Metrolink has selected HDR to provide program management services for Phase 1 of the Southern California Optimized Rail Expansion (SCORE) program.

The $10 billion capital improvement program, developed to take a proactive approach to growing populations and service demands, will make significant upgrades to the Metrolink system ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond.

The first phase of the program, planned through 2023, is focused on the expansion of services on the Orange, Ventura, and San Bernardino lines and will involve more than a dozen individual projects including track additions, station, and signal improvements. The goal is to achieve 30-minute, bi-directional service in peak periods on the lines, enabling more frequent and reliable service.

As program manager, HDR will provide oversight of projects for Metrolink and undertake key management activities such as project controls, environmental clearance and regulatory permitting, planning and grant management, design management, alternative delivery advisory services, and right of way services. HDR has also developed a project management information services dashboard to help Metrolink manage program risk, make informed, defensible decisions, and provide real-time program status reporting.

Since August 2019, HDR had been serving as interim program management consultant for the SCORE program. This new contract extends well into Phase 2 of the program, which is scheduled to be completed in 2028. Of its $10 billion program budget, Metrolink has secured $1.5 billion in funding and anticipates continued funding in coming years.