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County Yard is a rail yard in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA along the Northeast Corridor (NEC). Originally developed by the Pennsylvania Railroad, it is owned by Amtrak. The New Jersey Transit Rail Operations (NJT) Jersey Avenue Station, served by its Northeast Corridor Line, is just south of the yard. In 2014, NJT began a project to upgrade the yard and build a "train haven" and re-inspection station. County Yard will be able to store 132 rail cars. The Delco Lead, south along NEC, would be expanded to five additional tracks able to park 312 rail cars and a service and inspection facility would be built to return equipment to service.
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History
County Yard was originally part of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and is located where the Millstone Branch joined its mainline, now the NEC. It was named for Alexander T. County, a vice-president and treasurer who lived in New Brunswick. A new tower and interlocking at "COUNTY" were opened in 1900. Passenger service ended in 1930.
The Jersey Avenue Park & Ride station opened October 24, 1963, at the beginning, or eastern end, of the spur line. The PRR was eventually succeeded by Amtrak in 1971, which shares the NEC with NJT's Northeast Corridor Line and other commuter lines.
"Train haven" and Delco Lead
During Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, nearly 400 NJT rail cars and locomotives were damaged when they were left in low-lying, flood-prone rail yards at Hoboken Yard and the Meadows Maintenance Complex in the Kearny Meadows. This prompted NJT to consider expanding storage to accommodate nearly 300 locomotives and cars at two Central Jersey locations.
In January 2014, NJT awarded a $7.64 million design and engineering consultant service contract to Jacobs Engineering Group to conceive a "train haven" at County Yard where equipment could be stored during serious storms. The work, called the Delco Lead Safe Haven Storage and Re-lnspection Facility Project, involves reconfiguring and expanding the yard into the adjacent Mile Run Yard, which is not in service. Plans call for the new facility to include an inspection facility, since when equipment is taken out of service for weather reasons it is required by federal law to be re-inspected before being brought back into use. Further funding was provided in 2015, 2016, 2017.
NEC high speed rail improvements
The rail yard expansion is one of several projects planned for the "New Jersey Speedway" section of the NEC, which include a new station at North Brunswick and the Mid-Line Loop, a flyover for reversing train direction. Work will be done in coordination with Amtrak, which is developing a high speed corridor between New Brunswick and Trenton.