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Most of my life. I spent a few years in Richland county but I'm back in Lexington again and lemme tell you when I lost my van for 2 months because of a transmission failure catching Ubers to work killed my wallet.
I really wished we had a train or a bus over here in this county.
Most of my life. I spent a few years in Richland county but I'm back in Lexington again and lemme tell you when I lost my van for 2 months because of a transmission failure catching Ubers to work killed my wallet.
I really wished we had a train or a bus over here in this county.
I'm actually moving to Columbia in a week and that was my deciding facotron where. I wanted to rent somewhere nicer out, but I'm in a ****ty transportation situation and can't afford thousands in Uber a month
So what are the solutions? I guess you either raise or lower the railroad track/ROW or tunnel the road under each crossing where a road crosses it, which would most likely flood every time it rains, unless they include pumps to keep the water out of the underpasses.
As I may have mentioned in a previous thread.. part of the solution is/was to add a switch track (interlock) in NE Columbia along Farrow Road near Fontaine Blvd where currently the CSX and NS line cross over/under each other. That would allow all the trains that currently run down and cross Beltline and the major streets on the east and south of downtown (Assembly) to be eliminated and diverted through Eau Claire.. Sunset Blvd/North Main. Most of the train traffic coming into Columbia from the north from both CSX and NS would then enter the City along this track and run Eau Claire/North Columbia and crosses Sunset/North Main and around past Earlewood Park. The only exception would be the track that runs along the Broad River.. which also runs into this same line at Elmwood Cemetery and they all enter the corridor in the Vista including NS tracks coming in from Newberry that pass by the Zoo.
BUUUUUT.. Norfolk Southern would have to share the single track with CSX on the segment from Farrow Road through North Columbia to the Vista corridor... This is not impossible since they do share tracks in some limited places or atleast interlock. The Vista corridor has two tracks.. I believe one is owned by each of the Railroads. NS doesn't want to share the North Columbia Segment with CSX(who owns it..and the feeling may be mutual) and right now they have two tracks through the city (Harden Street AND the Vista Corridor). They don't want to give up that second track for obvious reasons..they have two versus CSX one.. though it would certainly make traveling through town a lot easier. It will likely take $$$$ from the City to build all the track improvements which could include a siding somewhere in the "shared area" for passing AND declining freight traffic to make NS reconsider.
One way that City could force their hand would be to get the State of SC on board and if NS or CSX asked for anything from the State in terms of incentives for building a spur to a factory or improvements at the Port of Charleston.. to put this issue on the table as part of the negotiations.. but we know that the State, Charleston or whatever County asking for the rail siding would protest being used as part of that strategy and it would fall flat.. ala Southwest Airlines....
Last edited by Woodlands; 11-28-2017 at 11:07 AM..
Most of my life. I spent a few years in Richland county but I'm back in Lexington again and lemme tell you when I lost my van for 2 months because of a transmission failure catching Ubers to work killed my wallet.
I really wished we had a train or a bus over here in this county.
From my understanding Lexington County doesn't want to contribute to public transit (fully) therefore they have limited bus service if any at all...
I am surprised that people (in the transit meeting you referenced) cheered for Commuter Rail.... They must have all lived/come from the Irmo and Ballentine sections of the County.. Those cheers may have devolved into jeers when the talk of tax subsidy (cost to build and maintain) and ticket prices are discussed
Here is the "X" at Fairwold just outside of Greenview in North Columbia.. If a track is built so that trains on the upper track can move down to the lower track.. then the Harden Street/Assembly Street track could be eliminated. As you can see from the photo there is plenty of land adjacent to the track that runs along Farrow Rd to branch out and to interlock with the lower track. The upper track goes to Charlotte and is owned by NS.. The lower track is owned by CSX and goes to Raleigh via Camden. It is also used by Amtrak. This would also put the existing Columbia Amtrak Station on a direct connection to Charlotte should a rail line between the two cities be considered for commuter or Regional Rail
Here is where most of the tracks from the North, NE, and NW come into Columbia.. if the switch is built in Fairwold near Greenview.. All train traffic would come into this location and go under the Vista.
Before this corridor was built . The NS track used to run on the surface in the same location as the corridor and cross all the major downtown streets.. The CSX track ran passed what is now the Blue Marlin and crossed Gervais and Taylor Streets.. It sat atop a rather impressive trestle in the vicinity of the current convention center and was airborne all the way to Olympia,. The northern reach ran through Finlay Park and up through Elmwood in a corridor.. The divergent track right of way can still be seen on Park Street in Elmwood Park in the vicinity of Confederate Ave.. while the new line and bridge are diverted around the Cemetery. As seen below
Both tracks wrecked havoc on downtown traffic which is why they were combined and moved underground.. It was and impressive undertaking because they built the corridor first with a temporary track on the upper bank.. Once the corridor was finished they closed and removed that track and diverted all traffic into the new corridor.. so NS didn't lose any capacity due to track closure.. It also set the stage for the revitalization of the area now known as the Vista.
My point in all of this is to say.. Railroads can be moved.. the project outlined above was waaaay more massive than what we are describing here.. BUT the railroads participation is the key.. The Mayor referenced an Assembly Street Bridge as a compromise that would go over the tracks... I would imagine that would be more costly than a switch track at Fairwold.. but could be less costly than trying to double track the Eau Claire/North Columbia Track.. which, if required by NS as an option, would likely be expensive and opposed by the surrounding neighborhoods...
Last edited by Woodlands; 11-28-2017 at 03:19 PM..
Here is the "X" at Fairwold just outside of Greenview in North Columbia.. If a track is built so that trains on the upper track can move down to the lower track.. then the Harden Street/Assembly Street track could be eliminated.
OK, I get connecting the two lines at Farrow Rd., which would funnel all train traffic to the western side of the downtown through the "mini canyon" near the Vista, thereby eliminating all train traffic on the line that parallels Harden St. and goes through Five Points.
My question is, what about the trains that still need to get to that huge rail yard near the Jim Hamilton - LB Owens Airport and/or using that rail line that goes further south and east to Eastover and Sumter. Aren't trains still going to need to cross Assembly either at Catabwa St. or near the old ballpark?
Won't they still need to either tunnel the tracks under Assembly or build a rail bridge for the tracks over Assembly or build a road bridge at Assembly over the tracks, even if they connect the two lines at Farrow Rd.?
OK, I get connecting the two lines at Farrow Rd., which would funnel all train traffic to the western side of the downtown through the "mini canyon" near the Vista, thereby eliminating all train traffic on the line that parallels Harden St. and goes through Five Points.
My question is, what about the trains that still need to get to that huge rail yard near the Jim Hamilton - LB Owens Airport and/or using that rail line that goes further south and east to Eastover and Sumter. Aren't trains still going to need to cross Assembly either at Catabwa St. or near the old ballpark?
Won't they still need to either tunnel the tracks under Assembly or build a rail bridge for the tracks over Assembly or build a road bridge at Assembly over the tracks, even if they connect the two lines at Farrow Rd.?
Yes you are correct It will not eliminate all the train traffic bound for Sumter and there would still be atleast one crossing on Assembly and no change on Rosewood. There would be a net reduction in train traffic and delays Downtown but they would not be totally eliminated without a bridge over that remaining track on Assembly
Most of my life. I spent a few years in Richland county but I'm back in Lexington again and lemme tell you when I lost my van for 2 months because of a transmission failure catching Ubers to work killed my wallet.
I really wished we had a train or a bus over here in this county.
Yeah, Lexington County needs to jump on board. And rail needs to be seriously considered.
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Railroads
