Rail Equipment Branch

Program Overview

The Rail Equipment Branch is responsible for planning, organizing, coordinating and directing rail equipment projects with Amtrak and other contractors throughout the United States. Projects include preventive maintenance, warranty administration, fleet-wide retrofit, accident repair and scheduled overhaul on the Department's existing fleet of rail passenger locomotives and intercity railcars.

The Rail Equipment Branch:

• Manages equipment rework, rebuild and overhaul projects, including the monitoring and documentation of Amtrak and contractor performance to ensure conformance with contractual requirements and equipment manufacturer's recommendations and safety regulations.
• Develops budgetary, financial and project planning documents and databases to track existing projects as well as estimate future rework and rebuild costs and workload.
• Oversees equipment maintenance activities, including the monitoring of Amtrak and contractor maintenance performance and proper completion of documentation in order to ensure conformance with equipment maintenance requirements and the Caltrans-Amtrak Maintenance Agreement in conjunction with the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority.
• Oversees rail equipment maintenance and heavy overhaul support consultant activities. Develops task orders as needed to support equipment rebuilds, heavy overhaul, wreck repair, scheduled maintenance and defect resolution.
• Manages accident repairs to state-owned rail equipment. Administers a rail equipment wreck repair and cost recovery process. Develops and implements training programs in insurance recovery, wreck repair cost estimation, repair practices and related programs.