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Old Posted Aug 5, 2022, 8:03 PM
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ardecila ardecila is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: the city o'wind
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Quote:
Originally Posted by orulz View Post
It looks to me like it would be similarly fairly difficult to expand this St Charles Air Line -> Union Station connection in the future too. It seems to me that they should plan right now for an eventual 2nd track, even if it may not be needed for the next 20+ years.
It might be short-sighted not to build two tracks on Day 1, but it won't be difficult to double-track it later if they want to run commuter service.

-Amtrak is looking to buy UP's mothballed Canal St Yard in Chinatown. This will allow them to relocate some important facilities away from the current yard and clear space.
-The ramp structure is above ground and will mostly be supported on wide straddle bents over other tracks below. I imagine they will design these straddle bents to support a 2nd track in the future; the cost to do so is minimal. Railroad structures often include provisions for future 2nd track.
-The potential for up to 4 tracks already exists over the river, with 2 tracks on the St Charles Air Line bridge and another 2 on the identical B&OCT bridge.

The Empire Connection is a different story, since it runs two levels underground below an active railyard that is itself below a highrise development. With tunnel or trench construction, the cost is proportional to the amount of soil you have to remove. Building a double-track connection back in the 80s would have cost nearly double as well.
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