A Spatially Detailed Locomotive Emission Model and Goods Movement Data Constraints on Public Policy and Planning

he first part of this dissertation develops a new theoretically consistent GIS based locomotive emission model which improves the accuracy of current inventory methods while also increasing the spatial detail. Greater spatial resolution is important for considering local effects and environmental justice concerns. The model increases accuracy and spatial detail by considering the effect of track grade, train type and the local (route specific) locomotive fleet on fuel consumption. Further improvement is gained by developing emission factors that are specific to the local locomotive fleet. The modeling platform also allows the user to easily change model inputs and view results in a map or table at multiple geographic scales.;A growing national trend is to provide public financial support for private freight rail infrastructure projects with the goal of decreasing highway congestion and air pollutant emissions by allowing a greater share of goods to move by rail. But, do public planners and policy makers have the required data, tools and experience to make informed freight rail infrastructure decisions? The second part of this dissertation argues they may not.;California's Trade Corridors Improvement Fund which allocates...