Industry partner improves rails to Sunny Point Terminal

Translog: Journal of Military Transportation Management, May-June, 2002 by Robert Korpanty

When ammunition is shipped by railroad to and from the Military Ocean Terminal at Sunny Point, its journey includes a five-mile section connecting the main line with the Army's own tracks.

Now, as a result of industry partnership, that section of track has been improved and upgraded. The owner of the track, CSX Transportation, performed the upgrade to improve defense readiness conditions. The rail line is a critical connection leading to the North Carolina terminal between Leland and Navassa.

The railroad installed continuous welded rail and new track ballast, and upgraded many of the road crossings along the line. The work was completed in November, without disruption to ammunition shipments. Continuous welded rail, often called ribbon rail, is a 400-foot section of steel rail that does away with the periodic maintenance of tightening and replacing bolts on jointed rail

"We are very pleased with the work CSX Transportation has completed on its track," said Bassam Mansour, installation engineer.

The railroad initiated some line upgrades earlier in 2001 that included the installation of an additional 500 new cross ties. As part of its Railroads for National Defense mission, agency engineers asked the Federal Railroad Administration's Office of Safety to inspect the upgraded track.

The line met minimum standards. Engineers representing all three organizations, however, wondered how the all-important track could be upgraded further. They reached consensus that the replacement of the line's 39-foot rails with continuous welded rail would be an improvement. To meet economic considerations, recycled ribbon rail was recommended. CSX Transportation completed the work after a positive exchange of letters between Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Privratsky, MTMC Commanding General, and Michael Ward, the President of CSX Transportation.

For 26 years, the Transportation Engineering Agency has administered the Railroads for National Defense Program on behalf of the Department of Defense, U.S. Transportation Command and the Military Traffic Management Command. The program helps assure military access to the nation's commercial railroad network. The agency works with each service headquarters to define civil rail requirements.

In partnership with the Federal Railroad Administration, agency engineers develop the Strategic Rail Corridor Network and its connectors using traffic density and safety maintenance data. The SRCN is the minimum rail network required to deploy and supply United States military forces.