State & National

RII has the capacity and expertise to handle state and federal level projects. We have developed appraisals, traffic analysis, feasibility studies, rate analysis, expert witness testimony and funding applications for projects and submittals before the US Surface Transportation Board, Federal Railroad Administration, US Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Authority, US Department of Energy and Internal Revenue Service. We have also performed on federally funded projects for numerous states across the country, from comprehensive State Rail Plans to unique tailored analysis for specific issues. Some examples projects follow.
+Capacity to handle larger or smaller projects+Understand Federal Acquisition Rules and special requirements for billing and recordkeeping for many states+Strong internal project management and quality control practices+Able to get the registrations needed to perform on projects for various departments and agencies+Ability to pull together analysis from many angles into comprehensive results+Strong technical writing skills to produce public ready and confidential reports as needed+Follow Uniform Standards for Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) guidelines for appraisals and evaluation work

Projects

Rate Regulation Cases before STB
RII was involved as one of the experts for 4 rail rate cases brought before the United States Surface Transportation Board (STB) from 2008-2015. The cases were filed on behalf of 3 shippers: Dupont, Sunbelt Chlor-Alkali, Seminole Electric and Total Chemicals, charging several Class I railroads with charging excessive rates that were regulated by the STB at the time. Shippers had to develop complete stand-alone operations for these Class I railroads for handling their traffic to prove that railroads were charging higher revenue to cost ratios than allowed. RII's assignments involved costing unit train movements, examining operational costs, carloads and traffic volumes, developing optimum operations, necessary staffing and related personnel and administrative costs for each operation.
SORTA (Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority) Rail Appraisal Reviews for FTA
RII subcontracted under CBRE for SORTA's required appraisal reviews for evaluations of corridors acquired under the Federal Transit Authority's (FTA) high speed rail program. RII was responsible for review of appraisal specifically involving rail track assets. The assignment involved vetting the appraisal for USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice), FTA and State required guidelines, industry standards and methods, consistency and reliability, resolving deficiencies with the original appraiser and issuing a final review report.
Appraisals for Taxes with the Internal Revenue Service
RII has developed numerous appraisals for purposes of donated property, estate taxes and assets divisions, including the special forms required by the IRS. A few specific project examples include:-Appraisal and required IRS forms for Grenada Railway's donation of corridor right of way property to State of Mississippi-Appraisal of business value with LLC discounting for estate taxes on railroad portfolio for Arkansas Short Lines Railroads, LLC-Appraisal of historical railroad equipment and IRS forms for donation to museum in Southern California.-Development of stock value for short line railroad operated by family-owned holding company.
Maine DOT
RII assisted the State of Maine with due diligence for acquisition of the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railroad (MMA) to preserve these rail lines for current users and future economic growth. MMA filed to abandon over 233 miles of track in Northern Maine with existing shippers and traffic. Work has included extensive financial and economic analysis, existing and potential customer interviews along the branch line to develop current and future traffic, traffic flow analysis using public data and connecting railroad traffic data, developing operating plans, and working closely with State agencies and Shippers. RII has developed the NLV and conducted track, structure and bridge inspections of the assets. The study evaluated the public benefits, costs, and operational analysis of different ownership options as well as the potential development of a transload facility. RII also assisted the DOT with the STB abandonment challenge process, advising negotiation strategies to acquire the operation and developing the RFP for the potential third party operator as well as selection and set up of the new operator.
Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development
RII assisted the State of Nevada with analysis to help attract Tesla Motors to locate its new electric battery gigafactory in Northern Nevada. There were 3 sites being considered at the time, each with its own benefits of property costs, local tax incentives and transportation access: Northern Nevada, Texas and New Mexico. The State of Nevada contracted RII to develop the transportation costs for each of the three sites for comparison. RII developed the appropriate rail, truck and ship transportation costing for moving all inbound raw materials as well as finished batteries to the car manufacturing facility in Fremont, CA. Based on materials, volumes, origins and destinations provided by Tesla, RII developed all transportation costs for all three facilities and aggregated the total annual costs for comparison. RII also assisted in putting the results into a presentation that the State used to convince Tesla to locate in Nevada.