Gannett Fleming completes Denver commuter rail maintenance facility

Harrisburg, Pa. — With 36 miles of new commuter rail lines in the works, Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) FasTracks’ Eagle P3 Project is poised to transform the region’s public transit system. To support this important initiative, Gannett Fleming played a significant role in the completion of a new commuter rail maintenance facility (CRMF).

The CRMF provides facilities to repair, maintain, clean, and store the vehicles that will serve four FasTracks commuter rail lines: the Gold Line, East Rail Line, Northwest Rail Line, and North Metro Rail Line. The new 229,700-square-foot, four-level CRMF with six tracks and 36 vehicle spots was completed in September 2014, in time to receive an initial fleet of electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter cars for systems testing.

Gannett Fleming provided project management, civil, architectural, industrial, structural, and industrial waste engineering services for the facility. The system will use 25-kV overhead catenary, servicing trains consisting of two or four cars. The initial fleet of 54 EMU cars, with provisions for future expansion to 86 cars, will be serviced, inspected, and maintained at the CRMF, with a system operations and control center for the entire Denver FasTracks Commuter Rail System located on the second floor.

The CRMF includes three electrified, daily serving tracks with depressed floors and car- and roof-level platforms; a non-electrified, periodic inspection track with depressed floors and car- and roof-level platforms; a non-electrified, wheel-truing track with wheel-truing machine and dedicated shimming pit; and a non-electrified, component changeout track with car-hoist systems and overhead bridge cranes. In addition, the facility features a vehicle-component support shop and fabrication shop, a central storeroom with highbay rack storage for very narrow aisle (VNA) forklifts and vertical lift modules, a maintenance-of-way workshop, employee welfare spaces, and technical support facilities.

With a commitment to sustainable practices, the facility is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification. The 30 acre project site is situated on previously developed land, thereby protecting open space. To enable energy conservation, the project applied whole-building energy modeling and daylight modeling during design. The facility design reduces water consumption of plumbing fixtures and irrigation. Building materials were sourced regionally and contain recycled content whenever possible. The facility encourages safer and cleaner transportation by supporting public transportation use and including carpool designated parking spaces, covered bicycle racks, and a dedicated commuter rail stop.