BNSF replacing track between Pasco, Yakima, Wash.
Written by jrood
BNSF is replacing sections of old track between Pasco and Yakima, Wash., local newspapers report. The $3-million project, which started earlier this week, will help rehabilitate about 10 miles of track, said BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas.
The old track, which
essentially is a joined chain of 39-foot-long pieces of rail dating back to the
1940s, will be replaced with continuous-welded rails. Each rail piece is 1,600
feet long, said project workers as they worked Sept. 11 near Badger Canyon Road.
The project will improve
safety and ride quality for six trains that use the track every 24 hours,
Melonas said.
The month-long project is
being coordinated without affecting the usual traffic on the track, he said.
It’s a high-tech mechanized
operation, where machines help knock down rail anchors, pick up spikes and
swing out old rail. The new rail is then laid out after filling spike holes and
reshaping the ties mechanically. A crew of about two dozen works on about 5,000
feet of rail track each day.
BNSF is using recycled rail
to replace the old track, which also will be refurbished and re-used.
