M/W budgets to climb in 2008: railroad m/w budgets are on the rise even with a traffic slowdown in 2007, as railroads work to expand capacity and improve infrastructure. '08 results

Railway Track and Structures, Jan, 2008

As the new year rolls in, railroads are preparing to meet the challenges of increasing traffic in 2008 and beyond with increases in already healthy m/w capital and operating budgets, good news for both railroaders and those who supply them. To find out who's spending how much on what, we went directly to the railroads' engineering departments for their latest numbers and we're bringing you the results here.

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AMTRAK

Amtrak's forecast engineering expenses for 2008 should be $630 million, including $443 million for capital and $187 million, $407 million for capital and $180 million for operating.

In C & S, Amtrak plans to spend $59 million, $38 million for capital and $21 million for operating. That's an increase from a total of $57 million in 2007, $36 million for capital and $21 million for operating. For 2008, Amtrak plans to install 5,900 net tons of new rail, down from 6,200 in 2007.

Amtrak plans to install 212,000 new crossties this year, 111,000 wood and 101,000 concrete. That's up from the previous year when the railroad installed 177,400 new ties, 93,700 wood and 83,700 concrete.

The railroad will surface 1,100 miles of track this year, up slightly from 1,012 in 2007.

The largest bridge project on Amtrak for 2008 is the continuing replacement of the Thames River Vertical Lift Span in Connecticut.

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BNSF

In 2008, BNSF plans to spend $2.221 billion on m/w operating and capital expenses, a nice increase from $1.988 billion in 2007.

On the communications & signal side, BNSF plans to spend $136 million this year, the same amount spent in 2007.

BNSF plans to install 179,862 tons of new rail and 35,174 tons of used rail. In 2007, the railroad installed 212,853 tons of new rail and 28,182 tons of used rail.

Regarding crossties, BNSF plans to install a total of 3,353,153 new ties this year. That breaks down into 2,857,825 wood ties, 192,292 concrete ties, 85,000 plastic/alternative ties and 3,000 relay ties. In the previous year, the railroad installed 3,470,567 ties, including 2,614,950 wood ties, 609,906 concrete ties, 100 steel ties and 4,576 relay ties.

BNSF plans to surface 13,074 miles of track in 2008 compared to 13,794 miles in 2007.

CN

CN's maintenance-of-way engineering capital and operating expenses for 2008 are budgeted at C$837 million, up from C$798 million for 2007. C & S expenses should be C$35 million for the upcoming, up from C$33 million the prior year.

CN plans to put down 105,000 tons of new rail and 25,000 tons of used rail in 2008. In 2007, the railroad installed 86,000 tons of new rail and 20,000 tons of used rail.

In the current year, CN plans to install 1,835,000 new crossties, includingl.8 million wood and 35,200 concrete. In 2007, CN installed 1,620,000 new wood ties and 30,000 new concrete ties.

CN plans to surface 6,000 miles of track this year, up from 4,500 miles surfaced in 2007.

Major CN projects for 2008 include:

* Northern Ontario. 107,000 ties put in, shoulder cleaning and undercutting.

* Southern Region-Wisconsin. 79,000 ties to be installed.

* Western Region-Watrous/Wainwright. 75,000 ties to be installed.

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY

Canadian Pacific Railway plans to spend $821 million on m/w capital and operating expenses in 2008, a healthy increase from $758 million in 2007.

CPR plans to install 84,054 net tons of rail in 2008, up substantially from 65,840 in 2007. The railroad will also install 23,836 miles of relay rail, also an increase from 12,972 in 2007.

In 2008, CPR plans include installing 1,030,000 new crossties, including 1,029,279 wood ties, 378 concrete ties and 343 steel ties. In the previous year, CPR installed 1,025,920 new ties, of which 1,021,700 were wood and 4,200 were concrete.

CPR plans to surface 2,500 miles of track in 2008 compared to 2,240 miles in 2007.

One major project on CPR this year is work on Bridge 19.85 on the former Minneapolis Northfield & Southern near St. Paul, Minn.

CSX TRANSPORTATION

CSX Transportation plans to spend $1.214 billion on m/w capital and operating expenses in the upcoming year, up from $1.136 billion the previous year. The C & S budget will climb from $258 million in 2007 to $270 million this year.

In 2008, CSXT plans to install 124,467 tons of new rail and 18,586 tons of relay rail, a substantial increase from 104,641 tons of new rail and 6,708 tons of used rail installed in 2007.

CSXT will install three million new wood ties in 2008, up from 2,922,000 new wood ties the prior year.

The railroad plans to surface 5,988 miles in 2008, an uptick from 5,617 miles in 2007.

KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN

Kansas City Southern increased its m/w capital and operating expense budget to $261 million this year from $247 million the previous year. The C & S budget remained the same as 2007 at $3 million.

KCS plans to put down 15,000 tons of new rail and 20,000 tons of used rail, an increase from 20,000 tons of new rail and 8,000 tons of relay rail in 2007.

The crosstie budget for 2008 calls for installing 685,000 new ties, 600,000 wood and 85,000 concrete. In 2007, KCS installed 576,500 wood ties and 76,360 concrete ties.