Caltrain Receives Federal Funds to Help Maintain Railroad

By

August 18, 2011

Caltrain has been selected by the Federal Transit Administration to receive $750,000 to develop a comprehensive program to manage the maintenance of the railroad. The commuter railroad was one of six in the country selected to participate in the $3 million pilot program.

The funds will be used to develop an all-inclusive program to track the condition and maintenance of the railroad’s physical assets, which includes everything from railroad ties and signals to benches on station platforms. Caltrain has 55 miles of track, 31 stations and more than 50 crossings.

Although Caltrain has a computer software program to track condition and maintenance, the funding will allow the agency to upgrade its current program, which will make it easer to use.

In addition, the new program will allow data entry in the field, which will help save time and ensure that the information is up-to-date.

By having a record of the railroad’s condition and maintenance repairs done over time, Caltrain will be better able to plan for the future. The program also will highlight areas that need to be addressed and help prioritize capital projects.

The pilot is expected to last 15 months. After that, the results will be analyzed and shared with transit agencies across the country.

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