The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad is a Class III

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

, and a subsidiary of the Port of New Orleans. It connects with six

Class I railroad In the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, st ...

s serving the city, and provides switching and haulage service. It is estimated that one-third of the United States' east-west rail freight crosses the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

on the Huey P. Long Bridge segment of the railroad. New Orleans Public Belt Locomotive

The impetus for the NOPB came at the start of the 20th century era when multiple railroads terminating locally created both congestion at the

Port of New Orleans The Port of New Orleans is an embarkation port for cruise passengers. It is also Louisiana’s only international container port. The port generates $100 million in revenue annually through its four lines of business – cargo (46%), rail (31%) ...

and safety problems on city streets. The railroad began operation in 1908 with the intention of giving the major railroads "uniform and impartial" access to the port. The railroad is managed by the Public Belt Railroad Commission, which also owns and maintains the Huey P. Long Bridge. NOPB covers over 160 kilometers (100 mi) of track with ten locomotives. No funding is received from the city; operating and capital expenses are covered by operating revenues. Hurricanes Katrina and

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in 2005 caused an estimated $450 million in damage to NOPB equipment and track. At least 70 percent of the railroad’s lines and interchanges were back in operation by September 2005, and 90 percent by March 2006. The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad operates a fleet of EMD and Motive Power Industries built Locomotives. They own EMD SW1200s, SW1000s, SW1500s, GP40-2s, GP16s, and a single GP40, GE C40-8s along with MPI MP1500Ds and MP2000Ds all on their active roster.

Railroads served

Connections and interchanges are made with the following railroads: * BNSF Railway * CSX Transportation * Canadian National/Illinois Central * Kansas City Southern *

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:New Orleans Public Belt Railroad Louisiana railroads Switching and terminal railroads