Section 1: Overview

Introduction

Rail projects started
 by the railroad companies are referred to as railroad capital improvement projects. Some common railroad capital improvement projects that may impact highways and TxDOT rights of way are:
  • Adding new track parallel to an existing track.
  • Adding a
    new
     track to an industry customer
    through TxDOT right of way (previously called permitted track)
    .
  • Maintenance, such as replacement of ties, rail and ballast including at-grade crossing work.
  • Underpass bridge inspection, repair, and replacement.
  • Upgrades to circuitry and switching.
  • Adjustments related to abandoning, removing, or placing a rail line out of service.
  • Rail yard expansion.
  • Installation of new maintenance driveways.
  • Installation of new drainage structures.
  • Work impacting state licensed crossings on railroad right of way.
In this chapter, a project may be started by a railroad company or by a customer to be served by the railroad. The term railroad company will be used for these projects in this chapter. For road or pathway projects, see Chapter 1.
Any final agreements or notices discussed in this chapter may be uploaded into TRIMS as a "RR Capital Improvement Project". This is typically completed by RRD staff.

Capital Improvement Project Agreement Flow Chart

The flow chart
on the following page depicts
 the process for obtaining a project agreement on a railroad capital improvement project.
Not all steps are applicable to
every
 railroad capital improvement project. Project steps and time frames will vary depending on the project scope.
Railroad Capital Improvement Project FlowChart (click in image to see full-size image)
Figure 6-1. Railroad Capital Improvement Project Flow Chart