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Amtrak To Replace East River Tunnel Tracks

Posted by
on September 26th, 2011 at 5:42 pm

Earlier today, the MTA announced that Amtrak will begin replacing all 4 tracks in the East River Tunnel. For those of us who ride Amtrak or the LIRR, this is a project that is long overdue. Here is more information courtesy of a press release:

The MTA Long Island Rail Road announced today, at a committee meeting of the MTA Board, that Amtrak is beginning the work on a multi-year project for the full replacement of track in all four of its East River tunnels starting the weekend of October 1-2. The MTA urged Amtrak – which owns Penn Station – to perform this critical work to improve the reliability of train service.

In May, an Amtrak train derailed in one of the East River tunnels due to a broken rail. The track damage resulted in a major disruption of LIRR service for almost a week as Amtrak crews worked around-the-clock to make repairs. Following this incident, inspections revealed significant water drainage issues inside the tunnels.

“I would like to thank Amtrak for their quick response and cooperation in taking on this critical work to improve the reliability of LIRR service for our customers,” said LIRR President Helena E. Williams. “I would also like to recognize elected officials for urging Amtrak to make these necessary track and drainage improvements to the East River Tunnels.”

“Amtrak looks forward to completing this vitally important infrastructure enhancement to the our East River Tunnel system, said Mike DeCataldo, Amtrak General Superintendent, Northeast Division. We thank our partners at Long Island Railroad/MTA for their continued support to provide our passengers with a reliable and efficient mode of rail travel.”

The work – to be performed in 55-hour weekend outages in one or two of the four tunnels each weekend – will begin at 10 PM on Fridays and continue through 5 AM on Mondays. There will also be double tunnel outages during weekday overnight periods for the duration of the project.

Over the course of the project work, which is expected to be completed by mid-year 2015, the total track structure in each tunnel will be replaced. New ties, continuous-welded running rail, stone ballast (rock), insulated joints and impedance bonds will be installed for the length of each tunnel. Equally important, the drainage system throughout the tunnels will be re-established with newly re-designed drainage improvements.

The work is being performed on weekends, since fewer trains operate through the tunnels than on weekdays with the demands of the peak periods. While Amtrak performs this work, it is expected to have little or no impact on LIRR train service, as long as the tunnels are returned to service as planned prior to the start of the morning rush hour on Mondays. The LIRR will continue to run its full complement of weekend train service. However, the LIRR will have less operational flexibility on the routing of weekend trains into and out of Penn Station should an issue develop that would normally result in a train being routed to an alternate tunnel.

This necessary and critical tunnel work by Amtrak is expected to impact the construction work being performed on the MTA’s East Side Access project. The impacts to the ESA schedule are under review and will be part of a re-baselining of the schedule.

As I said this project is long overdue as this year has especially seen a long list of delays due to track issues in the tunnel. My only concern is with Amtrak doing the work, can LIRR riders really expect to have little to no impact from it? No offense but Amtrak’s track record has me doubting that assessment. I hope I am wrong though.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Port Jervis Line Assessment Completed

Posted by
on September 26th, 2011 at 5:36 pm

As we know, the Metro-North’s Port Jervis line took the worst infrastructure beating from Hurricane Irene. The destruction was so bad, it will end up costing millions to fix as pre-storm level of service will not return until late 2012.

Earlier today at the MTA Metro-North Railroad committee meeting, the final flood damage assessment report was submitted. Here is a press release with more:

Massive repairs on the Port Jervis Line, at an estimated cost of $50 million, will allow train service to resume by the end of the year, according to a damage assessment presented Monday at the MTA Metro-North Railroad committee meeting.

Metro-North is working with the MTA to identify the necessary funds, including maximum reimbursement from FEMA and insurance.

After the track is reopened in December and peak service is resumed, busing will continue in the off-peak periods to allow completion of flood mitigation measures and river bank stabilization that are necessary to protect the railroad’s significant investment in the line. The full pre-storm train schedule will be restored when the second track between Harriman and Suffern is finished in fall 2012.

Within two days of the August 28 storm, Metro-North had an alternate bus service in place. On September 19, train service was restored between Port Jervis and Harriman, with bus service provided from Harriman to Ramsey/Route 17. This temporary service plan will remain in effect during the track reconstruction.

“We are committed to restoring the Port Jervis Line as quickly as possible. It is an important part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s regional network,” said Metro-North Railroad President Howard Permut. “In the meantime, Metro-North has marshaled the resources of MTA Bus to provide alternative service during reconstruction and Metro-North forces are building access roads to the tracks to literally lay the groundwork for the outside contractor. “NJTRANSIT, Leprechaun Lines and MTA Bus have all been very helpful and cooperative in this crisis,” Permut said.

Metro-North will seek a contractor to rebuild the line, which was ravaged by floods during Tropical Storm Irene last month. An expedited bidding process is planned with a reconstruction contract to be awarded by October 15. Meanwhile, Metro-North forces already have begun to replace stone washed away by the raging Ramapo River, which parallels the track in some locations and crosses under it in others.

An engineering assessment by AECOM has determined that it will take about 150,000 tons of stone – roughly 5,000 tractor-trailer-sized dump trucks – to stabilize the track bed and shore up the river bank for the long term.

Engineers estimate that 90% of the repair work will be replacement of stone washed away by flooding in a 14-mile stretch between Suffern and Harriman.

In all, there are 50 washouts that add up to 2 miles of right-of-way that no longer exists. Fast-moving water overtopped the tracks and scoured away ballast, sub-base and earth to depths of 7 feet. Large sections of track hang in mid-air; some track was grossly twisted out of alignment by the force of the water.

To achieve the goal of restoring train service as quickly as possible, MNR directed AECOM to create a phased rebuilding plan.

The first priority is to restore train service on one track for the four miles between Suffern and Sloatsburg, which was double tracked, and on the 10 miles between Sloatsburg and Harriman, which is a single track. This includes rebuilding the track bed sub-grade, replacing stone in the washout areas, compacting the loose stone and surfacing the right-of-way. Also critical is repair work on the bridges that carry tracks over streams and roads and rebuilding the slopes adjacent to the river.

The initial work will be performed jointly by a contractor working 24 hours a day/7 days a week and by Metro-North Maintenance of Way forces. The contract will be structured with financial incentives for early completion before the end of the year and penalties for delays in completion.

With the slopes shored up, reconstruction of the second track between Suffern and Sloatsburg, repair of the signal system and long-term bridge repairs can be undertaken. Some of this work will have to wait until spring because it can’t be done when temperatures are below freezing.

MTA Real Estate has been working with private property owners to secure easements to allow staging areas for deliveries of stone as close as possible to the points they are needed along the right of way.

“The Village of Sloatsburg has graciously agreed to give Metro-North temporary use of a ball field to gain access to one of the most heavily damaged areas of track. Without this access repairs would take much longer,” Permut said.

Among the findings of the emergency condition assessment:

Surprisingly, the rail, wooden ties and the fasteners that hold them together (screw spikes and spring clip fasteners) were found to be in good condition. Over the past decade, Metro-North’s Track Department had completely replaced the old “stick” rail with 1,500-foot-long sections of continuous welded rail. As a result, the track that has been undermined by washouts resembles bridges dangling in mid-air, but can be restored to proper alignment without replacement.

The signal system fared slightly worse. Water infiltration and erosion of the right-of-way have undermined circuit houses, signal cases and associated battery wells. In many areas, signal and fiber optic cables have been exposed and must be reburied and tested.

Inspections also were performed on 16 bridges, both above and below water. Undermining to abutments and piers was discovered at five bridges and an old stone arch bridge has settled. Damage to bridges was not as extensive as was originally feared.

Debris, including uprooted trees and boulders, covers sections of the track and buried utilities are exposed. Private utility companies have been notified and will be required to inspect the condition of utility and to temporarily reroute lines, if needed, to expedite track reconstruction.

About 2,800 people a day rely on the Port Jervis Line, an extension of NJ TRANSIT’s Main/Bergen Line that is operated under a service agreement with NJ TRANSIT. Infrastructure in the 58.7 miles within New York State is Metro-North’s sole responsibility.

The line is a single track except for the first four miles from the New York-New Jersey state line at Suffern up to Sloatsburg. There was minimal damage in the 45 miles between Harriman and Port Jervis and those repairs were made in time to restore some train service between those stations on Monday, September 19 with 17 trains operated daily, representing 65% of regular weekday train service.

The schedule, which is working well, provides some peak period train service only. Buses continue to provide service for the remaining trains and on weekends. Trains connect at Harriman with express bus service to Ramsey/Route 17 for trains to Hoboken, Secaucus and Penn Station. Additional buses also have been scheduled to operate from Harriman; in the A.M. peak, buses at Harriman leave every 10-20 minutes. This basic schedule will be in effect until train service on the entire line is restored.

The assessment which was done by AECOM can be read by clicking here.

For a full Powerpoint pdf on rebuilding the Port Jervis line which contains some amazing pictures of the damage, click here.

Hopefully the early incentives can be met so full service can be restored before the estimated date of Fall 2012. For those who doubt the damage of the storm as they felt it was overblown, tell that to the people who lost their service.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA The Weekender Failure

Posted by
on September 26th, 2011 at 2:12 am

As you know by now, every week I post the service diversions planned for that upcoming weekend & following week. These diversions are usually sent out on Thursday to those on the MTA’s press list.

Recently the agency added a new tool to their website in regards to service diversions. The tool is called “The Weekender” which takes the place of the main page on the agency’s website. The focal point of it is the map which shows a map of all running services including info on stations that will have none.

While this all sounds great, what is the point if it is not functioning correctly. This leads me to the reason for this entry as over the weekend, I received an e-mail from a reader named Brad who expressed how the map did not feature any of the planned work on the N Train. I happened to check the site at various times & noticed this to still be the case.

Now prior to starting this entry, I looked again & noticed that it was now correctly showing the diversions happening on the N Train. However considering it is almost the end of the scheduled diversion work, it pretty much defeats the purpose of it being corrected.

The agency should be applauded for trying to find as many ways to keep riders informed. With that in mind though, their first priority must be in making sure the information is 100% accurate.

Riders such as Brad or myself are capable of working around such setbacks if we faced them while riding. However not everyone falls into that category. When they check for information, it needs to be 100% valid. Hopefully the agency will do a better job in making sure it never happens again.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Seriously How Dumb Can You Be?

Posted by
on September 23rd, 2011 at 6:54 am

Let me preface this by saying I am anti-drugs. I have never done an illegal drug in my life & never plan on doing so. Anyhow….

This past Tuesday, I hopped a Brooklyn-bound Q Train train at the Astoria Blvd station. The plan was to go to Queensboro Plaza & walk to a great printing company I recently came across as I had some materials I was having made for my online radio station project.

I found a seat when I boarded & was enjoying my favorite group of all time, The Smashing Pumpkins. As I was doing this, I noticed a guy leaning up against the doors & was caught off guard by what he was doing. He literally was standing there & openly rolling a joint for later use.

Seriously, what kind of an idiotic moron would openly do that? What if a cop was on board? All because you don’t see one in uniform does not mean an undercover might not have been around. I was secretly hoping a cop would come out of nowhere & bust him.

Some of my readers might not have a problem with weed but I do & don’t make any apologies for calling this guy an idiotic moron.

P.S. If you are into indie music, check out the 24×7 commercial-free radio station I recently launched at SurgeFM.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 09-23-11

Posted by
on September 23rd, 2011 at 5:00 am

I have just updated the “Service Diversions” page with the latest planned work for the upcoming weekend, next week & beyond in some cases.

Riders of the L Train should be warned that service will once again be split into 2 sections with 24 minute intervals on the latter half of the line due to the Canarsie fencing upgrade. Full details on that project can be found here.

For those interested in what the G Train train diversion involving a “deep well” is, here is an explanation courtesy of the MTA diversions press release:

The deep well facilities pump out ground water, keeping water levels below the subway structure in order to prevent flooding. The wells vary in depth from about 60 ft. to 85 ft. below the sidewalk. This weekend’s work involves upgrading the currently outdated, individual control systems for six deep well facilities in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn along the G line. The installation of fiber optic cables routed to each well will connect them to one another and to the NYCT network to allow for a more efficient ground water control operation in the section of the G line that they serve.

I suggest printing out a copy before heading to your destination. If you have an internet capable handheld device, you can use it to access the mobile version of this site.

While out traveling, if I notice or hear any changes, I will update them on the twitter feed so don’t forget to follow @TransitBlogger today which you can do by clicking the button in the sidebar.

Stay safe & enjoy the first official weekend of fall.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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