Union Pacific to begin $29 million in rail upgrades
(The following appeared on the Houston Chronicle website on February 11, 2010.)
HOUSTON, Texas Union Pacific Railroad will begin making $29 million worth of improvements to the rail line running from Spring to the Washington Corridor next week, officials for the rail company announced Thursday.
Work on the 23-mile stretch of rail tracks will begin Feb. 18 on the line that parallels the Hardy Toll Road. Crews also will make track improvements to the rail line along Washington Avenue extending from downtown Houston to Hempstead Road.
Crews will remove and install new rails, 29 track switches and more than 62,000 concrete ties. They also will spread 99,000 tons of rock ballast to build a stable roadbed and to improve roadway surfaces at 14 rail crossings.
Crews will use a modern track-renewal train known as the TRT 909, which installs rail and concrete ties in one sweep.
The vehicle can install up to 5,000 ties in 12 hours. It consists of about 30 rail cars, with each car carrying up to 210 concrete railroad ties.
The old wooden ties are picked up and removed as the machine works its way down the track.
