A press release from Metra; March 21, 2018:
The Metra Board of Directors today approved a $29.4 million contract for the renovation and expansion of the mechanical shops that house the agency’s railcar and locomotive rehab programs. The improvements will enable Metra to significantly increase the output of its railcar rehabilitation program.
“By expanding and modernizing these facilities, we’ll be able to greatly increase the number of railcars we rehab each year,” said Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski. “This will help us make significant strides in moving towards a state of good repair.”
Metra’s 47th/49th Street facility serves as the main mechanical yard for the Rock Island Line. The location, particularly the 49th Street Coach Shop, is also the site of Metra’s main railcar rehabilitation program. The 47th/49th Street facility predates Metra. It was opened in 1947 by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad and has not undergone significant improvement since.
The contract was awarded to Chicago-based firm F.H. Paschen, S.N. Nielsen & Associates, L.L.C. through a competitive bidding process. The contractor has committed to awarding 25 percent of the subcontracting work to Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) firms.
The project, which is expected to take nearly two years to complete, will expand the 49th Street Coach Shop, including an upgrade of the facility’s loading dock, storage and railcar wheel truck rebuild area and the addition of training facilities. The project also includes improvements to the 47th Street Diesel Shop, which maintains locomotives used on the Rock Island and is the facility where Metra’s MP36 locomotive rehabilitation program is housed. Work at the 47th Street facility will include a reconfiguration of the loading dock area, adding an enclosed crane to it and rebuilding the materials storage area. The project further includes improvements to the rail yard’s parking, drainage and utilities. Metra estimates that when the project is complete, it will be able to increase the number of railcars rehabbed each year in this facility by 40 percent from 35 to 60.