User:Rail Served

Rail Spur Explained    Article 1

Who Pays? A rail spur is financed same as any other Tenant Improvement (TI) would be. The occupant of the property pays for it or the landlord amortizes it over the term of a lease or on a rare occasion the railroad pays for it and amortizes it across a freight contract of so many dollars per railcar delivered which is added to the freight cost.

How much does a rail spur cost? An average rail car is about 80 foot long. You need to know how many cars delivered at a time (rail spots) and how many cars need to remain on site at a time. So if you have 4 cars and 2 on hand, you need room for 6 x 80 = 480 feet plus the curve to come off the active rail line (about 200 to 300 feet) = about 700 to 800 feet depending on your site. The land needs to be flat or improved to be flat. Track is $200 to $250 per foot to install on flat land. Cars can't be stored or unloaded on the curved part of the track. You need a switch which is about $50,000 to $85,000 installed for a mechanical switch or a Positive Train Control (PTC) which is about $500,000 and $600,000. I will explain the difference between mechanical and PTC in a future article. So on flat land off the main rail line (industrial park) your cost is about $156,000 (track for 6 cars) + $85,000 (switch) = about $241,000. The pricing variance is due to prices charged by different vendors. There are also a few different kinds of spurs to consider which will be in a future article.

Make sure the railroad has approved the site for railcar delivery and the level of service (how often the railroad delivers cars) to suit the needs of the occupant of the site. Make sure the parcel shape with accommodate the length of the spur and the building location.

Different Kinds of Rail Spurs   Article 2

The spur type varies to different industries. Aggregate, food, plastics, gases, building materials and recycling each have a different spur requirement as to location in relation to the building. Check the table below for more details. These are the most common types of spurs and railcar types.

Commodity Food Setback: Usually 25 Ft., CSX 100 Ft. Where Located: Alongside of a building to use rail door(s) Railcar Type: Box car, warehouse

Commodity: Aggregate Setback: Usually 25 Ft., CSX 100 Ft. Located Where: Edge of Yard with multiple piles of material Railcar Type: Hopper car Where Located: outside storage yard Commodity: Plastic Setback: Usually 25 Ft.,  CSX 100 Ft. Where located: Alongside of building Railcar type: Hopper car, pellets pumped to a silo Commodity: Gases (propane, butane) Setback: NFPA code 25 Ft. CSX 100 Ft. Where Locate: Edge of the Yard leaving room for outside storage tanks and truck loading	Tank car, gas is pumper out through a riser to an onsite tank or truck Commodity: Building Materials,Lumber, steel, pipe, drywall SetBack: Usually 25 Ft.,  CSX 100 Ft. Where Located: Middle of the Yard with concrete pad on each side of the track for unloading from each side to keep balanced Railcar Type: Flat car, Center beam car or A-Frame car, outside storage yard or warehouse

Remember to consider the number of cars arriving at a time and the number of cars to remain on site at a time. Railcars range from about 55 feet to about 115 feet with an average of about 80 feet. The car size will impact your site shape and site size. In a very general sense, a railcar is about 4 truckloads of the commodity. Consider if you get 20 railcars inbound per week you will most like need a truck dock and a truck court to handle 80+ outbound trucks per week. Consider the outbound truck size in your site planning.

Rail Spur, Sidetrack or Loop. Which one works for my site? Laurence Kahn,  Article 3   Larry.Kahn@cushwake.com

Each of these are used to move railcars off an active rail track. •	A rail spur has a switch at one end. It is usually a few hundred to a few thousand feet long and is on flat ground. Make sure you have proper engineering to cross a ditch and to make the ground level and flat. Railcars can only be unloaded on the straight and level part of the track. Railcars cannot be stored on a curve. This generally more modest in cost. ( A switch + a few hundred feet of track) •	A sidetrack has a switch at each end. This can be use like a spur. But, railcars can be moved on and off an active rail track in either direction at either end. Often a sidetrack, is used to move an entire train (unit train) off an active rail track which may require it to be over 5,000 feet long. A unit train is 50 or more identical railcars or 85+ mixed railcars. This is often more expensive since it is often along an active track which may require Positive Train Control (PTC) switches instead of the lower cost mechanical. In addition, you need to acquire the long piece of land and engineer it to be level which can be costly. It is common for a side tract to cost more than $1,250,000. On occasion a spur may come off a side track. •	A Loop often has a set of switches which allow a train to enter and exit in the same or a different direction. A loop usually is used to load and unload a unit train which requires it to be much longer to a spur and similar in length to a sidetrack. This is often more expensive since it is often along an active track which may require Positive Train Control Switches instead of the lower cost mechanical. In addition, you need to acquire a larger piece of land and engineer it to be level which can be costly. It is common for a loop to cost more than $1,250,000.