Also, there may be softer sections of subgrade that standard track and freight trains can tolerate, but would be too soft for the concrete-encased or concrete tie track that the light rail lines seem to prefer, to minimize future maintenance costs.
- Paul North.
Just for fun I thought I'd throw in some figures from local projects in the New Orleans area.
They just finished widening a 1.2 mile section of I-10 from 3 lanes to 5, with a bunch of soaring new access and exit ramps. Three years and $42.4 million.
They just started installing about 1.4 miles of streetcar track that's been in planning for years for a projected cost of $42 million. (Figures vary slightly in different articles.) They started work this Monday. Tuesday, someone filed a lawsuit to stop construction.
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"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
Paul of Covington Just for fun I thought I'd throw in some figures from local projects in the New Orleans area. They just started installing about 1.4 miles of streetcar track that's been in planning for years for a projected cost of $42 million. (Figures vary slightly in different articles.) They started work this Monday. Tuesday, someone filed a lawsuit to stop construction.
Of course they have discounted all the expenses for the 'years in the planning' from the low ball estimate.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Going back to the original subject: It might be heresy to mention it on this forum, but on 100 miles of rough terrain, would it make more sense to consider a pipeline? Then you'd need transfer facilities, but you still might come out ahead.
To change the project to a pipeline, you'd throw away all the money spent on surveying, engineering, environmental studies, r/w acquisition, permits, etc and start over.
ccltrainsOur light rail system cost $44 million per mile. This included ROW, track, electrical, stations, rolling stock, and one tunnel. Looking at electrification the cost of catenary, substations, and signaling coat the same as the ROW.
Was that for track mile or route mile?
For new construction some costs will be close to double if two tracks are built (such as rails, ties, etc.) while others, such as r-o-w assembly, may be essentially unchanged. Mostly, additional costs for a second track built at the same time will be somewhere in between.
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