Re: Can freight trains ever operate on track where Light Rail Operates
Author: Portland has entered the chat
Date: 10-14-2024 - 09:04
FUD Wrote:
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> A special case of sharing is where light rail
> crosses an active freight track at grade. Some
> kind of interlocking signaling is usually needed
> in those cases, even if the freight track is
> lightly used. A lot of older systems in the
> eastern part of the US have one or more of those.
> Even Sacramento had one, for a while, on its Green
> line.
Portland's newest light rail line has an at-grade crossing with an active freight railroad line, AND shares a ROW with a Union Pacific mainline (and yes, that means TriMet has to comply with certain FRA regulations as a result.)
I'm not talking the 1986 era original Gresham line - this is the NEWEST route, the Orange Line to Milwaukie. Brand new. This isn't some kind of "grandfathered" thing, it happens right now.