Railroad infrastructure rails

Infrastructure Assessment & Appraisal


RLBA’s capabilities include many infrastructure and right-of-way valuation techniques, including cost to cure estimates, value of improvements in place, real estate valuations and track asset valuations that can determine the value of all railroad corridors in varying degrees of condition. RLBA features years of experience valuing entire railroads or component lines in all of the above methodologies.


Select Project Descriptions:

MISSISSIPPI STATE PORT AUTHORITY:

RLBA determined the feasibility of public acquisition and rehabilitation of Kansas City Southern Railway’s 68-mile Gulfport District between Gulfport and Hattiesburg, Mississippi. RLBA estimated the cost of purchasing the rail line and the costs of needed repairs or upgrades necessary to raise speeds and/or handle 286,000 pound loads. Additionally performed a cost-benefit analysis of the project.

CONFIDENTIAL CLIENT:

A large private sector solid waste company engaged RLBA to analyze the engineering and the economics of hauling municipal solid waste via the Union Pacific Railroad between San Francisco area and three, remote landfill sites. RLBA recommended improvements to the physical plant needed to accommodate the proposed service. Those recommendations included necessary changes to the track structure to accommodate trainload movements as well as pavement and intermodal loading/unloading equipment necessary to achieve cost-effective transport. In a separate analysis, RLBA examined transportation costs and expected rates associated with trainload movement of municipal solid waste from Los Angeles and New York City to four remote landfill sites.

CONFIDENTIAL CLIENT:

A large company not in the railroad sector had acquired 25 miles of out-of-service right-of-way to facilitate a project which was never built. While the corridor had been out-of-service for some time, the client retained all easements required to reactive the line to a recently discovered large mineral deposit adjacent to the right-of-way. The client sought to divest itself of the property and engaged RLBA to assist. Working with the client to identify the most appropriate valuation methodology to reflect the value of the right-of-way, RLBA staff decided on a combination of a Net Liquidation Value and Value of Railroad Improvements in Place. That combination of valuation methodologies was chosen due to its ability to demonstrate to potential buyers the significant savings that could be realized by utilizing the existing railroad improvements (bridges, grading, etc.) along the right-of-way were the line rehabilitated. The final deliverable included three separate reports, valuing the rail corridor in three discrete segments at the client’s request.