Amtrak maintenance facility program: new hubs for fleet upkeep

After rolling out Alstom’s “NextGen Acela” and introducing the Siemens Mobility Airo, Amtrak maintenance facility program updates show how the railroad plans to support next-generation and existing trainsets.

In a Feb. 18 video, Amtrak Assistant Vice President, Railyards & Facilities Martita Mullen described a facilities push meant to keep trains running smoothly for decades, as reported by Railway Age.

“Here at Amtrak, we’re building a new era of rail,” Amtrak Assistant Vice President, Railyards & Facilities Martita Mullen said in the Feb. 18 video (watch below). “Not only are we launching the new fleet, but we’re also building state-of-the-art new facilities across the network that will be here for decades to come to keep the trains running smoothly.”

Program scope: level one and level two facilities

The roughly $4 billion facilities program is organized around six “level one” facilities and approximately 18 “level two” facilities. Also, Mullen said the level one facilities are located in major hub locations for more extensive maintenance. At the same time, the level two facilities are planned for satellite locations that focus on more minor maintenance work on the fleet, according to Amtrak.

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Where Amtrak’s level one facilities are being developed?

Amtrak said the level one facilities are being developed at King Street Yard in Seattle, Wash.; Southampton Yard in Boston, Mass.; Sunnyside Yard in Queens, N.Y.; Philadelphia Yard in Philadelphia, Pa.; Ivy City Yard in Washington, D.C.; and Rensselaer, N.Y. Separately, Amtrak said these major hub maintenance locations are intended to let full trainsets be inspected and serviced together, reducing downtime and improving efficiency, a point also noted by Railway Supply. Still, the railroad also said the sites will help keep equipment in better condition, improve operational performance, and ensure trains are ready for customers every day.

How trainset maintenance is expected to change?

Amtrak Senior Director Intercity Trainsets Derek Maier described how fleet maintenance facilities are expected to work in practice. “Our vision is for the equipment to come in at the end of a revenue run, get spotted within the building, protection applied, and then all of the maintenance can be done in line with that equipment where it’s spotted,” Amtrak Senior Director Intercity Trainsets Derek Maier said in the video.

“With new trainsets and these new facilities, we can expect to see less unnecessary downtime for the equipment and more efficient maintenance,” Maier continued. “By building facilities for trainsets, we can design the equipment to not need to uncouple nearly as often as we have in the past. So what that means is more reliable intercar connections, improved gangways and transitions between the cars for passengers, improved accessibility on board. …”

Meanwhile, Mullen also pointed to the Federal Railroad Administration as a key partner in the maintenance facility program. “The team at FRA has really been a true partner throughout the facility investment process,” Mullen said. “Not only does FRA provide us with the funding to construct these projects, but FRA has really been a great resource for our team and for Amtrak in terms of providing us with guidance and support throughout the construction process.”

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