Indiana Rail Road posts progress on summer trackwork projects

The Indiana Rail Road Co. (INRD) plans to spend millions of dollars this summer on the north end of its Indianapolis Subdivision to bolster track and improve grade crossings.

After installing new rail, ties and ballast on a portion of its mainline between West Street and Stop 11 Road, INRD on July 15 expects to increase train speeds to 30 mph. Most of the six-mile segment has had a 10 mph speed limit since INRD was founded in 1986.

After ongoing track improvements are completed, the entire Indianapolis-Bargersville segment will have a 30 mph speed limit, primarily thanks to the installation of continuously welded rail, INRD officials said in a press release.

In addition, area motorists will notice a greatly reduced time for trains to pass through crossings — it takes a mile-long train six minutes to pass a crossing when running at 10 mph compared with two minutes at 30 mph, they said.
 
INRD has rebuilt 10 crossings in Indianapolis, with two others to be renewed by August's end and several others to be fully replaced soon. The 2014 crossing replacements are estimated to cost about $990,000.

"By 2016, the 30th anniversary of our company, [we] will have invested more than $200 million of our own private capital to create a state-of-the-art, heavy-haul transportation system capable of delivering millions of tons of commerce consumed in Indiana and made by Hoosiers," said INRD President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Hoback. "We continue to invest with an eye on future economic development opportunities."