PUEBLO, Colo. — Work has begun on a 5.8-mile loop track at the rail testing facility being developed by MxV Rail, the Association of American Railroads affiliate formerly known as Transportation Technology Center, Inc.
The test loop is part of the facility begin developed at Pueblo Plex, the former U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot east of the Colorado city. Work began last Wednesday, the Pueblo Chieftain reports, and is slated to be complete by September for freight and passenger equipment testing. Eventually, the facility plans to have three distinct loops and more than 20 miles of track [see “New TTCI facility should have first test tracks operating this year,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 10, 2022].
Test track construction and related work are expect to cost about $15 million.
MxV is developing the new facility after the Federal Railroad Administration awarded the lease for its prior home, the Transportation Technology Center, to aerospace, technology, and rail firm ENSCO [see “New operator of Colorado’s Transportation Technology Center begins transition,” News Wire, May 9, 2022].
MxV’s “High Speed Loop” has a maximum speed of 110mph. That was the speed limit for the Penn Central Metroliner MU cars in revenue service 50 years ago. The cars themselves could do 160 mph but PC’s track wasn’t up to it.