UP investing $26 million in central Nebraska track

Written by jrood

Trains will operate more efficiently as a result of more than $26 million in track improvements made by Union Pacific to its line between Schuyler, Neb., and Duncan, Neb. When the project is complete, crews will have removed and replaced more than 77,000 concrete ties and 30 miles of rail, spread more than 100,000 tons of rock ballast and replaced the road surfaces at 17 crossings. The project began October 2 and is scheduled to be completed by mid November.

Crews will complete this
track improvement project using Union Pacific’s modern track renewal train, the
TRT 909. The TRT 909 installs rail and concrete ties in one pass, and can
install up to 5,000 ties in a 12-hour day. About 30 cars – each carrying 210
concrete ties – are part of the TRT. 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 wooden ties are picked up and the discarded
rail threaded out as the machine works its way down the track. A conveyor moves
the removed ties into position for the gantry cranes to load them onto the cars
for movement to a facility for sorting. The TRT 909 can install concrete,
composite and wooden ties.

In 2008, Union Pacific’s engineering
renewal program invested more than $254 million in track work and facility
improvements in Nebraska to ensure safe, reliable transportation.

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