Amtrak continues to prepare for more riders and more modern train technology, adding three Northeast Corridor (NEC) design-build projects to a multi-billion-dollar rail yard modernization program that the agency says will improve service reliability and facilitate safer, more efficient maintenance operations.
Funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the concurrent modernizations will provide facilities and infrastructure to improve maintenance efficiencies and reduce turnaround times during repairs and inspections as Amtrak transitions to new trainsets—including NextGen Acela high-speed trains, which began service along the NEC this summer—and dual-power electric and diesel Amtrak Airo trains, set to begin service next year. Amtrak has also begun the process of upgrading its 40-year-old fleet of overnight trains.
At Amtrak’s Sunnyside Yard in Long Island City, a joint venture of Peter Scalamandre & Sons Inc. and Citnalta Construction Corp. will design and construct a two-track maintenance and inspection facility, and six new service and cleaning tracks with canopy coverage. The $1.3-billion project also includes consolidating commissary, employee workspace, material storage and parking into a single location within the yard; bringing 11 existing service platforms to a state of good repair; and other infrastructure upgrades such as reconfiguring two major interlockings and tracks connecting the yard to the NEC.
Amtrak’s Ivy City Yard in Washington, D.C. is set for a $705-million upgrade.
Rendering courtesy of Amtrak
According to a social media post by Citnalta, the joint venture team also includes Dewberry Engineers, RailWorks Corporation and L.K. Comstock. The project is currently set for completion in 2030.
In Washington, D.C., Amtrak’s Ivy City Yard is set for a $705-million upgrade by the joint venture of Clark Construction Co. and Herzog Contracting Corp. According to STV, the team’s lead designer, the five-year project includes demolishing and replacing portions of the yard’s outdated primary maintenance structure, constructing a 150,000-sq-ft dedicated train servicing facility, relocating tracks and converting storage areas into service tracks. Structures built in the mid-1980s will be rebuilt with raised roofs to allow for more overhead space for machinery and the addition of a catenary system while also providing a safer environment for workers underneath, inside and atop trains.
In addition, new fuel stations for Airo trains at the Ivy City Yard will reduce the amount of time needed to transition from NEC electrified service to non-electrified routes south of Washington.
For Boston’s Southampton Yard, a joint venture of SPS New England and Railroad Construction Co. will oversee a $583-million upgrade that includes construction of a two-track maintenance and inspection facility, and renovation of the existing two-track regional service and inspection facility into a two-track service and cleaning facility. Full project completion is expected in 2029.
The $583-million Southampton Yard upgrade in Boston includes construction of a two-track maintenance and inspection facility.
Rendering Courtesy Amtrak
Two other Amtrak rail yard modernization efforts began last year. At around Penn Coach Yard in Philadelphia, Herzog broke ground in October on a $462-million design-build project that includes a 350,000-sq-ft heavy maintenance facility that consolidate multiple, currently dispersed functions. Features include a two-bay maintenance and inspection facility with inspection pits, drop table and fueling pads, as well as two adjacent service and cleaning tracks. Scheduled for completion in 2027, the project also adds a direct fixation track within the maintenance and service areas, replacement of catenary structures, new retaining walls and storage buildings and utility relocations.
In Seattle, PCL Construction Services Inc., began work last summer on a $300-million upgrade at the King Street Yard. According to the agency, pile driving and mass excavation will be completed later this year for a nearly 100,000-sq-ft pre-engineered maintenance facility. The project is scheduled for completion in 2027, shortly after Amtrak introduces Airo trains on its Portland-Seattle-Vancouver, BC route.
A sixth rail modernization project at Amtrak’s Rensselaer-Albany, N.Y., rail yard is currently in the concept planning stage, Amtrak says, with an eye toward providing two maintenance and inspection tracks and three service and cleaning tracks. Amtrak hopes to award a design contract for the project this fall.
