49-2905. STATE RAIL AND INTERMODAL FACILITY SYSTEM PLAN. (1) The Idaho transportation department shall prepare and periodically update a state rail and intermodal facility system plan, a primary objective of which is to identify, evaluate and encourage the development and preservation of essential rail and truck intermodal services. The plan shall:

(a) Identify and describe the state’s rail system;

(b) Prepare state rail system maps;

(c) Identify and evaluate mainline capacity issues in cooperation with the railroads;

(d) Identify and evaluate rail access and congestion issues;

(e) Identify and evaluate rail commodity flows and traffic types;

(f) Identify lines and corridors that have been rail banked or preserved;

(g) Identify and evaluate other rail and intermodal issues affecting the state’s freight transportation system and regional and local economies;

(h) Identify and evaluate those rail freight lines that are potentially subject to abandonment in the future because of unmet capital needs or other reasons, or have recently been approved for abandonment but the track improvements are still in place;

(i) Whenever possible provide priorities for determining which rail lines or intermodal commerce authorities should receive state support, and provide to the interagency working group supporting information used in establishing such priorities for use by the interagency working group. The priorities should include:

(i) The anticipated benefits to the state and local economy;

(ii) Coordinated freight transportation system including the anticipated cost of road and highway improvements necessitated by the proposed project;

(iii) Establishment of an intermodal facility, if indicated;

(iv) The likelihood the qualified line receiving funding can meet operating costs from freight charges, surcharges on rail traffic and other funds; and

(v) The impact of abandonment or capacity constraints if the project does not obtain state support; and

(j) Identify and describe the state’s intermodal rural rail and truck freight system by:

(i) Preparing state intermodal and regional freight transfer station system maps;

(ii) Identifying and evaluating intermodal and truck and rail freight transfer capacity and coordination issues in cooperation with local government and the railroad and truck interests;

(iii) Identifying and evaluating intermodal and freight transfer access and highway capacity issues; and

(iv) Identifying and evaluating major freight commodity origins, destinations and traffic flows by mode and corridor.

(2) The Idaho transportation department shall provide information to the interagency working group related to the status of the state’s mainline, short line and branch line common carrier railroads through the state rail planning process and various analyses. In addition, the Idaho transportation department shall submit to the interagency working group, its evaluation of alternatives to abandonment prior to federal surface transportation board proceedings, where feasible.

(3) The state rail and intermodal facility system plan may be prepared in conjunction with any rail plan currently prepared by the Idaho transportation department pursuant to other federal rail assistance programs, or which may be enacted, including if applicable, the federal local rail freight assistance program.

(4) The Idaho transportation department shall determine the amount of moneys necessary to prepare and periodically update the state rail plan required by subsection (1) of this section, and communicate that amount to the department of agriculture who shall annually provide to the transportation department moneys in an amount not to exceed one percent (1%) of the total assets in the fund established by section 49-2904, Idaho Code, to prepare and periodically update the state rail plan. The Idaho transportation department is hereby authorized to accumulate these funds not to exceed an aggregate amount of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) for preparing and periodically updating the state rail plan.

History:

[(49-2905) 49-2904, added 2001, ch. 348, sec. 2, p. 1226; am. and redesig. 2006, ch. 413, sec. 6, p. 1255; am. 2007, ch. 339, sec. 5, p. 993; am. 2007, ch. 360, sec. 19, p. 1078; am. 2008, ch. 27, sec. 13, p. 53; am. 2012, ch. 318, sec. 1, p. 872; am. 2013, ch. 78, sec. 1, p. 192.]