Proposed New Metrorail Heavy Repair and Overhaul Facility

[Sand Box John]

For immediate release: February 19, 2019
Metro seeks public input on proposed construction of a Metrorail Heavy Repair and Overhaul Facility

Graphic of facility site

This is not a new idea from the planning people within WMATA. Some years ago they were looking at a property east of the Landover station for a maintance of way base and another property off Addison Road east of the Deenwood station for the heavy repair and overhaul facility. The shop bays at the Addison Road site would have been accessed by use of a transfer table from the shop lead connecting to mainline north of Eastern Avenue.

Considering how close this propose facility is to the Carmen Turner facility and other near by WMATA properties it makes sense. The maintenance capacity at the Future Dulles Yard on the west side of town is roughly equal to WMATA's largest maintenance facility in Greenbelt Yard. Neither of those facility have the infrastructure that I think WMATA wants to use this propose facility for. Think Pennsylvania Railroad Altoona Shops.

[dcmike]

I'm curious to understand why this facility would be necessary.

Since a policy change in late 2017 requiring cars be serviced only at their "home" shop, the facility at Branch Ave and the massive expanded shop at Brentwood have effectively sat idle. Last year nearly all employees except for a skeleton crew were transferred out of those facilities at the midyear pick.

So between the cavernous Brentwood facility, the not yet opened Dulles service and MRO shops, the empty Branch Ave facility, and the empty West Falls Church Annex, there is plenty of shop capacity available. The only reason I can think of for building a new facility is to outsource those jobs (WMATA's union contact does not allow for outsourcing jobs at existing facilities). This has been the strategy on the bus side of the house.

[daybeers]

I'm curious to understand why this facility would be necessary.

Since a policy change in late 2017 requiring cars be serviced only at their "home" shop, the facility at Branch Ave and the massive expanded shop at Brentwood have effectively sat idle. Last year nearly all employees except for a skeleton crew were transferred out of those facilities at the midyear pick.

So between the cavernous Brentwood facility, the not yet opened Dulles service and MRO shops, the empty Branch Ave facility, and the empty West Falls Church Annex, there is plenty of shop capacity available. The only reason I can think of for building a new facility is to outsource those jobs (WMATA's union contact does not allow for outsourcing jobs at existing facilities). This has been the strategy on the bus side of the house.

I agree: this facility is not needed.

[Sand Box John]

"dcmike"
I'm curious to understand why this facility would be necessary.

The purpose of the facility is not to preform routine daily, weekly, monthly, semiannually or biennial maintenance and servicing. The purpose of the facility is to be able to preform tasks similar to midlife rehabilitation. One time fleet wide mechanical, electrical or interior upgrades and modification. I also might be use by an outside contractor to preform midlife rehabilitation eliminating the cost of shipping to off sight facility. Hell it might end up have the infrastructure to facilitate the fabrication of new rolling stock on sight by an outside contractor.