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More CRISI: Other funded short-line projects this round (by state) 

11/12/2024

Following are some of the other short lines and regionals whose projects were awarded CRISI grants in the most recent round of funding. The descriptions, provided by the FRA’s CRISI report, are organized by state. 

CALIFORNIA 

• Arizona & California Railway Co., $22.7 million, to replace 36 miles of rail, a project that will complete the track rehabilitation program for the full 69-mile corridor. The project also calls for state-of-good-repair upgrades to replace deteriorating 90-pound rail with 115-pound rail, resulting in resiliency, higher speeds and reduced derailments. 

• Mendocino Railway, $11.4 million, to acquire and repower three Tier 0 diesel-electric switcher locomotives with three Tier 4 diesel-electric switcher locomotives, which will be put into service along the Mendocino Railway rail line between Fort Bragg to Willits, California. The project will result in the reduction of criteria pollutants and greenhouse gases. 

• Modesto & Empire Traction Co., $20.5 million, to repower nine existing locomotives. Each locomotive is powered by three internal engines, and the project would replace those with a single engine in each locomotive to meet Tier 4 emissions standards. 

• California Resources Board (CARB), $36.5 million, to replace 10 diesel locomotives with nine zero-emission battery-electric locomotives and one hydrogen fuel cell locomotive and install four battery chargers throughout California. Pacific Harbor Line, an Anacostia Rail Holdings subsidiary, will acquire five battery-electric locomotives and two battery chargers. Watco will acquire four battery-electric locomotives and two battery chargers. Sacramento Valley Railroad, a Patriot Rail subsidiary, will acquire one hydrogen fuel cell locomotive. 

COLORADO 

• OmniTRAX Holdings Combined Inc., $50.6 million, to replace railroad ties on four OmniTRAX-owned short lines across four states – Colorado, Alabama, Georgia and Washington. OmniTRAX will contribute the 20% nonfederal match. 

• San Luis Central Railroad Co., $1 million to replace 6,000 deteriorated cross ties and 126 switch ties between mile posts 10.1 and 15.2. The railroad company will contribute the 25% nonfederal match. 

INDIANA 

• Central Railroad Co. of Indianapolis, doing business as CFE, $21.5 million, to acquire a 26-car continuous welded rail (CWR) train and 75 ballast cars to support the Chicago, Ft. Wayne & Eastern Railroad. The acquisition will directly address the growing industry shortage of CWR trains and ballast cars that are needed to further infrastructure investments. 

• Madison Railroad, $5.4 million, to replace the 130-year-old North Muscatatuck River Bridge on the Madison Railroad in Vernon, Indiana. The project will address a critical vulnerability, increase bridge capacity and remove the last permanent slow order on the railroad. 

• Louisville and Indiana Railroad, $6.5 million, to improve the Clagg lift span of the Fourteenth Street Bridge, which connects Louisville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Indiana. The project will sustain the efficient multimodal transport of goods across the Ohio River.  

IOWA 

• Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway, $19 million, to replace ties along 56 miles of main line track from Cedar Rapids to Hills, Iowa, on the railroad.  

• Iowa Interstate Railroad, nearly $30 million, to replace the Colfax and De Soto bridges in Iowa, and the Rock River and Atkinson bridges in Illinois. Clearance restrictions on the Colfax and De Soto bridges prevent the shipment of large wind energy components by rail; the Rock River and Atkinson bridges in Illinois have speed restrictions that negatively impact service and operations. 

LOUISIANA 

• Louisiana and North West Railroad Co., $27.3 million, to replace outdated rail and rehabilitate track across 44 miles of the railroad’s McNeil Subdivision between Magnolia, Arkansas, and Gibsland, Louisiana. The project will enable the LNW to upgrade from the existing 263,000-pound rail-car gross weight limit along the majority of its 62-mile network to accommodate the industry standard 286,000-pound rail cars for continued transportation of essential products. 

• Timber Rock Railroad, $40 million, to rehabilitate or replace 29 bridges and replace railroad ties along the railroad from Derider, Louisiana, to Kirbyville, Texas.  

MASSACHUSETTS 

• Pan Am Southern, $21.6 million, to construct safety improvements and rail upgrades along the Pan Am Southern freight main line and Waterbury Subdivision. The project is designed to increase capacity, operational flexibility and reliability. It calls for repairing tracks and establishing preventive measures to discourage future trespassing. 

• Pioneer Valley Railroad, $8.9 million to construct environmental and safety infrastructure improvements on the rail line spanning from Holyoke to Westfield, Massachusetts, as well as at the Tunnel Hill Reclamation facility in New Lexington, Ohio. The project will replace existing 100-pound rail with 115-pound rail, as well as associated tie replacement on the railroad’s right-of-way. The project also entails construction of a new, larger, freight unloading building and expansion of an existing onsite rail track. 

MINNESOTA 

• Minnesota Commercial Railway, $15.9 million, to replace nine uncontrolled locomotives with six locomotives to meet Tier 4 emissions standards. The project will reduce fuel consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, thereby imparting benefits to the 80 customers served by the railroad. 

• Progressive Rail Inc., $37.2 million, to replace ties; install continuous welded rail; and improve ballast, surface operations and turnouts in east-central Minnesota along the railroad. The project will address decades of deferred maintenance and upgrade a large portion of the network to meet FRA Class 2 classification requirements.  

• Twin Cities & Western Railroad Co., $11.7 million, to convert 24 miles of jointed track to continuous welded rail on the railroad’s main line. The project is designed to reduce derailments, decrease repair and maintenance costs, and reduce slow orders, thereby reducing emissions caused by inefficient train service. 

MISSISSIPPI  

• Grenada Railroad, $18.2 million, to install siding, replace rail joints with continuous welded track, replace ties, resurface 26 crossings, and replace signals at six crossings. The project will enhance safety and improve service as the project will increase capacity for current and future customers and improve grade crossings.  

• Natchez Railway Inc., $7.7 million, to restore 1.2 miles of track to connect the line to an industrial park, improve 93 grade crossings, replace over 45,000 ties, place ballast, and surface and replace track. The project will create new rail connections to shippers and improve the safety and performance of rail shipments. 

NORTH CAROLINA 

• Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway Co., $18.2 million, to upgrade the railroad’s line between Charlotte and Oakboro. The project will continue efforts to modernize and increase capacity on the Piedmont Subdivision to better serve rail customers by installing almost 30 miles of continuous welded rail (CWR). The project will enhance safety by removing jointed rail laid in the early to mid-1900s with new 136-pound CWR to accommodate the industry standard of 286,000-pound rail cars.  

• North Carolina Railroad Co., $105.6 million, to improve the NC-Line to add over 5 miles of sidings, reconstruct up to 69 miles of track, eliminate one grade crossing, and improve track geometry. The project will improve safety and service by increasing on-time performance for existing Amtrak routes, which will allow for additional passenger trains along the corridor, as well as meet the needs of a growing manufacturing sector. 

OKLAHOMA 

• Kiamichi Railroad Co., $56.6 million, to upgrade track on the railroad’s Ashdown, Hope and Paris subdivisions, as well as Arkansas and Texas. The project will replace approximately 76 miles of jointed rail with CWR and resurface and install ballast on these segments, install 10 rail lubricators to reduce rail wear from contact forces, resurface 114 crossings, and install trespassing signs and barriers at 10 crossings.  

• Stillwater Central Railroad, $29.4 million, to rehabilitate ties and perform surfacing work along 120 miles of track, replace 10 bridges, upgrade an additional 40 bridges, and upgrade one grade crossing along the railroad and BNSF Railway corridor. The project will address deferred maintenance. 

OREGON 

• Albany & Eastern Railroad Co., $3.4 million, to replace 12,000 ties and associated ballast and surfacing work on the railroad’s Mill City Branch in Linn County. The project will remove all slow orders placed on the project segments and reduce the risk of derailment.  

• Albany & Eastern Railroad, $4.1 million, to improve track and track structure on the railroad’s Sweet Home Branch in Linn County. The project will replace 6.25 track miles of 85-pound jointed rail with at least 112-pound rail, including upgrading four turnouts and associated tie and surfacing work along the project area.  

TEXAS 

• Dallas, Garland & Northeastern Railroad, $16.8 million, to replace and rehabilitate rail, ballast, and surfacing and to install rail lubricators on the rail between Sherman and McKinney. 

• Jaguar Transport Holdings, $13.4 million, to rehabilitate deteriorating rail infrastructure along 28.3 miles of Texas & Eastern Railroad track. The project will replace and upgrade ties, rail, switches, ballast, surfacing and 17 crossings. 

• Rio Valley Switching Co., $5.2 million, to rehabilitate Harlingen and Hidalgo yards, add a passing siding in Alamo, and expand the capacity of rail in the Hidalgo Trade Zone on Union Pacific rail lines leased by the Rio Valley Switching Co. The project will increase crew time savings, increase efficiency of equipment usage, and reduce the risk of derailments.  

• Texas Gonzales Northern Railway Co., $4.6 million, to replace seven open deck timber pile bridges in central Texas. The project will address maximum load limitations and vulnerability to wildfire. 

• Texas Rock Crusher Railway, $3.5 million, to rehabilitate 2.5 miles of track and replace one timber bridge. The project will reduce slow orders, bridge defects and wildfire vulnerability.  

WASHINGTON 

• Columbia Basin Railroad Co., $11.6 million, to replace 10 miles of rail and 8,000 ties. The project will return the line to a state of good repair, increase operating speeds and allow for increased capacity. 

• Rainier Rail, $1.8 million, to improve four bridges in western Washington state. The bridge improvements include replacement of superstructure components, increasing clearance on the Minnesota St. Bridge, installing larger rail to accommodate 286,000-pound rail cars, and replacing aging rail ties. 

• St. Paul & Pacific Northwest Railroad Co., $23.5 million, to improve track along the main line in northwest Washington state. Specifically, the project will replace 18 miles (in two sections) of older jointed rail with 136-pound continuous welded rail and install 85,000 new concrete and steel rail ties along the entire line. 

• Tacoma Rail, $8.3 million, to acquire and repower four Tier 0 diesel-electric switcher locomotives with four Tier 4 diesel-electric switcher locomotives of comparable horsepower at the Tacoma rail yard.

Compiled by Julie Sneider, senior editor

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