Delco Lead Project Will Provide Safe Haven for Rail Cars During Extreme Weather Events and Allow For Rapid Return to Service
The NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors approved the first construction contract for early action work on the Delco Lead Storage and Inspection Facility project in New Brunswick which will create a safe-haven for rail cars and locomotives in case of a severe weather event. Equipment stored in this location will be positioned out of flood prone areas and optimally situated for rapid return to service on the Northeast Corridor, Raritan Valley Line and North Jersey Coast Line following the weather event.
“NJ TRANSIT is committed to delivering reliable service to the thousands of customers who depend on it,” said New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. “This project offers the necessary resiliency to ensure that reliability.”
“As climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of weather events in our region, this project will mean better, more reliable and resilient service for our customers,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett. “The Delco Lead project will improve continuity of service by allowing us to quickly restore service even after the most severe weather-related impacts.”
The contract with Union Paving for $6,080,015 is for the first construction phase of the project which will include preparing the site for the subsequent construction phase for the service yard, Inspection Facility, Delco Lead, and remaining County Yard Improvement Project elements.
In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, the County Yard and associated four-mile-long Delco Lead were identified as safe-haven storage locations for rail cars and locomotives as the land and yard are above the flood plain with relatively no adjacent trees. Strategically located along the Northeast Corridor, the Delco Lead Project will provide resilient storage for NJ TRANSIT’s rail equipment in the event the Meadows Maintenance Complex in Kearny, NJ and Morrisville, PA yard are evacuated. The Service and Inspection Facility will allow for the rapid inspection of rail equipment and its return to revenue service rapidly and efficiently following severe weather.
The early action phase of the Delco Lead project is anticipated to be completed in late summer 2023.
NJ TRANSIT is the nation’s largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 925,000 weekday trips on 253 bus routes, three light rail lines, 12 commuter rail lines and through Access Link paratransit service. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 166 rail stations, 62 light rail stations and more than 19,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.
