Improving Rail Infrastructure
August 6, 2012: JDI's Maine Northern Railway is making progress with improvements to the Aroostook Lines in Northern Maine under the $10.5 million Federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. Click [here] for an update on the project as of July 31, 2012.
The Aroostook lines are approximately 233 miles long and stretch from Millinocket to Madawaska. The rail link is a critical corridor that connects Northern Maine to the North American rail transportation network.
Maine Northern Railway was selected by the Maine Department of Transportation last year to operate the state-owned portion of the former Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MMA).
Currently there are approximately 36 employees working on the program.
All programs are currently underway and scheduled to be completed by December 1, 2012 with highlights including:
- Ties: over 32,000 ties installed to date with 18,000 more to finish the program
- Ditching: 18 miles of ditching complete, with another 2 miles to go
- Culvert: nine new culverts installed, with four more to finish the program
- Rail Replacement: over 5,000 linear feet of new rail installed, with 1,740 to go
- Surfacing: 100,000 track feet surfaced, with 1.1 million track feet left to surface
- Ballast: 20,000 tons of ballast dropped, with 70,000 more to finish the program
- Brush: 22 miles of brush cut, with 178 miles left to finish the program
- Private crossings: three private crossings rehabilitated, with 31 to go
- Anchors: over 23,000 anchors installed, with 162,000 left to install