Long-term goals keep shortlines and regionals ahead; keeping up on the maintenance side of railroading is just one reason why San Joaquin Valley Railroad Co. and the Indiana Harbor Belt stand out

Railway Track and Structures, Nov, 2003 by Mischa Wanek

A few years ago, San Joaquin Valley Railroad Co. and Indiana Harbor Belt were not operating at an ideal level. For instance, SJVR was one-half-million dollars in the red, had almost 100 miles of track being submitted for abandonment and had seven reportable personal injuries. Thanks to management changes at IHB and RailAmerica's acquisition of SJVR, both railroads have not only improved their track, but revenues and safety, as well.

The transition

On January 3, 2002, RailAmerica, Inc., acquired San Joaquin Valley Railroad Co. in Exeter, Calif. RailAmerica gained track miles to add to its shortline empire and SJVR gained a capital improvement program that turned the railroad into a success story.

Chuck Littlefield, general manager at SJVR, noted pre-acquisition maintenance operations at the railroad were along the lines of a deferred-maintenance plan. RailAmerica brought a pro-active maintenance plan to the table.

"The company prior to RailAmerica did not have a capital improvement program per se, they basically just expensed out their rehab projects, which were few and far between. With RailAmerica, we have an aggressive capital-improvement program that revitalizes the track structures," said Littlefield.

IHB Railroad went through a similar transition when new leadership came to the company in 2002.

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According to Gary L. Gibson, general manager for IHB, the railroad committed itself to return to its core values of providing the optimum environment for the safety of its employees and operations, providing superior levels of customer service, and ensuring financial stability.

"The M/W Department considers itself a key player in fulfilling these commitments by providing a safe physical environment for IHB employees, customers and the general public," said Gibson.

He continued to say the M/W Department ensures the integrity of the railroad's track and structures. To meet this responsibility, employee awareness is emphasized in daily job briefings, safety notices and one-on-one conversations with employees. House cleaning efforts in the form of yard clean-up and facility maintenance are stressed. IHB employees contribute to this effort by keeping their job sites free of debris or scrap.

"Safety is the basis of all success," said Gibson. "Response is quick to safety complaints, particularly those concerning walking conditions on the switching leads and yard tracks."

Current m/w challenges

SJVR is in the midst of several major rehabs of many of its track projects.

"What RailAmerica inherited was a railroad where the lines were pretty well run down and there was quite a bit of track that was being considered for abandonment. There were a lot of upgrades needed," said Littlefield. "We've been sinking a lot of capital dollars into improving the track structure.

"The only way we can provide a consistent service is by having a quality structure to run over. In order to do that, we have got to have good track in order to eliminate derailments. So far this year, we've repeated what we did last year, that is, we've greatly reduced the number of derailments on this railroad," said Littlefield. "We've only had one reportable rail incident this year, just as we did in 2002. That is the direct result of having a strong capital-improvement program that focuses on track rehabilitation."

Improvements to SJVR track include relaying entire sections of rail, three miles so far in 2003, and taking a particular interest in crossties.

"The major focus has been in replacing ties and getting the track structure back to where it needs to be to get out of excepted track status on a lot of the railroad," said Littlefield.

"We're basically putting in anywhere between 14,000-15,000 ties per year, and that makes a significant difference on our speeds. It takes us out of an expected track status of 10 mph to at least a Class 2 level speed of around 20-25 mph. You can see it cuts the service time in half," Littlefield pointed out.

SJVR's Cross Valley Project is one example of its new capital-improvement program at work. The $14.2-million, 47-mile project entails working with the State of California, local communities and some of the customers who use the line.

The project began in May 2002 and featured relaying 47 miles of railroad with 112-pound rail, an upgrade from the 75-and 80-pound rail previously used. A total of 50,000 wood ties and 50,000 tons of ballast were replaced. Work was also done to upgrade 30 switches, 40 crossings and eight bridges.

In a cooperative effort to generate the $14.2 million needed for the project, SJVRR and RailAmerica worked with county, state and federal governments, private companies and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

Although the work is still ongoing, SJVR established service on the line in August 2002.

"We've been running on this track since August 2002, intermixed with all the track equipment. We've had to have curfews and work in between tie gangs, rail gangs, surfacing gangs and everything else, but we've been able to maintain customer service throughout all of the work and we expect it to pay off big in the future," said Littlefield. "We expect everything to be picked up, cleaned up and in pristine shape by the end of 2003."