Metro North Highbridge Facility Train Wash

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From Metro-North's "Mileposts" Newsletter May 2007. I can't wait to this facility opens, there's nothing like a clean and shiny M-series!

Construction has commenced on a new, ecologically friendly automatic train wash at our Highbridge Car Appearance Facility in the Bronx.

You may remember reading about Highbridge when it opened in the spring of 2003. It's really "two two,two" facilities in one. (Why Certs Used three "twos" is still a mystery to us.

It's a train yard, built to replace the storage tracks on the lower level of Grand Central that willl dissapear when East Side Access, and the Long Island Rail Road come to the terminal.

Highbridge also houses a 67,000-square foot, two track car appearance facility. Since it's opening, we can now E-clean 20 cars per shift. (The "E" stands for "extrodinary", which is the type of cleaning conducted every 60 days and includes scrubbing the car from top to bottom, and power cleaning the vestibule and lavatory areas.)

In addition, we are able to clean and service up to 72 cars in the yard every day. Also, the seat and window replacement program for our whole fleet is based at this facility.

Highbridge has enabled us to improve the cleanliness of our train interiors. When this new train was is finished, it will make the exteriors look better too.

And the 300-foot long building will do so using recycled water and cleaning solutions. The only part of the trains bath that uses clean water is the final rinse.

While "rocketing" through the facility at a speed of three miles per hour (no one ever said cleanliness was quick), each car will be sprayed with heated, recycled water.

Then suds will be applied while the car is scrubbed by a series of vertical and slanted rotating, and counter rotating, brushes, and high pressure sprayers.

A pre-rinse will use recylcled water, which will be followed by a clean water rinse and a trip under a forceful blower to dry the stainless steel car bodies.

Everyone's morning shower should be so easy.

While the train wash will use 280 gallons of water per minute, remember that 200 gallons of that will be reclaimed water. Only 80 gallons will be fresh water.

After each use, the water will go into a neutralizing tank and then through several filters to remove solids and other impurities. It will be recycled continually until the car washes holding tanks reach capacity.

An 18-month, $11.2 million contract was awarded to Calcedo Construction Corp. of Port Chester for the train wash, which will be located at the south end of the yard.

The train wash, our third, is scheduled to be in service by the end of 2008.