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Earlier this week, Amtrak awarded a $37 million contract to PCL Construction Services Inc. for a two-phased upgrade to the Seattle King Street Coach Yard Maintenance Facility.

Scheduled to begin April 1 and be completed by 2012’s end, the project will improve capacity, efficiency and working conditions of the shops, which perform inspections and tests, and maintain locomotives and passenger-rail equipment, according to Amtrak.

The first phase of the project calls for building an enclosed structure over two tracks that’s large enough to allow an entire train to be serviced indoors. The second phase includes the construction of a three-story structure featuring a new materials warehouse for parts storage, administrative offices and facilities. The structure will house 133 mechanical personnel and more than 200 transportation personnel who work at the site.

Depending on federal funding, Amtrak will pursue a third and fourth phase. The third phase calls for constructing a service and inspection building for Amtrak long-distance and Sound Transit trains; the fourth phase includes a new locomotive servicing and repair facility.