Caltrain to Receive Shipment of Railroad Rock

Beginning Sunday, Nov. 9, Caltrain will receive the first of 12 shipments of ballast, or railroad rock. The ballast will be delivered on a 40-car train that will be unloaded near Chilco Street in Menlo Park. It will be stored there and used for ongoing maintenance and future construction projects. After the cars are unloaded they will be temporarily stored on a siding near Marsh Road.

Caltrain anticipates undertaking a similar unloading exercise about every two weeks for the next six months.

To minimize the impact to the neighbors, work will be done weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to the noise from the ballast being unloaded, there will be noise from idling engines and from the empty cars traveling from the Chilco Street site to the Marsh Road siding.

Ballast is used as a bed for railroad tracks and provides track stability, drainage and support for the trains.

11/04/2008 - crd
Media Contact: Christine Dunn, 650.508.6238