urbanMSP

This is a bit anecdotal since I don't have the numbers on exact freight haulage, but I've noticed for awhile now Progressive Rail and Canadian Pacific are hauling a lot more cars than what seems usual through Bloomington. A couple weeks ago I was in Richfield for a doctor's appointment and saw many hoppers parked on the siding just south of the Crosstown. I don't believe these were destined for the cement plant in South Minneapolis since I usually see the same hoppers parked in Bloomington for unloading. Also there was a mulch car parked at the extreme northern end of track in South Minneapolis (Pleasant Avenue & 60th Street to be exact). It's been much more common to see at least 20 cars being pulled by CP and Progressive Rail, once in a rare while CP is pulling 40 cars through Bloomington. Business is up and/or precision scheduled railroading is having an impact on this branch line and Progressive Rail is running out of room to put these cars.

From the Arterial BRT thread:

The 494 website also mentions that reconstruction of the Pleasant Ave rail bridge over 494 is a future project. It looks like there's a single user of this rail line north of 494, the aggregate plant at 61st. I assumed that LeJeune steel was still taking rail deliveries, but the aerials make it look like that spur hasn't been used in ages. Anyway, seems like maybe it's time to start a conversation about acquiring this chunk of rail for better uses. I mean, for the cost of a new rail bridge...

I have video of Progressive Rail taking steel beams there from September of last year. I don't know when LeJeune was most recently served, but as long as the spur is intact and trains can get through then it's safe to assume it's still used. Also as I mentioned in my previous post they've been storing a lot of cars on the siding just south of Highway 62 since they're running out of track space to put them all. A trail deck attached to a new railroad bridge over 494 would be nice though.

It would be interesting to know the volume/frequency/value of these deliveries.

The fact that the primary use of these tracks is to store rail cars should be an argument for removing them, not for maintaining and investing in them. My assumption is that the state is on the hook for the cost of building the new bridge over 494, not the railroad, correct?

It would be interesting to know the volume/frequency/value of these deliveries.

The fact that the primary use of these tracks is to store rail cars should be an argument for removing them, not for maintaining and investing in them. My assumption is that the state is on the hook for the cost of building the new bridge over 494, not the railroad, correct?

I wouldn't say it's the primary use, that would be serving LeJeune and the concrete facility. Progressive Rail is getting a lot more freight than usual so they have to put it somewhere until it's ready to be delivered and/or shipped out. I'd rather have that than even more trucks on the roads, and there's already too many of those.

Yes, the state is responsible for the cost. The rail line was built in 1910 while 494 came along in the late 50s or early 60s.

https://www.progressiverailroading.com/ ... GeIWgFjd-c

MnDOT is awarding $4 million in rail infrastructure improvements across the state including $210,000 to repair the bridge across 31st Avenue in South Minneapolis that's used by the Minnesota Commercial Railway and the Midtown Greenway.

After following the FTA New Starts programs for so long, I'm always surprised at how cheap basic freight infrastructure is. No wonder they don't want to give up their corridors, if they can repair a bridge for $200k and then they can convince somebody else to do it for them.

A person walking their bike on BNSF's Wayzata Subdivision near Big Willow Park in Minnetonka was struck and killed by a train Monday evening. Unfortunately this isn't too surprising for me since I've seen a lot of people walk on or next to the tracks in that area. There's several desire paths on the north and south sides of the tracks. Believe it or not those freight trains, which are going 40-50 miles per hour, can sneak up on you if you're not paying attention. There's also a curve through there so by the time the engineer sees a person on the tracks it may be too late to alert them with the horn.

My mind went to the same thing. Looks like there are some trails along the creek here, but imagine wanting to use the park and living in the subdivision to the northwest or the multifamily to the north. A direct walk across a short RR bridge over a creek may not seem too dangerous to some, but a curved 40+ mph track among tight vegetation and modern quieter locomotives would give close to zero time to react. Hopefully Minnetonka Parks / PW can consider adding connectivity here.

A person walking their bike on BNSF's Wayzata Subdivision near Big Willow Park in Minnetonka was struck and killed by a train Monday evening. Unfortunately this isn't too surprising for me since I've seen a lot of people walk on or next to the tracks in that area. There's several desire paths on the north and south sides of the tracks. Believe it or not those freight trains, which are going 40-50 miles per hour, can sneak up on you if you're not paying attention. There's also a curve through there so by the time the engineer sees a person on the tracks it may be too late to alert them with the horn.

Small but messy derailment at Division Street (just east of SPUD). From what I've read (still unconfirmed) an eastbound Canadian Pacific train didn't have enough distance to stop prior to a red light, ran through the red, and side-swiped a Union Pacific train on the same track that was beginning to turn west. The CP train derailed and hit a car on an eastbound BNSF train on another track, so all three trains are stopped. According to Amtrak's Train Tracker feature the westbound Empire Builder is currently stopped in Cottage Grove. No injuries.

Also supposedly the CP train didn't have PTC (Positive Train Control) working.

Heard this too. That Amtrak EB is going to be hopelessly delayed...

Do they ever get passengers off in those situations? It would be maddening to sit on a track in Cottage Grove if SPUD was your final destination.

Greyhound bus bridge?

Greyhound bus bridge?

It would be hard for handicap people to get on and off without a station but I think between Greyhound or Metro Transit there should be something to get these people off the train. But most people dont view Amtrak as real transportation so I doubt that they would do this.

Do they ever get passengers off in those situations? It would be maddening to sit on a track in Cottage Grove if SPUD was your final destination.

Not sure. I would think after a certain time they would, but in this case it appears the delay was 3 hours, which isn't great but probably not enough to let passengers get off on an active mainline where there's no station platform. As far as I know the Empire Builder hasn't used any of the Northstar stations to let people off in the event of a major delay.

Would be kind of a cool photo op if they had backed into Hastings to unload passengers at the old Milwaukee Railroad depot.

It is honestly bonkers that Hastings isn't an Empire Builder stop.

Pretty sure this rivals the hyperloop in terms of fantasy transit "fixes" For those who haven't heard a company called parallel systems is aiming to "revolutionize" freight trains by having a shipping container sit on some battery powered bogies which can't connect to each and are supposed to fully autonomous so no need for a train driver or crew at a switching yard...

There is a great rebuttal of this tech by Alan Fisher of The Armchair Urbanist in which he makes the following points:
- freight rail needs very strong couplers, as they take a lot of abuse
- if these are used in local operations, they will not be compatible with manual yard switches
- modern double stack intermodal cars can haul more cargo
- these will be more expensive than regular freight cars, what if they are stolen/vandalized?

https://youtu.be/nJNvpG5gktM

I really feel like I'm living in a 3rd world sh*thole country after watching this Deutsche Bahn video which was linked in the comments.

https://youtu.be/bzAg4ZMfcwc?t=169

Major derailment in Frazee on BNSF's Staples Subdivision. Thankfully it appears there are no injuries. Tomorrow's eastbound Empire Builder will likely be detouring via Morris and Willmar on its way from North Dakota to the Twin Cities.