Jacobs completes nearly 10 miles of $2.6B rail expansion in New York

Dive Brief:

Joint venture partners Jacobs Solutions and Arup opened the 9.8-mile third track expansion of the Long Island Rail Road’s Main Line to the public this week, according to a Jacobs press release.
The third track project, the centerpiece of the larger $2.6 billion railroad expansion, extends from Floral Park to Hicksville, New York. The project will increase capacity by 50%, alleviate congestion during peak hours, improve overall rail services and enhance rider safety.
Jacobs and Arup, a Washington, D.C.-based engineering consultant, delivered the project on schedule and $100 million under budget, according to a release from New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

Dive Insight:

Infrastructure expansion, such as roads, rail, new buildings and reliable energy, all serve as tailwinds for Dallas-based contractor Jacobs’ long-term growth, despite the muted guidance the company provided in its latest earnings call, said Matt Arnold, industrial analyst with financial services firm Edward Jones.

The rail expansion makes up part of Jacobs’ people and places solutions segment, which posted an approximate 12.7% jump to $17.54 billion in its backlog in the previous quarter, according to Jacobs’ third fiscal quarter earnings report.

“Delivering large, transformational infrastructure programs like the Long Island Rail Road extension is core to Jacobs’ business,” said Gary Morris, senior vice president for the people and places solutions segment. “Our development of a digital dashboard and comprehensive project management plan was key to facilitating the program’s success.”

Jacobs, along with Arup, served as the project management consultant for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Construction and Development on the $2.6 billion project. The joint venture team provided project management oversight that includes commercial, risk, public outreach, rail operations and digital information management. The teams also provided compliance oversight of design, construction, quality, safety and security.

The project includes upgrades of all rail infrastructure and systems across the 9.8-mile corridor, the elimination of eight street-level crossings, reconstruction of seven railroad bridges, construction of two parking garages and the reconstruction of five Long Island Rail Road train stations.

The expansion project is part of the multi-billion-dollar investment across 100 projects that will modernize the Long Island Rail Road. The 120-mile Long Island Rail Road main line extends from Montauk on Long Island to Penn Station in Manhattan and is the busiest commuter rail line in the country, according to the release.