Railway Track & Structures - October 2008 - (Page 5)

INDUSTRY TODAY UP Sunset Route double tracking advances The Arizona Corporation Commission approved Union Pacific’s application to add a second main line and modify public road crossings in Pinal County. The ACC's action allows UP to move forward with their double-track project of the Sunset Route, Union Pacific’s east-west main rail line through Southern Arizona. Union Pacific reached an agreement in May 2008 with the cities of Casa Grande, Eloy, Maricopa and Pinal County. The agreement included a $35million commitment from Union Pacific over 25 years for the construction of grade separations at major public railroad crossings. The agreement provided the framework for transportation planning, economic development, historic preservation and support for increased railroad capacity in the region. Also, UP’s new high bridge in Iowa has been delayed due to spring rainfall. In March 2007, OCCI, Inc. of Fulton, Mo., broke ground on the Union Pacific’s new high bridge project on the former Chicago and North Western main line northeast of Ogden, Iowa. Originally, the project was expected to be completed in November. However, heavy amounts of rainfall in the spring created a setback to the $43million project, according to UP. UP is now estimating a June 2009 completion of the bridge. The heavy rains over the spring made the east bank unstable. Further construction will be implemented to improve the conditions of the east bank. The plan now calls for extending the bridge about 160 feet to the east. Underground drainage will also be installed on the east bank and berms will be employed to address the stability of the slope. In addition, Union Pacific is investing $4.2 million this year on track improvements in the Fremont, Neb., area. When the project is complete, crews will have removed wooden ties and installed 14,300 concrete ties; spread 25,000 tons of rock ballast and replaced nearly five and one-half miles of rail. The project, which started in Fremont and continued east five miles to near Hwy. 36, took place in late September. The railroad used the Track Renewal Train to replace ties and rail in one pass. Since 2003, UP has invested $869.6 million for capital projects in Nebraska, with $256.5 million spent in 2007. CN petitions court to order final STB decision on EJ&E In late September, CN petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for an expedited ruling ordering the Surface Transportation Board to render a final decision on the transportation merits of CN’s proposed acquisition of the principal lines of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Co. to allow the transaction to close by the parties’ December 31, 2008, deadline. “Given the substantial, wide-ranging public interest benefits of our planned acquisition of the EJ&E, we cannot permit regulatory delay to imperil this transaction,” said CN President and CEO E. Hunter Harrison. “We are convinced—and many business and community leaders agree—that the transaction will be good for the Chicago region as a whole,” he said. “It would ease rail congestion, which is critically important to the region’s economy and its continued role as one of America’s most important transportation hubs. If unaddressed, rail congestion threatens $2 billion of production and 17,000 jobs in the Chicago region over the next 20 years. “Second, the transaction would benefit the environment of the overall www.rtands.com Railway Track & Structures October 2008 5 http://www.rtands.com

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Railway Track & Structures - October 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Railroads Building Solid Foundation for More Capacity with Crossties Safety in High Density Areas M/W Challenges: CN Places New Bridge in Only Six Hours Products and Literature People Calendar Website Directory Advertisers Index Sales Representatives Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - October 2008

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