A Few Notches on Chicago's 'Belt'

This article discusses the Chicago-area's Belt Railway Company's (BRC) efforts to improve on-time switching performance. The yard in question, which is 650 acres and located in Bedford Park, Illinois, has 44 departure and 40 receiving tracks and humps about two freight cars per minute on average; however, the manner in which cars are switched is swiftly falling out of synch with the increasing demands of freight companies in terms of switchyard throughput. Among the methods that will be used to expedite switching include lean management and infrastructure modernization- including the installation of remote-controlled switches and variable speed humping. Another such system is a computerized inbound train forecasting system among others- all designed to reduce dwell hours in the yard. The article also discusses the situation of outbound trains and the necessity of on-time performance.