moving cargo safely and cost-effectively

Freight rail I Mott MacDonald I 1

Freight railMoving cargo safely and cost-effectively

Transportation | Freight rail

2 I Mott MacDonald I Freight rail

The railroads of North America lead the world in cost-effective long-distance freight transportation. Keeping that leadership position depends on upgrading infrastructure to accommodate larger, heavier freight cars, and expanding terminals to handle ever-increasing demands for intermodal, automotive, or bulk commodities.

What if you could rely on a long-term partner that understands these challenges and can help you safeguard this legacy? With Mott MacDonald you can.

Over the years, we have developed an appreciation for this interdependence. Our designs are aimed at maximizing the efficiency and dependability of every aspect of freight rail infrastructure.

Meeting increased freight demand

HMM, a joint venture of Mott MacDonald and Hatch, worked with the Canadian National Railway Company (CN) on several strategically important projects.


Our capabilitiesMott MacDonald’s multidisciplinary staff works with Class I railroads as well as regional and shortline railroads on projects ranging from utility crossings and grade separations to signaling entire subdivisions.

Drawing on a broad range of skills, we can carry out large and complex projects in-house, freeing up your railroad’s staff to perform its day-to-day work.

Mott MacDonald successfully integrates existing systems with those that are more technologically advanced. Our knowledge of our clients’ operations and maintenance needs, and our familiarity with relevant codes and specifications, often result in reduced life-cycle costs for equipment.

As systems integration specialists, we ensure full integration for various systems components that spans from the conceptual design phase through the entire development, procurement, and testing process.

Delivering rail solutionsTrack and roadway Yards and terminalsTunnels and trenches Bridges and viaductsGrade crossings and separationsSignaling and controlsEnvironmental services


Track and roadway As North American freight lines take on increased demand, upgrades are needed to ensure efficiency and minimize collisions with other vehicular traffic.

Improving performance on a fast-growing railroad route The Piedmont corridor, which runs between Charlotte and Raleigh, is one of the fastest-growing railroad routes in the US. With funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, North Carolina Railroad, a state holding company, tasked Norfolk Southern to improve performance on the route.

Mott MacDonald was retained as a prime consultant for the Piedmont Improvement Program, responsible for program management and construction oversight.

This ambitious program aims to renovate four train stations, close 23 public railroad crossings, and add 13 new bridges, 12 miles (19 kilometers) of new highway, 32 miles (51 kilometers) of sidings, and two additional passenger train trips per day between Raleigh and Charlotte.

According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the program “will make train travel safer and more reliable, enhance opportunity for greater job growth and commercial development and better connect the economic regions of Raleigh and Charlotte and the cities, towns and communities in between.”

2additional passenger train trips will run per day

The Piedmont Improvement Program will upgrade one of the fastest-growing routes in the US.

ProjectPiedmont Improvement Program

LocationNorth Carolina

ClientNorfolk Southern

ExpertiseProgram management, construction oversight


Yards and terminals Rail yards and freight terminals must provide a range of services: loading, transferring, and unloading freight of all kinds, and storing, sorting, staging, and maintaining railroad cars and locomotives.

Boosting trade at a Florida portThe Port of Panama City in Florida is located on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, with easy access to the Gulf of Mexico through a 9-mile (14-kilometer) channel. The value of cargo handled at the port increased sixfold from fiscal 2003 to 2009. Principal cargoes include copper, linerboard, wood pulp, steel products, wood pellets, and liquid bulk, including molasses and d-limonene, a citrus-peel extract used in cleaning products.

Since 2005, Mott MacDonald’s improvements to the port have increased efficiency, improved safety, streamlined agricultural imports, and helped safeguard local waterways. Projects have included a redesigned container yard storage expansion area, and a new rail track spur and railcar unloading station for a wood pellet storage terminal.

Improvements to the port will help Panama City take advantage of opportunities such as the opening of an expanded Panama Canal, the growth of Latin American and Caribbean markets, and the diversion of Asian trade from congested West Coast ports.

Improvements to the Port of Panama City will help it take advantage of an expanded Panama Canal and other market opportunities.

ProjectPort of Panama City

LocationPanama City, FL

ClientPanama City Port Authority

ExpertiseCivil engineering, building architecture, construction administration, site development, structure engineering, railroad improvements


Tunnels and trenchesAlong with designing new tunnels and trenches that are safe and cost-effective, railroads must often upgrade 19th century routes that no longer meet the needs of modern freight.

Clearing the way for double-stack containersIn 1982, Southern Railway merged with Norfolk and Western to form Norfolk Southern, now a Fortune 500 company. Because of tunnels and other obstructions, the former Norfolk and Western routes could not handle double-stack trains crossing the Appalachians, forcing them to make long detours.

In 2005, Norfolk Southern retained Mott MacDonald as prime consultant, responsible for clearance improvements along the Heartland Corridor route between Walton, Virginia, and Columbus, Ohio. We performed preliminary engineering, final design, and construction support for track lowering and improvements at 34 tunnels, five thru-truss bridges, and two overhead bridges.

Laser car measurements, topographic surveys, geotechnical borings, liner samples, and visual inspections were used to establish the existing baseline conditions and evaluate the potential for tunnel modifications. We also analyzed the option of providing double track through one of the existing single-track segments.

Completed in 2010, the project cleared the way for trains that can carry a double stack of intermodal freight containers. The result is increased capacity, reduced transit time, a 200-mile-shorter route (322 kilometers), and less tractor-trailer traffic. Shipping containers unloaded at Norfolk can now reach Columbus in 24 hours.

200miles (322 kilometers)shorter

the route will be

Clearance improvements along the Heartland Corridor route cleared the way for trains that carry double stacks of intermodal freight containers.

ProjectHeartland Corridor

LocationVirginia and Ohio

ClientNorfolk Southern

ExpertisePreliminary engineering, final design, construction support


Bridges and viaducts Heavier freight trains, extreme weather, the growth of cities, and the need for ongoing maintenance demand expert engineering and inspection services to ensure the safe and efficient passage of vehicle traffic as well as railroad cars.

Supporting safety at a railroad crossingFor years, the low clearance of the CSX railroad bridge in Niagara Falls, New York, posed a hazard for trucks traveling between the US and Canada. In 2008, the cab of a tractor-trailer cleared the bridge, but not the trailer, whose roof was peeled off by the impact.

As part of a project to accommodate a new Amtrak station, the City of Niagara Falls launched a project to address the vertical clearance while accommodating the needs of Amtrak. Mott MacDonald was retained to provide a structural design for a new bridge as well as detour design, cost estimating, and construction support.

The completed design, including staged construction and special architectural detailing, has improved safety, promoted the expansion of passenger rail, and reduced reliance on cars.

Mott MacDonald provided structural design and other services for a CSX railroad bridge in Niagara Falls, New York.

ProjectCSX Railroad Bridge

LocationNiagara Falls, NY

ClientCity of Niagara Falls

ExpertiseStructural design, detour design, cost estimation, construction support


Grade crossings and separations The safety of drivers and pedestrians often requires the separation of roadways from railroad routes — but the technical challenges can be extreme.

Bringing innovation to a fast-track projectThe railway crossing on King Road is one of the busiest in Greater Toronto, with about 100 trains crossing each day. A grade separation required creating an underpass to carry King Road beneath four active rail lines and a creek while minimizing disruption to commuter trains, freight rail service, and the adjacent freight yard.

To create the King Road grade separation, the joint venture HMM assembled a team of geotechnical, structural, transportation, and construction management experts from the US and Canada. Our team proposed building the reinforced concrete underpass “box” beside the rail tracks, then using an open-cut bridge-jacking technique to slide it into place.

To reduce disruption to commuters, the box had to be placed during a three and a half day rail closure. Despite rainfall that delayed construction by 11 hours, the King Road project was completed on time and with no injuries.

The King Road project won awards from the American Council of Engineering Companies, Consulting Engineers of Ontario, and Ontario Public Works Association.

The award-winning King Road grade separation enhances safety and eases traffic congestion.

days to install the underpass

3 1/2

ProjectKing Road Grade Separation

LocationBurlington, ON

ClientCity of Burlington, Canadian National Rail

ExpertiseDetailed design, construction administration

Signaling and controlsRailway signal systems are key to the safe and efficient operation of the thousands of miles of track that carry the commerce of North America.

Leveraging technology for safer operationsMott MacDonald’s signal staff has unrivaled expertise in both legacy railroad signal systems and Positive Train Control (PTC) systems, required by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 to prevent train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, incursions into established work zone limits, and the movement of a train through a main line switch in the improper position. Our experience includes Centralized Traffic Control (CTC), wayside signals, cab signals, interlockings, central operations centers, grade crossings, PTC implementation plans, PTC route profiles, PTC equipment specifications, and PTC operation oversight. We use state-of-the-art design techniques, including Building Information Technology (BIM) imagery that illustrates actual signal bungalow layouts and plugboard card occupancies and wiring. Our planning group operates both Berkeley Simulation’s Rail Traffic Controller and various train performance calculators to optimize railroad operations and examine “what if” scenarios for line capacity improvements. Our experts are certified through the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers and have years of mainline, Class I experience in railroad signal design and installation.

Mott MacDonald uses state-of-the-art design techniques to optimize railroad operations and examine the “what if” scenarios.


Environmental servicesLike other major infrastructure projects, the construction, rehabilitation, and operation of freight rail systems pose environmental challenges.

Award-winning management of industrial wastewaterOne of these is the responsible disposal of industrial wastewater from locomotive repair, fueling operations, locomotive washing facilities, and stormwater runoff from rail yards.

Since 1998, Union Pacific Railroad has relied on Mott MacDonald to handle these challenges — a partnership that has saved money, reduced environmental impact, and won dozens of awards for safety, operating excellence, and pollution prevention.

At 23 sites in nine states from Arkansas to California, we operate wastewater treatment facilities that range from small package plants at intermodal stations to full-service pretreatment plants at major rail yards.

Industrial wastewater is collected and treated with processes that include dissolved air flotation, sedimentation, oil/water separation, chemical coagulation and demulsification, coalescent filtering, and various oil skimming mechanisms.

Union Pacific’s Albina Yard in Portland, Oregon.

23sites in 9 states

ProjectWastewater treatment facility operation

LocationVarious

ClientUnion Pacific

ExpertiseIndustrial wastewater treatment


Opening opportunities with connected thinking.

For more information, write to [email protected] or call 800.832.3272.

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