MxV Rail Speeds PuebloPlex Track Construction Projects
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
(MxV Rail Image)
MxV Rail on April 27 reported an accelerated schedule for implementing the Facility for Accelerated Service Testing (FAST) and the Curving Performance and Suspension Resonance tracks at its new PuebloPlex facility. Completion is expected by fourth-quarter 2023.
MxV Rail, a wholly owned Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) subsidiary, said that the 2023 FAST program for testing components and technologies will be carried out on its new 2.8-mile-long track loop. A minimum of 23 AAR-sponsored tests are expected to be installed and monitored in the first year at the new facility, according to MxV Rail, which noted that some experiments are extensions of previous research that has been relocated and will be re-installed during the construction of the loop.
The groundwork for the new test bed is nearly complete, MxV Rail said, with designers anticipating FAST operations to commence early this fall.
“In addition to the FAST loop construction, MxV Rail’s Board of Directors approved an accelerated timeline for the implementation of the Curving Performance and Suspension Resonance tracks,” the company reported. Those tracks are slated for completion in fourth-quarter 2023.
Ongoing research to study the rail vehicle body, suspension and other underbody systems will take place at the suspension resonance track, while MxV Rail researchers modify systems to test overall track performance of freight and passenger railcars at the curving performance track.
The build at PuebloPlex is an industry-wide effort. Everything from wood ties to rail, from ballast to trackwork is being donated by the Class I railroads “to keep pace” with the updated construction schedule, MxV Rail said.
The new tracks will complement the Impact Track and Crash Wall and the High Speed Loop, as well as the new Testing and Metallurgical Laboratories, and the Operations and Training Center that is home to the Security and Emergency Response Training Center (SERTC).
“We appreciate the vote of confidence from our Board, and I think it speaks to the caliber of engineering and railroading talent we have at MxV Rail, along with the positive impact our research is having on safety, reliability and efficiency,” MxV Rail President and CEO Kari Gonzales said. “As we make progress solving the technical challenges facing industry, it helps shape a better future for us all.”
MxV Rail will be hosting visitors during the 28th Annual AAR Research Review, where construction of the loop along with experiments and other MxV Rail capabilities will be on display.
