Panhandle Northern Railroad seeks CRISI grant for safety improvements

The city of Borger, Texas, has applied for a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration's Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program that would help fund a project to improve the safety and security of the Panhandle Northern Railroad LLC (PNR).

The city is the lead applicant for the grant, but is joined by the short line and the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission as co-applicants, according to a city press release.

The $4.3 million project calls for the installation of 13,682 new ties, and 13,415 tons of ballast along the PNR's 32-mile right of way. Project planners say the work will improve the safe transportation of more than 10,000 carloads of materials, including sensitive materials, as well as more than 1,000 carloads of hazardous materials.

If the CRISI grant is funded, PNR will pay the entire local grant match of $2.16 million.

Operated by OmniTRAX Inc., PNR is a former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (now BNSF Railway Co.) line which operates between the communities of Panhandle and Borger. Borger is the home of the nation's largest inland petrochemical complex.