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Rail News Home MOW October 2016 Rail News: MOW

As Class Is decreased spending on new track construction, the demand for concrete ties has declined, CXT Inc. officials say.Photo – CXT Inc. By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Associate EditorFor the most part, wood-tie suppliers haven’t been affected as much by Class I capex cuts as other supply segments have. How are suppliers of other tie types faring?While composite tie companies are posting growth this year, business has been pretty slow for concrete tie suppliers.With Class Is spending less on new track construction such as spurs or extensions, there’s been a decline in demand for concrete ties, says Steve Burgess, president of CXT Inc., a subsidiary of L.B. Foster Co.“Basically all the new construction projects that would involve concrete ties have been pushed out,” he says. “Not that these projects aren’t going to go, it’s just that they’re not a part of this year’s capex.”It’s a similar story for Germany-based PCM Rail.One AG, which entered the North American market in 2014 with the opening of a plant in Clinton, Iowa. Demand for concrete ties this year has been “certainly lower” than it was in 2015, says Torsten Bode, chief sales and marketing officer at Rail.One.The company’s main North American customer is Union Pacific Railroad, but Rail.One this year secured a three-year contract to supply concrete ties to Canadian Pacific. And in late 2015, Rail.One supplied its first ties to CN.Although the demand for concrete ties among freight railroads may have leveled off, transit-rail has been a bright spot.“The pinnacle of the business has been the strength of the transit activity,” says CXT’s Burgess, adding that the supplier is working on a “number of different projects” in the Pacific Northwest.And while last year’s passage of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act bodes well for future transit projects, it hasn’t spurred much development yet.“Down the line, we’re absolutely going to see an impact, but it’s yet to come,” says Burgess, adding that FAST Act-funded projects should generate more activity in 2017, 2018 and beyond.For its part, Rail.One is just beginning to explore the U.S. transit market, says Bode.“We have long-term experience with customer-oriented and value-adding light-rail concrete ties and ballastless track systems, and are keen to see them used in the U.S. and North America as well,” he adds.Meanwhile, Rocla Concrete Tie Inc.’s business this year has been steady, says Vice President of Business Development Brett Urquhart.“We saw the significant cutback at the end of last year; now we are starting to see planning for maintaining healthier inventory going forward as we hopefully come out of this down cycle,” he says. “The [traffic] slowdown always has an impact [on] suppliers.”The slowdown may be impacting the composite-tie sector, as well, but two suppliers say business has been pretty good this year — it’s “up” for Axion Structural Innovations, due to a steady increase in orders for ties used in special trackwork, says William Jordan, vice president for commercial development.Jordan, who declined to share specific projects, added that the company foresees sustained growth into 2017 “driven by an even spread between domestic and international railroads.”In addition, Axion is adding two production lines and enhanced mechanical testing equipment at its facility in Waco, Texas.LT Resources Inc., which serves as the marketing and sales representative for American TieTek composite ties, also reports positive business activity in 2016, including transit projects and several large port projects.Composite ties are continuing to “gain acceptance in the industry,” says LT Resources President Linda Thomas. The company has observed more interest in composite ties for use under grade crossings, as well as in bridge applications.
Keywords Browse articles on concrete ties composite ties rail ties rail-tie market L.B. Foster CXT Inc. Steve Burgess PCM Rail.One AG Torsten Bode Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act FAST Act Rocla Concrete Tie Inc. Brett Urquhart Axion Structural Innovations William Jordan LT Resources Inc. Linda Thomas Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.

Rail News Home MOW October 2016 Rail News: MOW

“It’s sometimes a balancing act to get the weather and supply of loggers to match up, but that is an industrywide challenge,” says Mike Pourney, president and chief executive officer of Gross & Janes Co., a tie supplier and shipper.Photo – GROSS & JANES CO. By Michael PopkeThe wood crosstie business might be at Mother Nature’s mercy more than other segments of the rail industry, but railroads can’t function without properly maintained tracks.The wood-tie industry suffers less than some supply segments because of railroads’ ongoing maintenance plans, which are “developed as part of an internal policy regarding optimizing maintenance,” says James Gauntt, executive director of the Railway Tie Association (RTA). “Since the late 1990s … railroads seem to have recognized that some maintenance items are more optimally procured as close to steady-state as possible.”As a result, wood-tie suppliers likely haven’t been hit as hard as others have in the wake of freight-rail traffic (and capex) declines. Additionally, Gauntt thinks that the industrial and short-line markets still have unmet needs for ties because of raw material shortages in recent years, and are building and maintaining tracks at higher-than-normal rates in 2016 — in part because wood-tie suppliers returned to normal production levels following a couple of the wettest weather years in recent memory.There’s also been trackwork in the short-line realm because of the certainty surrounding the Section 45G tax credit. In December 2015, Congress passed the fifth short-term extension of the tax credit, extending it through 2016. Section 45G provides regionals and short lines a 50 cent tax credit for every dollar they spend on track rehabilitation and maintenance, up to $3,500 for each mile of track they own or lease.Through 2016’s first seven months, wood-tie production rose 9 percent to 16.2 million units and purchases increased 6 percent to 15.7 million units compared with year-ago levels, according to RTA data.Overall, purchases have been in a “moderate upswing” since May 2015 and production has been in a “strong uptrend” since November 2014, according to an RTA market report issued in August.That said, tie production plunged 12.9 percent in July to 2.21 million units, while purchases dropped 11.8 percent to 2.2 million units from June levels, according to RTA. Compared with July 2015 data, production fell 7.6 percent, while purchases slipped 8.4 percent.If freight traffic does not increase dramatically during the fourth quarter, Gauntt predicts next year likely will be a little softer for wood-tie suppliers.For the most part, wood-tie manufacturers and tie treaters say they’re cautiously optimistic about the market’s prospects in the months ahead.“I think we will see continued growth through the end of this year, because production fell behind the last of couple of years due to wet weather, which hindered accumulation and production of ties,” says Tim Carey, product manager for Arch Wood Protection Inc., which treats wood used to produce ties.Indeed, heavy rains flooded large swathes of the southern and western United States in 2013, 2014 and 2015, resulting in waterlogged wood supplies and derailed inventories.“Crosstie production has continued to rebound nicely over the past year,” adds John Giallonardo, vice president of Class I sales and North American operations for wood-tie manufacturer Koppers Inc. “We have made tremendous progress in our effort to replenish the inventory levels of our Class I customers. All indications are that production will remain solid for the foreseeable future.”Stella-Jones’ George Caric agrees.“With the reduction in train traffic, the tie gangs have been able to gain efficiencies,” says Caric, vice president of marketing for the wood-tie manufacturer.And that’s the case even though some of his firm’s major projects have been stalled or cancelled because of weak market conditions in the coal and crude-oil sectors.“The Class Is have been hesitant to cut tie programs too deep for fear of letting the track structure suffer,” Caric says.Which is why 2016 essentially has been a rebound year for the wood-tie crowd.“It’s sometimes a balancing act to get the weather and supply of loggers to match up, but that is an industrywide challenge,” says Mike Pourney, president and chief executive officer of Gross & Janes Co., a tie supplier and shipper.Tie supply and demandAlthough 2016 so far has been drier than previous years in the United States, tropical summer weather in western and eastern procurement regions could slow down tie supply for awhile, Gauntt says. If it does, it could balance out the supply-and-demand equation.“Hardwood sawmillers have to find a home for everything they produce at the mill,” Gauntt says. “The last three years have seen some wild swings in demand for some of the other hardwood products, and managing that has been a real uphill battle for sawmills. Railroads and treating plants have had to contend not only with the weather, but also with how these other markets are faring.”In an effort to help keep track of procurement trends for ties in various regions, RTA in July unveiled the Procurement Trends Dashboard. Built to represent the monthly opinions of in-the-field tie buyers who procure untreated ties from sawmills in their specific regions, the dashboard displays data submitted to RTA within the first two weeks of the month following a specific reporting period. The output is available in monthly and yearly formats.In North America, there is no shortage of wood fiber for ties, says Gauntt. Nonetheless, manufacturers are cautious about the near term.“Last year, raw material supply struggled to keep pace with industry demand,” Koppers’ Giallonardo says. “However, with current demand softening a bit and raw material supply finally starting to get healthy again, we need to be cautious in how we proceed in the coming months. It is important for the entire industry that we protect the raw material supply base and avoid the pitfalls that we just recovered from.” Treatment innovations continueIncreasing interest in environmental and economic sustainability continues to drive innovation at railroads. It’s also sparking research and development among tie suppliers and treaters.In September, Gross & Janes announced it received a U.S. patent for a “two-step” borate pre-treatment dipping process and related equipment that the company developed to increase tie life. Forty percent of the 23.5 million ties produced in North America last year were treated with borate, according to RTA.“Gross & Janes was an early railroad industry proponent of using borate to enhance the life of crossties,” Pourney said in a statement about the patent, which will be used to produce Tuff-Tie™ crossties. “After years of monitoring borate in railroad crossties, we have succeeded in making the two-step application process more uniform and consistent. Receiving this patent validates decades of effort to incorporate borate as an additional component in treating a railroad tie.”Meanwhile, Nisus Corp.’s BTX® system for railroad bridge ties moved into the production phase at some treatment facilities this year.The process involves drilling and injecting green bridge ties with Cellutreat® liquid borate prior to pressure treatment. During the Boulton cycle, as a vacuum is drawn to remove moisture from the tie, the borate in the drilled reservoirs is drawn into the tie. Then the bridge ties are pressure-treated with QNAP™ copper naphthenate.Nisus also has added new borate and copper naphthenate treaters, with two more scheduled to begin operation in 2017, says Ken Laughlin, vice president of the company’s wood preservation division.At Stella-Jones, production teams are pre-plating bridge ties and building panelized bridge panels in an effort to increase safety and improve installation efficiency, Caric says. And Arch Wood Protection has a hot-oil, creosote-replacement preservative in pilot production in Europe, which the company eventually hopes to develop in the United States.Sustainability success storyRegardless of the production and purchasing fluctuations in the wood-tie industry, the product remains “one of the most sustainable resources on the planet,” says Arch Wood Protection’s Carey.For example, Arch Wood Protection’s Chemonite® and Wolmanac® industrial preservative systems are water-based and not dependent upon fossil fuels for a carrier, Carey says.“We strongly believe that wood is the most desirable building material, and we focus our extensive research, development, technical and engineering resources [on] developing new technologies that enhance the performance and increase the longevity of wood,” he adds.Last year, RTA hosted a popular session at BNSF Railway Co.’s Railroad Sustainability Symposium at the GE Training Center in Crotonville, N.Y., that focused on wood preservation and other environmental aspects of tie usage.“We not only have developed a significant story on our industry’s ability to be the most environmentally sound solution for tie production, but we continue to place emphasis on the incredibly powerful carbon sequestration story for wood,” Gauntt says.Wood products account for 47 percent of all raw materials manufactured in the United States, but during production use only 4 percent of the total energy consumed by U.S. manufacturers, he says.“Add in the fact that when we treat wood or produce any wood product that lasts for decades or more, we have effectively taken huge amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere and sequestered it for generations,” Gauntt says.Michael Popke is a Madison, Wis.-based freelance writer. Email comments or questions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Keywords Browse articles on wood-tie market crossties wood ties Railway Tie Association Arch Wood Protection Stella-Jones Gross & Janes Nisus Koppers tie supply sustainability Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.

Rail News Home Short Lines & Regionals October 2016 Rail News: Short Lines & Regionals

Earlier this year, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and ASLRRA President Linda Darr (side by side near photo’s center) attended a short-line safety briefing that included the SLSI as a topic.Photo – ASLRRA By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Managing EditorA pilot program is in the rearview mirror. So, the Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) now is building speed as it heads toward a much-desired destination: safer work processes at regionals and short lines.SLSI is charged with assessing a regional’s or short line’s safety culture and performance, identifying and addressing any gaps, and providing education, training and research assistance. The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) created the institute last year with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Volpe National Transportation Systems Center and University of Connecticut.SLSI initially is targeting assessments — which are conducted confidentially to protect a participant’s identity — at the more than 200 railroads that transport crude oil and other hazardous materials.Institute leaders and staff aim to enhance or change approaches to work behaviors through voluntary partnerships with short lines to facilitate a best-possible safety culture, one that makes safety the top organizational priority.The six assessments completed last year under the pilot phase helped SLSI staffers develop tools and processes for measuring and evaluating 10 core elements of a safety culture, including committed leadership, continuous learning and open communication. They also devised ways to share results with an assessed railroad’s managers and crafted a plan for ongoing education, training and research.Through the six initial assessments and several others that have been conducted since the pilot ended, SLSI concluded that management must be visibly and consistently supportive of safety practices and the culture at their railroad.In addition, the institute found that safety practices should match documented safety plans and reflect every-day operations; managers seek fresh ideas and training opportunities to help prompt employees to perform at a high level of safety; and positive recognition instead of punitive action helps build trust among workers and supervisors.“We are seeing a lot of commonalities,” says ASLRRA President Linda Darr.Now, SLSI is working to perform more assessments and identify additional trends. The institute plans to complete a total of 14 assessments by year’s end, then conduct another 10 or so in 2017. The number of assessors recently doubled to eight to handle a busier workload.With the pace of assessments picking up, SLSI is gaining momentum, says Darr.“It’s starting to gel. We’re seeing progress,” she says.That progress was apparent in mid-September when Darr attended ASLRRA’s Eastern Region meeting in Indianapolis and talked with several managers of assessed short lines.“They told me it opened their eyes and that they were reinvigorated with their safety culture,” she says. “We got a lot of good feedback overall. We heard how helpful the process was.”Assessing the assessmentsTo get more regionals and short lines to buy into the institute’s mission, the staff is trying to improve the quality of the assessment process, says SLSI Executive Director Ron Hynes.An assessment — which typically takes three to five days to complete — involves a data-driven analysis of a participating railroad’s safety culture to provide the institute with a better understanding of industry-wide approaches and improvement opportunities. Assessors are assigned in teams of two based on the number of employees at a railroad; less than 30, two assessors; between 30 and 150, four assessors; and 150 or more, six assessors. Prior to the assessors’ arrival, an anonymous survey is sent to the railroad’s managers and employees. The assessment begins with a planning session attended by the railroad’s senior managers and SLSI leaders and staff. Then, assessors observe operations and conduct interviews with the railroad’s leaders, supervisors and employees according to a standardized protocol.A graphic shows the intended effects of SLSI’s four pillars: assessments, education/training, communication and research. Source: ASLRRAAn assessment tends to be more successful if both parties are willing partners, says Hynes.“The assessments are an invitation into their businesses. It takes a commitment from them and from us,” says Hynes. “We take a look at the risks on the railroad and have a conversation. It’s not a one-and-done kind of situation. We want to determine how to maintain the culture going forward.” The assessors and institute staff are experienced railroaders, with 20 to 40 years of service at various Class Is and short lines. The assessors try to be flexible when working with a railroad, says Hynes.“Even if it means a 6 a.m. meeting because that’s the time the managers are available, the assessors will be there then,” he says.Refresher courseThey also will work over a weekend to write a final report immediately after an assessment. Through the pilot phase and shortly afterward, assessors had completed their work during weekdays, then went home and wrote the final report. But other priorities tended to pop up, causing distractions that sometimes delayed reports for months, says SLSI Senior Safety and Operations Manager Mike Long.“Now, the entire team spends that Saturday and Sunday writing the report while it’s fresh in their minds, and gives it to the railroad by Monday,” he says. “Then it’s a timely assessment for the railroad.”Several months after a final report is issued, the institute will follow up with the assessed railroad via a phone call or survey to gauge safety performance and whether any changes that were made remain in place. Reports issued so far have noted that many workers want to see their managers in a more positive light, says Long.“It’s amazing how far a handshake or a pat on the back goes,” he says. “We also found that coaching is a widespread desire for employees. All too often, their only interaction with a manager is when they do efficiency testing.”In addition, assessors have learned that some employees with less than five years of experience claim they work safe, but don’t always follow the safety rules.“They say what they do is better than the rules. But all it takes is one time of not beating the odds,” says Long.One other outgrowth from the assessments: discovering a process or approach that could serve as a benchmark for other regionals and short lines. For example, one assessed railroad provided its employees a free “tailgate lunch” if they did a good job or performed something the right way, says Long. Such a reward could be replicated elsewhere, he believes.Getting the word out about benchmarks and trends is part of SLSI’s internal and external communication efforts. Communication is one of the institute’s four foundational “pillars,” along with the assessments, education/training and research, says SLSI Programs Manager Michele Malski.To reach out externally, the institute is developing a website and a social media presence, says Malski. SLSI has Facebook and Twitter accounts, and is developing a LinkedIn page.In terms of education and training, the institute recently launched a webinar series on hazmat safety. Six free pre-recorded webinars focus on safety training, including ones pertaining to chloride and ammonia. The goal is to add two additional webinars per month, says Malski.“We want to keep a webinar library to create a big repository of information,” she says.SLSI also wants to establish itself as a short-line safety researcher. The institute aims to build on knowledge available about safety cultures in other industries as well as research conducted by the FRA, insurance companies, and railroads that have developed safety and behavioral-based education programs.With research work just starting to ramp up, one target will be the trends that are identified via the assessments, says Malski.In the meantime, SLSI also is exploring e-learning resources — such as tests or forums — and hands-on training opportunities. At the Eastern Region meeting in Indianapolis, ASLRRA and SLSI held two new training sessions: one that involved attendees answering questions about safety via their smartphones and one that involved group discussions about hypothetical safety situations. Similar sessions likely will be held at future regional meetings featuring different hypothetical scenarios.ASLRRA members had expressed an interest in different-from-the-norm sessions at the meetings, says Malski.“It gets people to participate and bring their own experiences to it, and gets them to think differently about safety,” she says. “It creates open and effective communication.”An evolutionary processThat’s why the institute was created. And to keep it going, additional federal funding will be key, says Darr. Congress provided SLSI $500,000 in fiscal-year 2015 to develop the pilot and $1.9 million in FY2016 to continue enhancing the program.The enhancements figure to keep coming, says Darr.“The institute will evolve over time to help support the industry on the gaps that we find and on the hot issues of the day, like drug and alcohol testing,” she says.Ultimately, SLSI strives to provide the industry a deeper understanding of the organizational, societal, economic and other factors that might impact safety performance and conformance at regionals and short lines.“We want to become a risk-reduction source for railroads and help get the accident ratio down,” says Hynes
Keywords Browse articles on Short Line Safety Institute American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association Federal Railroad Administration Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.

Rail News Home Passenger Rail October 2016 Part 1 : Progressive Railroading's Passenger Rail at a Glance 2016: Preface Part 2 : Progressive Railroading’s Passenger Rail at a Glance 2016: Amtrak and transit agencies in Arizona & California Part 3 : Progressive Railroading’s Passenger Rail at a Glance 2016: Colorado, Florida, & Georgia Part 4 : Progressive Railroading’s Passenger Rail at a Glance 2016: Illinois, New Jersey, & New York Part 5 : Progressive Railroading’s Passenger Rail at a Glance 2016: Ohio and Pennsylvania Part 6 : Progressive Railroading’s Passenger Rail at a Glance 2016: Texas & Washington Rail News: Passenger Rail

GREATER CLEVELAND REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITYOPERATING COST: $268 MILLIONGreater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) provides public transit services to Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Services include heavy and light rail, bus, bus rapid transit and paratransit. The agency was established Dec. 30, 1974, as a successor to Cleveland Transit System, Shaker Heights Rapid Transit and a number of suburban bus systems.Service launched: Light rail, 1913; heavy rail, 1955.
Miles per mode: Light rail, 15.3; heavy rail, 19.
Rolling stock: 1 locomotive, average age 34 years; 60 rail cars, average age 35; 48 light-rail vehicles, average age 33.
Annual ridership: light rail, 2.6 million; heavy rail, 6.4 million.
Annual operating cost: $267.7 million (2016 budget)*
Annual capital cost: $29.7 million
Stations: Light rail, 34; heavy rail, 18.Projects underway or scheduled to begin, total project cost, major contracts and anticipated project timeline:
• 3 light-rail grade crossing replacements, $3 million, Delta RR Construction 2016.
• 3 light rail grade crossing replacements, $3.4 million, 2017
• 3 substations replacement, with modular, $6 million, 2017
• Fiber optic system replacement, $8 million, 2017-18
• Track rehabilitation, West 30th to West 98th, $8.5 million, 2017-2018
• Track 8 replacement, $5.1 million, Delta RR Construction, 2016
• Brookpark Station reconstruction, Mid American Construction, $12.2 million, 2016
• East 116th Station reconstruction, $4.5 million, 2016-18
• East 34th Station reconstruction, $5.3 million, 2017-18
• East Boulevard track bridge reconstruction, $`1.9 million, Suburban Maintenance & Construction, 2016-17
• East 92nd/CSX bridge rehabilitation, $2 million, Suburban Maintenance & Construction, 2016-17*Information source: www.riderta.comSOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITYOPERATING BUDGET: $1.4 billionSoutheastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is the nation’s sixth largest public transportation system with an extensive network of fixed route services that include bus, subway, trolley, trackless trolley, high-speed and regional rail serving a 2,202- square-mile service region. SEPTA’s service region includes five counties in Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery — and extends to Trenton, N.J., and Newark, Del. SEPTA is one of the region’s largest employers with a workforce of 9,000 employees.Service launched: SEPTA began operating heavy-rail service in 1968, light-rail in 1969 and commuter-rail in 1983. SEPTA was created by the state of Pennsylvania in 1964 to consolidate private regional public transportation operators. SEPTA’s predecessor rail agencies began providing passenger service in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Miles per mode: light rail, 42; heavy rail, 47; commuter rail, 280
Rolling stock: eight locomotives, average age 27 years; 404 rail cars, average age 29 years; 167 light-rail vehicles, average age 33 years. Locomotives on order: 13, manufactured by Siemens.
Annual ridership: light rail, 28,500,600; heavy rail, 91,861,300; commuter rail, 37,413,300.
Annual operating budget: $1.4 billion (FY2017)
Annual capital budget: $548.63 million (FY2017)
Stations: eight light rail, 75 heavy rail, 154 commuter railMajor projects include:
• Crum Creek Viaduct on the Media/Elwyn Line. Replacing a 925-foot-long, 100-foot-high steel viaduct built in 1895. SEPTA also is performing structural remediation on three other viaducts, performing a rock cut stabilization project, and replacing the overhead contact system on the Media/Elwyn Line.
• Frazer Rail Shop and Yard modernization. Procurement of new locomotives and a fleet of multilevel cars for the Regional Rail system. To accommodate the increased fleet size, the 35-year-old shop and yard facilities will be renovated and expanded. The initial phase will include significant earth work and stormwater improvements at the 40-acre site to create space for additional yard track. Later phases will provide for additional shop buildings and vehicle maintenance equipment necessary to maintain the new operating fleet. Budget for this project: $139.6 million. Construction completion: late 2019.Project contracts to be let:
• Resiliency program to renew and harden infrastructure vulnerable to extreme weather. The program was partially funded by a resiliency grant from the Federal Transit Administration. The projects include rock-cut stabilization in Media in Delaware County and near Jenkintown in Montgomery County; flood mitigation at Sharon Hill (Delaware County) and Jenkintown; shoreline stabilization on the Manayunk/Norristown Line in Montgomery County; reinforcement of the regional railroad signal power system; installation of emergency power generators in pump rooms at the Broad Street Subway in Philadelphia; and construction of an ancillary control center.
• Infrastructure improvements near the University City Station. The project includes replacement of 80-year-old catenary, construction of rehabilitation of four interlockings, retiring an interlocking, tie and surface renewal, and signal improvements in an area that is adjacent to the Northeast Corridor. These improvements will be constructed between 2017 and 2019.
• Service restoration on the Media-Elwyn Regional Railroad Line from its current terminus at Elwyn Station to Wawa, Delaware County. (Service beyond Elwyn was discontinued in the 1980s.) Early action phase to stabilize embankments on sections of this line was completed in 2010. The next component of the restoration calls for retaining walls, the rehabilitation or replacement of nine bridges and the replacement of track, catenary, and structures and signals. The last component will be construction of a new station, a 600-car parking deck and an intermodal connection. The current budget for this project is $150.6 million.
• Substation program, a multiyear effort to rehabilitate 80-year-old traction power substations on the Regional Railroad. The first substations to be addressed are under construction and include Lenni and Morton on the Media/Elwyn Line; and Jenkintown and Ambler on the Main Line. Fourteen additional substations will be overhauled or replaced, and a new substation will be constructed on the West Trenton Line. previous page next page
Keywords Browse articles on Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.