Amtrak breaks ground on new train maintenance facility

Amtrak and Herzog Contracting Corp. officials last week broke ground on construction of a heavy maintenance facility at Penn Coach Yard in Philadelphia.

The $462 million project is funded by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. Amtrak awarded a contract in spring for the facility's design and build to Herzog.

Construction of the 350,000 square-foot facility will occur in two phases. Some existing functions currently spread around the Penn Coach Yard will be relocated and consolidated as part of the project, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

The facility's features will include inspection pits, a drop table, fueling pads at each end, as well as two adjacent service and cleaning tracks. Additional upgrades at the yard will include a new direct fixation track, installation of new catenary structures, utility relocations and new retaining walls and storage.

When it opens in 2027, the Penn Coach Yard  heavy maintenance facility will enable crews to speed up train maintenance and reduce turnaround times. Daily inspections, service and cleaning, life cycle maintenance and heavy maintenance repairs will be conducted in the facility.

Penn Coach Yard is one of six Amtrak rail yards receiving major facility upgrades in the coming few years – five in the Northeast and one in the Pacific Northwest, where a construction contract was recently awarded. Penn Coach Yard is the first of these projects to begin construction.