Rail gangs arriving in Great Fall, Mont., area
Written by jrood
Gangs will be in the north central area and across the HiLine of Montana this spring and summer, but these gangs are an indication of an improving economy, the Great Falls Tribune reports. BNSF will invest $77.2 million in capital maintenance projects, including rail replacement, tie replacement and track surfacing.
Rail gangs are made up of
36 personnel and tie gangs consist of about 45 workers. Crews made up of
multiple gangs, as well as support personnel, will travel together.
"From Great Falls to
Conrad, we will install 60,000 ties, a $5-million investment," said Gus
Melonas, railroad spokesman. "Along the Hi-Line we are doing another $6
million of tie replacement."
Which means the gang
members will be staying, eating and shopping in the communities along those routes
this spring, summer and fall.
Some of the work is
scheduled maintenance and some is to meet anticipated future demand.
"Rail service is
picking up, although not to the peak conditions that the rail industry
experienced in 2006," said Melonas. "In the past few months, there
has been an increase in business, and rail traffic is one indicator of the
current condition of the economy."
Right now there are six
plus trains a day on the Great Falls connection, which include grain and
merchandise cars, as well as coal from the Signal Peak Mine and the Powder
River Basin headed for export from the West Coast, Melonas said.
