Midwest Regional Rail Initiative Phase 7 (pdf 590 kb)

As Program Manager for the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, Quandel Consultants is assisting the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the DOT’s of the eight other Midwest states in progressing toward the implementation of a 3,000 mile system of improved intercity passenger rail.

Northern Lights Express Passenger Rail Project (pdf 605 kb)

The Northern Lights Express (NLX) is a proposed passenger rail project that will serve the Twin Cities and Duluth, MN corridor. As part of a project team, Quandel Consultants is managing and producing the environmental documentation for the NLX Alliance. The documentation will address the potential environmental impacts and mitigation impacts within the NLX corridor.

Ann Arbor to Detroit Regional Rail Project (pdf 502 kb)

Quandel Consultants has served as General Engineering Consultant to Michigan DOT and Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) for the Ann Arbor-Detroit Regional Rail project, a planned 38 mile commuter rail operation. Specific tasks undertaken by Quandel include conceptual design and preliminary engineering for two new stations, two layover facilities and a maintenance facility, a corridor-wide signage program including final plans and specifications, rolling stock rehabilitation and lease, and track and signal design oversight. We have generated a series of program management plans in accordance with FTA and FRA guidelines. Quandel staff has also developed the operating plan, maintenance plan, financial plan and system safety plan for the service. The engineering work completed for the stations included several build alternatives for two proposed sites involving station buildings, platforms, parking lot, drainage, lighting and roadway preliminary design. Under the current program, Quandel will complete 30% Plans Specifications and Cost Estimate documents for the stations and track and signal improvements.

Illinois Department of Transportation - High-Speed Rail Program Management

Quandel Consultants, as part of the project team, was chosen to serve as the Program Manager for IDOT’s High Speed Rail Program. The state of Illinois will receive $1.2 billion in federal high-speed rail funding, much of which will go toward upgrades to the 284-mile route between Chicago and St. Louis that will allow for speeds of up to 110 mph.

City of Lake Forest Amtrak Station Development

Quandel Consultants has been contracted by the City of Lake Forest, IL to perform project development activities and conceptual engineering for a proposed intermodal rail station. Currently used as a commuter rail stop on the Metra commuter rail service, Quandel Consultants is studying the existing station for potential use as a new intercity station stop as part of Amtrak’s Hiawatha and Empire Builder service lines between Chicago and Milwaukee.

Ohio Tier 1 Programmatic Environmental Impact Study

Quandel Consultants, as part of the project team, was chosen to perform a route alternatives analysis as well as develop a capital cost estimate for each corridor. The Ohio Statewide Passenger Rail Project PEIS is comprised of a six corridor alternatives analyses with Cleveland as the main hub. The six corridors include: Cleveland-Columbus, Columbus-Cincinnati, Cleveland-Pittsburgh, Cleveland-Toledo, Toledo-Columbus, and Toledo-Detroit.

City of Dearborn Passenger Rail Intermodal Facility

Quandel Consultants is serving as sub-consultant on the final design team for a new intercity passenger station in Dearborn, MI, to prepare final design plans for the track and signal improvements. The project is funded under a 2009 federal ARRA grant to improve intermodal Passenger access to the region. Quandel Consultants staff evaluated a series of different track and station configurations under a series of previous studies leading to the preparation of an Environmental Assessment and Record of Decision. The team produced design criteria, geometric design plans for review with the host railroads: Norfolk Southern and Amtrak. The selected alternative includes a new station facility with side platforms and an overhead passenger walkway to provide safe movement of pedestrians across the tracks. The station provides a new intermodal hub for pedestrians, bike, bus, taxi, private automobile and both intercity and commuter rail. The existing second track will be extended approximately one half mile through the station to allow train access to both platforms. The existing interlocking will be relocated to the west.

Chicago – Milwaukee Tier I Environmental Assessment

Quandel Consultants developed a Tier I EA (Service NEPA), 5% Engineering and Service Development Plan for the proposed increase in passenger rail service between Chicago and Milwaukee. The EA analyzed the potential environmental impacts from increasing the Amtrak Hiawatha service from 7 intercity daily round trips to 10 daily roundtrips. The planned service upgrade is a multi-agency effort between WisDOT, IDOT and Amtrak with input from Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and Metra. Quandel successfully completed the EA document on a limited time schedule due to fast-approaching deadlines for Track 2 ARRA grant applications in 2009. The document incorporated several track, civil and signal projects throughout the corridor including adding a second platform at the Milwaukee Airport Amtrak station, two new grade separations, three bridge rehabilitations and the relocation of four Metra platforms. Quandel staff was responsible for the analysis and documentation for the majority of the environmental impact categories including land-use, transportation, wetlands, floodplains, and hazardous materials. We coordinated the completion of the remaining categories with project sub-consultants and compiled the document under a compelling time schedule to meet the federal submittal requirements.

Rocky Mountain Rail Feasibility Study (pdf 510 kb)

Quandel Consultants worked with the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority to determine the feasibility of implementing high speed passenger rail service along Colorado's Front Range from Wyoming to New Mexico, and along the I-70 Corridor from Denver to the Utah state border. Services included the development of initial alignment plans and profiles and capital cost estimates for technologies capable of traveling at speeds of 79 to 250 mph.

PeruRail Operational Assessment

Quandel Consultants assisted The Association of American Railroads’ Transportation Test Center, Inc. (TTCI) of Pueblo, CO in the conduct of an operational safety assessment of PeruRail, SA. The team inspected three of PeruRail’s principal rail corridors: (1) Cusco-Machu Picchu, (2) Cusco over the summit of the Andes (elevation 14, 222 feet) to Juliaca and Puno and (3) La Joya (west of Arequipa) down to the Pacific coast ports of Islay and Mollendo.