Title
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Support of Continued Development of the Greater Triangle Commuter Rail Project
Bret Martin, MPO Staff and Katharine Eggleston, GoTriangle Staff
Body
GoTriangle, as the project sponsor for the commuter rail corridor identified in the Wake County Transit Plan, completed an alternatives analysis/feasibility study for a commuter rail project within the corridor. The study evaluated:
1) The ability for the corridor to accommodate varying levels of service;
2) To what extent infrastructure improvements would need to be made to accommodate various service scenarios and the cost of those improvements;
3) Ridership projections for the service scenarios yielded by the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Simplified Trips On Project Software (STOPS) modeling framework;
4) A planning-level project implementation schedule;
5) The aptitude for projects with various service levels within the corridor to secure FTA Capital Investment Grant (CIG) funding;
6) Comparisons of ridership, cost effectiveness, and productivity of various service scenarios within the corridor to other commuter rail peers nationwide; and
7) Risks that could impact project feasibility, including cost and schedule impacts.
This evaluation was applied to a variety of project termini scenarios along the North Carolina Railroad corridor between Selma in Johnston County and Mebane in Alamance County. The ultimate goal of the study was to equip GoTriangle and its regional partners with more detailed information on the productivity, feasibility, and project delivery requirements of a commuter rail project within the corridor.
Building upon the findings of the completed alternatives analysis/feasibility study, GoTriangle, in cooperation with project management committee partners, developed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that details the scope and roles and responsibilities of partners for commuter rail early project development activities. A draft of the MOU is included as Attachment 1. A detailed listing of tasks to be carried out in early project development, as well as the roles various parties will play in those tasks, is provided in Exhibit A of the MOU. The Executive Board’s consideration of this MOU, in conjunction with the related Wake Transit Work Plan amendment request on the Executive Board’s March agenda, is ultimately a decision point for when, how, and to what extent a project within the commuter rail corridor will be studied further or will progress further toward project implementation.
Requested Action: Action Consider approval of CAMPO’s participation in the MOU in Support of Continued Development of the Greater Triangle Commuter Rail Project and authorize the Executive Director to sign the MOU.