Amtrak selects construction contractor for Wilmington Unified Operations Center

Amtrak recently selected locally-based Wohlsen Construction Company as the awardee for the Unified Operations Center (UOC) Facility Project in Wilmington, Del. The award follows a competitive procurement that began in August 2023. 

“One of our primary goals for the Renaissance Centre building is to create a new Amtrak Unified Operations Center to serve our nationwide rail network, which will drive enhanced reliability, efficiency, safety and customer service,” said Amtrak Executive Vice President, Service Delivery & Operations Gery Williams. “The new UOC is part of Amtrak’s transformation from legacy systems and practices to a modern, sustainable control center capable of supporting Amtrak’s long-term strategy to double ridership by 2040.” 

Wohlsen Construction Company will partner with Amtrak to advance the build-out and construct workspaces, conference rooms, the operations center, the Tier-3 data center, video wall systems, mechanical and electrical system upgrades and building-wide improvements at the Renaissance Centre.   

The investment for the UOC is estimated at more than $53 million to build an integrated 24/7 operations center to monitor and manage national operations and dispatch the mid-Atlantic Division, which encompasses all train movements in the Washington-Philadelphia-Harrisburg corridor. Additionally, the UOC will house the national operations control center, which manages Amtrak’s fleet and onboard crew assignments and coordinates the company’s response to service disruptions. A new Tier-3 data center will also be created at this facility to support Amtrak’s operations to ensure system resiliency. 

Amtrak’s acquisition of the 164,789 square foot Renaissance Centre in downtown Wilmington, Del., fulfills an important facility need that will improve Amtrak operations and resiliency. The current location of Amtrak’s mission-critical Consolidated National Operating Center and Wilmington Dispatching Office for the Southeast Division, next to the flood-prone Christina River. The evolution of climate change and several flooding incidents have only served to reinforce the urgency and necessity of relocation to protect these vital assets. 

The new UOC is being designed to fundamentally change and improve the way Amtrak operations employees work by facilitating: 

• Faster detection and responsiveness to operating events
• More effective customer communications during service disruptions 
• More efficient fleet and crew utilisation
• Improved rail traffic movement

Digital technology services are an integral part of creating the future of Amtrak. To support the growth of our services, Amtrak will continue to optimise and modernise how integrated technology services are designed and deployed into new facilities like the UOC. 

Amtrak also plans to consolidate other functions into the building including relocations of the Amtrak Police Department’s National Communications Center, the Amtrak Test Kitchen with associated offices and moving Digital Technology personnel from temporary office space at the Wilmington Station. 

The new Amtrak UOC is expected to be completed in 2027.