Track inspection defects, Granite Point & Western Railway, Nov 2024–Oct 2026

10,857 defects and exceptions from visual inspections, geometry car runs, ultrasonic rail tests and the annual walking survey, placed by subdivision and milepost. Three patterns stand out: repeat track surface defects next to a plugged culvert between Granite Point and Shepard Mill, a cluster of overdue turnout defects at Granite Point, and a geometry car run missing on the Redbud Subdivision. Everything is in the file, so the tool works without a network connection.

Defect export Nov 2, 2026, 10,857 rows4 subdivisions, 79.0 route milesFound Nov 1, 2024–Oct 31, 2026, status as of Oct 31, 2026Prepared Nov 5, 2026

Summary

Repeat defects · Granite Subdivision

Track surface at MP 109.39–109.95 is fixed after every geometry run while the culvert stays plugged

This 0.56-mile stretch is 2.3% of the subdivision but has 111 of its 1,143 track geometry defects (9.7%). 101 of them were found within 150 ft of a defect already closed as repaired. After the first of 12 geometry car runs, the defects came back on every run. The culvert at MP 109.69 has had an open P4 exception, Culvert obstructed, since Apr 23, 2025 (export row 2,180).

Action: clean out the culvert and ditch before more spot surfacing is scheduled, and review whether the item belongs under 49 CFR 213.33 (drainage) rather than program work.

Overdue · Granite Point

55 of 98 overdue turnout defects are at Granite Point

As of Oct 31, 2026, 273 open defects were past their due date. One in five of them (55) are on 26 turnouts at Granite Point, a median of 258 days past due. All other locations together have 43 overdue turnout defects.

Action: ask the roadmaster for a recovery plan for the Granite Point turnouts.

Timeline · Redbud Subdivision

The drop in geometry defects on the Redbud Sub comes from a missed geometry car run

Track geometry defects fell from 456 to 335 (−26.5%) between Nov 2024–Oct 2025 and Nov 2025–Oct 2026. The test plan schedules a run in May 2026, but the export has no geometry car defects between Feb 17 and Aug 18, 2026. One run finds 105 defects on this subdivision on average, most of the drop.

Action: confirm whether the May run was canceled or its results were never loaded.

Defects on track chart, timeline and list

Filter by subdivision, inspection type, priority, status, category and period. Every view follows the filters. Select a stretch on the track chart to see each defect, and click a defect for the full record and the history at that location.

Subdivision
Inspection type
Priority
Status
Month found
–
Open as of Oct 31, 2026
Overdue, past due date
Median time to close
Share of FRA and P1 defects

Straight-line track chart by subdivision and milepost

ClosedOpenOverdueGrade crossingStation

Each bar is 0.2 mile of track, at the same scale on every subdivision. Drag across a subdivision to select a stretch, or click to select 1 mile. The selection filters every chart and the list.

Timeline by month

Visual inspectionAnnual walking surveyGeometry carUltrasonic rail testOpen at month endOverdue at month end

Bars show new defects by month found and inspection type. Click a month to filter on it and click again to clear. The lines count every defect that was open or overdue at the end of each month.

By category and priority

Colors follow priority. Click a row to filter on that category.

Priority and time to close

Priorities and due dates per GPW MW-100. FRA defects need remedial action when found (49 CFR 213.5). Click a row to show only that priority.

PriorityCountOpenOverdueMedian days

Defects in selection

FoundSubMPDefectPri.Status

Selected defect

Sources and method

Sources

  • GPW_Track_Defects_Export_2024-11-01_to_2026-10-31.xlsxDefects and exceptions from visual inspections, geometry car runs, rail tests and the walking survey, with date found, milepost, priority, due date and date closed10,857 rows, 26 columns
  • GPW_Station_List_and_Mileposts.xlsxSubdivision limits, stations, grade crossings and FRA track class by segment12 stations, 17 crossings
  • GPW_2025-2026_Inspection_and_Test_Plan.xlsxScheduled geometry car runs, ultrasonic rail tests and walking surveys by subdivision58 scheduled tests
  • GPW_MW-100_Track_Maintenance_Standards_Rev7.pdfDefect priorities FRA and P1–P5, due dates and remedial actions64 pages
  • 49 CFR Part 213, Track Safety StandardsTrack classes, defect definitions, remedial action and inspection requirements, Subparts A–FFRA

Method

  1. Each row was read and its milepost checked against the subdivision limits in the station list. All 10,857 rows could be placed.
  2. Status was set as of Oct 31, 2026: closed if a date closed exists, overdue if the defect is open and past its due date, otherwise open.
  3. The track chart counts defects per 0.2 mile at the same scale on every subdivision. A selected stretch opens a detail view with one dot per defect.
  4. A track geometry defect counts as a repeat if a defect in the same category within ±150 ft had already been closed before the date found.
  5. The timeline shows new defects per month and inspection type, and the open and overdue count at each month end. Test dates in the export were compared with the inspection and test plan.

Assumptions and limitations

  • Due dates are taken as recorded in the export under MW-100. For P3 they fall on the next scheduled test of the same type. P5 items have no due date and never become overdue.
  • P1–P5 and their due dates (P1 within 14 days, P2 within 90 days, P4 within 3 years) are the railroad's own MW-100 scale; Part 213 has no priority classes. Their adequacy should be confirmed by the railroad's engineering department. FRA defects are handled separately under 49 CFR 213.5.
  • Engine burn and shelling are not rail defects listed in 49 CFR 213.113 and refer to MW-100. Where such a record carries FRA priority in the export it shows as an FRA defect with MW-100 as reference; the track inspector should confirm the classification of those records.
  • Time to close is counted in calendar days from date found to date closed. FRA defects show 0–1 days because they were repaired when found or under a slow order the next day.
  • The export covers track and roadbed under Part 213 plus grade crossing surfaces and right-of-way items. Signal and crossing warning system tests (Parts 236 and 234) are not in it.
  • Mileposts are as recorded by the inspector. Dots in the detail view are spread vertically within their row so they do not cover each other.
  • Nothing is saved. Filters and selections reset when the page reloads.