I was just wondering what the most expensive type of terrain is more expensive to build and maintain a railroad on. I would think it would be either mountains or marshs. Mountains require extensive engineering, and expensive tunnels and bridges. Marshs and wetlands also require lots of bridges, culverts, backfills and environmental reviews. Marshy areas also present unique maitnainance issues. What do you folks think?
Try putting a new right-of-way through city property and you will soon find out what expensive is. Many of the new light rail systems have been encountering this problem and even with emmenent domain laws in effect 250 million to 600 million per mile is not unheard of. That is why many new light rail systems tak so many years from inception to completion.
I have to agree w/ Passenger fan, urban is the worst.
In rural areas I’d guess mountainous terrain because of the need to maintain a steady grade and the possibilities of trestles and tunnels.
You’re not even seeing the worst part of it yet. Try dealing with working at night (stupidly unproductive, higher chance of injury), the inner-city freak shows and all the local political hacks.
-Former LA Roadmaster
…As a novice on the subject, I’d agree the city environment would seem to be the most expensive to put thru…but I’d think mountainous routes would be right up there as far as the maintenance side of the equation…
Too idiosyncratic to say. Some mountain construction isn’t terribly expensive – but some is – whereas all wetlands construction is expensive.
RWM
I’d put my money on (in?) a tunnel through bad ground under deep water. The right-of-way isn’t that expensive, but construction costs will munch your lunch.
Chuck
Rochester, MN [:D]
LOL
Most expensive??? I’d have to say underground…as in the Chunnel.
Phil
I think even the Chunnel was just pocket change compared to what is happening in Phoenix, Arizona, in trying to build through an established, highly congested, urban environment.
…Just a thought…Didn’t the Chunnel end up costing over 15 billion…!!
Big Major Metro Citys like Chicago or New York City
And the Seikan Tunnel (which is considerably deeper, as is the water above it) cost seven billion.
In an urban setting, right-of-way acquisition and preparation is the major cost, and NIMBYs (and their lawsuits) cause the major delays. Long underwater tunnels cost much more for mining, infrastructure and special track construction (the Seikan Tunnel is dual gauge!) and the major cause of delay is ground failure, flooding and collapse of inadequately supported rock.
I would much rather face the Mayo Clinic’s lawyers in a courtroom than salt water pouring into a tunnel face a thousand feet below sea level and ten miles from the entrance.
Chuck
How about the ??? mile tunnel in Switzerland not yet completed.
…Yes, believe that one will be about 30 to 35 miles in length…!
22 BILLION and counting … for a 20-mile light rail starter line.
oh well, at least most of the catenary is up now.
I think I have the answer to this one. I think I am going to have to go with that railway over the Florida Keys . . . or on second thought, the Chunnel.
Gabe
…Flaggler’s rail line out to Key West from south of Miami was a difficult line to put in…with one bridge up to 7 miles in length…Then came the hurricane about '36 and destroyed much of the roadbed. Later it was abandoned {not rebuilt}, and the US government constructed rt. 1 across the repaired ROW. Recently, that route was updated with new bridges, etc…The original one was quite narrow for a 2 lane highway, which was constructed on almost all of the RR stone arches that supported Flagglers RR.
Have no idea what the Flaggler RR would have cost {in today’s dollars}…
And the Phoenix light rail is located, mostly, in established streets where ROW purchase is not necessary.
I haven’t done any research to determine if this still holds true, especially taking into account real costs converted to today’s values, but the Kettle Valley Railway in southern British Columbia was the most costly, mile-for-mile, of any railroad in North America when it was constructed in the early 1900’s.