Join the discussion on the following article:
BNSF begins double track work on Transcon in New Mexico
Great news! Double Main requirements nowadays is almost mandatory with flow of increasing traffic, Its the sign if times.
Most of these lines were never double tracked since Santa Fe used to route most passenger trains via Raton Pass. Now, ever increasing freight traffic is forcing double track since BNSF doesn’t want to run freight on the 3.5% grades of Raton. They may need the capacity to handle the Southwest Chief on this route as well, unless Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico come up with the money to keep it on Raton.
In the late middle 20th century, American railways reduced the number of tracks on multiple tracked lines. Some lines became single tracked.
As a result, once fast passenger trains became slower and freight traffic in opposite directions had to use sidings.
Centralised traffic control alone can no longer sustain increased operations. Now the expensive hard work of re-laying extra tracks is in progress with the money saved from maintenance of fewer tracks defeated.
Any plans for two-main tracking the KO subdivision in Nort’ Dakota? How 'bout Glasgow-Shelby, MT?
What is wrong in this country that it takes a year to build 9 miles of railroad through the desert?
mr seldrn as a new mexico resident let me assure you that the 9 miles of deseret you reference is some of the most difficult terrain you can imagine!
Good afternoon Mr. Hays.
To best of my knowledge (as an employee of BNSF, kept in the dark, jaja), there are no plans at the moment to double track the KO subdivision. Traffic is being routed directionally up to a point with east bound running on the Devils Lake sub and west bound on the KO. Also, my understanding that planned double tracking west of Minot has been extended to Glasgow rather than stopping short at Snowdon.
We definitely need some holding tracks as its not uncommon to have trains backed up from Hanson Blvd. in Coon Rapids, MN to 4 or 5 trains west of St. Cloud. XO 66 east to Becker is a a 4 train parking lot most days.
Too say the least, it is an adventure most days. Hope things are going well in Shelby. As ever
JW Freadhoff Jnr.
@Mr. Malcom Bywaters, FYI the segment of railroad from Alice Springs to Darwin was paid for with public tax money from the province/state of the Northern Territory. No private money was used, which is how the RR was able to be built so quickly. That and the fact it had been engineered so many times in the past.
One really has to wonder the thinking in the Corporate Suites of the RailRoads in the past about “saving money” to pay the stockholders bigger dividends…Hah! Cheat the labor force, rip up second tracks to save on maintenance…that’s the ticket…right…nah! Greed is not very good and leads in the long term to loss.
In Australia’s north they built 880 miles of totally new track nothing there before between Alice Springs and Darwin in just 3 years many many bridges and cuttings to build and many dry washes to cross and allow for Australia’s monsoon season flooding and try avoid track damage. How come it takes so long here to build 10 miles of track parallel to an existing one. Or the HST between LA & SF to take over 10 years if it ever happens.
JWF, Jr: aren’t you talking about Amtrak 7 & 8 directional traffic? I don’t think much freight traffic goes via Devils Lake/Grand Forks. Shelby (nee Shelby Jct.), MT is a ‘choke point’, with 1 MT to the east and two branches, with increasing traffic, coming from the north (Canada) and south (Great Falls/Laurel). Business is good.
Again, good afternoon Mr. Hays.
For the moment, Happy Track (1007 & 1008) is running directional. BNSF is also running a lot freight directional.
Big problem is that there was/is many years deferred maintenance on the Devils Lake sub that is now being addressed. A lot of rail was/is conventional from the 1930s. Its GN Line 110/yard. Good, but worn out.
Given grades (Niagara Hill) eastbound traffic is run on the Devils Lake sub. Westbound, it is a climb on the KO out of the Red River Valley and levels off at Hannaford. From there, until Clifford Hill, its pretty easy going, so it makes sense to send westbound loads on the KO. Back when we were allowed to have our mobiles on, the 5 mile climb up and over Clifford were where you lost service. Not enough customers in the area to have a tower, I guess.
Once upgrades are done on the Devils Lake Sub, Happy Track will move back to there both directions. At present, there are days when trains are parked on the Prosper Sub in Fargo and they (Happy Track) have to back into Moorhead from the passenger station in Fargo and proceed west.
Frankly, it would be good to see the double track sent as far west as at least Whitefish. Up to the bosses, I guess.
In any event, passed the rules tests yesterday. Four to go and I’m home to a small farm in Belize.
No railways there these days. A lot of looking at 2 great ports and a shortcut line via Guatemala to the Mexican system. I wouldn’t mind being a consultant!
Later, my friend;
JW Freadhoff Jnr.
JWF, Jr: good info! Thanks. Any idea of what they are going to do at the Gassman Coulee? Another bridge would spoil the photo-ops. Lot of 2MT, west of Shelby, and more coming. West of Whitefish is another story, with the Flathead Tunnel (2d longest in the US) a major item. How will the proposed Chinese ‘Trans-Isthmus’ canal affect Belize?
Never noticed this before. There is a connector track between the Transcon(BNSF) and the Golden State (UP)
I haven’t heard anything lately about UP double tracking. Does anyone have knowledge on that?
Mr. Selden might not be aware that the new 2nd main track at this location will have to be located in part on a significant fill (“significant” meaning high, tall, deep or whatever word you would like to use to indicate that many hundreds of cubic yards of dirt will be required to create it). Once the fill has been constructed it has to be allowed to settle and stabilize for a time. Take a peek at the site on Google Earth.
Mr. LAWRENCE G HAWS, even though it was funded by the states it traveled thru the route taken was not totally along any one planned route, and yes it was well planned over years but my point was it went 880 miles in 3 years on virgin earth never before seen the track before.
My point was BNSF was double tracking a section that already has track so it’s not virgin ground also it’s within there right of way.
You can criticize me but I’m an Aussie who knows a lot about the Alice Springs to Darwin track as I once worked for the railways downunder for 15 years.
I watched them build the new standard gauge line between Melbourne & Geelong in just over 12 months they had trains moving supplies over those rail as it continued to move west this time converting broad gauge track to standard gauge.