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April 2007
By Angela Cotey, Associate Editor
As always, state-of-good-repair programs will rule many transit agencies’ 2007 maintenance-of-way (MOW) plans. With ridership and, in turn, service levels, increasing, it’s all the more critical that passenger railroads keep their track and facilities in good working order. Of the 22 transit agencies that responded to our survey, 14 have budgeted more than 2006 or the same amount to achieve or maintain a state of good repair. Following are details on how several of those agencies will spend their additional MOW dollars. Age becoming an issue Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s (DART) MOW budget has skyrocketed from just under $57,000 last year to $849,000 in ’07. The agency recently marked its 10-year anniversary of light-rail operations, so maintenance programs will become crucial as infrastructure ages. “Part of it is just freshening up the system and keeping it in a state of good repair,” says Senior Vice of Project Management Tim McKay. The other part calls for retrofitting station platforms to accommodate low-floor light-rail vehicles. “When we purchased our vehicles, only high-floor vehicles were available,” says McKay. “Now, everything is going to level boarding.” The agency soon will raise platforms at four central business district stations, then tackle the remaining 30 stations in coming years. Officials hope to complete the platform modifications by 2010, when DART opens its 27-mile Green Line. “As we build our system out, we’re going to be serving airports and hospitals, so we want to provide easier boarding for strollers, wheelchairs, luggage carts, etc.,” says McKay. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) also is upgrading stations. This year’s $27.5 million MOW budget, which is $7.5 million higher than last year’s, includes 10 station improvement projects. “We normally have two to three stations in design, a couple under construction and a couple budgeted to begin design,” says Director of Programming and Planning Maribeth Feke. This year’s most expensive is the East 55th Street Station rehabilitation. GCRTA budgeted $2.3 million in 2007 for the $10 million project. The station currently comprises a platform, walkway and set of stairs. The facility serves GCRTA’s rail service center and rail headquarters, its three rail lines and two bus lines. So, officials want the station to have “more of a presence in the neighborhood,” says Feke. To ensure it does, the authority will build a 2,700-square-foot “modern-looking” headhouse in the historic neighborhood, she says. A 60-foot tower will house a staircase and elevator running from the platform to street level, connecting with the headhouse via an enclosed pedestrian bridge. The station also will feature a center platform and an exit on both sides of East 55th Street so passengers don’t have to cross the busy road. Station design is about 70 percent complete and GCRTA expects to award a construction contract by year’s end. The project will take two years to complete. Getting on track Meanwhile, several other transit agencies have beefed up MOW budgets to complete track projects. Caltrain will spend $7 million more on MOW in large part because of the $14 million North Terminal project, which includes upgrading track at and around San Francisco Station. Scheduled to be complete in September, the project calls for installing four new and replacing two existing crossovers, replacing or rehabilitating 18 track switches in the yard area, and upgrading the signal system. Once the project’s complete, Caltrain will operate more trains through the station and increase operating speeds from 10 mph to 20 mph, saving up to two minutes in travel time per train, says spokesperson Jonah Weinberg. At MTA Metro-North Railroad, MOW spending jumped from $90 million in 2006 to $104 million in 2007 primarily because of a $17 million New Haven Line tie project. Scheduled to begin in June and be complete in December, the project calls for replacing 36,000 wood with 30,000 concrete ties from Devon to west of New Haven, Conn. The railroad will need to install fewer concrete ties, which are larger than wood ties. And the concrete ties will hold up better in the high-traffic area, says Metro-North spokesperson Daniel Brucker. “It’ll help us reduce the maintenance and replacement cycle in this very tight four-track area,” he says. In the Dallas area, Trinity Railway Express’ (TRE) 2007 MOW might be slightly lower than 2006’s, but it includes a large-scale track project. In summer, the agency will begin building a double-track Belt Line grade separation project in Irving, Texas. The $35 million to $45 million project includes a 2.2-mile siding, 8,300 feet of which will be elevated, passing over three major thoroughfares. Expected to take 30 months to complete, the project will provide TRE additional capacity and operating flexibility. “We will also eliminate two wooden bridges, and replace a significant distance of old rail on wood ties with new rail on concrete ties, which will reduce our maintenance costs for an extended period of time,” TRE said in its survey.
MTA New York City Transit 2007 MOW budget: $904.8 million 2006 MOW budget: $1.8 billion Reason for decrease: Contracts for several large-value projects were scheduled to be awarded in 2006. Rail: Rehabilitate or replace 17.1 track miles, including 11.2 miles as part of the Mainline Track Replacement Program ($155 million); 4.7 miles as part of the Welded Rail Replacement Program ($11 million); and 1.5 miles as part of the Yard Track Replacement Program ($2.7 million). Also, NYCT will replace 30 switches systemwide ($36.5 million) and interlockings as part of the Flushing Line reconfiguration ($19.9 million). Ties: Replace or install 26,925 wood, 4,500 concrete and 2,200 plastic ties, plus 17,800 tie blocks. Bridge work: Repaint 4.1 miles of the Bronx Park East bridge, to be complete in October ($21.2 million); rehabilitate the Ocean Parkway Viaduct, to be complete in December ($7.2 million); repaint the subway portal to the end of the Pelham line, to be complete in April ($28.2 million). Station or facility projects: Rehabilitate the following: Jay Street-Lawrence Street Connection ($125.1 million); 96th Street/Broadway-7th Avenue Station ($86 million); eight ventilation plants on the Archer Avenue Line ($70.2 million); Broadway-Bleecker Connection ($64.4 million); Dyckman Substation ($30.7 million); Kings Highway/Brighton Line Station ($29.5 million); Newkirk Avenue/Brighton Line Station ($26 million); Avenue H/Brighton Line Station ($25.9 million); Avenue J/Brighton Line Station ($24.3 million); Avenue U/Brighton Line Station ($23.6 million); Avenue M/Brighton Line Station ($23 million); and Neck Road/Brighton Line ($21.4 million). The agency also will replace control cables at four substations ($41.8 million); install power equipment at Rockwell Place Substation ($20.5 million); and modernize Meserole Avenue Substation ($20.2 million). Track equipment to lease or purchase: One rail grinder, $10.1 million, expected to be delivered in July; one track geometry car, $10 million, put in service in March. Amtrak 2007 MOW budget: $500 million 2006 MOW budget: $452 million Reason for increase: Additional funding for 2007 will support major project work, which includes the Thames River Bridge replacement, Sunnyside Yard consolidated maintenance facility construction and Hellgate Bridge catenary construction. Rail: Replace or rehabilitate 39 miles. Ties: Install 133,000 wood ties (including 60,000 on the Springfield Line and 30,000 on the Michigan Line), 103,000 concrete ties and 4,600 bridge timbers. Bridge work: Continue construction on the Thames River Bridge replacement. Station or facility projects: Begin constructing a consolidated maintenance facility at Sunnyside Yard in New York, $21 million over two years. Track equipment to purchase: Two tie inserters, three tie handlers, two anchor applicators and two rail heaters. MTA Long Island Rail Road 2007 MOW budget: $236.1 million 2006 MOW budget: $102.6 million Reason for increase: More significant projects are scheduled to begin construction, specifically in the track and bridge programs. Rail: Renew 10 concrete switches, Jamaica Station tracks and 32 grade crossings; surface 83 track miles and grind 500 pass miles. Significant track projects include Main Line (44.5 miles, $6.4 million); Hempstead Branch (5.5 miles, $1 million); Oyster Bay Branch (14.5 miles, $2.8 million); and Montauk Branch (102 miles, $1.5 million). Ties: Install 77,100 wood and 5,000 concrete ties. Bridge work: Rehabilitate 19 bridges, one viaduct, culverts and drainage structures as part of the 2005-2009 capital program. Station or facility projects: Design new locomotive repair and overhaul shop ($47.7 million); continue rehabilitating Broadway Station platform, to be complete in September 2008 ($18.7 million); rehabilitate Seaford Station platform, begin in September ($16.5 million); rehabilitate Hillside facility ($3.3 million); construct Bay Shore pedestrian overpass, to begin in September ($1.6 million); and upgrade Queens Village Station, construction began in February ($550,000). Track equipment to purchase: Six high-capacity push carts, five pay loaders, five side dump cars, two lag machines, two low-boy goose neck trailers, two hi-rail rotary dump trucks, two grapple trucks, two high-velocity snow blowers, and one motorized push cart, petibone crane, 8,000-gallon trailer, all-terrain crane, spike puller, ballast undercutter, vibratory hammer, OTM reclaimer, asphalt roller, LORAM rail vac and LORAM rail grinder. MTA Metro-North Railroad 2007 MOW budget: $104 million 2006 MOW budget: $90 million Reason for budget increase: New Haven Line tie project. Rail: Replace or install 16.5 miles and surface 195 miles. Ties: Install 56,000 concrete and 42,000 wood ties. Bridge work: Replace undergrade bridge at Fishkill Creek in Beacon, N.Y. ($5.6 million); repair seven bridges in various locations ($4.2 million); and replace Bridge Street bridge in Irvington, N.Y. ($2.6 million). Station or facility projects: Construct new inbound platforms and canopies, and replace or repair ramps, stairs, sidewalks, walls, guardrails, etc. at various stations ($16.7 million), started in January. Track equipment to lease or purchase: 10 side dumps, four tie handlers, two rough terrain scissor lifts, and one 8.5-ton crawler/excavator, automated milling machine and rough terrain hi-rail excavator. Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority 2007 MOW budget: $27.5 million 2006 MOW budget: $20 million Reason for increase: Budgets are established in a five-year plan to meet various program requirements. Rail: Rehabilitate eight miles of the Green Line and five miles of the Blue Line; power and way maintenance program, $3.7 million; heavy- and light-rail profile grinding, $300,000; design S-curve reconstruction on heavy-rail line, $150,000; optical heavy-rail inspection, $65,000; and design replacement of Shaker Square grade crossing, $50,000. Ties: Replace or install 5,000 wood ties. Bridge work: Rehabilitate Delmont, Hower, Lake and Auburndale bridges ($5.5 million), and Abbey Road street bridge ($2.2 million); design East Boulevard bridge rehabilitation ($270,000); demolish Broadway/Rockefeller Ave. bridge ($1.9 million). Station or facility projects: Rehabilitate Woodhill Road Station ($3.2 million); East 55th Street Station ($2.3 million); Puritas Avenue Station ($1.8 million); Brookpark Road Station ($1.3 million); Tower City Station ($490,000); Lee Road/Van Aken Blvd. Station ($355,000); East 120th Street Station ($225,000); West 117th Street Station ($100,000); and University Circle Station ($75,000). Replace Westpark substation electrical system ($2.7 million). Track equipment to lease or purchase: Utility tamper, tie inserter, material handler, motor car, snow blower/plow. Caltrain 2007 MOW budget: $20 million 2006 MOW budget: $13 million Reason for increase: Rehabilitation of San Francisco Terminal. Rail: Replace or install three miles. Ties: Replace or install 4,000 wood and 1,000 concrete ties. Station or facility projects: Rehabilitate Burlingame Station, start in July ($12.5 million). Continue North Terminal operations improvement project at San Francisco Terminal, complete in September ($14 million). Project includes upgrading signals, adding crossovers and rehabilitating track. Track equipment to lease: Rail grinder. New Jersey Transit 2007 MOW budget: $17 million (track program only) 2006 MOW budget: $17 million (track program only) Rail: Replace or rehabilitate 64 track miles, including the replacement of 35,000 concrete ties and 10 miles of continuous welded rail between Summit and Denville, $7 million. Ties: Install 50,500 wood and 45,500 concrete ties, including 21,000 ties in Bergen County and 15,000 ties in Hunterdon County. Bridge work: Four bridge rehabilitations in Plainfield, construction to start in April ($17.5 million); Shark River timber trestle replacement, construction to start in July ($17 million); Lower Hack drawbridge rehabilitation, Jersey City, construction to start in July ($14 million). Station or facility projects: Rehabilitate Hoboken Terminal ferry slips, begin in winter ($10-$20 million); design and build South Amboy parking deck, begin in fall ($10-$20 million); build high-level platform at South Amboy Station, begin in summer ($10-$20 million); access improvements to Newark Penn Station, begin in summer ($5-$10 million); upgrade public-address system at Newark Penn Station, begin in fall ($5-$10 million); repair or restore platforms, track, roof, walls, windows, signage, lighting and brickwork at Newark Penn Station, begin in fall ($5-$10 million); expand surface lot capacity at North Hackensack Station, begin in fall ($1-$5 million); repair canopy at Watsessing Station ($1-$5 million); restore Bloomfield Shelter, begin in spring (less than $1 million); repair Chatham pedestrian tunnel, begin in summer (less than $1 million); rehabilitate River Edge Station, begin in summer (less than $1 million); replace Whitehouse Station roof, begin in spring 2008 (less than $1 million). Track equipment to lease or purchase: Clip applicators, material handler, excavator lag machine, tie handlers and wire train. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority 2007 MOW budget: $16.4 million 2006 MOW budget: $17.4 million Reason for decrease: Overall agency budget priorities. Rail: Rehabilitate light-rail street crossings; continue Metro Gold Line Eastside extension, 6.6 miles ($898 million total); continue Metro Exposition Line Phase I, 8.6 miles ($640 million total). Ties: Replace or install street crossing ties and panels; install 300-500 concrete and 25-50 wood ties. Station or facility projects: Add canopies over Metro Red Line subway entrances, preliminary engineering began in February, construction to begin in July 2008 ($6.6 million); build new heavy-rail car wash and cleaning platform in downtown Los Angeles, begin in December ($15.4 million); install two additional two-car heavy-rail vehicle hoists in downtown L.A. maintenance and repair shop, begin in August ($4.3 million); construct training facility for train operators and maintenance staff, begin in September 2008 ($17.6 million). Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority 2007 MOW budget: $14.8 million 2006 MOW budget: $11.5 million Reason for increase: Fastener and turnout replacement, yard and mainline switch machine replacement, AC track circuit upgrade. Rail: Replace fasteners along 10.4 track miles; continue Trackway Renovation Phase II project, which includes replacing 22,000 direct fixation fasteners; rail and fasteners in seven direct fixation turnouts; and ties, rail and fasteners in seven ballast turnouts. Ties: Install 200 wood ties. Bridge work: Conduct structural abatement renovation at four bridges, begin in summer, $1.5 million. Station or facility projects: Modify Lakewood Station to provide handicapped access to the new transit-oriented development to be constructed adjacent to the station, begin in fall ($2.6 million). Metrolink 2007 MOW budget: $9.5 million 2006 MOW budget: $13.5 million Reason for decrease: Budget restraints from governmental agencies. Rail: Install nine miles of new ribbon rail and transpose 1.5 miles of existing rail in curves. Ties: Install 17,000 wood ties in Los Angeles County. Track equipment to purchase or lease: Brandt truck car mover, Hy-Rail excavator. North County Transit District 2007 MOW budget: $5.9 million 2006 MOW budget: $6.4 million Reason for decrease: Annual budget based on available funding. Rail: Install two miles of continuous-welded rail; complete Oneil-to-Flores double-track project ($14.1 million); and extend 1.5 miles of existing mainline siding including two new mainline bridges in Oceanside, begin in June and complete in June 2008 ($12.5 million). Ties: Install 15,000 wood ties, including COASTER mainline ($2.3 million). GO Transit 2007 MOW budget: $4.7 million 2006 MOW budget: $1.7 million Reason for increase: Some items were deferred because of tendering complications. MOW capital budget peaks vary because GO doesn’t own the majority of track or corridors in the network and the condition of its assets is good. Rail: Replace or rehabilitate several short sections totaling 14 miles, including rail joint elimination on the Union Station rail corridor in Toronto ($1.7 million). Ties: Install 10,000 wood ties, including along the Union Station corridor ($1.6 million). Bridge work: Rehabilitate Jarvis Street underpass in Toronto, begin in August ($732,000). Track equipment to lease: Ballast cars and mainline production tamper. Bay Area Rapid Transit 2007 MOW budget: $3 million 2006 MOW budget: N/A Rail: Rehabilitate or install three track miles. Ties: Install 500 timber, plastic and concrete ties. Track equipment to lease or purchase: One spot tamper. Trinity Railway Express 2007 MOW budget: $3 million 2006 MOW budget: $3.1 million Reason for decrease: One significant MOW capital maintenance project was completed in 2006. Rail: Begin 2.2-mile Belt Line grade separation in Irving, Texas ($35-$45 million); and CentrePort/DFW Airport Station 1.3-mile double-track project ($20-$25 million). Also, replace or rehabilitate two track miles, including 0.7-mile double track project in Dallas, which involves replacing one and adding one bridge, to begin in summer ($4-$5 million); and Brookhollow B lead track, which involves installing new switches and crossovers, connecting existing sidings and completing signal upgrades, to be complete in summer ($2.6 million). Ties: Install 4,000 wood and 4,436 concrete ties, mostly in Irving and Fort Worth, Texas. Port Authority of Allegheny County 2007 MOW budget: $2.9 million 2006 MOW budget: $2.5 million Reason for increase: Greater focus on maintenance and state of good repair. Rail: Replace or install 3,500 feet of rail and 2,000 feet of restraining rail, including the South Hills Junction track replacement, which involves replacing about 3,280 feet of concrete-embedded, booted rail. Project began in March and is scheduled to be complete in August. Ties: Replace about 2,500 wood ties along the Main and Library lines ($185,000). Bridge work: Rehabilitate Saw Mill Run Bridge, which includes removing and replacing the bridge deck, expansion joints, painting and replacing about 2,480 feet of a floating rail system, complete in August ($4.6 million). Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority 2007 MOW budget: $2.4 million 2006 MOW budget: $1.1 million Reason for increase: Wear conditions of track. Rail: Replace 900 feet of track in San Jose, Calif. Project includes replacing worn embedded rail in three curves with T-rail installed in a rail boot for noise and vibration mitigation, begin in summer ($2.4 million). Station or facility projects: Retrofit five 300-foot-long platforms to raise them from six-inch top of rail to 14-inch top of rail to obtain level boarding from low-floor vehicles. Dallas Area Rapid Transit 2007 MOW budget: $849,000 2006 MOW budget: $56,972 Reason for increase: Additional equipment and rail replacement study. Station or facility projects: This spring, DART will begin renovating stations that are more than 10 years old to upgrade and maintain HVAC, electrical, plumbing, lighting, roofing, signage, restroom fixtures, doors, seating, landscape and irrigation ($2.3 million). Track equipment to lease or purchase: Begin procuring tampers ($600,000). Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon 2007 MOW budget: $500,000 2006 MOW budget: $450,000 No specific MOW projects for 2007. MOW budget will cover maintenance of track, signals, overhead catenary, stations, etc. Sacramento Regional Transit District 2007 MOW budget: $400,000 2006 MOW budget: $400,000 Ties: Install concrete ties as needed. Station or facility projects: Construct a taxi loading zone and complete pedestrian improvements to the Old Sacramento and city of Sacramento parking garage at Sacramento Valley Station, to begin in July ($1 million); construct platform shelters, add lighting, upgrade electrical, repaint and add furniture at Alkali/Flat Valentina and 12th & I stations, to begin in late 2007 ($280,000); add a second platform at Roseville Road Station, to begin in January 2008 ($620,000); expand the light-rail vehicle heavy repair facility from 40,000 to 59,000 square feet and from four light-rail vehicle service bays to six, plus modify existing yard track and the overhead contact system, to begin in January 2008 ($5.7 million); add shelters, and update landscaping and lighting at 13th Street and 16th Street stations, to begin in April 2008 ($662,200); and retrofit the Metro West maintenance facility for use as a LRV body shop, begin design in July ($725,000). Port Authority Transit Corp. 2007 MOW budget: $198,025 2006 MOW budget: $358,384 Reason for decrease: N/A. Budgets do not include funding for major capital projects, which are funded by parent organization Delaware River Port Authority. Rail: Replace or install 12,000 feet of running rail on the main line and in the yard; Philadelphia portal curves; and Marketing Interlocking. PATCO also will continue an $18.5 million interlocking and road bed rehabilitation project. Ties: Install 20,654 lineal feet of wood ties on the mainline. Bridge work: Rehabilitate structure on the Collingwood and Westmont viaduct, to begin in summer. Station or facility projects: Replace Watts Street Pump Station; Broadway-to-City Hall curves; and gauge-worn running and guard rail for tracks 1 and 2 in the Camden Subway. Track equipment to lease or purchase: Fairmount 24 Stone Grinder and Plasser Tamper. St. Louis Metro 2007 MOW budget: $150,000 2006 MOW budget: $800,000 Reason for decrease: Large project completed in 2006. Rail: Renew seven grade crossing surfaces in St. Louis, $500,000; and surface and align track in St. Louis, $800,000. Ties: Install 400 concrete and 200 wood ties. Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Harris County, Texas 2007 MOW budget: $250,000 2006 MOW budget: $210,000 No project details available.
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