UP invests $6 million in Grand Island, Neb.

Union Pacific will continue to improve Nebraska's transportation infrastructure with a more than $6 million in investment to enhance the rail line that runs through Grand Island. The five-mile project includes removing and installing nearly 13,500 concrete ties, five-miles of rail and renewing the surfaces at seven crossings. Four switches were replaced in May. Crews replaced the seven crossing surfaces in September and the new ties and rail will be replaced starting Nov. 16 and is scheduled to be completed by Nov. 19. UP is using a modern track renewal train, the TRT 909, which installs rail and concrete ties in one pass. The TRT can install up to 6,000 ties in a twelve-hour day. The track renewal train consists of approximately 30 rail cars, with each car capable of carrying 210 concrete ties. Three sets of gantry cranes move the concrete ties forward for the TRT to drop into place and the machine then threads the new rail onto the ties. The old ties are picked up and discarded rail is threaded out as the machine works its way down the track. A conveyor positions the removed ties for the gantry cranes to load them onto railcars for movement to a facility for sorting.