gokeefe wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2020 10:58 am
If they're already at Class 3 with signals that is a really good start. Takes the project scope down from $1 Billion to maybe $100 Million.
Hardly. Six sets of equipment would cost well over $200 million alone. Then there is the station costs (14 to 17 stations) at $5 million or so each. Then we would see about other infrastructure such as additional track through Laurel Yard, Bozeman Pass, Winston Hill, and Mullan Pass on MRL. If the train was routed via Yakima in Washington State, BNSF will certainly demand installation of CTC (it only has CTC islands at sidings between Auburn and Pasco now) and additional capacity. Also possible signaling of the DeSmet-Paradise route via Evaro, and of course retiming most highway crossing warning devices for a higher speed. And, somewhere along the route, there will need to be inspection locations constructed (with watering facilities for passenger cars) and carmen hired.
All told, still much closer to $1 billion than $100 million. This is based on a Chicago-Seattle train. A regional train running a shorter distance of course would require less rolling stock and less infrastructure to upgrade.
--Mark Meyer