Map rail infrastructure in Iowa

To learn about the total addressable market around rail lines in Iowa, you must first visualize these lines on the map. You’ll acquire rail line data in ArcGIS Online and then create buffers around the lines in preparation for further analysis in ArcGIS Business Analyst.

Add Iowa rail lines to a map

First, you'll create a map in ArcGIS Online showing all active rail lines in Iowa. The map will be used later in Business Analyst.

  1. Sign in to your ArcGIS organizational account.
    Note:

    If you don't have an organizational account, see options for software access.

  2. On the ribbon, click Map.

    Map Viewer opens

    Map Viewer opens

  3. On the Contents (dark) toolbar, click Layers. In the Layers pane, click Add.

    Add data to the map.

    By default, the search shows your content.

  4. Click My content to expand the menu and choose ArcGIS Online. In the search bar, type Rail Lines Active and press Enter.

    ArcGIS Online in the Add layers pane and Rail Lines Active in the search bar

  5. For Rail Line Active by Iowa Department of Transportation, click the Add button.

    Add the Rail Line Active layer to the map.

    The Rail Line Active layer adds to the map and zooms to the state of Iowa.

Your map now contains all rail lines that run through Iowa. Next, you’ll create buffers around these lines to visualize the regions nearest to the railway, known as the total addressable market.

Create buffers around rail lines

To set up areas for your analysis, you'll create buffers around the rail lines on your map. Buffers are areas created around features calculated by distance from a point or line. You'll create three buffers—at 1, 3, and 5 miles from the rail lines—to assess market prospects in various vicinities. Creating buffers will allow you to perform analyses and run reports and infographics on the market areas surrounding the lines. Understanding market prospects at varying distances can help target marketing and outreach, as well as allocate resources.

  1. On the Settings (light) toolbar, click Analysis.
  2. In the Analysis pane, click Tools.
  3. In the Tools pane, expand Use proximity and click Create Buffers.

    Create Buffers analysis tool

    The Create Buffers tool appears.

  4. In the Create Buffers pane, for Input features, choose Rail Line Active.
  5. Under Buffer settings, for distance values, type 1 and press Enter. For Units, choose Miles.

    Set the distance of the buffer.

  6. For Overlap policy, choose Dissolve.

    Dissolve for Buffer type in the Options section

    Dissolved buffers create a single, continuous area around the rail lines.

  7. Under Result layer, for Output name, type 1 mile Iowa rail line buffers and your name or initials to make sure the layer is unique within your organization.
  8. Click Estimate credits.

    Estimate credits on the Create Buffers tool pane

    Running this tool will require 14.374 credits.

  9. Click Run.

    While the tool runs, you can view its progress in the History tab.

    History tab on the Analysis pane

    Once complete, your buffer layer will appear on the map and be listed in the Layers pane.

    Result of the 1-mile buffer tool

    Now, you'll repeat this process to create a 3-mile buffer and a 5-mile buffer.

    The Create Buffers pane is still open with the same parameters filled. You'll change the distance parameter and rerun the tool to create a new layer.

  10. In the Create Buffers tool pane, for distance values, remove the 1 value. Type 3 and press Enter. For Output name to 3 mile Iowa rail line buffers and add your name or initials.
  11. Click Run.
    Note:

    Running the tool will require 14.374 credits.

  12. In the Create Buffers tool pane, remove the 3 value. Type 5 and press Enter. For the Output name, type 5 mile Iowa rail line buffers and add your name or initials.
  13. Click Run.
    Note:

    Running the tool will require 14.374 credits.

    Finally, you'll reorder the layers to make the smaller buffers more visible on the map.

  14. In the Layers pane, drag the 1 mile Iowa rail line buffers layer and use the handle to drag the layer to the top of the Layers pane.

    Reorder the layers by buffer distance.

  15. Move the 3 mile Iowa rail line buffers layer between the 1 mile and 5 mile buffer layers.

    Reorder the layers in the Contents pane.

    The three buffer layers are now stacked to be more visible. Now, you'll save the map.

  16. On the Contents toolbar, click Save and open and choose Save As.

    Save as in the Save and open menu

  17. In the Save Map window, for Title, type Iowa Rail Market Analysis and add your initials.
  18. For Tags, type rail and market analysis, pressing Enter after each.

    Tags will help you find the map later. You can also add a description in the Summary field to help you understand the purpose of the map when used in future work.

    Save Map window

  19. Click Save.

You have now created 1-, 3-, and 5-mile buffers around the rail lines in Iowa, in preparation for analyzing the total addressable market in each buffer area. Each buffer is its own feature layer hosted by your account. Next, you will open the data from your map in Business Analyst.

Create a project in Business Analyst

You've prepared your data in ArcGIS Online, adding a relevant feature service and creating buffers around features on the map. Now, you'll bring your work into ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App to analyze the railway’s market prospects. With the buffer layers you created acting as the bounds of the total addressable market, you'll use the data analysis and visualization capabilities of Business Analyst to see what kinds of relevant organizations are close to the rail lines. Creating a project allows you to group all the rail market analysis data, sites, reports, and analysis into an organized collection, which can be easily accessed at any time from within Business Analyst.

  1. In a new window or tab, open the Business Analyst Web App.
  2. If necessary, sign in to your organizational account.
    Note:

    If you have previously used Business Analyst, the app may open in an existing project. Navigate to the Home pane if it is not the active pane when the application opens.

  3. On the Home pane, click Create New Project.

    Create a project in

    The Create Project window appears.

  4. In the Create Project window, title your project Rail Industry Market Development and click Create.

    Title your project.

    The process of setting up a project may take a minute or more as each of the project layers and data directories are created. A dialog box confirms that your project has been created.

  5. Make sure Open new projects as soon as they are created is checked and click OK.
  6. Close the Projects pane.
  7. If necessary, on the side toolbar, click Clear map to remove any data from the map.

    Clear map button on the side toolbar

    This will ensure that your rail project only contains the data, sites, and maps relevant to the work in this tutorial.

Open data and create sites in Business Analyst

You will now use your buffer layers and other data from the Iowa Department of Transportation to create a site, or analysis area, around each buffer zone. In Business Analyst, sites are used to perform analysis and generate infographics.

  1. On the ribbon, click Add data and choose Web maps and layers.

    Add your rail data to the project.

    The Web maps and layers window appears. There are options to browse through content you own as well as other items from ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, and so on.

  2. In the Web maps and layers window, ensure the My content tab is chosen.

    My content tab in the Web maps and layers window

  3. Point to the 1_mile_Iowa_rail_line_buffers layer and click the check box.

    Add the 1-mile buffer layer to the map.

  4. Point to and check the boxes for the 3- and 5-mile buffer layers and click Add selected.
  5. On the ribbon, click the Rail Industry Market Development project tab.

    Rail Industry Market Development project tab on the ribbon

    The project content pane appears where you can view the layers you added to the map under Web maps and layers.

    The rail buffer layers are added to the content pane.

    The three layers are added to the content pane. You will now use this same workflow to add data from the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) that has been shared in ArcGIS Online. First, you will add information about grain elevators in Iowa. Grain elevators are storage facilities for things such as corn and soybeans, some of Iowa’s main agricultural products.

  6. On the ribbon, click Add data and choose Web maps and layers. Click the ArcGIS tab and search for Freight Grain Facility.

    When you point to the search result layer, the pop-up will show that the data is from IowaDOT_GIS and contains locations of grain elevators in Iowa.

  7. Check the box for Freight Grain Facility and click Add selected.

    Freight Grain Facility layer in the Web maps and layers window

    Finally, you'll add a layer of intermodal facilities. Intermodal facilities are locations where freight is moved from one type of transport to another—such as from a truck to a train. Farmers often transport crop yield on trucks, then transfer the crop to a train at the intermodal facility.

  8. Use what you have learned and search for rail and truck intermodal in ArcGIS. Select the Rail and Truck Intermodal Freight Facilities (Learn) feature service by Learn_ArcGIS.
    Note:

    There are multiple results for this search. Point to each and read the description to verify you have the correct layer.

    Add the Intermodal Freight Facilities feature service.

You added data to a map in Business Analyst. The data you added—buffers around rail lines and locations of grain elevators and intermodal freight facilities—is important for understanding the market surrounding rail lines in Iowa. The railway is looking to generate new business located near the rail lines by understanding their total addressable market (people and businesses) and how the market potential changes by distance. Next, you will create analysis sites using the data on the map.

Create sites

To analyze the buffer layers in Business Analyst, you must first convert each layer into a site in Business Analyst. You'll later run infographics on these sites to learn more about the total addressable market near the rail lines.

  1. In the project content pane, uncheck all the layers except 1_mile_Iowa_rail_line_buffers to turn them off.

    Unchecked layers in the project content pane

    The only layer on the map is the 1-mile buffer layer.

  2. Point to the 1-mile buffer layer and click the options button and choose Zoom to web map.

    Zoom to the web map for the 1 mile Iowa rail line buffers site

  3. On the map, click anywhere in the one-mile buffer.

    A pop-up opens with the default label Feature 1. This refers to the first feature you created on the map.

  4. In the pop-up, click Create site.

    Create a site for the 1-mile rail buffer polygon.

    This site will be stored in Polygons (sites) in the content pane. In the next pop-up menu, you have options to customize your site. You will assign a different color to each site.

  5. On the Fill tab, for Fill colors, click the color swatch and choose a light green color for the site.

    Choose a green for the site fill color.

  6. Click Create site.
  7. In the Save created sites window, confirm Create a new layer is selected. Type 1 mile Iowa rail line buffer site and click Save.

    Choose the Create a new layer option when saving.

    Each of your buffer sites must be saved individually. Choosing Choose a layer for the new sites would allow you to create a single feature with multiple buffers. Once combined, any infographics would run for all the buffers at once.

    When complete, the green 1_mile_rail_line_buffers site will be added to the map.

  8. In the project content pane, under Web maps and layers, uncheck the 1-mile Iowa rail line buffer layer.

    The new site is now the only layer shown on the map. The site has a default, generic name, Feature 1. You'll change the name to something more descriptive.

  9. Click your new buffer site. In the pop-up, next to the title, click the edit button and type 1 mile rail buffer. Press Enter.

    Rename the new site to match the buffer value.

  10. In the project content pane, under Polygons (sites), uncheck the one-mile buffer site.

    You should now have no layers displayed on the map.

  11. Use what you have learned to create sites for the 3- and 5-mile buffers.

    When complete, you'll have three sites in your project content pane under Polygons (sites), corresponding to three sites on the map.

    Three sites in the project content pane

Next, you will use these sites in infographic analysis to learn about and communicate market development opportunities for the railway company.


Create an infographic

Your project now contains the necessary data to start analyzing the total addressable market around rail lines. You know where grain is stored and where transport can be maneuvered near the rail lines throughout the state. Now, you'll design an infographic to analyze and display this data to summarize the market potential.

Design a market development infographic template

The next step is to understand the number of grain and intermodal facilities that can be found within each of the buffers around the active rail lines. This will help you understand the proximity of these facilities to the railway and to assess the potential to create new intermodal facilities near target businesses and population centers, as well as target businesses that aren’t yet using rail for freight transport. You will design an infographic template to easily and clearly display information about the businesses near the rail lines.

  1. On the ribbon, click the Reports.
  2. Click Build reports and choose Build infographics.

    Build Reports on the ribbon

    The Start with a template pane appears. There are multiple standard templates provided by Esri, as well as any shared by your organization and that you've previously built.

  3. Click the Blank templates tab. Point to the Blank template and click Open.

    Open the blank template.

    This will open a new, completely blank infographic template. You'll build your infographic by adding panels to the template. Once you've added a panel, you can choose what kind of element goes into it, such as text, charts, images, and so on.

  4. On the template design ribbon, click the Add element button. For Choose type of floating panel to add, click Nearby.

    Add a Nearby panel to the blank infographic.

    The Add nearby locations window appears with a variety of elements that can be added to this panel.

  5. In the Add nearby locations window, choose Layer from project to see the web maps you have added to the project.

    Layers from project button

    A list of point layers in your project appears. First, you want to show grain facilities near railroads.

  6. In the Add nearby locations data pane, expand the Freight Grain Facility map layer. Select Grain_Facility.

    Choose the grain facility layer to add to the panel.

    Now you can select the attributes in the Grain Facility layer you want displayed in your infographic. To assist with site selection, it's helpful to show the facility name, location, capacity, and other attributes. The direction and distance from the rail line to the grain facility are automatically added; you can see them in your Selected variables at the outset.

  7. For Select the attributes that will be displayed in the table, select the following variables in the listed order:
    • City Name
    • Facility Name
    • Hopper Capacity
    • Number of Elevators
    • Storage Capacity

    As you select attributes, they're added to the Selected variables list in the upper right corner. If you accidentally add an item, or add an item in the wrong order, you can always remove the item or reorder it in the Selected variables window.

    The Selected variables window shows seven attributes.

    When you have selected all five attributes, your Selected variables will show a total of seven variables. Double-check and adjust their order as listed above, with Direction and Distance as the final two variables.

  8. Click Next.

    The next window allows you to add filters to this element of the infographic. You won't use filters so you can see all relevant results.

  9. Click Next.

    The final window allows you to change the appearance of the Nearby Locations interactive panel. Do not change any of the default options.

  10. Click Apply.

    The Nearby Locations interactive panel is added to the infographic template.

    The Nearby panel is added to the infographic.

  11. Point to the panel and drag it to the upper left of your infographic template.

    As you move the panel, the exact coordinates of its location on the template are shown. There is no need to be perfectly exact here; an approximate upper left position will suffice. Next, you'll resize it to show all the attributes.

  12. Click the panel to show the resize handles and widen the panel until it fills the width of the infographic, with small margins on either side. Lengthen it so that it fills about half of the page.

    Resize handles for the table

    You can also change the width of each column.

  13. Point to the panel and click Edit. From the edit options, choose Edit table style and number of locations.
  14. In the More options pane, for Maximum number of locations, type 500.

    Set the maximum number of locations.

    Since this infographic covers sites within the entire state of Iowa, you'll want to set a high maximum. When you run the infographic for your sites, this setting will allow the infographic to display the total number of grain facilities found within the buffers, no matter how many there are.

  15. Drag the column dividers to change the relative widths of the columns. Working from the right, make Distance, Direction, and Storage Capacity a small size. Make Number of Elevators and Hopper Capacity a medium size. Make Facility Name and City Name the largest size.

    Resize the width of each column.

  16. Click Apply to finalize your changes.

Add a summary infographic

Next, you'll add another panel to the infographic. The second panel will also be a Nearby Locations interactive panel, but you'll display this one as a summary rather than a table. This panel will summarize information about intermodal facilities, to complement the table you just created displaying information about grain facilities.

  1. On the ribbon, click the Add element button and choose Nearby.
  2. In the Add Nearby Locations pane, select Layer from project.
  3. Expand Rail_and_Truck_Intermodal_Freight_Facilities and click Rail_and_Truck_Intermodal_Freight_Facilities.

    You will create a panel displaying the number of intermodal freight facilities. The following four items will be displayed when the infographic panel is clicked and expanded.

  4. Click the following attributes from the Rail_and_Truck_Intermodal_Freight_Facilities layer:

    • City
    • Modes of Transportation
    • Primary Mode of Transportation
    • Railway Company

  5. Click Next.
  6. In the Add filters to narrow the results pane, click Next.

    The final window allows you to change the appearance of the Nearby Locations interactive panel. Instead of showing this as a table, like the grain facilities, you'll show an infographic panel. An infographic panel uses a graphic and data to quickly and clearly summarize a statistic of your choosing.

  7. In the Select method to display results pane, choose Show as summary infographic.

    Show as summary infographic option

  8. Click Apply.

    You will see your Nearby Locations interactive summary panel in your infographic template. To show the nature of the information displayed in this panel, you will now add an icon representing intermodal freight facilities.

  9. In the Infographic element, click in the circle at the top of the panel and choose Shapes and icons.

    Insert an icon for the infographic.

    The Shapes and icons window appears with a large selection of various icons. You'll choose one representative of the intermodal facilities the infographic represents.

  10. Click All icons and choose Transportation. Select the Truck icon.

    Choose the truck icon.

    The truck icon is added to the infographic totaling the number of intermodal freight facilities nearby.

  11. Point to the infographic element text and click Edit text.

    Edit text on the infographic element text

  12. Type Intermodal Freight Facilities and click Apply.
  13. Drag the infographic element below the table.

    Completed infographic

  14. At the bottom of the pane, click Save.
  15. In the Save infographic template window, for Title, type Rail Market Analysis and click Save.
  16. In the Infographic saved window, make sure Set this as the default infographic in the site menu is checked and click OK.

    Set the template as the default.

    This will ensure that your custom infographic is run each time you perform analysis on an area.

You have created a custom infographic template displaying information pertinent for your analysis of market development opportunities for the railway company. Next, you will use this infographic to understand information about the regions in your buffer zones.

Create market development infographics

You have prepared sites using your rail line buffers, as well as a customized infographic template. In this final step, you will learn how to run infographics on each site and switch between the sites within the infographic viewer.

  1. Click the Maps tab. On the ribbon, click the Rail Industry Market Analysis content pane and under Polygon (sites), check 3_mile_Iowa_rail_line_buffers Sites.
  2. On the map, in the pop-up for the 3_mile_Iowa_rail_line_buffers site, click the Infographics button.
    Note:

    To reopen the pop-up menu, click anywhere on the buffer.

    Click the Infographics button in the layer pop-up.

    Note:

    If necessary, in the Welcome to the New Infographic Viewer window, ensure in the full infographic viewer option is selected and click Save.

    The infographic template you created opens, showing market opportunity within the 3-mile buffer. There are 404 grain facilities and 94 intermodal freight facilities.

  3. On the infographic, point to the Intermodal Freight Facilities interactive panel and click Explore for more.

    Interactive panel

    You can now see a table containing the details of each of the 110 intermodal facilities. Use the arrows to scroll through the pages of information. Note that the Filter, Share, and Print buttons above the table allow you to do more with this tabular summary.

  4. In the expanded table, click the Railway Company heading to sort the table by the rail companies that have intermodal facilities linked to them.
  5. Click Filter and for By keywords, type Des Moines into the search bar.

    Filter facilities by city name.

    There are 10 intermodal facilities in Des Moines. Seven of these facilities are Rail & Truck facilities and the other three are Air & Truck facilities.

    The table filters to only show facilities in the City of Des Moines.

    Table filtered for facilities in Des Moines

  6. Close the table.

    To view this information for the other buffer layers, you can change the site.

  7. On the ribbon, click Change site.

    Change the infographic site.

  8. In the Select Site pane, click the From projects tab and choose 5 mile rail buffers site under 5 mile rail buffers site.

    Feature 1 under the 5 mile buffer site in the From projects tab

    There are 456 grain and 96 intermodal facilities within a 5-mile distance from the rail lines—that’s 52 more grain facility and two additional intermodal facilities compared to the 3-mile buffer.

  9. Point to the grain facilities table and click Filter.

    The Filter pane allows you to filter the attributes in the table. For example, you'll find facilities with a hopper capacity over 50.

  10. For Hopper Capacity, change the lower limit to 50 and press Enter.

    Filter Hopper Capacity attribute.

    The table filters for facilities with a Hopper Capacity of at least 50.

You’ve finished exploring the market potential and have gained an understanding of the proximity of different facilities to the rail lines. This information is crucial in analyzing the market potential of these locations.

You can find more tutorials in the tutorial gallery.