Description
Caltrain's CEMOF replaced an old 22 acres (8.9 ha) Southern Pacific Railroad maintenance yard formerly located on the same site. The entire facility includes a central control building, a three floor, 58,800 square feet (5,500 m2) maintenance shop, a machine to wash trains, one 3,000 sq ft (279 m2) water treatment plant, a fueling station and railroad tracks for train storage. About 150 people work at the maintenance site and three shifts of workers keep the facility staffed at all times. The yard contains a 250-foot (76 m) tunnel for personnel to cross safely under the active train tracks.
The maintenance hall contains a crane with a lifting capacity of 25,000 pounds (11,000 kg) and two 800 ft (244 m) service pits. This new building is said to improve servicing conditions, safety, and efficiency; it allows mechanics to work indoors rather than outdoors. In addition, Caltrain can perform maintenance tasks once conducted by out-of-state contractors, such as wheel-truing.
An automated train washing machine washes half of Caltrain's fleet each day or at least twice a week, up from twice a year before the facility. The machine can clean a five-car train in about 25 minutes using water from two 35,000 US gallons (132,000 l) cisterns. 80% of the water used in the cleaning process is reused to wash another train. The washer is located to the northwest of the maintenance shop.
Daily repair tasks are carried out in the Service & Inspection Area, an 80 foot (24 m)-high outdoor facility. There are two tracks that traverse the facility. In Spring 2008, a 70,000 US gal (265,000 l) gallon fuel tank was installed there to facilitate on-site fueling. The Service & Inspection Area is located to the northeast of the three story repair shop.
Read more about this topic: Caltrain Centralized Equipment Maintenance And Operations Facility
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