NJT Approves Construction of Safe Haven for Trains During Extreme Weather Events

Morristown Minute

The Delco Lead Project Will Provide Safe Haven for Rail Cars During Extreme Weather Events and Allow for Rapid Return to Service.

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April 13, 2022 – The New Jersey 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. This project will create a "safe haven” for rail cars and locomotives in case of severe weather events.

Equipment stored in this location will be out of flood-prone areas and situated for rapid return to service on the Northeast Corridor, Raritan Valley Line, and North Jersey Coast Line following severe weather events.

“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.”

The contract with Union Paving for $6,080,015 is for the first phase of the construction project which will include preparing the site for the subsequent construction of the service yard, inspection facility, Delco Lead, and remaining County Yard Improvement Project elements.

“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.”

In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, the County Yard and associated four-mile-long Delco Lead were identified as safe haven storage for rail cars and locomotives with land above the flood plain and 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.” – NJ Transit Press Release

This early action construction phase of the Delco Lead project is expected to be completed in late summer 2023.

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