Upgrading of Former MMA Rail Lines

[artman]

Sorry if this belongs in another thread...

From the Idaho Statesman:

"John Giles, CEO of Central Maine and Quebec Railway, which has assumed the bankrupt railroad's operations, said his focus is boosting the speed on 450 miles of track that's plagued by mandated speed reductions.

The successor railroad, which plans to spend $10 million on rail improvements over the next two years, has brought in tens of thousands of railroad ties and expects to take delivery of miles and miles of track within 10 days as part of its ongoing rehabilitation aimed at getting freight trains rolling at 25 mph, Giles said.

The company is doing well as it attempts to lure back customers, and traffic levels are already at 40 percent to 50 percent of what they were a couple of years ago under Montreal, Maine & Atlantic, he said."

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/08/0 ... rylink=cpy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MEC407]

Photo by Frank Jolin:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=494784" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[fogg1703]

Any idea of where new rail is slated to be installed?

[Zeke]

I believe I read the Canadian portion of the main line was in the worst shape and management was going to focus on that first.

[fogg1703]

I believe I read the Canadian portion of the main line was in the worst shape and management was going to focus on that first.

Thanks Zeke. Seems a little more maintenance intensive on the Canadian side as well with a lot of curves and grades. Just wasn't sure where they dropped the rail as the last rail train MMA ran dropped in Foster Qc IIRC.

[CN9634]

Curves mostly. They are going to take out super elevation that CDAC/MMA left in. CDAC took care of most of the SE in the US.

[artman]

New ownership plans to upgrade track to increase speed from 10 to 25

From 9/10/14 Portland Press Herald: http://www.pressherald.com/2014/09/10/o ... rail-line/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Owner puts $10 million into revival of defunct Maine rail line

The leader of Maine’s newest railroad is spending more than $10 million this year on track upgrades and faster locomotives to bring the historically troubled line to profitability.

The plans to upgrade the tracks, which will allow train speeds to increase from 10 mph to 25 mph, will be complemented by a new corporate culture that focuses on serving the needs of the railroad’s industrial customers.

He said the rail upgrades, which are scheduled to be completed by Nov. 1, combined with the higher speeds will allow for faster service for customers and lower labor costs per trip. A trip from Farnham, Quebec, to northern Vermont, which typically takes two days with the slower locomotives, soon will be made in one.

In addition, the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic had operated 40 old locomotives that were in poor condition, broke down frequently and were costly to maintain. Giles has replaced them with a fleet of 19 somewhat newer locomotives that need less maintenance.

He said the newer locomotives also use nearly half the fuel to carry the same amount of freight as did the old locomotives.

[KSmitty]

Lol "faster locomotives" the media is funny...

[MEC407]

Indeed. Although I wouldn't be surprised if the RR is actually spinning it that way, knowing that 99% of the general public wouldn't know the difference.

Also, there's no way that an SD40-2 uses half the fuel of a C30-7. In fact, a C30-7 is slightly more fuel efficient than an SD40-2. Maintenance costs might be a bit higher on the GE, but not drastically so. It's probably a wash when you factor in the fuel efficiency difference. Maybe he's comparing a GP20D to a C30-7 or B39-8 but that's a completely unfair comparison, considering the differences in horsepower and tractive effort. It's like comparing a Geo Metro to a Ford F-350 Super Duty.

[CN9634]

They are also much stricter on rules regarding idling and locomotive use. If a unit is left for more than 5 minutes, it has to be shut down. Also, if a train is at or below tonnage rating of one loco, shut the others down.