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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

2015 FRA Rail Program Delivery Meeting

October 13-15, 2015

The Federal Railroad Administration hosted the second FRA Rail Program Delivery Meeting—a three-day conference for grantees, railroad representatives, federal oversight contractors, and staff, focused on rail project implementation. Below is a list of presentations and handouts given at the event

General Sessions

Passenger and Freight Rail – Professional Workforce Development in the U.S.

Lightning Talks

FRA Perspective and Initiatives

An International Perspective

Strategic Collaborations & Shared Goals – DOT and Transportation Leaders

  • Introduction of Issues - Corey Hill, FRA Acting Executive Director
  • Keynote Address - Victor Mendez, USDOT Deputy Secretary

Track 1

Planning Framework

Service Development Planning (SDP)

Environmental Reviews

Environmental Mitigation Monitoring

Other Laws Under the NEPA Umbrella

Pipeline Planning for the Various Regions

Track 2 

Engineering/Design

How to Partner With the Railroads and Amtrak in Project Delivery

  • Introduction: Railroads as your builder? Amtrak as your builder? - Wendy Messenger, FRA; Leonard Evans, FRA
  • Speaker, DJ Mitchell, BNSF
  • Speaker, Paul Vilter, Amtrak

Operations Simulation for Railroad Capital Project Development

Optimizing Co-Operation of Freight and Passenger Rail

Risk-Based Project Management (Part 1):  Download all presentations

  • Intro to Risk-Based Project Management - William Thomsen, Urban Engineers; Susan Herre, FRA
  • Risk Assessment – A Proactive Approach – A Way to Forecast - William Thomsen, Urban Engineers
  • Risk Assessment Introduction - Marian Rule, TranSystems
  • Characterizing Project Scope (& Schedule & Budget) - John Lehman, Hill International
  • Animation Scope Case Study – Construction of Road Undercrossing Double Track Railroad - Marian Rule, TranSystems; John Lehman, Hill International
  • Cost Estimate as Building Block for Risk Assessment - John Lehman, Hill International
  • Highway Projects, Conventional/Higher Speed Rail Projects - Will Willson, Gardiner & Theobald

Risk-Based Project Management (Part 2): Download all presentations

  • Intro to Afternoon Session - Marian Rule, Transystems
  • Developing the Master Schedule and Adding Schedule Risk - Will Willson, Gardiner & Theobald
  • Developing a Risk Register - John Holak, Urban Engineers
  • Case Study:  After the Risk Register – West Bound (Amtrak) ByPass in Queens - Will Willson, Gardiner & Theobald
  • Mitigations, Contingencies, and Management - John Holak, Urban Engineers
  • Case Study - Eastside Access Project, NY - John Holak, Urban Engineers
  • Case Study - LA Westside Purple Line Extension - Thomas Mitchell, Urban Engineers

Track 3

Federal Grants (Part 1)

Federal Grants (Part 2)

USDOT Loan Programs – Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) & Other Options

Vehicle Attributes & Procurement Management: Download all presentations

  • Opening Remarks - Aaron James, CH2MHill
  • FRA’s two roles - Grantor and Regulatory Safety Oversight Body - Aaron James, CH2MHill; Jeff Gordon, FRA
  • MTAC role - Oversight - Aaron James, CH2MHill
  • FRA National Equipment Goals - Wynne Davis, FRA
  • Buy America - Linda Martin, FRA
  • PRIIA Section 305: The Next Generation Equipment Committee - Jeff Gordon, FRA
  • ADA compliance+ - Linda Martin, FRA
  • FRA Federal Funding - Nico Lindenau, CH2MHill
  • Bi-level Procurement - Momoko Tamaoki, Caltrans
  • Locomotive Procurement - Jennifer Bastian, Illinois DOT
  • Midwest Initiative for Management, Maintenance, and Equipment Ownership - Wynne Davis, FRA
  • Some lessons learned - Wynne Davis, FRA

Funding and Financing of Projects

Transportation Policy

For more information contact FRARailProgramDelivery@dot.gov