At 07:00 CST on March 1, a 60-hour work window began to cut-in the extensions of receiving and departure tracks 33 to 35 at Kansas City Southern's Deramus Yard in Shreveport, Louisiana.

The job was completed in 56 hours, and within minutes of releasing the tracks for service, trains were moving over the new tracks.

The quick completion of the cut-in was made possible by intensive project management and cooperation amongst the design build team, including engineering, maintenance of way and transportation. In days prior, the team worked together to remove trains from the area and to get all of the materials in place. The project team worked around the clock until the removal of old switches, grading and laying of track panels was complete. Due to the nature of the cut-in and the geometry of existing tracks that were removed, more track and earth work was necessary than with the previous cut in of tracks 44 through 48 in February.

With the cut-in of tracks 33 to 35, there are now seven receiving and departure tracks averaging 6,400 feet in length on the east side of the classification yard. Construction continues for the new air compressor facility, which will allow airing of trains at the south end of both east and west receiving and departure tracks. In addition to the extension of Centralized Traffic Control north to shorten yard limits and six miles east to reduce dark territory, these projects are part of a multi-year capital investment to increase Deramus Yard capacity.