Implementation of a Shared Use Rail Corridor: The Freight Perspective
(Room 208-209)
19 Sep 17
2:00 PM
-
2:30 PM
Tracks:
AREMA Technical Sessions- Engineering Services, Exhibition
Railroad right-of-ways provide contiguous linear corridors between communities which provide the ideal situation for transit expansion. These corridors are the life-blood of an established interstate commerce network for the freight railroads and shared use must be carefully implemented. In 2010 BNSF Railway (BNSF) entered into an agreement with Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) to accommodate independent commuter service on several freight corridors. RTD’s plan included constructing the Northwest and Gold lines from Denver Union Station toward Westminster and Golden Colorado. Then in 2014 a second agreement was signed accommodating RTD’s North Metro line toward Thornton Colorado. RTD’s Northwest line was put in service in 2016 after six years of planning, design, and construction and the North Metro line is planned to be placed in service in 2019. RTD selected a Design-Build delivery method and although BNSF’s agreements were with RTD most of the planning, design and construction coordination was with the design-build joint venture that was awarded the project. The safety, maintainability, construction quality and compliance with BNSF standards were the primary focus of the BNSF project team and had to be reconciled with RTD’s design and schedule objectives. Many third party matters such as utilities, properties, crossings and permits impacted both BNSF and RTD requiring extensive design evaluations and resolutions. RTD and BNSF entered into agreements with several strategies and protocols for working through complex issues that were anticipated to be encountered. A discussion will be presented from the freight railroad’s perspective on the processes utilized, challenges overcome, opportunities presented and lessons learned through the planning, design and construction phases of the RTD program.