shared-use and data needs assessment study. The FAST Act directs U.S. DOT to consult with approximately 15 stakeholder groups in completing the shared-use study and data needs assessment, including several stakeholders specified under both studies (e.g. Surface Transportation Board, Amtrak, freight railroads, and states).

The stakeholder engagement plan shall identify the specific organizations within the stakeholder groups specified by the FAST Act and the appropriate individuals from each organization to participate in the study. The contractor shall work with FRA to tailor the optimal strategy(s) for approaching each stakeholder/organization, defining the manner in which they will participate in the studies, and identifying the sequencing and structure of discussing the required study topic with each stakeholder/organization. The contractor shall assess various options for interacting with stakeholders, including the merits of establishing informal vs. formal group constructs (including, but not limited to establishing a Federal Advisory Committee) or conducting bi-lateral interactions with each individual stakeholder/organization.

Deliverable:

The contractor shall provide a stakeholder engagement plan that documents the activities described in Task 1.

Optional Task 1: Shared-Use and Data Needs Assessment Combined Study **Option Line Item** FRA may elect to exercise this option to execute the combined shared-use study and data needs assessment.

As a first step in the engagement, the contractor is required to provide a detailed work plan that provides additional levels of granularity for how the contractor will achieve the scope of work, budget, and schedule. The work plan shall take into account the overlapping considerations specified in the FAST Act for each study, as well as considerations that may differ between the provisions. In drafting the work plan, the contractor should also be prepared to identify assumptions regarding what internal support, resources, and competencies it will require from FRA to complete the combined study.

The shared-use study shall contain at a minimum:

· Evaluation of the shared use of right-of-way by passenger and freight rail systems; and

· The operational, institutional, and legal structures that would support improvements to the systems referred to above.

In meeting the minimum requirements for the shared-use provision, the contractor shall evaluate:

· The access and use of railroad right-of-way by a rail carrier that does not own the right-of-way, such as passenger rail services that operate over privately-owned right-of-way;

· The effectiveness of existing contractual, statutory, and regulatory mechanisms for establishing, measuring, and enforcing train performance standards;

· The strengths and weaknesses of existing mechanisms and possible approaches to address the weaknesses;

· Mechanisms for measuring and maintaining public benefits resulting from publicly funded freight or passenger rail improvements, including improvements directed towards shared-use right-of-way by passenger and freight rail;

· Approaches to operations, capacity, and cost estimation modeling;

· Liability requirements and arrangements;

· The effect on rail passenger services, operations, liability limits, and insurance levels of the assertion of sovereign immunity by a State; and

· Other issues as identified by U.S. DOT.

The data needs assessment shall, at a minimum, be conducted to:

· Support the development of an efficient and effective intercity passenger rail network;

· Identify the data needed to conduct cost-effective modeling and analysis for intercity passenger rail development programs;

· Determine limitations to data used for input;

· Develop a strategy to address such limitations;

· Identify barriers to accessing existing data;

· Develop recommendations regarding whether the authorization of additional data collection for intercity passenger rail is warranted; and

· Determine which entities should be responsible for generating or collecting needed data.

The contractor is responsible for ensuring that the work final work product comprehensively addresses the requirements of the FAST Act in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.

Deliverable:

· The contractor shall provide a detailed work plan that addresses minimum requirements. FRA will review and approve/approve with revisions/deny the work plan before proceeding.

· The contractor shall complete a final draft of the shared-use and data needs assessment combined study.

· Following FRA feedback, the contractor shall complete a final shared-use and data needs assessment combined study, consistent with the applicable statutory language.

Period of Performance All work shall be finished by no later than 120 days prior to the December 4, 2018 completion deadline so as to permit FRA to submit the deliverables to Congress in compliance with statutory requirements.