www.railroad.net US Railroad News. 16th November 2011

Fall Leaves Make for Slippery Rails
Posted: 15 Nov 2011 12:46 AM PST

Autumn brings falling leaves and enjoyable scenery, but for railroads, the inconvenience of fallen leaves may outweigh the beauty.  The Washington Post has reported that the heavy increase in leaves during this time of year causes delays on trains throughout the country.  As trains pass over the numerous leaves on the tracks a residue is created that decreases friction and increases the chances of slippage.  Rail slippage causes problems for a variety of reasons.  In areas with slippery rails, trains are prevented from reaching optimal speeds, which leads to delays.  Slippery rails are also accompanied by the need for excessive braking and flat spots on train wheels, which ultimately cause more serious delays because trains must be taken out of service for repairs.
Services on the East Coast have already been victim to foliage caused delays.  The Virginia Railway Express had to cancel services and experienced hour long delays.  Additionally, the Maryland Area Regional Commuter train service experienced similar problems.
Train services have set protocols to combat the threat of slippery rails.  The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has an “aggressive maintenance program,” which involves pressure-washing tracks.  Another way of preventing the problem is by trimming leaves and other vegetation from tracks, which is Washington Metro’s strategy of choice.
Passengers love the sight of the changing fall leaves, but they would probably feel differently if they knew how those leaves could effect their daily commute.  Its quite surprising that such a seemingly small problems can cause such big problems for passenger rail service.  Hopefully, slippery rails will plague a minimal amount of passengers as the holiday season approaches.


Study Reports Possible $1.4 Billion Economic Drop If Light Rail Constructed
Posted: 14 Nov 2011 06:10 PM PST

The Bellevue City Council will vote on Monday night on Sound Transit’s plan to put a light rail through the downtown.  A privately funded study on the economic effects of the project, however, is stirring up some concerns.  Herbert Research predicts that if the light rail is built, “shoppers will visit stores less frequently, 100 businesses will move or shut down, 7,239 workers will lose their jobs and business losses will reach $1.4 billion over four years,” according to The Seattle Times report.
Attendees of the meeting will also discuss ways to minimize the project’s interruption of neighborhoods and businesses.  If the plan passes, the light rail will run from the Interstate 90 through the downtown.  To solve this problem, Sound Transit proposed to construct an enclosed tunnel for the light rail in the downtown area.  Council members, however, are concerned that this solution is too costly for the city to afford.
Herbert Research claims that the study was meant to simply research the facts.  The private company denies any attempt to influence the decision, and it is unaffiliated with either side of the argument.  While some critics believe that the number is biased and grossly overestimated, Herbert Research believes its estimate on the possible economic damage of the light rail project “is a very conservative number—it could be far higher.” Since the City Council had not decided on all of the details before the study was done though, the survey did not take into account the possibility of an enclosed tunnel through the downtown.  This option could potentially lessen the number of businesses that said they would move elsewhere if the project went through.  Either way, the Council has quite a bit of information to consider in this vote Monday night.

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