1 Nick Foster, Tian Tian, Yulin Lu, Zhengda Wang Project Management in the Information Age MASY1-GC1250.100 Team Project Business Case June 27, 2017 Contents Executive Summary (Nick)............................................................................................................. 2 Current Situation (Tian) ................................................................................................................. 2 Recommendation (Zhengda) ........................................................................................................... 2 Options Considered (Zhengda) ...................................................................................................... 3 Goals & Objectives (Tian) .............................................................................................................. 3 Assumptions (Nick) ........................................................................................................................ 4 Constraints (Nick) ........................................................................................................................... 4 Critical Success Factors (Zhengda) ................................................................................................ 4 Costs & Benefits (Yulin) ................................................................................................................ 5 Project Delivery Schedule Summary (Yulin) ................................................................................. 5 Conclusion & Next Steps (Yulin) ................................................................................................... 6 2 Executive Summary The purpose of this project is enhance California’s economy by way of a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and San Francisco, in keeping with RapidTrak’s mission to expand high-speed rail service across the country. Our project will catalyze environmental and economic benefits in the state and greatly reduce the time necessary to travel between its two biggest cities. Total costs for the entire endeavor are projected at $50 billion, for an estimated completion by the end of 2029. Current Situation Compared to systems in Japan, China and Europe, inter-city rail service in the United States is undeveloped. The main national carrier, Amtrak, is only profitable in its Northeast Corridor line (serving Boston to Washington, D.C.), and even the “high-speed” Acela trains that operate on this line are very slow compared to state-of-the-art high-speed rail abroad. However, American public interest in high- speed rail is markedly on the rise, especially in the wealthier, more densely-populated coastal states. This comes at a time when interest in revitalizing America’s transportation infrastructure to be more environmentally friendly is also reaching a peak. The domestic railway industry is general ...

1. 1
Nick Foster, Tian Tian, Yulin Lu, Zhengda Wang
Project Management in the Information Age
MASY1-GC1250.100
Team Project Business Case
June 27, 2017

2. Contents
Executive Summary
(Nick).....................................................................................
........................ 2
Current Situation (Tian)
...............................................................................................
.................. 2
Recommendation (Zhengda)
...............................................................................................
............ 2
Options Considered (Zhengda)
...............................................................................................
....... 3
Goals & Objectives (Tian)
...............................................................................................
............... 3
Assumptions (Nick)
...............................................................................................
......................... 4
Constraints (Nick)
...............................................................................................
............................ 4
Critical Success Factors (Zhengda)
...............................................................................................
. 4

3. Costs & Benefits (Yulin)
...............................................................................................
................. 5
Project Delivery Schedule Summary (Yulin)
................................................................................. 5
Conclusion & Next Steps (Yulin)
...............................................................................................
.... 6
2
Executive Summary
The purpose of this project is enhance California’s economy by
way of a high-speed rail line between
Los Angeles and San Francisco, in keeping with RapidTrak’s
mission to expand high-speed rail service
across the country. Our project will catalyze environmental and
economic benefits in the state and
greatly reduce the time necessary to travel between its two
biggest cities. Total costs for the entire
endeavor are projected at $50 billion, for an estimated
completion by the end of 2029.

4. Current Situation
Compared to systems in Japan, China and Europe, inter-city rail
service in the United States is
undeveloped. The main national carrier, Amtrak, is only
profitable in its Northeast Corridor line (serving
Boston to Washington, D.C.), and even the “high-speed” Acela
trains that operate on this line are very
slow compared to state-of-the-art high-speed rail abroad.
However, American public interest in high-
speed rail is markedly on the rise, especially in the wealthier ,
more densely-populated coastal states.
This comes at a time when interest in revitalizing America’s
transportation infrastructure to be more
environmentally friendly is also reaching a peak.
The domestic railway industry is generally stagnant or in
decline, with a lack of appropriate investment
in new technology and expert personnel leaving the workforce.
Throughout the country, Amtrak
operates slow, outdated trains, mostly on tracks that are actually
owned by major freight rail lines,
meaning that passenger traffic must yield to freight at all times.
Domestic expertise in high-speed rail is

5. limited, so any attempt to implement a high-speed system here
will have to import and adapt
technologies pertaining to the design and control of the trains
themselves, techniques in track
construction and more.
Recommendation
Given these challenges, our attention turns to California, which
has made it a priority to improve its
environment and transportation in tandem. The state’s roadways
are among the most-used (and most-
congested) in the nation, with drivers wasting over $18 billion
annually in lost productivity and wasted
fuel. Moreover, the air travel routes between Los Angeles and
San Francisco serve over five million
passengers annually but regular delays significantly erode the
time saved by flying. As passenger
volumes increase and climate and pollution become more of a
concern, it becomes clear that the state is
in serious need of additional transportation options.
Therefore, California is a perfect candidate for RapidTrak’s
inaugural high-speed project. Our
recommendation is to construct and operate a high-speed rail
line between Los Angeles and San

6. Francisco, in the style of Japan’s “Shinkansen” railroad,
connecting the cities of Bakersfield, Fresno and
San Jose along the way. Planning and executing the project
within a single state exposes us to fewer
political and regulatory challenges. Plus, California’s
government is receptive to the idea of high-speed
rail, so we expect it to be a cooperative partner.
We expect such a rail line to achieve a range of economic and
environmental effects for the state,
summarized here and further elaborated throughout this
document:
.
• Reduced travel times
• Job creation
3
• Statewide economic growth
• Greenhouse gas reductions
• Eased traffic congestion and fewer automobile accidents

7. Options Considered
Because RapidTrack has a nation-wide mission, we chose
between three potential routes for a new high-
speed line:
• Boston to Washington, D.C.: This route would accelerate
transit along the profitable and
densely populated Northeast Corridor.
• New York to Chicago: Satisfies an under-served East-West
route and improves economic
access to/from Midwest cities like Indianapolis, Columbus and
Pittsburgh.
• Los Angeles to San Francisco: Operates in a single state,
serves two of the nation’s highest-
value cities, and solves known, critical problems about traffic
and pollution.
Within this scope, however, and because domestic expertise in
high-speed rail is limited, we have to
choose whether to model RapidTraks’ line on Chinese, Japanese
or European technology. Ultimately we
are attracted to Japan’s “Shinkansen” system for its excellent
safety ratings and overall high quality.
Goals & Objectives
RapidTrack’s goal is to improve California’s transportation
infrastructure, ease environmental pressure,

8. and create economic opportunity in the region. To that end, the
objective of this project is to build a
high-speed rail line connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco,
the state’s two most important cities.
Providing a reliable rail network can help serve the needs of
national and regional area by offering
convenient access to economic centers. We hope to achieve the
following objectives by way of our high-
speed line.
• Reduction in travel time. Covering a little over 400 miles at
speeds approaching 200 miles per
hour, the total length of a journey between Los Angeles and San
Francisco should be little more
than two hours. Currently, flying between each city takes at
least two and a half hours,
accounting for time spent getting to or from each airport in
California’s bad traffic.
• Reduction in carbon emissions. The rail line could eliminate
up to 300,000 metric tons of
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the first year of operation,
equivalent to 53,000 personal
vehicles taken off the road. By 2040, the system is estimated to

9. reduce vehicles miles of travel in
the state by almost 10 million miles of travel every day.
• Reduction in auto accidents. By providing a safe, efficient
alternative, we hope to reduce auto
accidents in line with a general reduction in auto traffic
between both termini.
• Economic growth. The rail line will provide faster and more
convenient access to major city
centers, extending the geographic range in which they can spend
money and work. We expect
the project to add at least 100,000 jobs to the California
economy, accounting for temporary
work attached to the project itself and permanent job growth
resulting from the train’s presence
in the region.
4
Assumptions
The project makes a set of assumptions about the logistics and
nature of the proposed high-speed line:

10. • What RapidTrak provides to California aligns with its
expressed goals and values, so therefore
we assume that state and local governments will be cooperative,
at least enough as to not impede
the project.
• We will make a conservative assumption that we will not be
able to acquire all the land
necessary for tracks and stations along our idealized route. We
assume that it will sometimes be
necessary to deviate from the planned route in order to avoid
insurmountable costs or
inconvenience, even though doing so will require changes to
scheduling and budget.
• The extent of the economic benefit to California can only be
drawn in assumptions at this point.
Past rail projects in other countries do point to promising
results, however.
• The most basic assumption made by this project is that
Californians would be interested enough
in high-speed rail to use our line in such high numbers as to
achieve the desired economic benefit
for the region.
Constraints

11. We also have to acknowledge the challenges and constraints
that will likely affect our work.
• As mentioned in the proposal, one of the biggest sets of
constraints will be where exactly
RapidTrak can secure land for building the tracks.
• Because of RapidTrak’s ownership by the federal government,
we expect conflict over budget
constraints to arise every year, especially during times of
turnover in political leadership as the
government re-calibrates its priorities for infrastructure
spending.
• Constructing the rail line will require a massive amount of
labor, over a long period of time and
spread across a wide geographical area. It could be challenge to
have as many appropriately
skilled workers as are needed at all active job sites at all times.
Critical Success Factors
In order for this project to be successful, we see five factors
that deserve our close attention moving
forward.
• A highly detailed but flexible WBS. This will be a massive,

12. long-term infrastructure project,
vulnerable to complication and delay at a micro level. Our work
breakdown structure must be
able to account for the possibility of contingency spending,
crashing, re-scheduling and more
whenever necessary.
• Effective control of the project budget. The demands of the
WBS also mean that at a high-
level, the management of our project budget must be of utmost
quality.
• Diligent earned value management. Because this will be such a
large, expensive project with
so many moving parts, we must play close attention to how we
are spending our funds, which
aspects of the project are making the most efficient use of time
and money, and be ready to re-
plan or re-allocate those resources within the project portfolio
as becomes necessary.
• Satisfaction of state and local government stakeholders. It will
be crucial to keep these
stakeholders informed, engaged and satisfied with and about our
work. If RapidTrak should wear
out its welcome in the state, our project will be doomed.
5

13. • Excellence in procurement and labor management. The rail
line will run for hundreds of
miles, in a years-long construction effort. It will be of utmost
importance to ensure that the
project has enough labor hired and in action in the right place at
the right time, all the time.
Building materials and other vital components, such as the
rolling stock itself, will need to
sourced and delivered to budget, on time, and without
complication.
To measure the ultimate success of the project, reference the
economic benefits cited in our
Recommendation, Goals & Objectives and Costs & Benefits.
Costs & Benefits
This project will be a major undertaking, costing billions of
dollars over more than a decade. We
estimate that RapidTrak will need to acquire approximately
9,000 acres of land in order to construct the
track, calculated at 500 miles (building a buffer into the net
lengths, as per our assumptions) by 150 feet
(needed for the width of the track and relevant infrastructure. At
an average cost of $12,000 per acre of
irrigated cropland in California (comprising most of the land

14. between our target cities), this comes to a
net estimated cost of $108 million for land acquisition.
Add this figure to the expected combined costs of construction
labor, rolling stock (Japan’s Shinkansen
trains are very expensive), information technology, facilities
and stations, and contingency funds, and
we anticipate the total cost of the project to be $35 billion. With
a 30% buffer, the total budget rises to
$50 billion.
As 10,000 passengers per day, it would take 137 years of
passengers paying $100 for a ticket to break
even with the current $50 billion cost estimate. However, it
provides an immediate tangible benefit to
the state by reducing travel time between Los Angeles and San
Francisco to just two hours. Compare
this with a five hour drive or a two-to-three hour flight
experience.
Project Delivery Schedule Summary
In keeping with this project’s sheer size, we plan for the entire
setup, construction and testing process to
take approximately 11 years, running from the beginning of
2019 to the very end of 2029. The delivery

15. milestones are outlined below.
Milestones Completion
Project Start Jan. 1, 2019
Route Planning Dec. 31, 2020
Zoning Approval Dec. 31, 2023
Fundraising Jul. 31, 2025
Land Acquisition Dec. 31, 2025
Infrastructure & Construction Jul. 31, 2029
Operational Testing and Service Training Dec. 31, 2029
6
Conclusion & Next Steps
RapidTrak’s proposed railway will provide efficient and safe
mass transit between two major cities,
promote energy efficiency and environmental quality in
California, and benefit regional and statewide
economic growth. We expect to complete the project by the end
of 2029, for a total cost of $50 billion.

16. The approval of the proposed project outlined in this business
case will enable the organization to
charter the project for next steps:
• Authorize developing a formal project plan
• Initial geographical mapping for optimize route
• Secure funding from stakeholder
• Engage relevant government officials and seek regulatory
approval
It would be wise to get the Governor of California involved in
the process relatively soon, since the
project is of material concern to the state. Also, given that we
plan on replicating Japanese rail
technologies and techniques, we would like to connect with
Japan’s Central Railway Company for
consulting advice.

17. Approvals
• Prepared by Nick Foster, Co-Project Manager
• Approved by Zhengda Wang, Co-Project Manager
• Certified by Tian Tian, Co-Project Manager
• Verified by Yulin Lu, Co-Project Manager
MASY1-GC1250 – Project Management in the Information Age
– Sp2022
Team Simulation Project – Project Business Case
For the second phase of the team simulation project, your team
will be expected to create and submit a business case for your
proposed project. This exercise builds from the project proposal
created in the first phase and should address any feedback
requested by your instructor in his comme nts regarding your
team’s project proposal.
A template has been provided for the business case. It is
included along with the assignment content in the designated

18. assignment page in NYU Classes, as well as in the Templates
folder in the Resources area. For your convenience, an example
of a business case created by a team from a former course will
also be provided.
The business case template incorporates aspects of your project
proposal and specifically addresses the reasons why the project
is being proposed. Most importantly, it includes details about
the cost and benefits of the project and lists key factors
affecting its success. Your business case should include each of
the sections listed below. Detailed explanations of each section
are included in the business case template. Please contact your
instructor if any additional explanations or clarifications are
needed:
· Executive Summary
· Current Situation
· Recommendation
· Options Considered
· Goals and Objectives
· Assumptions
· Constraints
· Critical Success Factors
· Costs and Benefits
· Project Delivery Schedule Summary
· Conclusion and Next Steps
Nowadays, smartphones are a necessity in people's lives, but the
problem with using them too often is that you can't guarantee
that they will always be fully charged when you're out. So in
order to allow cell phone users to charge their phones at any
time, this project is to promote a mobile power source in New
York called Pikachu Power Bank (PPB), which can be used to
charge phones anytime and anywhere using a USB cable,
eliminating the need to connect to an outlet. We will start with
a trial run in New York, and eventually we hope to roll it out
across the US. The power bank will have a certain lifespan, so

19. the company will need to replace the power bank regularly to
ensure the availability of the rechargeable battery.
Pikachu Power Bank (PPB) is the organization that takes charge
of the operation of a shared power bank in the NYC area. PPB’s
mission statement is to provide an easy lifestyle at the era of
technology. Shared power banks can be deployed in a variety of
application scenarios, such as restaurants, cinemas, shopping
malls and cafes. PPB operates a franchise model, where people
with no experience can rent or purchase our equipment (power
bank and charging pile) and set it in the partner area. We also
provide loans at a low interest rate for expanding the market.
7/24 Customer service provides dedicated remote support. PBB
also comes with a 3-year hardware warranty and software
technology upgrades for free. For customers, they can verify
their identities on the PPB app and rent the power banks at a
constant price per hour without deposit. If customers forget to
return and the cost is high because of long holding time, they
can choose to buy the power bank for personal use.
The first problem with the Pikachu power bank project that may
arise is funding needs, how to make power banks of different
specifications with the least capital. The second point is that we
need to determine the user group through market research. Like
what kind of people use the power bank most efficiently?
Thereby to determine where to place it.
Third, after the investigation, we need to cooperate with
merchants in different geographical locations, including a series
of cooperation needs such as advertising.
Electricity is always a big problem since people do not always
carry their charger wires and adapters. Considering this case,
the mission of Pikachu Power Bank (PPB) is to help people
power up their phones more conveniently, especially when they
are in emergencies. In order to achieve the strategic goal, a
contract between PPB and business partners is supposed to be
signed. Then, a good publicity is needed as well, the products
can be promoted with images such as reasonable pricing,
environmentally friendly, or swifty.

20. We will have stand-alone storefronts or premises in regional
markets with suitable PPB to operate. Next, we will seek
cooperation with local shops, placing our PPB in prominent
positions such as cashier counters or store entrances. There are
three main profit models: 1. Power bank rental 2. Cabinet
advertising 3. Data cable sales. As the name suggests, power
bank rental makes a profit by renting our power bank, which can
be adjusted from the price of $1 per hour according to the
market. Cabinet advertising is to place advertisements of
cooperative advertisers on our charging piles. This income
might be our main profit in popular areas, etc. Finally,
individual cabinets can provide data cables for sale, such as
vending machines.
In terms of product production, there are some points which will
directly affect the reputation of the product. As we all know, the
charging bank is a mobile energy station. In the process of
production, we must pay attention to the safety of the charging
bank. The capacity of the charging bank must strictly comply
with the national regulations. For products of raw materials,
after ensuring the safety of strength of materials, we will choose
recycled ABS resin, after use to a certain number of times,
charging bank charging efficiency will be greatly reduced. At
that time, we will offer customers who use our brand charger
bank a trade-in activity.