MTA unveils storm-resilient Clifton Car Maintenance Shop on Staten Island.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) unveiled its new, storm-resilient Clifton Car Maintenance Shop on Staten Island. The previous incarnation of the Staten Island Railway facility suffered extensive damage that led to months of disruption following Hurricane Sandy and has been rebuilt to sustain Category 2 hurricane water and wind pressures up to 110 miles per hour sustained winds, plus a three-foot water surge.
The facility includes a new shop, administrative offices and support buildings. Inside the shop, there are four tracks for car inspections and repairs, interior car cleaning, approved car modification programs and an overhead lifting system for changing roof-mounted air conditioning units and lifting car bodies for car trucks maintenance.
“This state-of-the-art facility will be the home base of Staten Island Railway operations and is key to delivering more reliable and resilient transit for Staten Islanders,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “We couldn’t have completed this project without our partners at the U.S. DOT's Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation.”
“A new Clifton Shop means Staten Island Railway cars will be maintained and repaired onsite instead of in Brooklyn,” said New York City Transit President Richard Davey. “I’m excited for riders to see more reliable and efficient service for years to come.”
“This shop is designed for the Staten Island Railway of the future,” said Senior Vice President of NYC Transit Department of Subways Demetrius Crichlow. “It will house the new train cars and work equipment that will lead to improved service and a more modernized system. I want to thank the team at SIR who made this possible.”
“When Hurricane Sandy tried to knock out Staten Island and New York City, we fought back, and we have the resiliency to stand here today, and we're not going to let a storm knock us down again,” said Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella. “We're pleased the MTA and their partners have chosen to invest in Staten Island. This project is essential to keep the system going strong and continue to be vibrant in the decades ahead."
Funding for the $165 million design-build project was allocated from the FTA’s Hurricane Sandy recovery program. Other components of the five-year project include:
- Demolition, removal and disposal of structures and systems, including underground diesel
- Reconfiguration of tracks and switches and realignment of indoor tracks, including traction power and underground utilities
- Environmental work, including asbestos abatement, lead abatement and underground fuel storage tanks removal
- Installing communications systems including clock/timekeeping, fire alarm, public address, CCTV and security systems, sprinkler and standpipe systems
