Agenda - Council - 02/24/1981 - Laserfiche WebLink

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up to $130,000 per crossing, GCPs also cost about $300 more per year to maintain than distance activating circuits; automatic gates may cost about $500 per year more to maintain than lesser devices. In Moorhead, a set of three actions is scheduled for implementa- tion, principally to reduce access delays to the central business district (CBD). The actions include (1) installation of a power switch to replace the manual switch at the lead to the BN's Dilworth yard Just east of Moorhead, (2) changing signal circuitry on the southern main line to permit an increase in the maximum allowable train speed from 25 mph to 35 mph, and (3) installation of ~rade crossin~ predictors, also on the southern main line. The actions will be implemented only on the southern of the two parallel main lines bordering the CBD and separating it from the residerr- rial community. The southern line currently experiences 80 percent of the rail operations and separates 75 percent of the population from the CBD. Thus, it was decided to focus efforts on this line. (A more even distribu- tion of trains between the main lines was investigated but found to be expensive and ineffective in reducing CBD access problems.) It is apparent that an increase in maximum allowable train speed will decrease the amount of time crossings are blocked (thereby the amount of vehicle delay). The power switch also will permit faster train speeds through Moorhead and thus contribute to a reduction in crossing delays. , This is accomplished by eliminating the stop/start movements required to operate the existing manual switch and enter the yard. That is, entrance to Dilworth yard used by eastbound, nonlocal trains is currently controlled by a manually operated switch. The existing manual switch requires a train 23