In a recent two-part series on how to think about the costs associated with unpaved roads, we introduced the idea that utilizing effective dust control and stabilization can allow you to create a road that has the low overall carrying costs of a gravel road but also has the strength and durability of a paved road. Today we’ll be tackling a …
Don’t Let Harsh Winter Conditions Derail Your Trains
Even with today’s advances in technology, severe winter weather continues to exert huge pressure on derailment prevention. Winter months see operations costs explode as railways fight snow and ice buildup, cold temperatures, significant delays, breakdown of equipment and increased manhours. But by far the worst, and most expensive, cost of winter weather are accidents, with the accompanying losses in injuries, …
Road Management Process: Extending the Lifecycle and Performance of Unpaved Roads
In the previous article in this series, we discussed how to understand the various road maintenance costs that go into your road management process including the repair and rebuilding of unpaved versus paved roads. Midwest has developed a proprietary method for achieving the pros of both paved and unpaved roads, while minimizing the cons of both, based on our latest research and …
What is Winter Costing Your Railroad?
Larger railroads have a fairly sound idea of the financial impact that severe winter weather can have on their railway maintenance costs. And so they prepare well in advance. But for many short lines, the costs to properly prepare are intimidating. And so they wait, until they can’t wait any longer. But is putting off the expense the best approach …
Unpaved vs Paved Roads: Understanding the Hidden Road Maintenance Costs That Drain Your Budget
How far in the future do you plan your road maintenance costs? Many county officials only make it through the next year, responding to needs as they arise. They track annual road maintenance costs using those numbers to make decisions going forward. But even with such a short-sighted view, it’s easy to see the challenges ahead: rising maintenance costs, stagnating …