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12/10/2019
New Jersey Transit yesterday announced Amtrak crews have started early construction work on a major resilience project at County Yard in New Brunswick along the Northeast Corridor.
NJ Transit continues to advance efforts to make its rail system more resilient to extreme weather effects. The resilience program includes an expansion of the Amtrak-owned County Yard and the "Delco Lead" storage and service restoration project. Both projects will help reduce the risk of damage to rail equipment by extreme weather and create an inspection facility to bring rail equipment back into service shortly after weather-caused impacts, NJ Transit officials said in a press release.
County Yard will serve as the future home of the commuter railroad’s “safe haven” rail storage facility, as well as the new service and inspection facility. The expansion will provide additional resilient storage of rail cars in a centrally located area, NJ Transit officials said.
Eventual improvements include the construction of 4-mile-long electrified Delco lead tracks, an expansion of County Yard for storage, an inspection facility, crew quarters and associated improvements.
Amtrak's demolition work for the yard project began last month. To be completed by March 2020, the early work includes removing turnout switches and track, installing straight panels, and performing signal modifications to adjacent track and signal equipment.
The removal of the old switches and unused track will help facilitate future track construction into the expanded County Yard, NJ Transit officials said.
"We're excited to be progressing so rapidly and successfully on both of these projects, which will ultimately better protect [our] rail cars, and allow for faster service restorations after extreme weather," said NJ Transit President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Corbett.