Photograph courtesy of Amtrak
The brand new upkeep facility at Penn Trainer Backyard is one in every of Amtrak’s many rail backyard and facility investments deliberate across the nation to toughen new trains that may start serving shoppers within the coming years. Additionally it is the primary on this program to start building.
Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner used to be joined by way of Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose, White Space Deputy Assistant to the President for Infrastructure Implementation Samantha Silverberg and Rail Passengers Affiliation President and CEO Jim Mathews to rejoice the beginning of building for Amtrak’s new heavy upkeep facility at Penn Trainer Backyard in Philadelphia.
“This new upkeep facility is significant to upgrading the buyer revel in with new cutting-edge trains, mixed with our different main infrastructure tasks,” stated Gardner. “This undertaking and several other others like it’ll lend a hand force persevered ridership expansion and long run provider enlargement due to investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation and persevered toughen from the Biden-Harris Management, Congress and lots of different companions across the nation.”
“This undertaking is an instance of the development that the Biden-Harris management is making to comprehend the President’s imaginative and prescient for world-class passenger rail,” stated Silverberg. “President Biden is aware of firsthand the significance of dependable teach provider which is why he secured the biggest funding in passenger rail for the reason that introduction of Amtrak in his Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation. This undertaking will permit the environment friendly upkeep of Amtrak’s new Airo and Acela trains in Philadelphia to stay the trains operating on time in order that other folks can get to the place they paintings, reside and play.”
“Beneath the Biden-Harris Management and during the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation, we’re striking ancient rail investments to paintings to advance main tasks and improve essential infrastructure like Amtrak’s Penn Trainer Backyard,” stated FRA Administrator Amit Bose. The Management’s investments are modernizing and increasing passenger rail within the Northeast and past and serving to to ship the world-class rail American citizens deserve, stated FRA Administrator Amit Bose.
“Upgrades at Amtrak’s Penn Trainer Backyard close to Philadelphia’s Grey thirtieth Side road Station will tremendously fortify teach upkeep, scale back teach turnaround instances, and extra, leading to extra dependable and widespread passenger rail provider for other folks within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and riders up and down the Northeast Hall.”
The us’s passengers had been ready for lots of many years to look this sort of long-overdue funding sooner or later of our rail community, which is able to make the trains we journey cleaner, more secure, and extra dependable,” stated Mathews. “It is but any other instance of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation’s ancient investment ranges creating a significant distinction for the fare-paying public, and we are overjoyed to look this vital undertaking — one in every of six across the nation — transfer ahead.”
When it opens in 2027, the brand new heavy upkeep facility will fortify the buyer and worker revel in by way of dashing up teach upkeep and lowering turnaround instances, because of extra fashionable upkeep practices. The brand new facility can be used for day by day inspections, provider and cleansing, along side lifestyles cycle upkeep and heavy upkeep maintenance. Those upgrades will permit extra dependable and widespread provider throughout Pennsylvania and the Northeast Hall (NEC), The us’s busiest passenger railroad.
The $462 million undertaking is funded completely by way of the Biden-Harris Management’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation. This new facility will provider lots of Amtrak’s Acela, Northeast Regional, Keystone Carrier and Pennsylvanian trains that function up and down the NEC, which these days supplies greater than 12 million annual Amtrak journeys and continues to develop.
Previous this spring, Amtrak awarded a design-build building contract for the brand new upkeep facility. Development will happen throughout the current rail backyard footprint in two stages and require relocating current purposes recently unfold round Penn Trainer Backyard into one consolidated multifunctional facility.
The brand new heavy upkeep facility will surround just about 350,000 sq. toes. throughout the current rail backyard footprint, that includes a two-bay Repairs and Inspection (M&I) facility with inspection pits, a drop desk and fueling pads at each and every finish, in addition to two adjoining Carrier and Cleansing (S&C) tracks.
Further upgrades come with a brand new direct fixation observe throughout the M&I and S&C spaces; elimination of current and set up of recent catenary (electrical energy) constructions; new conserving partitions and garage structures; software relocations and extra. No main buyer affects are anticipated on account of this undertaking.
The brand new upkeep facility at Penn Trainer Backyard is one in every of Amtrak’s many rail backyard and facility investments deliberate across the nation to toughen new trains that may start serving shoppers within the coming years. Additionally it is the primary on this program to start building.
Six main rail yards (5 within the Northeast and one within the Pacific Northwest, the place a building contract used to be simply awarded) can be upgraded with new amenities to toughen upkeep actions, regimen inspections, apparatus maintenance and minor provider and cleansing wishes. A number of layover websites out of doors the NEC additionally can be constructed or renovated. Those are situated alongside current routes the place trains are wiped clean, serviced or saved, equivalent to Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Penn.
Amtrak is reworking teach go back and forth with logo new trains slated to interchange a majority of the present fleet, and those rail backyard upgrades will advance the corporate’s new technology of passenger rail. Amtrak Airo production has ramped up, New Acela checking out is underway, and procurement has officially begun to interchange the present Lengthy Distance fleet.
For more info, consult with amtrak.com.
