DecisionTek, the developer of the Federal Railroad Administration's GradeDec, conducts grade crossing analyses for government at all levels and the railroad industry.

Grade Crossing Improvements Impact Analysis GradeDec DecisionTek is the developer of the Federal Railroad Administration's GradeDec tools (GradeDec 2000 and GradeDec.NET).  The firm is uniquely positioned to conduct dedicated analyses using the system - as-is or customized - as part of your team's grade crossing study.

Why your grade crossing study should include an improvements impact analysis

The study by your railroad or local jurisdiction for grade crossing improvements will examine the physical characteristics of crossings and, perhaps, the potential for mitigating accident risk. But will the study provide a comprehensive view of the full array of benefits from the improvements? Will it convincingly convey to decision makers and stakeholders alike that the study findings represent the best alternative for investing in grade crossing upgrades? GradeDec.NET was designed to evaluate the impacts from grade crossing improvements and meet federal requirements for the benefit-cost analysis of investments in infrastructure. Whether your study includes several or several hundred grade crossings, Decisiontek's impact analysis using GradeDec.NET will assist you in developing the best package of improvements serving your corridor or region.

Your resource allocation decision

While high-risk crossings may stand out in your study area, it is usually not self-evident where and how investment dollars should be spent in order to yield their highest return. The improvements impact analysis assesses the benefits from each set of alternatives. To find the high yield alternative, the analysis considers traffic flows and composition by highway and rail, growth in traffic over a specified time horizon, the physical characteristics of the crossings and price information.

Algorithms in GradeDec.NET calculate the effects of the improvements, incorporating recent research findings relating safety to crossing improvements. The analysis includes sets of tables and graphs that rank crossing improvements and provide quick indicators for high yield investments. The impact analysis also evaluates shifts in traffic flows in a corridor due to grade separations and closures. The analysis considers the cost side as well and provides summary measures of costs and benefits.

Count all the benefits - not just safety

While safety is the first concern that comes to mind when analyzing the impacts of crossing improvements, a comprehensive view of impacts also includes the effects of closings and separations on queuing at crossings and impacts on the highway network. The effects of reduced queuing include travel time savings and reductions in highway vehicle operating costs and emissions. With DecisionTek's impact analysis, you can be confident that your outcome embraces the full array of benefits from crossing improvements

Risk analysis features

Risk analysis is a proven management technique for enhancing decision support forecasts. GradeDec.NET is fully risk analysis enabled. Analyses with GradeDec.NET provide probability distributions and sets of charts and reports that quantify the impacts of uncertainty on outcomes. These enable an analysis of risk/yield trade-offs and further ensure that all the relevant dimensions of your resource allocation decision have been accounted for. 

Integration with existing databases

With GradeDec.NET you can take advantage of existing data in the National Grade Crossing Inventory, thus precluding the need for extensive data collection.

Why have DecisionTek conduct your impact analysis?

DecisionTek designed and built the GradeDec tools and has unmatched expertise in conducting analyses with the system. The firm has years of experience in designing and implementing economic impact and ROI analyses, especially in the field of transportation. With DecisionTek, you avoid expensive start up and learning costs in using GradeDec and you have the assurance that the system is applied correctly to your study.