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On Oct. 23, Norfolk Southern Corp. held a ribbon-cutting ceremony near Manassas, Va., to mark the completion of the first of a three-phase, $50 million public-private partnership project designed to eliminate train delays at crossings.

During the past two years, NS has installed double track, improved a curve and constructed a 3,000-square-foot crew-change building. Phase one cost $15.2 million, of which NS contributed $4.4 million, with the balance funded by local and state agencies.

NS and predecessor railroad Southern Railway have operated trains through Manassas since the Civil War. Over time, the city's close proximity to Washington, D.C., and a growing population have helped increase train traffic. And because freight trains were removed from the Northeast Corridor and Conrail was broken up, the Manassas route has become part of an inland gateway.

Manassas serves as a junction point for NS' Harrisburg, Pa.-to-Atlanta mainline. When NS changes crews in the city, trains stop in the middle of town, delaying motorists up to half an hour. Up to 12 trains block crossings daily during crew changes or to negotiate a sharp curve on the wye-shaped junction. Because of the traffic congestion and track structure, NS has experienced three derailments in Manassas since 2000.

The railroad now has relocated the curve — which includes a reduced curvature degree — and a grade crossing. NS also extended double track west from Manassas two miles to provide dispatchers more flexibility and relocated the crew-change building from a yard on Wellington Road three miles west of the city to prevent crew changes from blocking crossings.

Under the projects' second and third phases, NS plans to grade-separate tracks on Wellington Road and State Route 28.

— Wally Weart