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TriMet has hired a national rail systems consulting firm to lead an outside review of the Portland area’s aging and expanding light-rail system. The decision to hire Ambler, Penn.-based LTK Engineering Services was announced Wednesday at TriMet’s monthly board meeting, spokeswoman Mary Fetsch said.

The decision to contract with an outside firm, at a cost of no more than $245,000, came primarily because TriMet could not spare staff time to perform the review, Fetsch said. The review will allow TriMet to meet the highest industry standards as it adds the 7.3-mile Portland-Milwaukie light-rail section, she added.

“As we continue to expand, we are dealing with an aging system,” she said, noting that the agency is increasing its focus on bus and rail system reliability.

LTK will assess the state of the nearly 30-year-old light-rail system’s trains, tracks, signals and switches, Fetsch said. It will assess all vehicles and trackway, perform spot checks of selected equipment and review maintenance records and service reliability data.

The final report, which is expected to be finished in about six months, will include recommendations on maintenance procedures, training programs, staffing levels and systems repairs and upgrades, according to a TriMet press release.

The agency also announced plans to spend $2.5 million on track and switch improvements through the middle of 2015 and $585,000 in federal grant money toward replacing and improving signals, gate mechanisms and other electrical systems over the next 2½ years. The spending will be in addition to the agency’s $36 million annual maintenance budget for regular track improvements.