December
2,
2003
CONTACT:
Rick Jager/Marc Littman
MTA MEDIA RELATIONS
(213) 922-2707/922-2700
www.metro.net/press/pressroom
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MTA to Begin Rail Grinding
Project, December 3, to Improve Metro Gold Line Ride, Reduce Noise From Rails
Metro Rail crews will begin a
two-week rail grinding project, Dec. 3, aimed at improving the ride for Metro
Gold Line commuters while reducing the noise from trains along an approximately
five-mile section of tracks between Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles and the Glenarm
crossing in Pasadena.
The rail grinding work will
be scheduled from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. each weekday until Friday, Dec. 12. No
work will be performed on weekends. The project will commence with the
southbound tracks in the vicinity of the Southwest Museum Station.
Morning and afternoon
peak-hour schedules will remain unchanged with trains running at 10-minute
intervals. Mid-day intervals will be lengthened from the normal 12 minutes to 20
minutes because trains must be "single-tracked" through the work area.
Although all stations along
the line will experience mid-day delays, the Lincoln Heights/Cypress Park,
Heritage Square/Arroyo, Southwest Museum, Highland Park and Mission stations
will be most affected by the rail project.
Southbound platform 2 at the
Lincoln Heights and Heritage Square stations will be out of service during the
first work period, Dec. 3. Northbound platform 1 will be out of service, Dec. 4,
at those stations.
Similar platform closures
will be in effect at Mission station during the last few days of the rail
project. Metro Rail ambassadors or Sheriff's deputies will be posted at the
stations to assist passengers.
"We regret the short notice
to our customers and neighbors, but this is a high-noise area due to the many
curves in the track and the work needed to be done," said Robert Chappell,
deputy executive officer, Metro Rail Operations. "This work wasn't completed
before opening the line in July and we had to book a special contractor with
limited opportunities to schedule this work."
The Metro Gold Line has a
unique rail "profile" that is designed for a smooth ride with a minimum
noise level, Chappell said.
Rail grinding is required to
maintain the proper interface between the rails and the train wheels and to
extend the life of both the rails and train wheels. MTA must schedule grinding
work on all its rail lines as normal maintenance.
MTA usually performs rail
grinding with its own grinding machine, but the agency's machine needs major
repairs. A request for $1.3 million to rebuild the machine will be presented to
the MTA Board of Directors at its Dec. 4 meeting.
MTA has taken other measures
to reduce wheel and rail noise along the Metro Gold Line. In September, Metro
Rail crews began hand-applying a "friction modifier" on a section of tracks
north and south of the Southwest Museum station. The ultra-thin liquid coating
reduces friction - and, thus, noise - between train wheels and rails. Since
then, two automatic machines have been installed on that section of track to
apply the coating.
MTA-194