A key component for the future Arrow Service (passenger rail service between San Bernardino and Redlands) is the construction of a storage and maintenance facility for the innovative Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) slated for use along the 9-mile corridor.
At the June Board meeting, the Board of Directors approved the construction contract for this new facility that will repurpose the existing Inland Empire Maintenance Facility located east of the San Bernardino Depot and west of Interstate 215. This property has been owned by SBCTA since 2002 and is where Metrolink locomotive-hauled coaches were serviced until 2018.
The proposed facility is approximately 15,000 square feet and includes two maintenance bays, a maintenance pit, staff and crew office space, a lunch room, machine shop area, and material storage area. The project also includes a 1,800 square-foot modular operations building, parts storage, fueling tracks and accommodations for a future train washer with a concrete containment pad.
The site is being modified to accommodate a fleet of six 170-foot long DMUs to support the future Arrow service. Initially, Arrow service will operate with three DMUs to support the planned operations, with two of these cleaner, quieter, more efficient vehicles running during peak service and one ready spare. It is anticipated that the fourth multiple unit vehicle being procured as part of the zero-emission multiple unit (ZEMU) project will be serviced at the new facility as well.
The facility was designed with input from Omnitrans, who will oversee operations of the service and will be called the Arrow Maintenance Facility when it becomes operational.