# Double-track traffic direction



## PRae_Train (Sep 19, 2014)

Just a curious newbie trying to learn something.

Location: between FRA and WOR in Massachusetts.

A few minutes ago, while I was walking in my town under the railroad bridge on Main Street, I saw a CSX train with 8 engines (and nothing else on the consist) just sitting on the bridge. They were on the right side tracks going westbound. I wondered how that would affect Amtrak #449 due to go through. But sure enough, right on time, Amtrak came through, passing on the left tracks. Shortly after, CSX continued its westbound journey. Both trains were westbound, but used both sets of tracks.

Is this routine? Somehow I have always pictured a “keep to right” traffic pattern for the railroads; but with good dispatch coordination, I suppose they do this all the time?

If they generally keep to the right, would Amtrak have had to wait until they get to WOR to cross over? Where would they have crossed for this leg? There could be MBTA traffic affected as well.


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## Devil's Advocate (Sep 19, 2014)

Unlike vehicular traffic there are many double tracked rail segments that do not enforce directional running. Even in areas where direction running is in effect there will always be exceptions due to factors such as physical disruptions, timed out crews, irregular operations, maintenance work, and periodic traffic imbalances.


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## PRae_Train (Sep 19, 2014)

Thank you, DA.

Though I don't watch for it, I did find it also curious about the 8 engines on the CSX. While it was sitting on the bridge I thought it was 3, but when it went by, well...

Just moving inventory I suppose. I guess it doesn't take much to impress me.


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## amtkstn (Sep 19, 2014)

These are called power moves. A lot of times you get more trains running one way then the other. Sometimes it is done as a eight unit consit with no train being pulled and sometimes it is just a few locomotives behind the working units.


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## George Harris (Sep 19, 2014)

Within the US most railroads with two track mains operate right handed as their normal practice. However, most double track lines are now signaled for operation in both directions on both tracks. There are still some double track sections that are signaled for only one direction per track, but most of these sections will disappear over time.

When you see a train moving opposite to this, it usually means you have a faster or higher priority train needing to pass a slower train. That does not mean that the faster train is on the left hand track. It could well be that the slower train is on the nominally "wrong main" to avoid the need of the faster train to slow down for the crossovers. Before someone starts pointing out my errors, there are exceptions such as the ex - Chicago and Northwestern line between Chicago and Omaha which ran left handed.


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## jis (Sep 20, 2014)

And also even on bi-directional signaled tracks often there are general operational patterns. For example Amtrak between New Haven and Old Saybrook genrally operates wrong track in the morning and right track in the afternoon to accommodate Shoreline East trains to platform at stations that have platforms only on one track.


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## railiner (Sep 21, 2014)

George Harris said:


> Within the US most railroads with two track mains operate right handed as their normal practice. However, most double track lines are now signaled for operation in both directions on both tracks. There are still some double track sections that are signaled for only one direction per track, but most of these sections will disappear over time.
> 
> When you see a train moving opposite to this, it usually means you have a faster or higher priority train needing to pass a slower train. That does not mean that the faster train is on the left hand track. It could well be that the slower train is on the nominally "wrong main" to avoid the need of the faster train to slow down for the crossovers. Before someone starts pointing out my errors, there are exceptions such as the ex - Chicago and Northwestern line between Chicago and Omaha which ran left handed.


Yes...years ago railroads used to call it "Double Track" that had operating timetable current of traffic.....later on, CTC rules changed it to "Two Main Tracks", on their system maps........


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