The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority delivered four light rail cars to the new Southwestern Yard (SWY) to begin testing at the facility, which is expected to be completed and operational in 2019. The facility will house rail vehicles for the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project, which is in the final construction stages.
Four light-rail cars were pulled 4.2 miles Saturday, Nov. 3, from the Green Line Hawthorne Yard to the SWY. The journey began at 7 p.m. when a special hi-rail vehicle started pulling two car trains at a time. The second trip began at 8 p.m. The trains arrived between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. at the Southwestern Yard, Division 16.
The rail facility is designed and built to attain LEED Silver Certification, with “green” features including bicycle parking and electric vehicle charging stations. More than 20 percent of construction materials consist of recycled content. The facility also features a system to reduce water consumption by 40 percent.
The SWY will have the capacity to store 56-light-rail vehicles, and encompasses a main shop, rail vehicle wash (similar to a carwash), cleaning platform, material storage building, wheel truing shop and a paint and body shop building. The yard includes provisions for future expansion as the rail vehicle fleet increases in size to 70 cars. The main shop will provide administrative office and support areas.
