Construction has begun on a $17.3 million track project aimed at increasing the reliability of Amtrak’s California Zephyr passenger trains in southern Iowa by alleviating rail traffic congestion and allowing faster train speeds.
The project, paid for entirely with federal stimulus money, will involve the installation of four remotely controlled double crossovers on the BNSF Railway’s tracks at key points along a 130-mile stretch of rail line between Creston and Mount Pleasant.
The powered crossovers will enable passenger trains, operating at up to 79 mph, to quickly switch from one mainline track to a parallel mainline track in an area that frequently experiences rail traffic bottlenecks. This will allow Amtrak engineers to weave around slower-moving freight trains, many of which are restricted to a top speed of 50 mph.
“This is a very heavily used freight corridor, and we believe this will pay benefits to Amtrak passengers,” said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari in Chicago. The work is expected to be finished by late May or June.
