Train speeds set to increase along tracks running from Hempfield to Youngwood

Train speeds are set to increase this week along a portion of railroad tracks running through Hempfield and Youngwood.

The increase, which will begin Friday, will bring speeds from 10 mph to 20 mph along sections of the Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad, according to Mark Rosner, president of Carload Express, the railroad’s Oakmont-based parent company.

Trains will begin increasing their speed along the part of the system that runs behind the Walmart store in Hempfield’s Greengate Centre plaza. The tracks run along North Greengate Road near Aroma Joe’s Coffee House, crossing over Hempfield Boulevard, which is a back entrance to the plaza. The intersection, which has a traffic light, does not have a traffic arm.

“The reason there’s no traffic arm right there is because the crossing’s integrated with the traffic signals,” Rosner said. “The barrier’s just an extra precaution, and, at a location like that, you don’t put barriers because, when you have traffic stopping, it creates more issues.”

Rosner noted trains likely will still be traveling 10 mph at the intersection, increasing their speed as they leave the area. Accelerated speeds will end at Shady Lane in Youngwood.

Rosner said officials are increasing speeds along that stretch of track after new welded rails were installed last summer. The construction was the fourth phase of a $2.3 million project that will upgrade a portion of the 33-mile freight line owned by the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp.

Rehab of the tracks, which were purchased by the county entity in 1995 for $400,000 and leased to Carload Express, began after Westmoreland County officials received $1.07 million in 2017. The funds were used to replace 8 miles of track, beginning just south of Hempfield.

Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad operates 66 miles of track that run through Greensburg, Youngwood, Scottdale, Connellsville, Uniontown and Smithfield. According to the railroad’s website, lines are situated at the confluence of the region’s major highways, allowing shippers to utilize the network.