Monrovia Gold Line Operations Campus Dedicated - Open to Tour

The 24-acre Foothill Gold Line Operations Campus in Monrovia was dedicated today and is open to the public for touring from 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. The entrance is just off of California Avenue just south of the freeway.

 The $265 million light rail maintenance and operations facility is ahead of schedule and on-budget and "will be the largest in the county system, and is one of the only facilities of its kind designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Gold standard."

The maintenance yard will house and service up to 84 light rail vehicles and will have 200 employees over several shifts - the facility operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The new facility features:

- A state-of-the-art, 132,000-square-foot Main Shop Building, designed to achieve a 35 percent reduction in water use and 32.5 percent reduction in electricity use;

- The "Paint Room," designed to ensure timely and thorough train beautification;

- A car wash, which utilizes only recycled, reclaimed water and has the ability to wash an entire train at once;

- The Shops, Foothill Gold Line's maintenance area, complete with unique zones for each individual service, ensuring top-of-the-line care for the county's growing light rail fleet;

- A $3 million tool used to smooth the wheels on vehicles for a more comfortable and enjoyable passenger experience;

- 178.5 kilowatt solar panel array and a large-scale storm water collection and filtration system; and

- Design and architectural enhancements, including a large-scale mosaic in the Main Shop Building lobby and a decorative fence boasting a California poppy motif at the public viewing corner.

-- Brad Haugaard