Gary Airport Railroad Modification Thread

[ryanch]

Relevant to the discussion - on again/off again commercial service returns to the Gary/Chicago airport:

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/lake/ ... g-off.html

It's 2 flights a week, so if this puts Gary back on the commercial flight map, it's still just a flyspeck. But the fact that several different airlines have shown enough interest to actually offer flights (for terms of a few months to a few years) is a sign of the potential there.

[Jenner]

Gary Airport has signed the final agreement with CN regarding moving the tracks:

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/11537930-5 ... ahead.html

And now we know why the process took so long:

The mayor said she and her administration, including corporate counsel Niquelle Allen, had 7:30 a.m. conference calls daily with the airport and CN to iron out the last details. Those details, according to Interim Airport Director Steve Landry, dealt with indemnification backing and guarantees with regards to liabilities and environmental issues.

What is interesting is that the article mentioned that there is "an incremental cost per train" in terms of the new route in using new grades and curves of the new alignment. I am guessing that this extra cost is due to using more time to get to the yard?

Also, does anyone know an example where there is a direct airport cargo transfer to a rail intermodal yard?

[justalurker66]

What is interesting is that the article mentioned that there is "an incremental cost per train" in terms of the new route in using new grades and curves of the new alignment. I am guessing that this extra cost is due to using more time to get to the yard?

That is the way I'd read it ... it is a huge sweep the wrong way creating a tighter curve, especially for the branch line. And it comes at a time when CN wants to increase traffic through the area and increase the use of the connected yard.

In some ways I can't believe that CN actually agreed to the deal ... but there is a lot of pressure on them not to stand in the way of "progress".

[Jenner]

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. This project has been slow moving, but progress is showing. It would be better if someone local could post pictures or other progress reports. But anyways....

http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/ ... 6c5df.html

http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/ ... a6e8d.html

Looks like we are getting at the final hurdle of moving CN to the new tracks. There should be a new overpass which would go over the CN and NS(?) tracks at US 20. Google maps already show this feature. Pretty cool!