Switch Heater Conversions, Norfolk Southern

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Multiple Locations, IN
2022 – Ongoing

Railroad Consultants is providing design, construction, and observation services for a Norfolk Southern pilot project to convert switch heaters from propane fuel to natural gas.  This work involves developing utility plans, obtaining needed permits, installing gas pipe via directional boring and trenching methods, monitoring construction activities, and coordinating with the local natural gas provider to accomplish the conversions as efficiently as possible.  The pilot project involves five control points in Ligonier, Elkhart, South Bend, and New Carlisle, Indiana, on Norfolk Southern’s busy Chicago Line, and promises to improve operational reliability for the switch heaters at these locations.