Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based rail products manufacturer L.B. Foster Company has begun delivering 28,500 net tons (nt) of 115# standard continuous welded rail (CWR) to New England Central Railroad (NECR), an operating subsidiary of RailAmerica, Inc. for upgrading approximately 140 miles of track. The 115# rail is being manufactured in 240ft lengths by L.B. Foster's strategic partner, Steel Dynamics, Inc. (SDI), and then welded into 1600ft strings at SDI's state-of-the-art Columbia City, Indiana facility.
L.B. Foster's specially-equipped CWR trains will complete 18 shipments of welded rail by mid-2011 for installation at various locations throughout Vermont. The track improvements are included in the Federal Railroad Administration's High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program award to the State of Vermont and funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The new rail will improve the speed of the State of Vermont sponsored Amtrak Vermonter intercity passenger service and add capacity for freight carloads. L.B. Foster's personnel are managing trackside off-loading in Vermont. "The convenience of our own weld train and jobsite management helps to expedite deliveries and minimize off-loading along this busy track," said Greg Lippard, Vice President, L.B. Foster Rail Sales.
RailAmerica, Inc. owns and operates short line and regional freight railroads in North America, operating a portfolio of 40 individual railroads with approximately 7,300 miles of track in 27 US states and three Canadian provinces.