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To keep up with growing traffic volumes, four of Anacostia & Pacific Co. Inc.’s five short lines are spending more than $30 million this year to improve infrastructure and acquire or upgrade rail equipment.

The 107-mile Louisville & Indiana Railroad Co. (LIRC) will upgrade a Louisville, Ky., interlocking facility with a state-of-the-art signal and control system. Part of LIRC’s $2 million 2006 capital spending budget, the system will be integrated into another system that controls a draw bridge over the Ohio River.

Meanwhile, the 269-mile New York & Atlantic Railway Co. (NYA) recently placed a $300,000 order with GE - Transportation for Ultra Cab II automatic train protection equipment. NYA plans to install the equipment on locomotives that operate on a joint freight/passenger line owned by MTA Long Island Rail Road.

Pacific Harbor Line Inc. (PHL) is addressing locomotive needs, too. The 85-mile short line recently awarded a $21 million contract to Wabtec Corp. subsidiary MotivePower Inc. to remanufacture 16 switchers as part of a joint air-emission reduction program with the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., and South Coast Air Quality Management District. To be delivered next year, the locomotives will meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier 2 emission standards and be equipped with electronic control equipment.

Finally, the 129-mile Chicago SouthShore & South Bend Railroad Co. is spending more than $8 million to purchase 100 42-foot gondolas to accommodate for coiled steel traffic. In mid-May, Trinity Industries Inc. began delivering the 112-ton-capacity, 42-foot-long cars, which will feature end-of-car cushioning devices.