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Section 2: Preliminary Activities

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Determining if Railroad Coordination is Needed

Per Federal-aid guidelines ( https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/federalaid/150731.cfm), any projects with a terminus near railroad right of way need to be cleared by the railroad. The terminus has included up to and including the advanced railroad signage for a grade crossing. Rail Division must clear all projects with a notice to the railroad for all work on or within 50 feet of the railroad right of way line. The district coordinator should be informed by the district project managers on work that is within 500 feet of railroad right of way to determine railroad impact.

TxDOT shall certify all projects at one of four levels per Design Division:

The district shall certify the projects and provide the information to Design Division. RRD will review and approve the list or request revisions. See Design Division Project Development Process Manual for descriptions of the certifications.

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Preliminary Information

All TxDOT project personnel should review and follow the Design Division's Project Development Process Manual for the development of any projects.

As districts identify construction projects impacting railroad right of way, the following documents should be obtained:

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  • Existing license agreement or permit for the crossing or location being impacted by the project to be obtained by RRD.
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  • Advanced Funding Agreements (AFA) between TxDOT and a local government for the project to be obtained by the district.
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  • Copy of executed agreement between the local government and railroad company (if applicable) to be obtained by the district.
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  • Right of way maps to be obtained by the district.

If the existing agreement can be obtained, RRD will verify if TxDOT or the roadway authority either has a license to cross railroad right of way or if the railroad is crossing the roadway right of way via permit. RRD will also verify the responsibilities established with all parties in the original agreement and if the new project is impacted by these responsibilities.

An AFA can be used as an attachment to a C&M Agreement to avoid a three-party agreement involving the local government. In this scenario, the C&M Agreement can be executed between TxDOT and the railroad company with the AFA attached to clarify maintenance responsibilities. The AFA also specifies the party responsible for preliminary engineering and the party responsible for the project construction.

The RRD contract specialist determines if an existing safety (Section 130) or replanking project exists at any of the at-grade crossings on the project. If so, the safety or replanking project may be canceled and paid for under the construction project. See comments regarding Highway Safety Improvement Projects and Section 130 projects in Chapter 4, Section 130.

If a district or local let project involves safety/HSIP funding or affects traffic signals and/or sidewalks, contact Rail Division for potential partnering. See Chapter 4, Section 130 for further details.

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Project Team

In the early planning stages, several parties may be needed for proper railroad coordination:

The railroad company point of contact determines which additional contacts from the railroad company may be needed for coordination. Departments the railroad company may include are real estate department, legal department, track design, structural engineers, environmental engineers, maintenance, local operations, and flagging.

Consultants with previous track design experience should be used on any projects involving track design (typically underpass projects). Familiarity with both American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) and individual railroad company track standards are essential when evaluating the consultants.

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Preliminary Design Meeting

Prior to plans and schematics being developed, the district project manager should contact the railroad company and local government (if applicable) to schedule a preliminary design meeting. At this meeting, the following items should be discussed:

The preliminary design meeting should also clarify how the various railroad agreements and coordination with the railroad company will be handled throughout project development prior to letting. Questions to be answered:

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  • Who will submit and be a party to the Preliminary Engineering Letter of Authority (PELOA)?
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    • RRD policy is that all PELOA Agreements are two party agreements for simplification.
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    • All project invoices from the railroad company should go to the same party that signs the agreement.
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      • If TxDOT is letting the project, the agreement will include TxDOT and the railroad company. If the local government is letting the project, the agreement will include the local government and the railroad company. TxDOT will typically provide only design approval to the local government and is not a party to the C&M Agreement.
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  • Who from TxDOT and the local government will review and approve project documents prior to submittal to the railroad company, including the Exhibit A plans and C&M Agreement?
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  • Who will be the point of contact to submit all documents to the railroad company?
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  • Who will be a party to and draft the C&M Agreement? RRD prefers two-party C&M Agreements between the party letting the project and the railroad company. The AFA is typically referenced in the C&M Agreement to clarify the third party’s responsibilities on the project.

NOTE: The Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) may require that all traffic signal preemption agreements are three party agreements if local government traffic signal maintenance is involved. At a minimum, the local government agency shall sign the preemption request form. See Chapter 7 for more information.

Meeting minutes from the preliminary design meeting should be sent by the district to the project team for comments and concurrence. In some cases, an informal approval from the railroad company may be required for the design features on the project prior to development of Exhibit A plans.

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Preliminary Engineering Letter of Authority (PELOA)

Many railroad companies require a PELOA to reimburse the railroad company for charges incurred for:

These agreements, drafted by RRD, may also provide authorization to the railroad company to provide flagging for preliminary design activities on the railroad right of way. Presently, railroad companies have the following requirements for PELOAs:

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  • UPRR and CPKC: PELOAs are required for all construction projects other than pipe and wireline installations or general maintenance work on railroad right of way.
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  • UPRR may also require a PELOA for bridge maintenance work, if applicable.
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  • BNSF: PELOAs are required for traffic signal and preemption projects. All other construction projects may require a PELOA at the discretion of the BNSF contact.
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  • Shortline railroad companies: Check with RRD for current requirements.

PELOAs are sent with a project schematic. If an approved Exhibit A is available, this will take place of the project schematic.

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Project Schematic

The district initially arranges to have a project schematic developed. The project schematic is a general profile view showing the roadway alignment with the railroad and clarifying if any crossings of the railroad are at-grade or grade separated.

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Other Preliminary Agreements

Preliminary activities on the railroad right-of-way may require separate letter agreements with the railroad company. The agreements clarify insurance and right of entry requirements and provide authorization to the railroad company to provide flagging services. These agreements are typically between the party (TxDOT or local government) providing engineering services on the project and the railroad company. Preliminary activities could include:

The district railroad coordinator will assign the draft of these agreements to the appropriate district staff.

The three Class I railroads have a contract flagging company for flagging services. Standard provisions allow for the TxDOT contractor to directly reimburse the contract flagger for their services.

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Diagnostic Inspection

After the preliminary design meeting, the district railroad coordinator should arrange a diagnostic inspection (if applicable) with the railroad company and project team to visit the project location and discuss:

Notes from the diagnostic inspection should clarify all topics discussed with the project team and list attendees. The district railroad coordinator compiles the notes.

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Utility Relocation

Utility companies with facilities located on railroad right of way have separate existing agreements with the railroad companies. These utilities may not appear on statewide one call utility location services. The railroad company normally has their own one call center. These utilities may not respond to any request for location without coordinating through the railroad.

If these utilities need adjusting to accommodate a construction project, TxDOT or the local government will coordinate the relocation activity with the utility owner. The utility owner or provider shall obtain their own agreement with the railroad to relocate the affected utility.

Railroad owned utility relocation and railroad company staff coordination of relocation costs will be addressed in the C&M agreement.

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Right of Way Division Coordination

Relocation of commercial signs within the railroad property does not fall under the responsibilities of the RRD. All commercial sign issues are managed by the Right of Way Division (ROW). RRD agreements cannot be used to obtain an easement or fee purchase of railroad right of way. Commercial sign payments may be included in the final C&M agreement upon approval from the Right of Way Division.

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