Rail freight transport is the use of railways and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers .
123-750: The Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel (also known as the Cross Harbor Rail Freight Tunnel ) is a proposed freight rail transport tunnel under Upper New York Bay in the Port of New York and New Jersey between northeastern New Jersey and Long Island , including southern and eastern New York City . In November 2014, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey released a Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for its Cross Harbor Freight Program. It reviewed four waterborne and four tunnel alternatives. Estimated costs for
246-448: A goods station (freight station in US). Smaller locomotives transferred the rail cars from the sidings and goods stations to a classification yard , where each car was coupled to one of several long-distance trains being assembled there, depending on that car's destination. When long enough, or based on a schedule, each long-distance train was then dispatched to another classification yard. At
369-754: A ticket system (or closed system) for collecting tolls. Initially tolls on the Connecticut Turnpike were $ 0.25, and the toll barriers were located in the following locations: Greenwich, Norwalk, Stratford, West Haven, Branford, Madison, Montville, and Plainfield. Tolls also were collected until 1969 in Old Saybrook at the west end of the Baldwin Bridge over the Connecticut River. Additionally, unlike other toll roads which featured widely spaced interchanges and generally ran along
492-435: A Cross Harbor Rail Freight Tunnel as a federal transportation project in the U.S. Transportation Equity Act of 2005. The 2014 Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) considered 29 alternatives and selected ten for further study, including five tunnel options and five waterborne options. The tunnel options considered include the following: The waterborne options include enhanced rail float operations, going beyond what
615-489: A Tier II Environmental Impact Statement. The Tier II process is expected to take three years. Some critics object that improving rail transport with a tunnel would provide little traffic reduction relative to its high cost. The West Maspeth facility has been heavily criticized. It is proposed for an industrial site about four blocks south of the interchange between the Long Island Expressway (I-495) and
738-488: A broad gauge connection. (A metre-gauge connection between the two broad gauge networks, the Transandine Railway was constructed but is not currently in service. See also Trans-Andean railways . ) Most other countries have few rail systems. The standard gauge in the east, connect with Paraguay and Uruguay. The railways of Africa were mostly started by colonial powers to bring inland resources to port. There
861-670: A combined population of 7.7 million. It is served by the Long Island Rail Road , the busiest commuter railroad in North America. Rail freight service on Long Island is provided by the New York and Atlantic railroad (NYA), which operates on LIRR tracks and carries about 30,000 carloads each year. The NYA connects with CSX Transportation via the Hell Gate Bridge to CSX Transportation's Oak Point Yard in
984-447: A direct rail connection. Despite the closure of many minor lines carload shipping from one company to another by rail remains common. Railroads were early users of automatic data processing equipment, starting at the turn of the twentieth century with punched cards and unit record equipment . Many rail systems have turned to computerized scheduling and optimization for trains which has reduced costs and helped add more train traffic to
1107-600: A guardrail separating directions of travel. The Connecticut Turnpike incorporated a pre-existing relocation of US 1 between Old Saybrook and Old Lyme, which included the original Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge over the Connecticut River, which opened in 1948. Upon the turnpike's opening in 1958, US 1 has been co-signed with the turnpike between exit 68 in Old Saybrook and exit 70 in Old Lyme. Route 2A
1230-452: A location, whose origin/destination was a rail terminal yard. This product sometimes arrived at/departed from that yard by means of a through freight. At a minimum, a way freight comprised a locomotive and caboose, to which cars called pickups and setouts were added or dropped off along the route. For convenience, smaller consignments might be carried in the caboose , which prompted some railroads to define their cabooses as way cars, although
1353-526: A mass migration of New Yorkers, leading to substantial residential and economic growth in Fairfield and New Haven counties. The turnpike became a primary commuter route to New York City . With additional segments of I-95 that opened in the 1960s connecting to Providence and Boston , the turnpike became an essential route for transporting people and goods throughout the Northeast . As a result, much of
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#17327795806341476-603: A new extradosed Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge over the Quinnipiac River and New Haven Harbor . Plans to upgrade the turnpike received a boost in 2005 when federal legislation known as SAFETEA-LU designated the I-95 portion of the Connecticut Turnpike from the New York state line to Waterford as High Priority Corridor 65 . Corridor 65 also includes the 24-mile (39 km) section of I-95 from Waterford to
1599-520: A new, but little-used, connection to the standard-gauge network is available at Zahedan . The four major Eurasian networks link to neighboring countries and to each other at several break of gauge points. Containerization has facilitated greater movement between networks, including a Eurasian Land Bridge . Canada , Mexico and the United States are connected by an extensive, unified standard gauge rail network. The one notable exception
1722-673: A port. Rail freight uses many types of goods wagon (UIC) or freight car (US). These include box cars (US) or covered wagons (UIC) for general merchandise, flat cars (US) or flat wagons (UIC) for heavy or bulky loads, well wagons or "low loader" wagons for transporting road vehicles; there are refrigerator vans for transporting food, simple types of open-topped wagons for transporting bulk material, such as minerals and coal , and tankers for transporting liquids and gases. Most coal and aggregates are moved in hopper wagons or gondolas (US) or open wagons (UIC) that can be filled and discharged rapidly, to enable efficient handling of
1845-410: A public meeting on expanding I-84 (an Interstate that parallels I-95 about 20 miles [32 km] further inland), "If we had tried to build I-95 today, it would be impossible because of the sensitive ecosystems it passes through. It would never get approved." A comprehensive plan to address safety and capacity issues on the Connecticut Turnpike did not progress beyond the initial planning stages until
1968-420: A rail line through Central America to South America. Brazil has a large rail network, mostly metre gauge, with some broad gauge. It runs some of the heaviest iron ore trains in the world on its metre gauge network. Argentina have Indian gauge networks in the south, standard gauge in the east and metre gauge networks in the north. The metre gauge networks are connected at one point, but there has never been
2091-559: A rail tunnel and will add substantial cost to overcome. Rail yards east of New York Harbor lack a trans-shipment terminal with enough capacity to transfer the freight coming through a Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel to trucks. A proposal was generated to acquire 100 acres (40 ha) of land to build one in West Maspeth , Queens . Studies performed for the Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel say about 30,000 trucks per day cross
2214-466: A result, three major rail gauges are in use. A standard gauge Trans-Australian Railway spans the continent. In 2011, North American railroads operated 1,471,736 freight cars and 31,875 locomotives, with 215,985 employees, They originated 39.53 million carloads (averaging 63 tons each) and generated $ 81.7 billion in freight revenue. The largest (Class 1) U.S. railroads carried 10.17 million intermodal containers and 1.72 million trailers. Intermodal traffic
2337-443: A road vehicle. Several types of cargo are not suited for containerization or bulk; these are transported in special cars custom designed for the cargo. Less-than-carload freight is any load that does not fill a boxcar or box motor or less than a Boxcar load . Historically in North America, trains might be classified as either way freight or through freight. A way freight generally carried less-than-carload shipments to/from
2460-611: A section of the turnpike's northbound Mianus River Bridge in Greenwich collapsed due to corrosion of its substructure, killing three motorists crossing it at the time. On March 25, 2004, a tanker truck carrying fuel swerved to avoid a car that cut the truck off and subsequently overturned, dumping 8,000 US gallons (30,000 L) of home heating oil onto the Howard Avenue overpass in Bridgeport . Passing vehicles kicked up
2583-515: A ticket system where one obtained a ticket at entering the toll road, then paid a distance-based fare upon exiting. The turnpike was renamed after former Connecticut Governor John Davis Lodge on December 31, 1985, two months after the tolls were removed. Local legend is the initial phase of turnpike construction in 1954 was so disruptive in heavily Republican Fairfield County that local voters there turned on incumbent Republican Governor Lodge, leading to his defeat by Abraham Ribicoff . Initially,
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#17327795806342706-639: A town or area, by hopping a freight train is sometimes referred to as "catching-out", as in catching a train out of town. Bulk cargo constitutes the majority of tonnage carried by most freight railroads. Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. These cargo are usually dropped or poured, with a spout or shovel bucket, as a liquid or solid, into a railroad car . Liquids, such as petroleum and chemicals, and compressed gases are carried by rail in tank cars . Hopper cars are freight cars used to transport dry bulk commodities such as coal , ore , grain , track ballast , and
2829-438: A viable competitor where water transport is available. Freight trains are sometimes illegally boarded by individuals who do not have the money or the desire to travel legally, a practice referred to as " hopping ". Most hoppers sneak into train yards and stow away in boxcars. Bolder hoppers will catch a train "on the fly", that is, as it is moving, leading to occasional fatalities, some of which go unrecorded. The act of leaving
2952-803: Is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons ( International Union of Railways ) hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, transporting cargo all or some of the way between the shipper and the intended destination as part of the logistics chain. Trains may haul bulk material , intermodal containers , general freight or specialized freight in purpose-designed cars. Rail freight practices and economics vary by country and region. When considered in terms of ton-miles or tonne-kilometers hauled, energy efficiency can be greater with rail transportation than with other means. Maximum economies are typically realized with bulk commodities (e.g., coal ), especially when hauled over long distances. Moving goods by rail often involves transshipment costs, particularly when
3075-401: Is expected to produce less freight tonnage diversion than the tunnel (2.8 million tons per year vs 9.6), its costs are dramatically less, $ 175 million vs. $ 7.2 billion. The EIS recommends a phased approach, starting by building enhanced float service for carload freight, adding capacity for intermodal traffic, developing needed intermodal facilities on Long Island and finally planning and building
3198-578: Is for SR 695 westbound. The interchange with I-395 is only partial: there is no access provided from SR 695 westbound to I-395 northbound and no access from I-395 southbound to SR 695 eastbound. The general route and construction of the turnpike were both mandated by state law. Intended to relieve congestion on US 1 and Route 15 (the Merritt and Wilbur Cross parkways), design work began in 1954. The Connecticut Turnpike opened to traffic on January 2, 1958, at 2:30 p.m. However,
3321-466: Is grouped into the federal statistical areas around New York City and it suffers from consequences and special regulations applied to non-compliant air quality areas. An example of this is that it is easier to lengthen an entrance or exit ramp than to add a full lane, since adding any capacity to a road, by definition, will increase the pollution created by the road, further violating federal air quality standards. In 2000, one ConnDOT official commented during
3444-551: Is moved by containers stacked on transport ships; 26% of all container transshipment is carried out in China. As of 2005 , some 18 million total containers make over 200 million trips per year. Use of the same basic sizes of containers across the globe has lessened the problems caused by incompatible rail gauge sizes in different countries by making transshipment between different gauge trains easier. While typically containers travel for many hundreds or even thousands kilometers on
3567-406: Is not carried on the train, only the trailer. Piggyback trains are common in the United States, where they are also known as trailer on flat car or TOFC trains, but they have lost market share to containers (COFC), with longer, 53-foot containers frequently used for domestic shipments. There are also roadrailer vehicles, which have two sets of wheels, for use in a train, or as the trailer of
3690-575: Is owned by private companies that also operate freight trains on those tracks. Since the Staggers Rail Act of 1980, the freight rail industry in the U.S. has been largely deregulated. Freight cars are routinely interchanged between carriers, as needed, and are identified by company reporting marks and serial numbers. Most have computer readable automatic equipment identification transponders. With isolated exceptions , freight trains in North America are hauled by diesel locomotives , even on
3813-840: Is still the main use of freight railroads. Greater connectivity opens the rail network to other freight uses including non-export traffic. Rail network connectivity is limited by a number of factors, including geographical barriers, such as oceans and mountains, technical incompatibilities, particularly different track gauges and railway couplers , and political conflicts. The largest rail networks are located in North America and Eurasia. Long distance freight trains are generally longer than passenger trains, with greater length improving efficiency. Maximum length varies widely by system. ( See longest trains for train lengths in different countries.) Many countries are moving to increase speed and volume of rail freight in an attempt to win markets over or to relieve overburdened roads and/or speed up shipping in
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3936-515: Is the busiest freight line in the world Such economies of scale drive down operating costs. Some freight trains can be over 7 km long. Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using standard shipping containers (also known as ' ISO containers' or 'isotainers') that can be loaded with cargo, sealed and placed onto container ships , railroad cars , and trucks . Containerization has revolutionized cargo shipping. As of 2009 approximately 90% of non- bulk cargo worldwide
4059-472: Is the isolated Alaska Railroad , which is connected to the main network by rail barge . Due primarily to external factors such as geography and the commodity mix favoring commodities such as coal, the modal share of freight rail in North America is one of the highest worldwide. Rail freight is well standardized in North America, with Janney couplers and compatible air brakes . The main variations are in loading gauge and maximum car weight. Most trackage
4182-585: Is too wide to run on tracks where third rail is used, as it is on much of the Long Island Rail Road's passenger routes. Concern has been expressed about the project's impact on Port Authority toll revenue. The proposed "MoveNY" transportation plan would use right-of-way needed for the tunnel project, including the Bay Ridge branch, to build a new Triboro RX subway service connecting The Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn, potentially interfering with
4305-655: Is used in India for selected freight-only lines. In some countries rolling highway , or rolling road, trains are used; trucks can drive straight onto the train and drive off again when the end destination is reached. A system like this is used on the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, as well as on the Konkan Railway in India. In other countries, the tractor unit of each truck
4428-635: The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278), where Nichols Copper and later Phelps Dodge operated a copper refinery for decades. The copper plant closed in 1983, and the site has been largely vacant since then, although a new food warehouse was completed at its eastern end in 2005. It abuts the heavily polluted Newtown Creek . Although the Cross-Harbor tunnel terminal site is close to two major highways and existing rail, many access routes pass through residential neighborhoods. Based on
4551-729: The City government , the New York City Economic Development Corporation commissioned a study of rail freight traffic across New York Harbor . The Cross Harbor Freight Movement Major Investment Study received $ 4 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation and $ 1 million from the New York City Industrial Development Agency. Edwards and Kelcey, a transportation engineering firm in Morristown, NJ ,
4674-558: The George Washington Bridge and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge going to or from parts of Long Island , including Queens and Brooklyn , or about 10 million trucks per year. The Final Tier I Draft Environmental Impact Statement recommends further study of two alternatives: enhanced rail float operations and the most basic rail tunnel among the tunnel alternatives. While the rail float alternative
4797-765: The Governor John Davis Lodge Turnpike ) is a freeway and former toll road in the U.S. state of Connecticut ; it is maintained by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT). Spanning approximately 128 miles (206 km) along a generally west–east axis, its roadbed is shared with Interstate 95 (I-95) for 88 miles (142 km) from the New York state border in Greenwich to East Lyme ; I-395 for 36 miles (58 km) from East Lyme to Plainfield ; and SR 695 for four miles (6.4 km) from Plainfield to
4920-630: The I-290 designation southward along free Route 52 and the Connecticut Turnpike to I-95 in Waterford. AASHTO rejected the I-290 request and instead approved the I-395 designation in 1983. Several notorious accidents have occurred throughout the turnpike's history. The worst of these was a serious incident on January 19, 1983, in which a tractor trailer after a brake failure collided with four cars at
5043-531: The Rhode Island state line at U.S. Route 6 (US 6) in Killingly . The turnpike briefly runs concurrently with US 1 from Old Saybrook to Old Lyme and Route 2A from Montville to Norwich . Construction on the Connecticut Turnpike began in 1954 and the highway was opened in 1958. It originally followed a sequential exit numbering system that disregarded route transition, where
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5166-458: The Stratford toll plaza, killing seven people and injuring several others. The investigation following the crash determined that the truck driver fell asleep at the wheel just before the crash took place. At the time, the government of Connecticut was removing tolls along the turnpike; as a result of the incident, the government expedited the removal of the remaining tollbooths. In June 1983,
5289-690: The United States have long been limited. At present, freight trains from the west and south destined for New York City (except for Staten Island, via the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge ), Long Island and Connecticut must cross the Hudson River using the Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge which is 140 miles (225 km) north of New York City at Selkirk , New York , making a 280-mile (451 km) detour known as
5412-402: The barge transport docks , but today's passenger and commuter traffic frequencies are at capacity and preclude freight movements. Proposals for a cross-harbor tunnel were floated as early as the 1920s. In the early 1990s, U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler revived interest in direct connection of rail freight to Long Island, hoping to reduce truck traffic through Manhattan. With support from
5535-411: The intelligent transportation system with traffic cameras, a variety of embedded roadway sensors, and variable-message signs . Since the start of the program, a six-mile (9.7 km) section through Bridgeport was completely rebuilt to Interstate standards. In 2015, a long-term $ 2 billion program was completed, to rebuild 12 miles (19 km) of turnpike between West Haven and Branford , including
5658-582: The " Selkirk hurdle ." Partly as a result, less than 3% by weight of the area's freight is said to move by rail. The former Pennsylvania Railroad planned a freight railroad tunnel between Brooklyn and Staten Island in 1893, but the project was never carried out. Attempts by government planners to revive the project from the 1920s through the 1940s did not succeed. The Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad tunnels through New York Penn Station , generally used only for passenger trains , were used briefly for freight during World War I to relieve congestion at
5781-539: The 2010s, most North American Class I railroads have adopted some form of precision railroading . The Guatemala railroad is currently inactive, preventing rail shipment south of Mexico. Panama has freight rail service, recently converted to standard gauge, that parallels the Panama Canal . A few other rail systems in Central America are still in operation, but most have closed. There has never been
5904-737: The Bronx. It also connects to CSX and Norfolk Southern in the Greenville section of Jersey City, NJ, via a cross harbor float barge service, the New York New Jersey Rail, LLC , currently owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey . The New York City boroughs of the Bronx and Staten Island have active rail freight connections, via the Oak Point Link and the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge , respectively. The latter connects Staten Island with rail lines west of
6027-496: The Connecticut Turnpike in Greenwich at the New York state line. The turnpike stretches for 128.5 miles (206.8 km) across the state, but only the first 88 miles (142 km) is signed as I-95. This portion of the highway passes through the most heavily urbanized section of Connecticut along the shoreline between Greenwich and New Haven, going through the cities of Stamford , Norwalk , Bridgeport , and New Haven , with daily traffic volumes of 120,000 to over 150,000 throughout
6150-399: The Connecticut Turnpike toll booths were of the same size and weight as New York City Subway tokens. Since the turnpike tokens cost less than one third as much, they began showing up in subway collection boxes regularly. Connecticut authorities initially agreed to change the size of their tokens, but later reneged and the problem went unsolved until 1985, when Connecticut discontinued tolls on
6273-581: The Connecticut Turnpike was operated by the Connecticut Highway Department (later the Connecticut Department of Transportation) from its inception. Additionally, unlike toll roads in other states where revenues collected from motorists were legally required to be kept within the toll road authority and used to finance the facility's construction and upkeep, toll revenues from the Connecticut Turnpike were placed into
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#17327795806346396-454: The Connecticut Turnpike was signed as an east–west route, even after the I-95 designation was added to the turnpike between Greenwich and Waterford in the early 1960s. Signs indicating I-95/Connecticut Turnpike as an east–west route existed in places until the early 1990s, when the remaining east–west signage was replaced by north–south signage. From Waterford to Killingly, the turnpike was initially designated as Route 52 in 1967, following
6519-740: The Cross Harbor Freight Movement Project, the alignment favored for a Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel is between portals (access points) located in Conrail 's Greenville Yard in Jersey City and along the Long Island Rail Road 's Bay Ridge Branch in Brooklyn, crossing the middle of the Upper Harbor , with a length of 5.7 mi (9.2 km). During the environmental assessment, existing rail infrastructure
6642-654: The Cross-Harbor Tunnel Coalition, also known as "MoveNYNJ" or "Move NY & NJ". The Cross Harbor Freight Movement Project is supported by funds from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration , the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration and the New York City Economic Development Corporation, while the Cross-Harbor Tunnel Coalition is a voluntary organization of business, union and political leaders. Political activity led to authorization of $ 100 million for
6765-641: The European Union participate in an auto-gauge network. The United Kingdom is linked to this network via the Channel Tunnel . The Marmaray project connects Europe with eastern Turkey, Iran, and the Middle East via a rail tunnel under the Bosphorus . The 57-km Gotthard Base Tunnel improved north–south rail connections when it opened in 2016. Spain and Portugal are mostly broad gauge, though Spain has built some standard gauge lines that connect with
6888-550: The European high-speed passenger network. A variety of electrification and signaling systems is in use, though this is less of an issue for freight; however, clearances prevent double-stack service on most lines. Buffer-and-screw couplings are generally used between freight vehicles, although there are plans to develop an automatic coupler compatible with the Russian SA3. See Railway coupling conversion . The countries of
7011-604: The Hudson, and serves the Howland Hook Marine Terminal and a municipal waste facility, but there are no rail connections between Staten Island and the rest of New York City or Long Island. Manhattan last saw freight service in 1983. The West Side freight line was partially converted to passenger service to Pennsylvania Station in 1991, with the West Side freight yards replaced by Riverside South and
7134-542: The Massachusetts Turnpike). There are two partial exits on SR 695. Westbound exit 1 (formerly exit 90) at Squaw Rock Road is only accessible westbound. The easternmost exit (also numbered exit 1, but formerly unnumbered), located 1,500 feet (460 m) east of the Squaw Rock Road onramp and accessible only eastbound, is for Ross Road, and the only onramp provided from Ross Road
7257-654: The Port Authority issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a “Tier II” Environmental Impact Study of the rail tunnel and enhanced railcar float alternatives. A $ 23.7 million, three-year contract for the Tier II study was awarded in early 2018. The Tier II study was suspended during the COVID-19 crisis , but was restarted in February 2022. Direct connections for rail freight between Long Island and nearby areas of
7380-538: The Rhode Island state line in Killingly . The road is not signed as SR 695 but eastbound as "To US 6 East" and westbound as "To I-395 South". SR 695 would have become part of the now-defunct alignment of the I-84 freeway between Hartford, Connecticut , and Providence, Rhode Island , had that freeway been built. (Present-day I-84 continues eastbound from Hartford into Massachusetts where it ends at I-90,
7503-576: The Rhode Island state line that was built in 1964, which is not part of the Turnpike. Traffic is relatively light on the rural I-395 section and the northeast leg (SR 695) in Killingly; this section is largely unchanged from its original 1958 profile. The only two major projects completed on this section since were the 2015 renumbering of exits based on I-395 mileposts (exit 77 became exit 2, up to exit 90 which became exit 35) and
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#17327795806347626-514: The abolition of tolls. During the economic recession of the early 1990s, legislators studied reinstating tolls on parts of the Connecticut Turnpike and portions of highways around Hartford to make up for budget deficits. Proposals for reinstating tolls were scrapped in lieu of implementing an income tax and increasing the state gasoline tax and sales tax, and imposing a new tax on corporate windfall profits. With continual budget woes in Hartford,
7749-483: The age of online shopping . In Japan, trends towards adding rail freight shipping are more due to availability of workers rather than other concerns. Rail freight tonnage as a percent of total moved by country: Rail freight ton-milage as a percent of total moved by country: There are four major interconnecting rail networks on the Eurasian land mass, along with other smaller national networks. Most countries in
7872-472: The collapse of the Mianus River Bridge on June 28, 1983. Following the collapse, Governor William A. O'Neill initiated an $ 8 billion program to rehabilitate Connecticut's highways. Included in this program was the inspection and repair of the turnpike's nearly 300 bridges and overpasses. Furthermore, O'Neill directed ConnDOT to develop a viable plan for addressing safety and congestion on
7995-425: The competing demands for the federal government fund for other projects, that it would commit to funding at a cost on that order of magnitude." In July 2017, the Port Authority announced it had allocated $ 35 million to the study of the tunnel suitable for freight. In February 2018, the Port Authority awarded a $ 23.7 million contract to Cross Harbor Partners, a joint venture of STV Incorporated and AKRF Inc., to develop
8118-633: The electrified Northeast Corridor . Ongoing freight-oriented development includes upgrading more lines to carry heavier and taller loads, particularly for double-stack service, and building more efficient intermodal terminals and transload facilities for bulk cargo. Many railroads interchange in Chicago, and a number of improvements are underway or proposed to eliminate bottlenecks there. The U.S. Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 mandates eventual conversion to Positive Train Control signaling. In
8241-421: The elements (chiefly rain) such as grain, sugar, and fertilizer. Open cars are used for commodities such as coal, which can get wet and dry out with less harmful effect. Hopper cars have been used by railways worldwide whenever automated cargo handling has been desired. Rotary car dumpers simply invert the car to unload it, and have become the preferred unloading technology, especially in North America; they permit
8364-459: The elevated portion south of 30th street converted into High Line Park . In its summer 2000 report, Edwards and Kelcey evaluated proposals for rail tunnels between Brooklyn and Staten Island and between Brooklyn and Jersey City , plus increased barge transport of railcars across New York Harbor . It estimated a pair of tunnels between Jersey City and Brooklyn to cost $ 2.15 billion, not including track connections or track improvements. Despite
8487-712: The entire 48-mile (77 km) length between the New York border and the junction with I-91 in New Haven. The turnpike intersects with several major expressways, namely US 7 at exit 15 in Norwalk, Route 8 at exit 27A in Bridgeport, the Merritt and Wilbur Cross parkways at exit 38 (via the Milford Parkway ) in Milford , and I-91 at exit 48 in New Haven. North (east) of I-91,
8610-576: The estimates of the rail tunnel's capacity, traffic to and from the site could reach thousands of truck trips per day. However, most of those trucks already travel through those highways to use the existing bridge connection. Spokespersons for neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens strongly object to land being designated for a trans-shipment terminal or other railroad uses and to the noise and vibration expected from passage of up to 1,600 rail cars per day. Reacting to these criticisms, in March 2005 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that he opposed
8733-452: The exception of two car ferries across the Connecticut River in Chester and Glastonbury ). While the 1983 Stratford accident was cited as the main reason for abolishing tolls in Connecticut, the underlying reason was that federal legislation at that time forbade states with toll roads from using federal funds for road projects. Because the Mianus River Bridge was rebuilt with federal highway funds following its June 1983 collapse, Connecticut
8856-403: The exit numbers on I-395 were a continuation of the exit numbers on I-95. In 2015, the I-395 exit numbers were changed to a mileage-based system reflecting their distance from the split from I-95, effectively removing the defining element of the turnpike. In some sections southwest of New Haven , it carries an annual average daily traffic of over 150,000 vehicles. I-95 enters Connecticut as
8979-409: The former Soviet Union , along with Finland and Mongolia , participate in a Russian gauge -compatible network, using SA3 couplers . Major lines are electrified. Russia's Trans-Siberian Railroad connects Europe with Asia, but does not have the clearances needed to carry double-stack containers. Numerous connections are available between Russian-gauge countries with their standard-gauge neighbors in
9102-636: The highway was designed and built before the Interstate Highway System was established. As a result, much of the turnpike does not meet Interstate standards, particularly with overpasses ranging from 13.5 to 15 feet (4.1 to 4.6 m); Interstate Highway standards require 16 feet [4.9 m] of vertical clearance. Interchanges are too closely spaced; ramps and acceleration-deceleration lanes need to be lengthened. In some areas, median and shoulder widths and curve radii also fall short of Interstate standards. Complicating efforts to upgrade
9225-400: The idea could receive serious consideration in the state legislature. The turnpike has 13 service plazas , which are open 24 hours a day. All feature a Subway , a Dunkin' Donuts , a convenience store and fuel service provided by ExxonMobil (branded as Mobil ). Most plazas also offer a variety of other food service options, including McDonald's and Sbarro . From 2011 to 2015,
9348-502: The idea of reinstating tolls resurfaced in January 2010. State Representative Tony Guerrera estimated a $ 5 toll at Connecticut's borders could generate $ 600 million in revenue. Governor Dannel P. Malloy expressed pessimism that toll revenue would be spent exclusively on infrastructure repairs, but a need to generate additional revenue, paired with decreases in traditional highway funding sources (such as federal aid and gas tax revenue) means
9471-469: The idea of the first double-stack intermodal car in 1977. SP then designed the first car with ACF Industries that same year. At first it was slow to become an industry standard, then in 1984 American President Lines started working with the SP and that same year, the first all "double stack" train left Los Angeles, California for South Kearny, New Jersey , under the name of "Stacktrain" rail service. Along
9594-587: The improvements the Port Authority has already committed to, and four options involve transporting trucks or shipping containers across the harbor by boat. The latter group includes The DEIS Executive Summary (Table ES-6) lists the following costs and benefits for the various options: Only the enhanced rail float and the basic rail tunnel options were selected in the Final EIS for Tier II analysis. The proposed Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel tubes would be large enough to take double-stacked container cars . According to
9717-516: The junction with Route 25 and Route 8 (on surface road, exit 27, just below interchange). There is one weigh station located northbound at milepost 2 in Greenwich, at the location of the former toll plaza. Weigh stations on both sides of the turnpike used to exist near exit 18 in Westport; these were removed during the 1990s. The former southbound weigh station in Westport is now used by ConnDOT to store construction materials, while
9840-414: The latter ceased, and the public sector took over passenger transportation. Railroads are subject to the network effect : the more points they connect to, the greater the value of the system as a whole. Early railroads were built to bring resources, such as coal, ores and agricultural products from inland locations to ports for export. In many parts of the world, particularly the southern hemisphere, that
9963-722: The length of the tunnels being considered, up to 17,000 ft (5,182 m) under water, the study found that providing enough ventilation to operate diesel locomotives would be practical. Probably mindful of environmental issues that were key elements in the 1985 cancellation of the Westway project, the New York City Industrial Development Agency commissioned an environmental assessment. This assessment found that immersed tube construction would be environmentally more hazardous and more expensive than bored tunnel construction. Ventilation
10086-462: The like. This type of car is distinguished from a gondola car (US) or open wagon (UIC) in that it has opening doors on the underside or on the sides to discharge its cargo. The development of the hopper car went along with the development of automated handling of such commodities, with automated loading and unloading facilities. There are two main types of hopper car: open and covered; Covered hopper cars are used for cargo that must be protected from
10209-517: The materials. Rail transport is very energy-efficient, and much more environmentally friendly than road transport. Compared to road transport whісh employs the uѕе of trucks (lorries) , rail transportation ensures that goods that соuld оtherwіѕе be transported on а number of trucks are transported in а single shipment. Thіѕ saves а lot аѕ fаr аѕ cost connected to the transportation are concerned. Rail freight transport also has very low external costs . Therefore, many governments have been stimulating
10332-817: The next classification yard, cars are resorted . Those that are destined for stations served by that yard are assigned to local trains for delivery. Others are reassembled into trains heading to classification yards closer to their final destination. A single car might be reclassified or switched in several yards before reaching its final destination, a process that made rail freight slow and increased costs. Because, of this, freight rail operators have continually tried to reduce these costs by reducing or eliminating switching in classification yards through techniques such as unit trains and containerization , and in some countries these have completely replaced mixed freight trains. In many countries, railroads have been built to haul one commodity, such as coal or ore, from an inland point to
10455-481: The northbound station was demolished; the grounds returned to their natural state. The administration building for the former West Haven toll plaza can still be seen by drivers between exits 42 and 43. Today, ConnDOT uses the old toll building as a maintenance facility. In 2013, Telsa Supercharger points for electric vehicles were added at each Milford plaza, the second along I-95, with new charging stations, including CHAdeMO -compatible points, added through
10578-420: The oil which ignited a towering inferno that subsequently melted the bridge structure and caused the southbound lanes to sag several feet. The northbound lanes, which received less damage from the fire, were opened five days later after being reinforced with temporary scaffolding. The southbound lanes opened on April 1, after a temporary bridge was erected. The Connecticut Turnpike opened southwest Connecticut to
10701-615: The opening of the toll-free section of Route 52 from Killingly to the Massachusetts border. To accommodate the truncation of the Hartford to Providence extension of I-84 to Killingly, following Rhode Island's cancellation of its portion of that extension in the early 1980s, Route 52 was to be re-designated as an Interstate. Initially, Connecticut and Massachusetts requested that the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) extend
10824-556: The original plazas were rebuilt with new and expanded buildings and improved fueling facilities. Prior to the rebuilding, the plazas on the I-395 section only had a convenience store. The former northbound Montville service area has been turned into a State Police barracks. In addition to the service areas listed above, there is a rest area, with restrooms, picnic area, vending machines, and tourist information, located northbound at milepost 74 between exits 65 and 66. In July 2016,
10947-465: The outskirts of major urban centers, the Connecticut Turnpike was built through the middle of several large cities (notably Stamford, Bridgeport, and New Haven) and has over 90 interchanges along its 129-mile (208 km) length—50 of which are along the 50-mile (80 km) stretch between the New York state line and New Haven. There was some controversy in the early 1980s when New York City Subway riders discovered that tokens purchased for use in
11070-464: The rail freight tunnel. Port Authority Chairman John J. Degnan expressed doubts about the freight rail tunnel alternative in light of competing demands on Port Authority resources, including the Gateway Project passenger rail tunnel under the Hudson, which is estimated to cost $ 20 billion, and a new Port Authority Bus Terminal costing up to $ 10 billion. "It's hard for me to imagine, given
11193-622: The rail tunnel project. However, in early July 2007, Mayor Bloomberg told Rep. Nadler he would be willing to take another look at the plan. A City University of New York study, published in 2011, pointed out that "no current demand for a containerized truck-rail facility has yet been demonstrated" on Long Island, in part because long-distance trucks, including intermodal containers, generally must be unloaded at major distribution centers which typically serve an entire metropolitan area. Few such distribution centers are located on Long Island. The study also noted that standard double stack rail equipment
11316-462: The rails. Freight railroads' relationship with other modes of transportation varies widely. There is almost no interaction with airfreight , close cooperation with ocean-going freight and a mostly competitive relationship with long distance trucking and barge transport. Many businesses ship their products by rail if they are shipped long distance because it can be cheaper to ship in large quantities by rail than by truck; however barge shipping remains
11439-413: The railway, Swiss experience shows that with properly coordinated logistics, it is possible to operate a viable intermodal (truck + rail) cargo transportation system even within a country as small as Switzerland . Most flatcars (flat wagons) cannot carry more than one standard 40-foot (12.2 m) container on top of another because of limited vertical clearance , even though they usually can carry
11562-491: The railway. Many factories did not have direct rail access. This meant that freight had to be shipped through a goods station , sent by train and unloaded at another goods station for onward delivery to another factory. When lorries (trucks) replaced horses it was often economical and faster to make one movement by road. In the United States, particularly in the West and Midwest , towns developed with railway and factories often had
11685-488: The reconstruction of the northbound on and off ramps at exit 11 (old exit 80) in Norwich , completed in 2009. Tolls on the Connecticut Turnpike have been a source of controversy from the turnpike's opening in 1958 to the removal of tolls in 1985, and the debate continues today. The Connecticut Turnpike originally opened with a barrier toll system (or open system), unlike toll roads in neighboring states, which used
11808-536: The rest area was closed due to budget cuts and barriers were placed on the highway blocking access to the facility. In September 2019, the rest area was reopened on a seasonal basis, being closed from November until mid May (with no access during that time). There are three State Police stations located on the turnpike: Troop F: Westbrook at milepost 74 on southbound side of turnpike. Troop E: Montville at milepost 96 on northbound side of turnpike (at former service plaza). Troop G: Bridgeport at milepost 29 and
11931-608: The right-of-way's use for rail freight. A feasibility study for the Interborough Express project, which would implement part of the Triboro RX route, indicated that both projects could potentially co-exist. Former executive director of the PANYNJ, Christopher O. Ward has come out forcefully against the project. Notes Citations Freight rail transport A freight train , cargo train, or goods train
12054-501: The shipper or receiver lack direct rail access. These costs may exceed that of operating the train itself, a factor that practices such as containerization , trailer-on-flatcar or rolling highway aim to minimize. Traditionally, large shippers built factories and warehouses near rail lines and had a section of track on their property called a siding where goods were loaded onto or unloaded from rail cars. Other shippers had their goods hauled ( drayed ) by wagon or truck to or from
12177-536: The standard-gauge network of North Korea in the east, with the Russian-gauge network of Russia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan in the north, and with the meter-gauge network of Vietnam in the south. India and Pakistan operate entirely on broad gauge networks. Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts currently restrict rail traffic between the two countries to two passenger lines. There are also links from India to Bangladesh and Nepal, and from Pakistan to Iran, where
12300-466: The state's general fund and used for highway and non-highway expenditures alike. Finally, the closely spaced interchanges and eight mainline barriers were a result of each town through which the Connecticut Turnpike passed being guaranteed a certain number of access points to gain the support of each affected town for construction of the highway. This is in contrast to toll roads built in neighboring states with widely spaced interchanges that normally featured
12423-633: The state's roads. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, ConnDOT developed a comprehensive plan to improve the turnpike through Fairfield and New Haven counties. In 1993 ConnDOT embarked on a 25-year multibillion-dollar program to upgrade the Connecticut Turnpike from the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook to the New York state line at Greenwich . The program included the complete reconstruction of several turnpike segments, including replacing bridges, adding travel lanes, reconfiguring interchanges, upgrading lighting and signage, and implementing
12546-424: The switch of freight from trucks onto trains, because of the environmental benefits that it would bring. Railway transport and inland navigation (also known as 'inland waterway transport' (IWT) or 'inland shipping') are similarly environmentally friendly modes of transportation, and both form major parts of the 2019 European Green Deal . In Europe (particularly Britain), many manufacturing towns developed before
12669-466: The term equally applied to boxcars used for that purpose. Way stops might be industrial sidings, stations/flag stops, settlements, or even individual residences. With the difficulty of maintaining an exact schedule, way freights yielded to scheduled passenger and through trains. They were often mixed trains that served isolated communities. Like passenger service generally, way freights and their smaller consignments became uneconomical. In North America,
12792-486: The turnpike and I-395 split. I-395 continues north towards Worcester, Massachusetts , ending at I-290 and the Massachusetts Turnpike . The Connecticut Turnpike officially ends at US 6 (Danielson Pike) in Killingly , which continues on towards Providence, Rhode Island . Unlike the I-95 portion, the I-395 portion of the turnpike has changed very little over the years, retaining its grass median with
12915-834: The turnpike continues along the Connecticut shoreline, usually with less traffic. The six-lane highway is reduced to four lanes in Branford , interchanges with Route 9 at exit 69 in Old Saybrook , crosses the Connecticut River on the Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge and continues until the interchange with I-395 at exit 76 near the East Lyme–Waterford line. The turnpike leaves I-95 at exit 76 in East Lyme, continuing on as I-395 north heading towards Norwich , Jewett City and Plainfield until exit 35, where
13038-454: The turnpike for nearly 30 years, but most of these plans languished amid political infighting and lawsuits brought on by special-interest groups. Still, traffic and deadly accidents continued to increase each year on the turnpike, and by the 1990s the Connecticut Turnpike had started to become known as "the Highway of Death". Furthermore, while most of the turnpike is signed as I-95 or I-395,
13161-495: The turnpike had become functionally obsolete by 1965, with traffic exceeding its design capacity. Originally designed to carry 60,000 vehicles per day (VPD) on the four-lane sections and 90,000 VPD on the six-lane portion west of New Haven, the turnpike carried 75,000–100,000 VPD east of New Haven, and 130,000–200,000 VPD between New Haven and the New York state line as of 2006. There were dozens of plans discussed to alleviate traffic congestion and improve safety on
13284-496: The turnpike passes through areas with some of the highest property values in the country, making land acquisition for expanding the highway extremely expensive. Finally, the turnpike was built through environmentally sensitive ecosystems and wetlands associated with Long Island Sound , meaning most expansion projects require lengthy environmental impact studies that are able to withstand constant litigation by environmental groups. Air pollution laws also cause conflict, since Connecticut
13407-459: The turnpike to Interstate standards is that engineers did not acquire enough right-of-way to accommodate future expansion when the Connecticut Turnpike was built during the late 1950s, which means adjacent land must be seized to upgrade the turnpike, resulting in lengthy and costly eminent domain battles between the State of Connecticut and landowners refusing to give up their property. Additionally
13530-668: The turnpike. At that time, the MTA was paid 17.5 cents for each of more than two million tokens that had been collected during the three-year "token war". After the 1983 truck crash at the Stratford toll plaza, toll opponents pressured the State of Connecticut to remove tolls from the turnpike in 1985. Three years later, these same opponents successfully lobbied the Connecticut General Assembly to pass legislation abolishing tolls on all of Connecticut's highways (with
13653-454: The use of simpler, tougher, and more compact (because sloping ends are not required) gondola cars instead of hoppers. The heaviest trains in the world carry bulk traffic such as iron ore and coal . Loads can be 130 tonnes per wagon and tens of thousands of tonnes per train. Daqin Railway transports more than 1 million tonnes of coal to the east sea shore of China every day and in 2009
13776-484: The waterborne alternatives ranged from $ 95 to 190 million, and from $ 7 to 11 billion for the tunnel alternatives. On September 25, 2015, the Tier 1 Final Environmental Impact Statement was released, which narrowed the alternatives to two, an enhanced railcar float operation and a basic rail tunnel, both between New Jersey and Brooklyn. A phased plan starting with building the enhanced car float was proposed. In early May 2017,
13899-618: The way the train transferred from the SP to Conrail . It saved shippers money and now accounts for almost 70 percent of intermodal freight transport shipments in the United States, in part due to the generous vertical clearances used by U.S. railroads. These lines are diesel-operated with no overhead wiring . Double stacking is also used in Australia between Adelaide , Parkes , Perth and Darwin . These are diesel-only lines with no overhead wiring. Saudi Arabian Railways use double-stack in its Riyadh - Dammam corridor. Double stacking
14022-425: The weight of two. Carrying half the possible weight is inefficient. However, if the rail line has been built with sufficient vertical clearance, a double-stack car can accept a container and still leave enough clearance for another container on top. Both China and India run electrified double-stack trains with overhead wiring. In the United States, Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) with Malcom McLean came up with
14145-720: The west (throughout Europe) and south (to China, North Korea, and Iran via Turkmenistan). While the USSR had important railway connections to Turkey (from Armenia) and to Iran (from Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan enclave), these have been out of service since the early 1990s, since a number of frozen conflicts in the Caucasus region have forced the closing of the rail connections between Russia and Georgia via Abkhazia, between Armenia and Azerbaijan , and between Armenia and Turkey . China has an extensive standard-gauge network. Its freight trains use Janney couplers . China's railways connect with
14268-534: The westernmost portion of the highway (the three miles [4.8 km] connecting Greenwich with the New England Thruway ) opened 10 months later. Tolls were originally collected through a series of eight toll booths along the route. The Connecticut Turnpike was designed and built much differently than other toll roads built around the same time. Unlike toll roads in other states that operated under semi-autonomous, quasi-public toll road authorities,
14391-709: Was 6.2% of tonnage originated and 12.6% of revenue. The largest commodities were coal, chemicals, farm products, nonmetallic minerals and intermodal. Coal alone was 43.3% of tonnage and 24.7% of revenue. The average haul was 917 miles. Within the U.S. railroads carry 39.9% of freight by ton-mile, followed by trucks (33.4%), oil pipelines (14.3%), barges (12%) and air (0.3%). Railways carried 17.1% of EU freight in terms of tonne-km, compared to road transport (76.4%) and inland waterways (6.5%). Unlike passenger trains, freight trains are rarely named. Some, however, have gained names either officially or unofficially. Connecticut Turnpike The Connecticut Turnpike (officially
14514-576: Was confirmed as practical and found unlikely to present greater hazards than fumes from trucks that would otherwise be used to transport freight. Following the feasibility and environmental studies, two organizations were formed to plan and promote a tunnel project and to seek government funding. They are the Cross Harbor Freight Movement Project, hosted by the STV Group , a construction firm in New York City and Douglassville , Pennsylvania , and
14637-616: Was constructed to serve as a bypass around Norwich. It shares its alignment with the Connecticut Turnpike from its northern terminus at Route 2 to exit 9 on I-395, where it turns east and serves the Mohegan Sun Casino before crossing the Thames River and ending at Route 2 south of Norwich. SR 695 is the 4.49-mile (7.23 km) unsigned portion of the turnpike from I-395 in Plainfield to US 6 at
14760-492: Was hired to study the feasibility of alternative approaches to increased rail access for freight. The idea of a cross-harbor rail tunnel also received support from Connecticut transportation planners, who believed such a rail connection would reduce truck traffic on the heavily congested Connecticut Turnpike . The proposed tunnel would primarily serve Long Island, which includes the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens as well as Nassau and Suffolk counties, with
14883-528: Was little regard for eventual interconnection. As a result, there are a variety of gauge and coupler standards in use. A 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) gauge network with Janney couplers serves southern Africa. East Africa uses metre gauge . North Africa uses standard gauge , but potential connection to the European standard gauge network is blocked by the Arab–Israeli conflict . Rail developed independently in different parts of Australia and, as
15006-694: Was required by Section 113(c) of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 to remove tolls from the turnpike once its construction bonds were paid off. The debate over tolls on the Connecticut Turnpike did not end in 1988 with the abolition of tolls. Prior to their removal in 1985, the tolls generated over $ 65 million annually. Since their removal in the late 1980s, Connecticut lawmakers have continuously discussed reinstating tolls, but have balked at bringing tolls back out of concern of having to repay $ 2.6 billion in federal highway funds that Connecticut received for turnpike construction projects following
15129-423: Was surveyed for compatibility with a Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel. Parts of the existing trackage need repair. Some rights of way have been reduced to single-track width or were never wider and are in deteriorating condition due to their little use and maintenance. Nearly all track segments lack enough clearance above the tracks for the envisaged double-stacked container cars. Such factors limit the effective capacity of
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