How much $$ to rebuild on old roadbed

[Limitedclear]

[quote user=“Prairietype”]

These are 1995 estimates, and of course there has been inflation but I doubt that the cost has gone up 10 times in 12 years.

For comparison however “taxpayers” pay the following for the following types of roadways:

State Highway: 3-10 million per mile (Vermont DOT source)

Blended Interstate (rural urban): 20.6 million per mile

BUT HERE IS A PUBLISHED ABSTRACT ESTIMATE OF COSTS FOR REHAB.

RR rehab cost is in bold about halfway down the page.

The data for this estimate is from the Rehabilitation Cost Estimate for the

Missouri & North Arkansas Railways Webb City Branch in the Missouri Rail Plan 1995 Update,

produced by the Missouri Highway & Transportation Department, in June of 1995.

1995 Estimate of Cost to Rehabilitate 1 mile of Line

Rail, #100 Relay 176 tons @ $275 / ton $ 48,400.00

Joints, S.H. 270 @ $9.50 each 2,565.00

Tie Plates, S.H., D.H. 6,000 @ $2.10 each 12,600.00

Anchors, new 4,320 @ $1.05 each 4,536.00

Bolts, new 1 x 5 ½

[Limitedclear]

A couple more examples of todays costs.

Surface and Line $2.00 per track foot.

Crossties $29 to $32 each (not installed) depending upon size, grade and region.

Relay Crossties $18 to $25 depending upon region (where even available)

Spikes (Keg) $ 100

LC

[JT22CW]

These costs are very dated and unrealistic today. Given that the numbers were published in a 1995 report they are probably at least 13 years old

So use one of the online inflation calculators and you’ll get up-to-date figures. (The $248,085 figure works out to be $340,117.37 in 2007 dollars.)

Also, they are for rehabilitation of an existing railroad, not rebuilding as was the question here and there are substantial differences between the two in terms of cost and scope of work

What are those differences?

BTW, the price of a keg of spikes does not match inflation. It’s 20 percent higher. Industry shenanigans?

[MP173]

I dont think you can use inflation calculator to solve this. There is a huge difference in certain commodities that cannot be accounted for in an inflation calculator.

Also, anything using petroleum will also be at a higher factor.

ed

[jeaton]

I dont think you can use inflation calculator to solve this. There is a huge difference in certain commodities that cannot be accounted for in an inflation calculator.

Also, anything using petroleum will also be at a higher factor.

ed

Right on that. Just between early 2003 and now, the prices for iron ore and steel scrap have more than doubled and coking coal has almost doubled.

[Railway_Man]

Can’t remember if asked this one before. How much would it cost per mile to re-lay track on roadbed where the track was taken up in the 80s. The Minnesota Zephyr line behind the house is about 6 miles from its old connection to the west. Just curious. Not rich.

You didn’t specify what you wanted to use the track for (150-mph Acela? Doodlebug tripping through the morning dew? 150-car, 22,000-ton coal trains?) which makes a substantial difference. And I have no idea what the condition might be of the subgrade, the drainage structures, and whether there are any grade-crossings.

But for the sake of argument let’s use some very broad categories and stick in some contingencies. Budget costs for track and minimal subgrade preparation only:

Short line (or tourist train), FRA Class II track (maximum speed 25-freight, 30-passenger): less than 1 MGT per year, #9 turnouts, second-hand 113HF or 100PS rail, secondhand ties, 2,000’ siding every 20 miles, 6" washed river rock ballast under ties, no subballast, $75/foot

Heavy-haul secondary line, FRA Class IV track, 5-20 MGT per year, #15 DTMF turnouts, 141RE rail, new 6x9 wood or concrete ties, 12" crushed granite ballast beneath the tie, 8" subballast, 9,000’ siding every 10 miles, widen subgrade to 14 feet, $220/foot

Class I main line, FRA Class V track, 20+ MGT per year, same as above but with CTC signaling, #24 MPF turnouts, 10,000’ controlled siding every 8 miles, $350/foot.

Other items:

Grade-crossing, two-lane roadway, unsignaled, concrete planks, $100,000

Grade-crossings, two-lane roadway, signaled, $350,000

Grade-crossings, four-lane roadway, signaled, $700,000

Grade-separation, two-lane road-over-rail, $5 million

Grade-separation, four-lane road-over-rail, $12 million

Culvert, 3-36" CMP, $150,000

Bridge, 100’, one-track, 10’ above streambed, H-pile foundation,

[Boyd]

In this fantasy thread, line for 5 mph tourist train. I see by satellite photo the right of way is still there going into Mahtomedi but have not driven by it in the daytime to see it. To get it just east of Mahtomedi it looks to have about 3 crossings at 2 lane rural roads. Looks like some of the right of way has been taken over in Mahtomedi. Turning north and going around the north side of White Bear Lake would make it a “Lot” more complicated getting land back from poeple with shore access. The line going up to just south of Hugo is still there.

[Limitedclear]

These costs are very dated and unrealistic today. Given that the numbers were published in a 1995 report they are probably at least 13 years old

So use one of the online inflation calculators and you’ll get up-to-date figures. (The $248,085 figure works out to be $340,117.37 in 2007 dollars.)

Also, they are for rehabilitation of an existing railroad, not rebuilding as was the question here and there are substantial differences between the two in terms of cost and scope of work

What are those differences?

BTW, the price of a keg of spikes does not match inflation. It’s 20 percent higher. Industry shenanigans?

The differences include several factors which may or may not be present:

1. If the line has been formally abandoned, the ROW must be reacquired, possibly by eminent domain proceedings. The legal fees and costs as well as the repurchasing of ROW is extremely costly and varies greatly by location.

2. The reconstruction will be treated as new. All environmental and other permitting regulations apply unless some exemption can be obtained from regulators. More major costs and headaches.

3. When reconstructing the ROW, earthwork may have been performed since abandonment or washouts or other natural events removing the subgrade which must be resurveyed and rebuilt. Grade crossings must be established in accordance with state and federal highway regulations and statutes.

4. When reconstructing track all components must be suitable for the intended use, but all must be provided (unlike a rehabilitation where existing materials in the track may be used in the rehabilitation, possibly with some effort). One cannot reuse ballast by undercutting and cleaning if the ballast is gone. Likewise, good ties wich remain in an existing track cannot be reused.

5. Even