December 20, 2017

R. J. Corman Railroad Services: KCS Mossville Yard Expansion

Starting in June of 2016, R. J. Corman Railroad Services began construction of a new classification yard, and the expansion of the existing yard, for Kansas City Southern in the Sasol Chemical facility in Westlake, Louisiana. In total, 35 miles of new track, 132 turnouts and 136 switches were constructed. A team of 150 R. J. Corman Railroad Services employees worked for 18 months to complete the project.

In addition to the new classification yard, rehabilitation of the existing yard occurred at the same time. One of the challenges for this project was keeping the existing yard in operation during the construction process. Rail traffic continually increased as new tracks were completed and extended. In order to work within those constraints, R. J. Corman Railroad Services had to stay in constant communication with Kansas City Southern and the employees in charge to see what type of traffic and switching was scheduled each day so they could plan accordingly. Also, the rail construction had to follow behind grading and building construction, which made project planning and logistics difficult. Back up plans were established each day in case work needed to be adjusted to traffic changes, so the project could be done safely and efficiently. The rehabilitated yard was completed in December 2017.

The Kansas City Southern Mossville Yard expansion project received the 2017 award for Large Project of the Year by the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC).