Successful implementation of the SEHSR requires more than re-engineering track and new train sets. Improved stations will be necessary to accommodate the increased demand from improvements in the transportation network. To determine the future provisions for high speed rail stations, NCDOT retained the services of Marsolan Associates to complete a station study to recommend standards for rail stations within the proposed SEHSR. Existing and proposed stations were analyzed in ten places including Charlotte, Kannapolis, Salisbury, High Point, Greensboro, Burlington, Durham, Cary and Raleigh. Also, in cooperation with the State of Virginia, Petersburg was included to strive for uniform station standards for the SEHSR south of Richmond.¹⁰ The analysis consisted of evaluating the stations and their surroundings and making recommendations for serving future high speed rail ridership.

The study was needed to establish criteria for future high speed rail travel at existing stations and for proposed stations from Charlotte via Raleigh to Richmond. Experience in the NEC substantiates dramatic ridership increases when train scheduling is relatively frequent and train speeds are in excess of 100 mph. For example, ridership estimates from KPMG indicate that both Charlotte and Raleigh will serve nominally a half million high speed rail passengers annually . more passengers than at all but the three largest airports in the State. Annual boarding levels at the top four high speed rail stations (Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro and Durham) would exceed enplanements at 9 of the State's 14 airports having scheduled services. ¹¹

Obviously, rethinking of railroad stations is needed. This study first focused on better serving passengers and next considered strategies to realize the community economic development benefits inherent in having an airport-like high speed rail facility downtown.

This study provides a comprehensive view of high speed rail transportation with respect to SEHSR stations and the relationship of these stations to the their communities. This comprehensive study of the future SEHSR station was undertaken for purposes of:

1. Providing a background on the station functions and role of the railroad station within the context of the high speed train travel experience.
   
2. Recommending standards for locating and designing railroad station facilities for future services within the Southeast High Speed Rail corridor through the year 2015 and beyond.
   
3. Using station standards to evaluate existing stations and proposals for development of new SEHSR stations.
   
4. Introducing the concept of station economics that can be applied within a SEHSR system-wide context.

7.1 STATION FUNCTIONS IN HIGH SPEED TRAIN TRAVEL

A station's functions should be considered from the passenger's perspective, following the train trip from home or office to destination and return. This travel should be a high quality as well as a high speed experience. Especially important is the transition made in arriving and departing from the station by auto, taxi, bus or walking. The ease of making this transfer at the station is vital to passengers.¹² impressions of a favorable overall trip. Moreover, having adequate station facilities will strongly influence the decision of many people to take the train.

There are lessons to be learned from airports that are now attempting to provide more parking and public transit for passengers. This mounting problem for the airlines can give the competitive edge to train services with centrally located urban rail stations.

Most transportation studies emphasize the importance of concentrations of population in planning the location of station stops. This approach often understates the importance of the place itself as a destination. Often overlooked is why people travel to a particular place and what they want to visit when they get there. For example, with the rapidly growing interest in heritage tourism (now ranked second nationally for leisure trips), many places are attempting to interpret their cultural and historical resources to create attractive destinations. The SEHSR is rich in places having such resources. High speed rail services offer the opportunity for the places served to tap a direct conduit of leisure visitors who live along the populous Northeast Corridor. To capitalize fully on this connection, local governments, businesses, and the rail provider must work in concert to ensure that the station is a hub integrated with local heritage resources. Figure 7-1 illustrates the train travel continuum and identifies where transfers are made and where station standards will be applied.

7.2 STATION FACILITY STANDARDS

Standards for the components of a station facility include the station area, station building, platform and area surrounding the station. The purpose of these standards is to establish a uniform approach in planning SEHSR rail stations.

While there is a plethora of rail studies in the U.S., there are few station standards studies. The most prominent are the guidelines produced by the American Rail Engineers Association (AREA), Amtrak's Standard Stations Program, and the California Intercity Rail Station Standards. Many of the recommendations of these sources were used in this study. One notable caveat, however, is that these other studies were intended as guidance for stations with regular intercity rail services. High speed rail stations should meet more rigorous standards. For example, high speed rail stations have greater frequencies with shorter dwell times than conventional intercity rail stations. Therefore, platforms should be designed to handle baggage and passengers quickly and with minimal interference between the two. Higher speeds and greater frequencies also attract more business passengers, who often have less baggage and who are less likely to have friends and family enter the station area with them than long-haul recreation travelers. Therefore, these other standards were tailored to meet the needs of SEHSR rail stations.

In this respect, the standards recommended vary somewhat from these predecessors. Throughout this study, for example, it is stressed that all components of a new station complex should be integrally designed for providing passengers with a seamless connection between the train and the downtown. Application of this principle is encouraged in the reuse of existing stations as well. In conclusion, the overarching theme of these recommendations is to create elegant, functional high speed facilities to reclaim the place of rail stations as community gateways.

Station facility standards should consider four parts of the facility: station location, station area, station building, and platform design. Specific criteria and requirements for each are as follows:¹³

7.3 EVALUATION OF EXISTING AND PROPOSED SEHSR STATIONS

After formulating the various station standards, the study used the standards to evaluate the impacts of projected increased ridership on the existing and proposed stations along the SEHSR. Under this scenario the projected ridership would increase dramatically over current ridership levels.

The needs for the future station facilities were then evaluated based on the ridership projections for the year 2015 for each of these scenarios. Not surprisingly all existing stations were found inadequate, either totally so or in some minor respects, to serve future high speed rail.

Existing Stations The existing historic stations at Salisbury and High Point and the "new" historic station at Greensboro have special promise to become high quality rail facilities. This goal can be achieved through renovation and/or modifications, space reallocation within the station, and expanded parking facilities to serve passengers.

The new station at Cary was designed for easy expansion and with platform improvements will be a high quality suburban type rail facility.

The leased station facilities for Petersburg are actually located across the Appomatox River in Ettrick. Relocation to a more desirable site does not appear feasible because of the location of tracks that will serve the high speed rail corridor. While the existing station is an uninspired design and is marginally functional, it has a sufficient amount of space to serve future projected ridership.

New stations
Charlotte has excellent potential to create an exceptional new generation rail station due to the substantial local private and public commitment to making high speed rail an integral part of the Uptown urban fabric.

The preliminary architectural design of the proposed Durham intermodal facility is also excellent and local commitment to the project was demonstrated by passage of a $5 million bond issue to build it. However, a new developer-partner is needed to undertake the project. Also, functional issues must be reconsidered in light of new increased ridership projections.

The new station proposed for Burlington presents some unresolved issues. Currently, Burlington has a structure resembling a bus shelter that serves as a train stop. The City and NCDOT are exploring development of a new future station. In the meantime, a temporary modular unit will replace the shelter and the existing site will be improved with additional parking and landscaping.

Similarly, in Kannapolis the existing station is inadequate and a study is underway to find a new site nearer to the downtown. A new station would serve both intercity and a future commuter rail service to Charlotte. More immediately, an effort is being undertaken to secure leased space that is convenient to the downtown to serve as a temporary station for intercity rail services.

A Special Challenge
Raleigh is the major North Carolina city connecting the SEHSR with the Northeast Corridor. As such, it is pivotal to the success of future high speed rail, and a premier station in or near the downtown is essential. Early in 1996, the Downtown Raleigh Intermodal Transportation Center Feasibility Study was completed. (Notably, this study predated the SEHSR studies and did not anticipate dramatic increases in rail ridership.) The study recommended a site for a new transportation center, including a rail station, and a preliminary design sketch was prepared anticipating a joint development mixed use project.

The site is about four blocks from the downtown core. It is surrounded by three different sets of railroad tracks, thereby requiring new grade separated street access to the site. Also, the site is in private ownership. The next steps are to get city approvals, acquire the site, negotiate agreements with transportation providers, plan the facilities and obtain funding for one or more bridges to cross the tracks. These actions will require considerable lead time and funding together with a strong public commitment to the project.

Detailed final space and site requirements for each station are listed in the full report. Table 7-1 gives the general space requirements for each station along the SEHSR.

Table 7-1: Summary of Space Requirements for SEHSR Stations--2015

7.4 STATION ECONOMICS

Table 7-2: Sample Construction Costs for High Speed Rail Stations

ITEM	UNIT COST (Small Station)	UNIT COST (Large Station)
Station Area	$4.00 /SF	$5.00 /SF
Building Space	$125.00 /SF	$150.00 /SF
Building Furnishings	$12.00 /SF	$16.00 /SF
Platform	$200 /SF	$200 /SF
Canopy	$400 /SF	$400 /SF
Design & Administration	15%	15%
Land Costs	$75,000.00 /Acre	$150,000.00 /Acre

The final part the station standards investigates several unique aspects of station economics. While few high speed rail stations have been constructed in the US, some general "rules of thumb" can be applied to determine the cost of constructing or renovating a high speed station (see Table 7-2 for sample construction costs of small and large HSR stations). What is most often overlooked in the station planning process, however, is the annual operations and maintenance of transportation centers. These costs are often high, considering that stations are used seven days a week, from 12 to 24 hours a day. One way to reduce such costs is to have other tenants in the station building such as retail or government uses to help defray these costs. Generalized costs and revenues can then be combined to estimate a station facility development and management cost per passenger. This estimate is useful in planning both individual station facilities and for the overall high speed rail system. Table 7-3 lists sample estimated annual expenses for small and large stations.

Table 7-3: Sample Annual Property Management Expenses for High Speed Rail Stations

ITEM	UNIT COST (Small Station)	UNIT COST (Large Station)
Equipment Contracts	$1.00 /SF	$5.00 /SF
Utilities, Cleaning, & Maintenance	$8.00 /SF	$15.00 /SF
Grounds & Platform Maintenance	$12.00 /SF	$16.00 /SF
Reserves for Replacements	$3,000.00	$25,000.00

As a rule, revenues from station activities are less than annual operations and maintenance costs. Annual per passenger profits from retail sales are around $0.05 for small stations and $0.10 for large stations. Parking usually generates no revenues for small stations; however, large stations can reap an annual profit of $1,200 per space, depending upon the availability of parking around the station. Advertising can bring in $1,000 for a small station and up to $10,000 annually for a large station.

¹⁰The Richmond, VA station rehabilitation is currently underway by the Virginia Department of Rail & Public Transportation and the City of Richmond. Given the large scope of the station's improvement plan to accommodate intercity rail servicing the NEC, SEHSR, Newport News, VA and western VA as well as local commuter rail, the station was not considered by this study.
¹¹NCDOT Aviation Division Estimates for 1996 at State airports with scheduled services.
¹²See "Just Get me to the Plane on Time" in Planning (American Planning Association, Chicago, January 1997. pp. 8-11) which dramatizes the plight of passengers getting to airports.
¹³The specific standards are discussed in the full report (see Railroad Station Study, Southeast High Speed Rail corridor).