Railroad switch improvements delayed while carriers debate

When the Huey P. Long Bridge was completed in 1935, it was equipped with a railroad signal system in towers at both ends.

Today, all six major railroads serving Louisiana cross that bridge, which is known officially as the New Orleans Gateway. And after nearly seven decades, the railroads

Go to the east bridge tower, take a photo and that photo (could) go directly to a museum, said Tom Atkinson deputy assistant secretary for intermodal transportation for the state Department of Transportation and Development.

Now, a state project known as the New Orleans Rail Gateway Project is under way to upgrade the aging signals.

The vintage control tower technology will be replaced with up-to- date equipment as soon as all six Class One railroad lines agree on the system that should be installed in its place.

Modern rail technology is computerized and upgraded every year, said Jim Bridger, general manager of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad, which owns the Huey P. Long Bridge. It's taking longer in New Orleans because you've got six railroads that have to agree on what needs to be done, and therein lies the delay, he said.

All lines favor upgrading the system but want to make sure upgrades made now will work well in the future, Bridger said.

The Public Belt provides rail service in the New Orleans area and interchanges with all six of the major rail lines serving New Orleans.

In addition to signal upgrades, officials also want to build a centralized communications center.

The project is part of the Louisiana Statewide Rail System Plan, which has identified problems, solutions and costs for the state's rail system. Those identifications and upgrades are continually evolving, Atkinson said.

The signal towers allow trains to cross the bridge before another train is allowed on it, Atkinson said.

The upgrade designs also call for a centralized, Web-based communications and camera system.

It will allow railroads to see what's going on from their respective dispatching center, whether it's Omaha, (Neb.), or Jacksonville, (Fla.), Bridger said. They will have a better feel as to how to integrate their prospective plans.

The DOTD initiated the plan several years ago. San Francisco- based consultants URS Corp.'s New Orleans office and St. Laurent, Canada-based rail services company Canac Inc. completed a study in 2002.

What that showed was that some of the shippers complained that it takes an extraordinarily long amount of time to get goods across the Gateway, Atkinson said.

Though there has never been a collision on the bridge, the signal technology is simply too old, Bridger said.

Once upgrades are made, all six railroads will own them and be responsible for maintenance costs, Atkinson said.

The federal government has committed $5 million to the project, which must be matched by the railroads. No state money is involved in the project, Atkinson said.

The primary users are Union Pacific Railroad and Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Bridger said.

The industry is right now looking at route structure to and through New Orleans to identify infrastructure improvements that would benefit both passenger and freight, said Robin Chapman, spokesman for Norfolk (Va.) Southern Railroad. The railroads are meeting later this month to look at design criteria.

Chicago officials are studying a similar but larger $1.5 billion project involving as many railroads, Chapman said. It involves track improvement, interchange of traffic and updating technology. The problem in Chicago, Chapman said, is high traffic congestion in one of the largest rail gateways in the nation.

Though Amtrak is not involved in the upgrade, it will provide more timely movement for its trains, which cross the bridge a couple of times a day, Bridger said.

The $10 million primary projected cost could change as railroads coordinate and plan what needs to be done, Atkinson said. There is no estimated time frame for the project at this time, he said.

The Gateway project changes will streamline the flow of goods, reduce shipping time, allow railroads to be more responsive to their customers, and may even lower costs, Atkinson said.

According to the Federal Railroad Administration, in 2001, 1.5 trillion tons of goods traveling through the freight railroad industry generated $36.6 billion in revenue. Total rail freight traffic in Louisiana in 1999 was 119.4 million tons according to the Louisiana Statewide Rail System Plan.

Our goal is to make our transportation system as efficient as possible, to lower the cost to shippers, and to nurture economic development, Atkinson said.