MTA Metro-North Railroad today announced that the MTA Board approved a contract to Skanska-ECCO for the final phase of rebuilding Metro-North Railroad’s Croton-Harmon Shops and Yard complex, a facility that was built in the early 1900’s and is crucial to railroad operations. 

 

At Croton-Harmon, a 100-acre facility located between the train station and Croton Point Park, crews operate around-the-clock to service, repair and maintain the railroad’s fleet of electric cars, coaches and locomotives that serve all three east-of-Hudson lines.   The facility is the center of the railroad’s maintenance activities, and its rebuild secures the on-going safe and reliable train service for our customers.

 

Metro-North has transformed this century-old facility into a state of-the art complex that features three new technologically advanced maintenance equipment facilities, expanded train storage capacity, new locomotive servicing stations, and the first “wheel truing” facility in North America that can smooth four wheels simultaneously so that cars travel safely and efficiently over the tracks. 

 

The railroad has nearly completed the construction of a new consist shop that allows an entire train, known as a consist, to enter the facility for repairs without having to uncouple and recouple cars. This modification minimizes yard movements, crew, and the time it takes to detach and re-attach train cars for required inspections. 

This final stage of the rebuild completes the demolition and replacement of the facility’s “main shop,” where Metro-North formerly performed most of its train maintenance, paving the way for a new electric car shop and a support shop facility. The work is slated for completion in 2022.

 

The electric car shop will be an improved site for crews to perform preventative maintenance, known as reliability-centered maintenance, on the railroad’s electric fleet, avoiding the possibility of major issues that could take trains out of service for longer periods of time.   A new support shop will bring more efficient, updated equipment used to repair or replace train components, including: wheel and axle assemblies, HVAC units, compressors, tread brake units and electronic equipment.  

 

Metro-North managed and performed the difficult and complex tasks of completely replacing, improving and expanding all equipment maintenance facilities while maintaining full operational capacity.

 

"It’s impossible to operate the railroad safely and efficiently without a well-maintained fleet,” said Catherine Rinaldi, Metro-North President. “The Croton-Harmon Shops and Yard Replacement project brings an antiquated facility into the 21st century, ensuring we continue to provide the best possible service to our customers for generations to come.”   

 

To expedite the project, the railroad awarded Skanska-ECCO a design-build contract.  Design-build is a project delivery method where the same team that designs the project builds the project, and there’s only one contract. This simple but fundamental difference transforms the relationship between designers and builders into an alliance that fosters innovation, collaboration, and teamwork. The MTA benefits from a reduction in initial design effort, while the contractor can introduce innovative design or construction methods to reduce the project’s cost and schedule.