NJT Emergency Equipment Storage (Delco Lead and County Yard resilience project)

NJT wants to purchase 25 acres in Middlesex County as a safe haven for equipment during hurricanes/flooding.

From nj.com.

http://www.nj.com/traffic/index.ssf/201 ... river_home

Now, officials want to negotiate with Conrail to buy about three miles of track and a total of 25 acres of land in New Brunswick and North Brunswick to create what officials call a "safe haven" to store trains in.

The Delco Lead and County Yard projects are estimated to cost a total of $368 million. A $183 million Federal Transit Administration grant would build a service and inspection building and five new tracks at County Yard in New Brunswick, to hold 144 rail cars and locomotives, NJ Transit officials said.

The state would provide $60 million in matching funds.

The state would pay the entire $125 million to build a second five-mile track next to the Delco lead, an industrial track in North Brunswick along to the Northeast Corridor line, to store 288 trains on during a storm. The work is scheduled to be finished at the end of 2021.

I know they probably want to put catenary on the storm storage track, and this is NJ, but $125 Million for 5 miles? I doubt that track would even have any signalling.

Why not expand Port Morris Yard, electrify it and build a storage and maintenance facility there? It's existing property, it's in a relatively safe area - high and dry - and with expanded facilities and electrification, would help to mitigate the Dover yard storage issues. Further service expansion westward and future Boonton line electrification would also benefit. In fact, one could argue that Dover Yard could be decommissioned and an expanded Port Morris yard would suffice. One big facility instead of two smaller facilities.

I know that the boneheads have driven off most of the employees here, but does anyone know why that yard near North Rahway wouldn't be a better choice? It seems huge, and looks like it would just need some work on the tracks and for a lot of wire to be strung. Maybe because there are not already facilities there, or something?

pumpers wrote:I know they probably want to put catenary on the storm storage track, and this is NJ, but $125 Million for 5 miles? I doubt that track would even have any signalling.

Maybe not the yard tracks at County, but the Delco lead would be a main track...well yeah, I'd see that being signaled.

ryanov wrote:I know that the boneheads have driven off most of the employees here, but does anyone know why that yard near North Rahway wouldn't be a better choice? It seems huge, and looks like it would just need some work on the tracks and for a lot of wire to be strung. Maybe because there are not already facilities there, or something?

That'd be Stiles St. yard, and it's owned by Conrail. That being said, NJT already owns County Yard (AFAIK) and the facilities for NJT's Jersey Ave M/W and T&E crews. I don't think they want to deal with trying to acquire more real estate up in Linden, when the ridership is focused out of New Brunswick/Jersey Ave., Princeton Jct., and midline on the Corridor, and they're sorta committed to trying to bring a station to North Brunswick near Adams M/W base. Money talks... you know the rest

See: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/03/02/ ... t-village/

time wrote:Why not expand Port Morris Yard, electrify it and build a storage and maintenance facility there? It's existing property, it's in a relatively safe area - high and dry - and with expanded facilities and electrification, would help to mitigate the Dover yard storage issues. Further service expansion westward and future Boonton line electrification would also benefit. In fact, one could argue that Dover Yard could be decommissioned and an expanded Port Morris yard would suffice. One big facility instead of two smaller facilities.

Port Morris Yard is on the wrong line. NJT needs an yard on the NEC. Sending trains to Port Morris or any yard on any other line will prevent quick resumption of service which was a major requirement for the emergency storage yard. The FTA has already issues a FONSI for County Yard and Delco Lead. The federal money from Sandy relief is there. While it would be nice to have an electric yard in Port Morris and electrified Boonton line and electric extension beyond Dover don't count on it in your lifetime. If NJT was to string up wires anywhere during the next 100 years the Raritan Line is the most likely candidate given ridership and operational considerations. It is very telling that in spite of the possibility of extending one or two Midtown Direct trains beyond MSU using the ALP45s (similarly to the North Jersey Coast Lone), it has not been done.

OportRailfan wrote:

ryanov wrote:I know that the boneheads have driven off most of the employees here, but does anyone know why that yard near North Rahway wouldn't be a better choice? It seems huge, and looks like it would just need some work on the tracks and for a lot of wire to be strung. Maybe because there are not already facilities there, or something?

That'd be Stiles St. yard, and it's owned by Conrail. That being said, NJT already owns County Yard (AFAIK) and the facilities for NJT's Jersey Ave M/W and T&E crews. I don't think they want to deal with trying to acquire more real estate up in Linden, when the ridership is focused out of New Brunswick/Jersey Ave., Princeton Jct., and midline on the Corridor, and they're sorta committed to trying to bring a station to North Brunswick near Adams M/W base. Money talks... you know the rest

See: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/03/02/ ... t-village/

I remember reading on a thread here hearing that NJT had signed an agreement to use Stile St as an emergency yard but then saw something saying that Stiles St Yard was prone to flooding too. From what other than rain I don't know. There is no river or creek near by.

Instead of buying and maintaining a yard that wouldn't even get filled in time to save the equipment, wouldn't it make more sense to round up everything and send it to a high point on the main, like Summit or Middletown? Since service is suspended during the emergency, whose way would it be in? When the storm blows over, just put everything back to where it was and resume normal operations.

One concern might be downed trees. You could trap all your equipment far from where you need it.

Nice thing about Stiles St is not only is it on the NEC where Amtrak has kept the tree problem to a minimum, there is a back door to the Garden State secondary you can use if need be .

Doesn't look like there's a ton of room to put more tracks at County. Am I wrong?

ryanov wrote:Doesn't look like there's a ton of room to put more tracks at County. Am I wrong?

There are 2 former yards east of County that could be utilized. (Google Baldwin St. Yard, and Mile Run yard)

Looks like Delco got final approvals to actually begin construction: https://www.njtransit.com/press-release ... ct-forward

NEWARK, NJ — NJ TRANSIT has secured the final environmental permits required to begin work on the Delco Lead Storage and Inspection Facility and County Yard Improvement Project as the Delaware & Raritan Canal Commission granted its approval. The D&R Canal approval is the last major environmental permit necessary for construction to begin on the secure storage facility that will be capable of storing 400 or more rail cars.

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The Delco Lead Storage and Inspection Facility project, a $370 million project, will advance as a result of a grant awarded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), through FTA’s Emergency Relief Program. It is expected to begin construction in late 2020 and be completed in early 2025.

I'm amazed the money hasn't evaporated by this point given that Sandy happened in 2012 and public information sessions were held in 2015. Well, better late than never…

Add me to the people who are amazed that the Sandy money has not been lost under use it or lose it clauses, but maybe someone (I am looking at you, Senators Menendez and Booker) slipped an extension in some reauthorization bill. The Cristie years were simply terrible. While bureaucracy is slow, during his tenure they just did not care to do anything even use up money which they could lose. With work starting to this and the Long Slip Canal in Hoboken, I have hopes that at least the money that has been given to NJT will be finally spent to bring some improvement and state of good repair.

Looks like construction has started: https://www.njtransit.com/press-release ... il-storage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2019
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Early action construction work performed by Amtrak crews has begun at County Yard in New Brunswick, the future home of NJ TRANSIT’s safe haven rail storage and a new service & inspection facility.