lafayette railway relocation 2002d

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LAFAYETTE RAILROAD RELOCATION,

NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORRIDOR

July 12, 2002

A Paper Submitted for the AREMA Annual Conference by:

Paul B. Satterly, P.E.HNTB CORPORATION

111 Monument Circle, Suite 1200Indianapolis, Indiana 46204

317-636-4682Fax 317-917-5210


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Abstract

Lafayette Railroad Relocation, Norfolk Southern Corridor

Paul B. Satterly, P.E.

The Norfolk Southern Corridor project is the phase of the Lafayette, Indiana RailroadRelocation project that moved the Norfolk Southern Railway (NSR) from their existingcorridor through the City to the new corridor adjacent to the Wabash River.

The main focus of the railroad relocation project has been safety. When theEnvironmental Impact Statement (EIS) was put together in 1979, there wereapproximately 20 trains per day traveling on the NSR mainline. Since the split ofConrail, there is now an average of 50 to 60 trains per day and peaks of 80 trains per dayhave occurred. The Norfolk Southern Corridor project eliminated 20 busy gradecrossings that have had a history of accidents resulting in many injuries and severalfatalities.

Components of the new 4.5-mile corridor have been under design and construction since1986. The final construction to complete the NSR corridor started in 1999 and the NSRmainline tracks were cut-over on January 22, 2001. The alignment is designed for 50mph and has two mainline tracks throughout. The corridor is grade separated and isshared with CSX. The corridor features four sets of railroad bridges over roadways andtwo highway overpasses.

Because of innovative financing and the compression of the design schedule, the projectschedule was reduced by four years, which allowed the project to provide earlier relief tothe City from potential accidents in the existing corridor.

Key Words: railroad relocation, railroad corridor


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LAFAYETTE RAILROAD RELOCATION, NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORRIDOR

Background and Project History –

Relocation of the railroads in Lafayette, Indiana has been discussed since the predecessor to the

CSX railroad was first constructed up the middle of 5th Street in the 1850’s. Serious consideration

was given to railroad relocation in the 1920’s but it was not until the 1970’s that work began on

studies for the railroad relocation project. The Environmental Impact Statement for the project was

completed in 1979. Design of the project started soon thereafter and the first phase of construction

began in 1986. HNTB was hired for construction engineering and inspection for the first phase and

continued as the lead designer and construction engineers for the remaining phases of the project.

The project was broken down into phases, each designed to be a stand-alone project in case Federal

Railroad Relocation Demonstration Project funding was constrained.

The project goal was to eliminate 41 railroad-highway grade crossings through the downtown area

by relocating the Norfolk Southern and CSX railroads to a corridor that parallels the east bank of the

Wabash River. The CSX Railroad was relocated from the middle of 5th Street to the new corridor in

July 1994 and trains of the Norfolk Southern Railway were relocated to the new corridor in January

2001. Reference Figure 1 for the overall project map.

The project consisted of independently usable segments and construction began on the first phase


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• Wabash Avenue Grade Separation – 1987

• SR 26 Grade Separation and Wabash River Bridge – 1992

• 9th Street Grade Separation – 1993

• CSX Relocation, Harrison Bridge Grade Separation – 1994

• Wabash Avenue and 9th Street Bridges – 1996

• US 52 Grade Separation and Embankment – 1998

• SR 25 Grade Separation – 1999

• Norfolk Southern Corridor – 2001

The Norfolk Southern Corridor project was the final railroad related phase, with all other phases

preparing the way for both the CSX and Norfolk Southern railroad relocations. The Norfolk

Southern Corridor construction project represents approximately a third of the $180 million cost of

the overall project.

The Norfolk Southern Railway alignment through the City consisted of a double track mainline

with 20 highway/railroad grade crossings. Train speeds were limited to 25 mph because of the

numerous grade crossings. The City had enacted a whistle ban through the City because of the

noise associated with the frequent trains. Many grade crossings did not have gates and car/train

collisions were caused in part by trains passing each other on this section of track


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on the Norfolk Southern mainline and there was not much anticipated growth. Since the split of

Conrail in 1999, there has been a considerable increase in train traffic. There now is an average

of 50 to 60 trains per day and peaks of 80 trains per day though the City. The two track Norfolk

Southern mainline crossed through Lafayette diagonally creating angled grade crossings at

almost every street.

In the three years prior to the writing of the EIS, there were 50 accidents along the Norfolk

Southern of which 16 involved personal injuries. In recent years there were fatalities at the NSR

crossings and collisions of vehicles running around lowered gates then hit by trains.

The Norfolk Southern relocation eliminates 20 busy grade crossings that had the greatest

potential for accidents, injuries and fatalities. The Norfolk Southern mainline now has no grade

crossings within the central city. The new corridor is fenced throughout to prevent pedestrian

trespassing.

The city aggressively pursued an advanced construction schedule in 1998 by proposing an

innovative financing plan. Norfolk Southern and the Indiana Department of Transportation

together advanced funds totaling $16.4 million to accelerate the project, to be paid back in later

years as federal funds became available.


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the grade crossings before Norfolk Southern tracks were relocated. Design was completed in

October 1998 and construction began in early 1999.

The alignment along the new corridor is approximately one-half mile longer than the old

alignment but speeds have been increased significantly. General freight can travel up to 50 mph

and the road-railers can travel up to 60 mph. These speeds match the speeds allowed on the

mainline north and south of the City. Trains can also stop at the East Yard and not block grade

crossings. Updated track signaling allows train traffic in both directions on both tracks.

Additional crossovers allow greater flexibility in train movements and also increase capacity on

the line.

Design and Design Criteria –

Close to 4.5 miles of two track mainline were built in this final railroad construction project.

The Norfolk Southern mainline is single track north and south of the project. Two tracks were

constructed in the corridor to replace the two tracks that traversed through the City. Along with

the mainline track, a three track interchange yard was constructed between Harrison Bridge and

9th Street, a two wye track yard connection was constructed at the south end of the East Yard

along with the construction of a pull-back track using an existing NS mainline track south of

Underwood Street. Portions of the railroad grade and all railroad bridges had been constructed

during previous construction projects. The railroad grade had been constructed between Wabash


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The Norfolk Southern corridor was designed for 50 mph freight operations with a maximum

4º00’ horizontal curvature, although road-railer trains are able to travel at 60 mph through the

corridor. Refinements in design at the north end of the project introduced two 5º00’ curves and a

compound curve of 4º30’/4º00’ reducing the design speed to 40 mph. These refinements

consisted of extending the wye track lead up to the US 52 bridge where the 4º00’ curve was

changed to two 5º00’ curves with enough tangent track in between to install a No. 15 turnout.

The compound curve alignment allowed the mainline track to be tied into existing track at an

earlier point than what was originally designed allowing the reuse of additional existing trackage

and yard leads. This change provided additional clearance between the mainline tracks and the

yard lead.

Conventional track construction was used in this project. Wood ties, cut spikes and 136 lb. rail

were used. No. 10, 15 and 20 turnouts were used and a double crossover is located

approximately half way through the new corridor. The maximum grade is 0.75% and is used on

either end of the corridor as the line drops down next to the Wabash River.

Areas of Concern and Design Focus –

To make the project successful, many years of planning and redesign were required to satisfy the

operating needs of the two railroads that were to share the corridor. The EIS in 1979 was concerned

about the basic placement of the railroad corridor. It was not until later in the project that design


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refinements in the final design for the Norfolk Southern Corridor made as a result of numerous

meetings and discussions with Norfolk Southern, the City of Lafayette and HNTB personnel.

• Lafayette Junction –

Lafayette Junction is located at the south end of the project. This is where the Norfolk

Southern Muncie line crosses the CSX and also where the two railroads diverge from each

other. The original design did not address the railroad’s current operating needs such as

trackage rights for NSR on CSX as a result of the Conrail split. The original alignment

concept had NSR as a single track though the junction and then splitting into two tracks at

the north end. To resolve the single track bottleneck and to allow NSR to CSX movements,

the eastern most NSR track was extended to make a direct connection with the NSR Muncie

line and an additional No. 10 crossover was added. The junction now consists of one No. 15

crossover between the No. 1 and No. 2 NSR mains, a No. 20 crossover between the No. 1

and No. 2 mains, and two No. 10 crossovers between NSR No. 2 main and CSX. Signal

mounds were added for signal bungalows and signal bridges. The original and final junction

designs are shown in Figure 2.

• Interchange Yard –

The interchange yard consists of a double ended three track arrangement that can be switched

by both railroads at both ends. Each track is approximately 2,200 ft. in length. The yard is


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The track alignment at the south end of the interchange yard was modified from the original

design. The double track lead into the yard was reduced to one track to simplify operations,

improve safety and to allow the installation of split point derails. The railroads were concerned

about the possibility of cars rolling out the south end of the yard due to the 0.30% grade. To

prevent cars from rolling on to the NSR and CSX mainline, split point derails were installed on

both mainline leads to the yard. The previous yard design had its entire 2,200 foot length at

0.30%. Modifications to the north end of the yard, interchange lead and interchange bridge,

allowed the north half of the yard to be constructed at a 0.00% grade. The original and final

interchange yard lead designs are shown in Figure 3.

• East Yard –

The original design of the Railroad Relocation project was approved in 1983 by the Indiana

Department of Transportation and other agencies. The original design included a single wye

track connecting the south end of the East yard to the realigned mainline tracks and a pull-

back track to switch the East yard that ended at Underwood Street. The goal of the relocation

project was to remove tracks from all grade crossings within the City including Underwood

Street. Upon further discussions with Norfolk Southern, it was determined that modifications

were needed to the wye track arrangement and that terminating the pull-back track at

Underwood Street was unacceptable in terms of yard operations. The pull-back track was

not of sufficient length to efficiently switch the yard; another 2,200 feet of track was needed.


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The City was determined to keep tracks from crossing Underwood Street. Therefore, a study

was performed to investigate alternatives to the extended pull-back track. Four alternatives,

discussed below, were studied that included: a beltway pull-back track, a north end pull-back

track, the originally designed pull-back track and the extended pull-back track. See Figure 4

for the location of these alternatives. Norfolk Southern needed wye track lengths of at least

2,200 feet to handle cuts of cars from the yard and the pull-back track had to be a sufficient

length (at least 2,400 feet from the end of the wye tracks) to allow for the switch moves.

Beltway Pull-Back Track - The beltway track was connected to only two of the main yard

tracks and could not be connected to any other yard tracks or the proposed wye tracks

without major reconstruction of the yard. Reconfiguration of the yard, to make the other

tracks accessible, would have cut the yard capacity in half. Industrial activity in the

Lafayette area required the use of the yard with its existing capacity. The sharp curvature of

the beltway track made it unsuitable for pulling and pushing long cuts of cars due to the

undesirable train handling characteristics of this type of movement on a sharp curve and the

lack of visibility. For these reasons, the beltway pull-back track alternative was determined

to be unacceptable.

North End Pull-Back Track - This alternative required the construction of a bridge across the


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the yard and the SR 25 bridge. The topography of the north end of the yard was not

conducive to switching operations since the north end of the yard slopes toward Wildcat

Creek. This grade would have made it difficult to shove cars south into the yard and to

couple to cars within the yard. This grade would have caused additional difficulties by

allowing cars to roll out of the yard and onto the switch leads. This alternative cost was

estimated at $10 million, but the cost issue was not the deciding factor since the north end

pull-back alternative was found to be operationally unacceptable to Norfolk Southern due to

the grades and the need to cross the creek.

Pull-Back Track Ending Before Underwood Street - Ending the pull-back track at

Underwood Street would have required shortening the two wye tracks from a length of 2,200

feet to a length of 1,200 feet each. Each track would have had a capacity of 15 to 20 cars and

the total capacity of these two tracks (30 to 40 cars) would be approximately half of what

would be available with an extended pull-back track. It was not possible to add two

additional tracks to the wye track group to increase the track capacity because of restrictions

in geometry at the east end of the SR 25 bridge and because of restrictions created by the

track curvature. Norfolk Southern needed a total car capacity of 60-70 cars in the wye track

group to adequately service their westbound trains. Therefore, the pull-back track ending

before Underwood Street was found to be an unacceptable alternative to Norfolk Southern.


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move back and forth into the yard assembling a cut of cars that may be up to 2,200 feet long

(30 to 35 cars) and then putting these cars in one of the two 2,200 foot wye tracks. The two

wye tracks start just east of the SR 25 bridge, extend to just north of the Underwood Street

grade crossing and have a total car capacity of 60 to 70 cars. There would be approximately

2,400 feet of track between the south switch of the wye tracks and the end of the pull-back

track at Greenbush Street allowing 200 feet of track for margin of safety. This alternative

would reuse a mainline track and would extend across Underwood Street. This alternative

was preferred by Norfolk Southern and was accepted by the City of Lafayette.

Once it was determined that tracks would not be removed from Underwood Street, the City

took the issue to the public to determine the citizen’s preference for keeping the crossing

open with grade crossing protection, or closing the crossing to vehicles. Earlier studies

determined that a grade separation at this location would not be feasible from a cost and

neighborhood impact standpoint.

After collecting input at the public meeting, the City decided to keep the grade crossing open

to provide the mobility in the neighborhood that was desired. The crossing would have a

single track and would have infrequent slow moving trains crossing at this location. Fencing

was constructed on both sides of the pull-back track to prevent trespassing and landscaping

was added along the pull-back track to mitigate the visual impact of the fence and track.


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Street and Greenbush Street to provide an alternative route for neighborhood traffic in the

event of a crossing blockage.

• Maintenance of Train Traffic –

Maintenance of train traffic was an important factor in the development of the design plans.

The sequence of construction was driven by the need to maintain train movements. This was

an added factor in the final design of the corridor. The construction of the mainline at the

south end of the project required the NSR Muncie line to be taken out of service. This track

was used by CSX for their trackage rights to the south side of Lafayette. Mainline track was

constructed along the new corridor from Lafayette Junction to the wye tracks where a

temporary connection was made to the NSR mainline. This trackage was used to transfer

CSX traffic to the south end of the City, cars were routed north up the new mainline to the

East Yard and back south though the City to get the south end once again. This arrangement

eliminated the need for a costly temporary track and helped to speed construction south of

the junction. Once the NSR mainline was cut-over, the old mainline was taken out of service

to allow the construction of the Muncie line.

The mainline tie-in at the north end of the project was modified to facilitate the maintenance

of train traffic. The alignment was changed to tie into the existing mainline at a point where

track shifts were more manageable and to eliminate the need for temporary track. This


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• Other Design Details –

There are several other design details that were refined and developed after NSR’s review of

the concept drawings and during design. Details such as signal mounds, access roads,

fencing and drainage were addressed during final design.

The subgrade was widened at crossover locations to allow for the installation of signal

bungalows and signal structures. This often necessitated piping the adjacent ditch and in

some cases, using gabion retaining walls to allow encroachment into the earth sound

attenuation berms. See Figure 5 for a typical section showing the use of gabion walls.

Access roads were non-existent in the original design. Access roads were added by widening

the subgrade and embankment where feasible throughout the corridor. The corridor through

the downtown area has only 17 feet clearance to the retaining walls, therefore roads could not

be installed in these areas. These roads provide access to all signal equipment, power

operated turnouts and crossovers.

To prevent pedestrian trespassing, 6 foot black vinyl chain link fencing was installed on both

sides of the corridor. Gates were installed to provide access to the corridor. The fencing is

also used to guard drop-offs at the tops of retaining walls and sound attenuation berms.


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was used. A three foot paved side ditch was used in areas with 15 foot clearance. See Figure

6 for a paved side ditch typical section.

Summary –

It is important to get input from all departments of the railroad during planning and final design.

Many design factors can develop that may be unknown by the various departments without

coordination. Train operations affect the sequence of construction and signaling needs affect the

width of embankments and the design of the track.

Because of the oversight by the City of Lafayette on this project, design changes and changes in

the scope of the project had to be approved by the City. It was important to have the City

participate in design discussions, especially because many of the proposed changes increased the

cost of the project and affected the City and its neighborhoods. Anytime the project varied from

the concepts outlined in the EIS, the proposed changes were presented at a public meeting.

These public meetings were important to obtain consensus from the public. In most all

instances, the changes presented at these public meetings were endorsed by the majority of the

people in attendance. The Underwood Street crossing issue was the most difficult due to the

City’s desire to keep this crossing closed to trains. Through meetings with the railroad and

meetings with the public, the need for a pull-back track through this crossing was understood and


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Because of the size of this project, it was important to develop independently usable design

segments due to uncertainty in federal funding. All project segments were packaged so they

would be no more than $15 million, to match the funding stream. It is ironic that the lowest

density line was relocated first followed by the next highest in terms of density (CSX). The big

payoff in terms of removing the majority of trains from the center of the City was not realized

until the final design segment with Norfolk Southern.

The final relocation of Norfolk Southern was key in mitigating the increased train traffic

experienced by Norfolk Southern due to the split of Conrail. The acceleration of the project

scheduled helped to reduce the amount of time these grade crossings were exposed to the

increase in train traffic.

The City of Lafayette had the vision to relocate the railroads and devoted a staff to look after the

project and assure its completion. This project has had widespread community support from the

beginning of the planning process in the 1970’s all the way through the final relocation of the

Norfolk Southern railroad.

The project has been a success. The CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads can move through a

conflict free corridor and have significantly increased their speeds and flexibility in operations.

The biggest measure of success, of course, has been the elimination of 41 busy highway/railroad


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List of Figures

Figures

Figure 1 – Overall Project Map

Figure 2 – Lafayette Junction

Figure 3 – Interchange Yard

Figure 4 – East Yard Pull Back Track Alternatives

Figure 5 – Typical Cross Section, Gabion Walls

Figure 6 – Typical Cross Section, Paved Side Ditch


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FIGURE 1 – Overall Project Map

East YardPull Back Track

US 52 Bridge

SR 25 Bridge

9th Street BridgeHarrison BridgeSR 26

Bridge

Wabash Ave.

Bridge

LafayetteJunction

New Corridor

Old Corridor

Wye Tracks


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FIGURE 2 – Lafayette Junction

Original Design Concept

Revised Design Concept

CSX Mainline KBSR Track

NSR Mainline

NSR MainlineNSR Muncie

CSX MainlineKBSR Track

NSR MainlineNSR Mainline

NSR MuncieNo. 15 Crossover

No. 10 Crossover No. 10 Crossover

No. 20 Crossover


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FIGURE 3 – Interchange Yard

Original Design Concept

Revised Design Concept

CSX Mainline

NSR Mainlines

Interchange Tracks

CSX Mainline

NSR Mainlines

Interchange Tracks

Split Point DerailsSingle Track Yard Lead


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FIGURE 4 – East Yard Pull Back Track Alternatives

2,200 ft.

1,200 ft.

End of Wye Tracks


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FIGURE 5 – Typical Cross Section, Gabion Walls


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FIGURE 6 – Typical Cross Section, Paved Side Ditch

lafayette railway relocation 2002d

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