Rail Contractors: Skills Honed to Help

Rail infrastructure can be capital intensive to build and maintain, but with the American Public Transportation Association reporting in its 2020 Fact Book that nearly half of all transit trips are taken on rail modes, the need to keep this infrastructure in top shape is vital to maintaining safety and service. To assist with this critical work, transit agencies can and do turn to rail contracting companies.

From helping deliver multi-billion-dollar projects to performing routine maintenance activities and everything in between, contractors are working with their transit agency clients to provide cost-effective, innovative and collaborative services and solutions.

New Construction

Sound Transit has one the most ambitious system expansion programs in North America. The agency currently has six light rail or commuter rail projects in the construction phase, three in the planning phase and four rail extensions and new stations that have been voter-approved with expected opening dates before 2040. The program also includes operations and maintenance facilities, parking and access projects and bus rapid transit (BRT) projects.

“Contractors are vital for constructing and delivering Sound Transit’s extensive voter-approved system expansion,” explained Pat McCormick, deputy director, Construction Management with Sound Transit. “The ST3 Plan, approved by voters in 2016, will cost an estimated $53.85 billion in capital and operating investments over a 25-year period of construction. ST3 will support more than 223,000 direct and indirect jobs. This 25-year program expands the mass transit network to connect 16 cities with light rail, as well as 30 cities with BRT and ST Express bus service, and 12 cities with commuter rail.”

McCormick says a program the size of ST3 relies on tens of thousands of skilled construction workers each year. He notes Sound Transit uses an existing project labor agreement to provide the building trades and the agency with the certainty of available highly skilled workers, as well as apprenticeship opportunities.

Procurement of rail contracting and consultant services for the program is evaluated on a project-by-project basis with Sound Transit utilizing traditional design-bid-build, construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC) and design-build methods of delivery.

“Project delivery is dependent on scope of work, schedule and budget. There is no single preferred procurement method, and we seek input from the contracting industry as to contract size and how best to deliver a successful contract for the contractor and the agency,” said McCormick.

A recent example of success that comes from the collaboration between client and contractor can be found in Trinity Metro’s TEXRail project, which opened on time and under budget in January 2019. Bob Baulsir, Trinity Metro’s CEO and president, who served as senior vice president of the project and was responsible for overseeing its construction and management, says collaboration between the agency and its contractor was “absolutely essential” to the successful delivery of the 27-mile commuter rail line.

“The relationship we had in place with Archer Western Herzog was vital to the success of the project, which was on an aggressive schedule with a can’t-miss deadline. Jacobs, our prime management oversight contractor, also played a vital role in completing the project. As issues arose, the contractor, owner’s representatives and owner all worked together as a team to find solutions,” said Baulsir.

Trinity Metro used a CM/GC method to deliver TEXRail and Baulsir notes the project created a cooperative atmosphere.

“We were able to establish clearly defined goals early while empowering our contractor to look for design efficiencies. Throughout the project, we held planning sessions and status meetings and remained committed to maintaining our schedule while delivering the best possible product,” he said.

TEXRail was funded in part by the Capital Investment Grants program through the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). While delivering the project at approximately $80 million under budget was a notable accomplishment, the cost savings gave Trinity Metro a jump start on an extension of the TEXRail line.

FTA allowed Trinity Metro to retain up to $38.9 million of the federal share of the project cost savings to apply toward the construction of the 2.1-mile extension of TEXRail.

“Being able to retain the amount that we didn’t spend on the original TEXRail project is enabling us to put that money toward an extension to the Fort Worth Medical District, which has multiple hospitals and an employment base of 40,000,” Baulsir explained. “We worked closely with the Federal Transit Administration and we appreciate that the agency allowed us to use those unspent funds to implement a new segment on our line.”

Baulsir notes finishing under budget was a team effort.

“Our contractors provided high quality work at a fair price. We collaborated on innovative ways to save money and time, such as constructing a new bridge and then replacing an existing one over a weekend rather than trying to rebuild the bridge in its destination over a long period of time. Our contractors delivered as promised without delay in difficult situations [and] without creating a budgeting crisis,” he said.

Maintenance

New construction is one situation in which rail contractors can offer benefits; others include rehabilitation projects and specialized maintenance tasks.

For example, in January 2020, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill into law that requires railroad operators to keep grade crossings across the state clear of obstructive vegetation. The law mandates rail operators destroy or remove obstructive vegetation on or within the right-of-way at each intersection with a public road or highway. Vegetation management companies can perform this kind of specialty work using various on- and off-track equipment to cut back vegetation or apply herbicides.

Another example involves a contract announced in the second quarter of 2020 where RailWorks Corp., through its Track Services subsidiary, will perform all minor, major and preventive track maintenance and emergency response services for the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA) Metro SubwayLink and Light RailLink Divisions.

The three-year contract encompasses MDOT MTA’s 77 miles of rail network, which includes ballasted track, grade-shared right-of-way track, nearly 50 stations, 43 grade crossings and more than 100 mainline switches, among other features.

Matt Ginsberg, president and founder of TGA Association Management Solutions LLC, which manages the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC), explains innovative solutions are what agencies should expect from contractors.

“NRC members are highly motivated from both a financial and company reputation perspective to find the most innovative solutions to deliver projects for less cost without compromising safety. Our members pride themselves on a robust and comprehensive safety culture that get the job done and brings workers home safely every evening. Since our members routinely work for freight and passenger rail customers, they are able to provide expertise on the best methods, equipment and services out there in the industry,” said Ginsberg.

He mentions several technologies and types of equipment NRC member companies provide transit agencies such as ground penetrating radar, lidar, modified machines built to fit reduced clearances and technical staff to supplement the agencies’ engineering team.

“By bringing in these additional resources, contractors are able to solve old problems such as bridge life extension through detailed inspection and repair strategies all while keeping transit operations safe for the ridership,” said Ginsberg. “Additionally, contractors are equipped to solve other issues that previously could not be detected such as internal rail defects and finding trapped water in the sub-ballast. This highly technical work requires the right equipment and the right expertise. Duplicating this inside the agency would take years and lots of dollars where contractors possess the needed expertise today.”

Ashley Wieland, NRC president, offers up that clearly written Request for Proposals and long-term funding/planning with agencies to increase contracting out as two major ways to promote a mutually beneficial relationship. However, she recognizes there is give-and-take required.

“It is a two-way street and agencies need to have the willingness to seek out and utilize contractors just like contractors need to sometimes assume additional risk and bring enhanced flexibility to the agency,” said Wieland. “The NRC Transit Committee is working to regularly collaborate with key transit leaders to promote growth and opportunities for our member companies to serve transit agencies’ needs. Our committee members focus on increasing awareness and education about the competitive work methods and latest technology that NRC members utilize to create safe and efficient transit operating environments.”

She explains NRC member contractors work as an extension of agencies to provide turnkey maintenance programs customized around their specifications and believes the flexibility these contractors provide from a cost, efficiency and technology standpoint help public agencies deliver safe, quality service.

“NRC members can support a transit agency’s goals by providing maintenance programs with dedicated resources such as work force, equipment, facilities, planning and reporting. NRC contractors can utilize their track and signal expertise and conduct regular inspections, testing, maintenance and/or upgrades to infrastructure. Having this expertise contracted out can help the transit agency operate more efficiently and focus on big picture goals for their network, which may also encompass other operations like buses, ferries, bike shares and paratransit,” said NRC Transit Committee Chair Marc Hackett of Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc.