LIRR Breaks Ground On $25M Train Wash
A few days ago, the MTA Long Island Rail Road sent out a media notice to me about a ground breaking ceremony taking place in Babylon. Unfortunately, I could not attend due to prior commitments. The ceremony centered around a $25M train wash being opened in Babylon. Here are the complete details courtesy of a press release:
State of the Art “Green” Facility Creates New Jobs, Enables Railroad to Scrub 180 More Cars Each Day
MTA Long Island Rail Road President Helena Williams and Babylon Mayor Ralph Scordino and other public officials broke ground today on a new $25.5 million train wash facility located in the Village of Babylon.
The project, which promises to create between 20 and 30 construction jobs, is being financed with federal stimulus funds through the Federal Transit Administration. The Babylon Train Wash Facility was selected by Governor David Paterson and the MTA a shovel-ready project that represented the best use of federal stimulus funds.
Gov. Paterson said: “This is a good example of a recovery project with short-term and long term benefits. Besides the boost from spending to build the facility now, its green design will save money and water. And keeping railroad cars clean means they will last longer, reducing replacement costs. I thank President Obama and our entire Congressional delegation for their support of these economic recovery funds that help to reinvigorate the economy, put people back to work and improve the quality of our transportation systems throughout the State.”
LIRR President Williams said: “I would like to thank Governor Paterson and the MTA for their vote of confidence in the LIRR. This new train wash will enable us to clean an additional 180 cars each day using methods – such as solar power and waste-water recycling – that will help protect the environment. We are also very grateful to Mayor Scordino and the Village of Babylon for their cooperation in the planning of this project and to the Federal Transit Administration for the funds that will make it a reality.”
Important “green” aspects of the facility will include:
• The filtering, reconditioning and reusing of more than 70% of wash water.
• Supplemental solar power energy panels will help operate the electrical lighting and heating for the train wash equipment building, saving the LIRR an estimated $6,700 a year on utility costs.
• Storm water will be collected and released through a leach field, eliminating run-off pollutants into nearby Sumpwams and Geiger Creeks.
• A separator will prevent oil and diesel fuel from entering the waste water system.
• Area wetlands will be fenced to prevent damage and illicit dumping.
• A new landscape buffer will be built between the golf course and the train wash.Mayor Scordino said: “The Village was happy to participate in the project. Many of our residents use the train to get to and from work every day and the Railroad is an important part of our economy. We want to help ensure that our residents ride on clean and properly maintained railroad cars.”
State Senator Johnson said: “The new LIRR Train Wash Facility being reconstructed in Babylon Village is a multi-homerun for taxpayers! It will be an extremely “green” operation and is truly a superb example of how government should be designing, building and operating such facilities.”
Assemblyman Boyle said: “I am so proud that we are breaking ground on a project of this importance and magnitude in Babylon Village. With water recycling, solar energy, and oil separation technology being implemented at this new train wash facility we are helping to preserve the environment for our future.”
Suffolk Legislator Horsley said: “I would like to thank the LIRR for working diligently with Babylon Village officials to maintain the integrity of the community and address residents’ concerns. “It is great to see the LIRR caring for our village, caring for our environment, and maintaining the condition of our railroad.”
The Babylon Branch of the LIRR is the busiest of the LIRR’s 11 branches. The new Train Wash Facility will be located east of the Babylon LIRR Station, situated between the Babylon Village golf course and the LIRR tracks leading to the Babylon Train Yard.
When it becomes the operational in 2012, the LIRR will be able to clean the exteriors of an additional 180 cars every day. The Railroad currently has one operating train wash at the entrance to its Ronkonkoma Train Yard.
The new Babylon Train Wash Facility will consist of two buildings: A masonry equipment building (21′ x 180′) will house the control, wash room, pumps, reclaim/recycle wash water, waste water treatment system and storage tanks for the train wash. The second structure will be the train wash bay, a steel/corrugated siding structure (26′ x 282′) consisting of pre-cast track slab sections, concrete foundations, wash water collection system and the train wash equipment.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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