Railroad Coordination Jason Orthner, PE Manager of Design & - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Railroad Coordination Jason Orthner, PE Manager of Design & - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

May 15, 2023 213 likes •665 views

Webinar | 1/17/17 & 1/19/17 Railroad Coordination Jason Orthner, PE Manager of Design & Construction Jahmal Pullen, PE Engineering Coordination & Safety Manager Rail Division Mission Established in1977, the NCDOT Rail Divisions

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Railroad Coordination

Webinar | 1/17/17 & 1/19/17 Jason Orthner, PE Manager of Design & Construction Jahmal Pullen, PE Engineering Coordination & Safety Manager

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Rail Division Mission

Established in1977, the NCDOT Rail Division’s mission is the safe and efficient movement of people and goods on North Carolina’s railroads through freight, passenger and safety programs, supporting job creation and economic growth.

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Railroads Operate in 86 of 100 NC Counties

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Class I Railroads 2323 miles

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Short Line Railroads 956 miles

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State-owned Corridors 109 miles

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Daily NCDOT Trains

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Daily Amtrak Thru- Trains

The state is served by two Class I railroads – Norfolk Southern (NS) and CSX Transportation (CSXT) and 20 Short Line Railroads. North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) owns and manages the 317‐mile corridor extending from the Port of Morehead City to Charlotte. NS operates along the corridor through and operating and maintenance agreement.

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One Point of Contact for Railroad Coordination

When NCDOT projects impact a railroad in NC – coordination with railroad is required. The Rail Division will be establishing a single point of contact.

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Railroads are private right of way, and have their own policies and

  • standards. Certain

work within corridor can only be done by railroad forces. Trains make money and must keep running Railroads are private entities in business to make money

Contact should be made immediately upon the determination that a project involves railroad coordination.

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Rail Division Organization

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Types of Projects needing Railroad Coordination

AT-GRADE CROSSINGS

  • Crossing/intersection layout
  • Railroad warning devices
  • Crossing closures
  • Railroad crossing roadway surfaces
  • Railroad crossing pavement markings
  • Railroad crossing maintenance payments

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Types of Projects needing Railroad Coordination

BRIDGES UNDER OR OVER THE RAILROAD

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Types of Projects needing Railroad Coordination

RAILROAD REALIGNMENTS

  • Realignments for parallel roadways
  • Realignments for overhead or undergrade bridges

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Coordination Process

  • Once a project has been determined to have railroad impacts,

contact the Rail Division.

  • Throughout the project, Rail Division should be involved and receive any

major submittals (ie. 15%, 25%, 65%, 90%, etc). Rail Division will provide comments as well as solicit comments from the railroads.

  • Coordination throughout the design cycle may involve many branches

and personnel of the Rail Division.

  • Planning and Development Branch
  • Environmental / NEPA
  • Engineering Coordination and Safety Group
  • Crossing Closures
  • Crossing Surfaces and Encroachments
  • Safety
  • Design and Construction
  • Signals and Devices
  • Track Design
  • Construction Coordination

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Planning and Development Branch

  • Divisions and MPOs/RPOs should obtain letters of support from the

Railroads (Class Is, and short lines) for any projects that they have submitted or are interested in submitting for STI.

  • Coordination with the Rail Division (Rail Planning Unit) will help facilitate

railroad support for the projects in the early stages.

  • Although divisions will have consultants, the Rail Division staff are

available as a resource to provide expertise on rail-related environmental/NEPA issues or railroad coordination.

Contact: Brian Gackstetter 919-707-4718 begackstetter@ncdot.gov

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Railroad Crossing Roadway Surfaces and Crossing Closures

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New Crossing, Widening Project, Crossing Upgrade Rail Division will provide:

  • Coordination during scoping/public hearing

phase

  • Coordination with the Railroad involving

potential conflicts

  • Recommendations on crossing surface types
  • Crossing agreement with Railroad for

PE/construction

  • Insurance coordination between Contractor

and Railroad

  • Invoice Review and Approval for Railroad

Construction (crossing installation, flagging, etc)

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Railroad Crossing Roadway Surfaces

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Parallel Encroachment on Railroad Right-of-Way Rail Division will provide:

  • Coordination during scoping/public hearing

phase

  • Coordination with the Railroad involving

potential conflicts

  • Parallel Encroachment Agreement with

Railroad for PE/construction

  • Insurance coordination between Contractor

and Railroad

  • Reimbursement to Railroad for their costs

(PE/flagging etc.)

  • Potential need for Right of Way Acquisition
  • Support for railroad section design and

requirements (drainage, etc.)

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Railroad Crossing Roadway Surfaces

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Resurfacing Projects Rail Division will provide:

  • Early coordination with resurfacing projects

is essential

  • Potential for joint effort to improve crossing
  • Right of Entry required by railroad to pave

in their Right of Way

  • Flagging will potentially be required for

milling/paving on parallel resurfacing projects

  • Contractor insurance will be required

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Railroad Crossing Roadway Surfaces

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Railroad Crossing Roadway Surfaces

Other Types of Encroachments

  • Pipes going under tracks or parallel in railroad

right of way

  • Roadway project ending inside railroad right
  • f way but not touching at-grade crossing

(Potential here to extend project limits to improve crossing) ** Utility companies will deal directly with the railroads when their facilities cross tracks Contact: Meredith McLamb 919-707-4132 mmclamb@ncdot.gov

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Crossing Closure

If at-grade crossing closes as part of project, need the following:

  • Closure shown on hearing map and in

construction plans

  • End of road markers, guardrail or ditch
  • Rail Division will execute crossing

closure agreement with railroad

Contact: Kumar Trivedi 919-707-4109 katrivedi@ncdot.gov

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At-Grade Crossings – Signals and Devices

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Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Warning Devices

  • Rail Division acts on behalf of NCDOT in determining and recommending

the sufficiency of traffic control treatments (flashing lights, bells, gates, and medians or any combinations of such) for highway-rail, grade crossings along State roadways

  • Assists in all facets of planning, engineering, construction, and financing of

such treatments

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Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Warning Devices

Things to Note

  • Agency must solicit railroad support for work impacting a highway-rail

grade crossing

  • Crossing signal work generally consists of the

installation of bells, flashing lights, and gates (or combination of such), and the detection system needed to activate these features

  • Construction is not typically part of contractor

bid-package (exception – medians/ roadway-related work)

  • Signal construction typically performed by

railroad or their contracted forces

  • Agency must typically reimburse railroad for

all expenses railroad incurs

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Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Warning Devices Support Provided by Rail Division

  • Assistance for determining adequacy of traffic control crossing warning

devices

  • Preliminary engineering review of roadway plans for placement of crossing

warning devices

  • Design and engineering of crossing warning devices
  • Coordination with railroads for design, engineering, and estimates

associated with track circuit work

  • Construction authorization and

inspection of crossing signalization work

  • Reimbursements to railroads for

expenses incurred on a State project

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Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Warning Devices Crossing Signal Master Agreements

State Projects Master Agreements with all Class I and most short line railroads cover engineering, design, construction, and reimbursement for crossing signal work. Municipal and Developer Projects Unless NCDOT is responsible for reimbursing the railroad for crossing work, the NCDOT Master Agreement is not applicable.

  • Lead agency to negotiate agreements, coordinate with, and reimburse the

railroad directly

  • Rail Signals Unit reviews plans

for adequacy of warning devices along the State system

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Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Warning Devices Maintenance Reimbursement

  • Under NC General Statutes, NCDOT is

responsible for ½ of expenses incurred by railroad for crossing signal maintenance at SR crossings

  • Important that Rail Division is kept up-to-date
  • f any changes to the status of a highway-

rail crossing and its treatment including those impacted by a roadway improvement project.

  • Why? Rates and annual payments for

maintenance administered by Rail Division

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Crossing Signals Unit Contacts

Rail Signals Manager Richard Mullinax 919-707-4123 remullinax@ncdot.gov

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Crossing Project Engineer Chris Bell 919-707-4122 cdbell@ncdot.gov

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Highway Bridges over/under Railroads and Railroad Realignments

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Highway Bridges over Railroad

  • Railroad coordination will go through

Structures Management Unit and the Rail Division

  • Contact Kevin Fischer with Structures

Management Unit

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Railroad Realignments and Bridges over Highway

Very complicated projects and agreement process. Stop and consider alternatives. Early coordination with Rail Division, SMU and the railroad is CRITICAL to successful project.

  • Rail Design is not Roadway Design with larger radiuses and flatter

grades.

  • Designer must be familiar with rail design to have a successful project.
  • Rail Division can either assist with design by providing technical input

and review or by completing design through one of our consultants. Contact: Matthew Simmons, PE 919-707-4117 mbsimmons@ncdot.gov

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Construction Support

The Rail Construction Unit administers railroad construction projects across the state and has multiple contacts with railroad personnel. The Unit also provides support to active highway projects involving railroads:

  • Preconstruction reviews of rail related projects aspects
  • Assistance with railroad flagging
  • Assistance with railroad delay issues
  • Assistance with coordination with railroad inspector consultants
  • Expediting right of entry issues

Contact: Eric Swanson 919-707-4111 ekswanson@ncdot.gov

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Railroad Safety

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Safety On and Around Railroads

  • Every contractor must have both safety and security credentials

(same as required for railroad contractors).

  • Railroad flagman and contract “observers” provide oversight of every

construction project within railroad right of way.

  • No tolerance policy – railroad has right to remove individuals and

contractors from the property for any violation of policy or flagman’s

  • rders.
  • Personal protective equipment is

required at all times on property.

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Emergency Notification Signs

  • “Blue Sign” Should be at all highway-rail grade crossings.

(MUTCD Section 8B.18)

  • Should be called for all emergencies or hazardous conditions

no matter the duration

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A NCDOT safety outreach program created to prevent rail-related deaths and injuries in North Carolina Our Goal: To end the tragedy of train-related death, injury and other events in our state

What is BeRailSafe?

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BeRailSafe provides free training for all NC first responders to mitigate inherent rail environment dangers and minimize risks as well as educate targeted transportation related entities about rail safety best practices Our Customers include:

  • NCDOT
  • Police, Fire, Rescue, EMS, 911 Centers
  • Transportation companies
  • Civic and Business organizations
  • Schools
  • Municipalities

BeRailSafe Services

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HIGHWAY BRIDGE RAILROAD COORDINATION

Webinar | 1/17/17 & 1/19/17 Kevin Fischer, PE Structures Management Project Engineer

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Highway Bridge Project Types

  • New Location

Overhead Bridge

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Highway Bridge Project Types

  • Existing

Overhead Bridge Widening or Rehabilitation

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Highway Bridge Project Types

  • New Location or Replacement Railroad Underpass Bridge
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Railroad Overhead Bridge Timeline

  • 18 Months Prior to Letting
  • Preliminary Plans to Railroad
  • 15% Roadway Plans
  • Structure Recommendations
  • Scoping Letter
  • Future Track Requirements
  • Train Traffic
  • Sample document “Sample Project Scoping Letter…” is located in

the Documents section of the Division Training website

  • Preliminary Engineering Letter Agreement
  • Authorizes Preliminary Engineering Force Account
  • Sample document “Sample Prel Engr Cost Letter…” is located in

the Documents section of the Division Training website

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Railroad Overhead Bridge Timeline

  • 12 Months Prior to Letting
  • Preliminary Bridge General Drawing to Railroad
  • Roadway Plans with Drainage
  • Structure Plans
  • Horizontal Opening
  • Vertical Clearance
  • Sample PDG “Sample Prel Gen Drawing…” is located in

the Documents section on the Division Training website

  • Typically Multiple Submittals Prior to Plan Approval
  • Hydraulic Design is largest delay
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Railroad Overhead Bridge Timeline

  • 6 Months Prior to Letting
  • Draft Construction Agreement and Special Provisions to Railroad
  • Standard Agreement for Typical Overhead Bridge
  • Two party agreements with NS and CSX
  • Three party agreement for NCRR/NS Corridor
  • Protection of Railroad Interest SP
  • Details of construction practices and submittal procedures
  • Insurance Requirements
  • NCRR and NS require separate policies
  • Railroad Agreement to BOT for Approval
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Railroad Overhead Bridge Timeline

  • 3 Months Prior to Letting
  • Construction Agreement and Special Provisions Approved by Railroad
  • Railroad provides a Force Account Estimate for NCDOT Review
  • Construction Submittal Review and Oversight
  • Flagging
  • Railroad Executes Agreements
  • Approved Railroad Agreement to Chief Engineer for Execution
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Railroad Overhead Bridge Timeline

  • 1 Month After Letting
  • Executed Construction Agreement Distributed to Railroad
  • Force Account is Released for Railroad Charges
  • Division Receives Notice and Agreement Copy
  • Railroad Requirements Prior to Authorization
  • Construction Right of Entry Submitted by Contractor
  • Preconstruction Conference
  • Approval of Railroad Insurance
  • Railroad Authorization Letter and Flagman
  • Norfolk Southern Checklist for Construction is located in the

Documents section on the Division Training website

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Railroad Overhead Bridge Timeline

  • After Letting
  • Construction Submittals to Railroad
  • Bridge Demolition and Girder Erection
  • Foundation Installation
  • Overhang Falsework
  • Concurrent NCDOT and Railroad Review
  • Submittals made directly by contractor to Railroad and NCDOT
  • NCDOT Review supplied to Railroad
  • Railroad Responds with Approvals or Comments
  • Submittal Times Vary
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Railroad Overhead Bridge Timeline

  • After Letting
  • Flagging
  • Railroad Discretion for Need For Flagging
  • Flaggers Versus Observers
  • Contractor Work May Minimize Need For Flagging
  • Construction fencing
  • Work Plan submittal
  • Workspace Requirements for Flaggers
  • Frequent Flagging Cost Overruns
  • Flagging for Temporary Crossings
  • NCDOT Typically Pays Cost
  • Division Personnel to Approve Invoices
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Structures Management Assistance

  • Help with Pre Letting documents and coordination
  • Submit documents and followup with Railroads
  • Provide design review
  • Assist with Pre-construction conference and documents
  • Aid in construction issues and flagging concerns
  • Review railroad invoicing
  • SMU Railroad Contacts

Kevin Fischer Brian Hanks wkfischer@ncdot.gov bhanks@ncdot.gov 919-707-6514 919-707-6419