Conrail Shared Assets Operations

Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) is the commonly used name for modern-day Conrail (reporting mark CRCX), an American railroad company. It operates three networks, the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Areas,[1] where it serves as a contract local carrier and switching company for its owners, CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway. When most of the former Conrail's track was split between these two railroads, the three shared assets areas (a total of about 1,200 miles of track) were kept separate to avoid giving one railroad an advantage in those areas. The company operates using its own employees and infrastructure but owns no equipment outside MOW equipment.

Conrail Shared Assets Operations
Map
Map
Overview
HeadquartersMount Laurel, New Jersey, U.S.
Reporting markCRCX
Localethree separate networks, in the Detroit, Philadelphia, and Newark, New Jersey areas
Dates of operationJune 1, 1999–present
PredecessorConrail
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Other
Websitewww.conrail.com

North Jersey Shared Assets Area

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The North Jersey Shared Assets Area stretches from the North Bergen Yard in North Bergen, New Jersey south into Jersey City and Newark, and beyond to Manville (Port Reading Junction) and Trenton, much of which is operated over Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and New Jersey Transit lines through trackage rights. Primary connections are to CSX's River Subdivision north to Albany, New York at North Bergen, NS's Southern Tier Line northwest to Buffalo, New York at Croxton Yard in Jersey City, NS's Lehigh Line west to Allentown, Pennsylvania and CSX's Trenton Subdivision southwest to Philadelphia at Manville, and the Conrail South Jersey/Philadelphia Shared Assets Area at Trenton. Oak Island Yard in Newark is the principal yard for the region with smaller ones at Bayonne, Greenville (Jersey City), Linden, Manville, Metuchen, Newark, Old Bridge, and Port Reading in Woodbridge.[2][3]

South Jersey/Philadelphia Shared Assets Area

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The New Jersey Department of Transportation anticipated in 2010 increased freight activity in South Jersey that has led to capital improvement and expansion projects for this designated area.[5]

The South Jersey/Philadelphia Shared Assets Area is operated out of Pavonia Yard in Camden, New Jersey, with smaller yards in Marcus Hook, Paulsboro, Millville, Morrisville, Frankford Junction, Burlington, Port Richmond and South Philadelphia.

Delair Bridge

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The south track at the Delair Lift Bridge (part of the Delair Branch) is used by Conrail; the north track is used by New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Line.

Detroit Shared Assets Area

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The Detroit Shared Assets Area consists of:

  • Detroit Line, from junction with Norfolk Southern Detroit Line in Gibraltar, Michigan at MP 20 to junction with Conrail North Yard Branch at CP-West Detroit.
  • North Yard Branch, from junction with Conrail Detroit Line at CP-West Detroit to junction with Conrail Sterling Secondary at CP-North Yard.
  • Sterling Secondary and Utica Industrial Track, from junction with the Conrail North Yard Branch at CP-North Yard to the end of the Utica Industrial Track at MP 27.
  • Michigan Line (runs parallel to Michigan Avenue, US Hwy 12), CP-Townline in Dearborn (junction with Amtrak Michigan Line) to CP-Bay City Jct.
  • Lincoln Secondary, from junction with CSXT Toledo Terminal Subdivision at Carleton to Ecorse Junction in Detroit. Trains can operate track authority EC-1 forms issued by the CSX RL Dispatcher located in Calumet City, Illinois.

CP-West Detroit, Delray, CP-YD, and River Rouge Yard lie close to each other on the Utica/MP 20 line, giving the whole a rough K-shape. Various spurs and industrial tracks branch off from this trackage. Mileage in both directions is measured from the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel.

Locomotives

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Conrail Shared Assets utilizes the following types of locomotives, all supplied by CSX and Norfolk Southern.

References

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  1. ^ "System Map".
  2. ^ "Conrail Operations". Conrail.com. 2011-07-18. Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2012-08-11.
  3. ^ "Transportation Infrastructure". www.choosenj.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-19.
  4. ^ "Federal Register". Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration. April 12, 1982 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Southern New Jersey Freight Transportation and Economic Development Assessment Survey (PDF) (Report). New Jersey Department of Transportation. December 2010. Retrieved 2013-07-17.

Further reading

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