INFORMATION #2 08-02-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Research Department Thomas Todd, Director Minnesota House of Representatives May 24, 2004 TO: Representative Mark Olson FROM: John Williams, Legislative Analyst RE: Northstar commuter rail total costs This memo responds to your request for an analysis of the public costs of the Northstar commuter rail project. The enclosed spreadsheet shOws total costs over two periods: .the 22-year period during which the state would be paying debt service on bonds issued for the project (it is anticipated that 20-year bonds would be issued in amounts of $37.5 million in FY 2005 and $49.066 million in FY 2007) the 40 years that the 1998 cost-benefit analysis used in the report to MnDOT by Parsons Brinckerhoff as the outer limit of the useful life of commuter rail system components ~ The state capital cost is shown as $132.6 million, which is the total cost of debt service on $86.6 million in state bonding for the project as recommended in the governor's capital budget. The federal and local shares are as reported to the House Transportation Finance committee by the Northstar corridor authority (NCDA) in January, 2004. The operating cost and operating subsidies are based on the operating cost and farebox revenue assumptions for the first year of operation (2008) as shown in NCDA publications.2 The operating cost and subsidy were forecast through 2047 using assumptions of a modest 3 percent annual increase in operating cost and a constant 44.5 percent farebox recovery ratio. The ridership estimates are derived from the estimates given at the House Transportation Finance hearing of 4,030 daily one-way trips in the opening year of 2008, rising to 5,600 daily onerway ~ Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc., "Twin Cities Metropolitan Commuter Rail Study, Phase II: Benefit-Cost Analysis Report, revised draft, September 15, 1998. 2 NCDA, "Operating Cost Estimate and Funding Sources," 2004.