AMTRAK NEC: Springfield Shuttle/Regional/Valley Flyer/Inland Routing

east point wrote:Does anyone know if Amtrak re assigned some track personnel to the NYPS repairs there by delaying this work ?

It us my understanding that the Springfield Line is ahead of schedule.

Service changes due to track work through 29 December 2017:
http://www.nhhsrail.com/pdfs/ne%20regio ... 17-146.pdf

They are not really on schedule as it now is extended to May of 2018. Original date was back in 2016, then it was January of 2018 and now it is May 2018. Line is turning into a Bus route from now till Dec 29 2017 on the weekends so they can get caught up.

FYI, there are sections of track stacked along the ROW just north of the Hartford yard, where they will be installing the second track north to Windsor. Also, they have recently installed the second track south of Hartford, I often drive over the overpass on SR 176 in Newington, CT and noted the second track in place this weekend.

Supposedly, the Amtrak TLM will be back this fall to install the second track from Hartford to Windsor. Then all the new second track as part of this phase of the project should be installed, I believe. Future phases of the project will extend the double track up from Windsor Locks to Enfield (minus the Conn River Bridge)(Windsor to just south of the Windsor Locks platform is already double-tracked), which isn't TOO far, and may or may not be coupled with station improvements to Windsor, Windsor Locks, and a new Thompsonville (Enfield) stop, plus North Haven and Newington Jct to the south.

Jeff Smith wrote:

asull85 wrote:I've been hearing some mumbling that the bustituted shuttles will be returning soon and crews may start qualifying to Greenfield.

Greenfield. Interesting. MA find some money?

There are indications that the funding issue has been resolved.

Third set of flat cars delivered to Hartford Ct yard with stone ties aboard. This is the staging area it seems for the TLM to start as the last set of cars was parked on the new 2nd main which when things get tight, they use it for a passing siding for CSO-1. With the cars perked on this line now, seems to me they are getting ready to go North from here with laying the second track down finally.

I was correct, they have the TLM working North towards Windsor from North end of Hartford Ct yard. They are almost at Meadow Rd crossing and hope to make it to East Barber by tonight but I don't think they will make it that far today.

gokeefe wrote:There are indications that the funding issue has been resolved.

Presumably that's Amtrak crews and MassDOT operating funding that would be required (under PRIIA) to extend Amtrak ops from Springfield to Greenfield (just short of NH line). Do I get that right?

TLM has stopped for the night under Rte 291 in Windsor. The crossing at East Barber is now connected. They will continue North to Island road at Loomis Chaffee tomorrow.

Arlington wrote:Presumably that's Amtrak crews and MassDOT operating funding that would be required (under PRIIA) to extend Amtrak ops from Springfield to Greenfield (just short of NH line). Do I get that right?

Likely correct.

MassDOT owns the line Springfield to Greenfield to NH line? Did I read correktly that they are using Amtrak or Amtrak's contractor to upgrade the track? And MassDOT is going to pay Amtrak to extend the shuttles north to Greenfield, rather than paying CT to extend NHHS CR

The State of Massachusetts bought the Connecticut River Line from Springfield to the East Northfield Switch, where the track connects with NECR a few years back, and they WILL be running commuter service north from Springfield probably within the next 5-10 years. Norfolk Southern track crews replaced the rail, and lots of ties in 2013-2014, but a major tie replacement job is scheduled and as far as I know it'll be Pan Am crews which is why it keeps getting postponed.

it will also need signal upgrade to PTC.

They wouldn't need to install PTC to extend the Shuttles. The Conn River would qualify under this exemption in the PTC rules:

(2) Passenger service is operated on a segment of track of a freight railroad that is not a Class I railroad on which less than 15 million gross tons of freight traffic is transported annually and on which one of the following conditions applies:

(ii) If the segment is signaled (e.g., equipped with a traffic control system, automatic block signal system, or cab signal system) and no more than 12 regularly scheduled passenger trains are operated during a calendar day.

Pan Am Southern (despite the backing presence of NS) is a Class II, the Conn River handles less than 15 million tons annually, and it has a CTC (wayside-only) signal system.

The Shuttles currently run 4 round-trips on weekdays, 5 round-trips on weekends...and then there's the one Vermonter round-trip. That's 10 passenger trains on weekdays, 12 on weekends. You could extend all Shuttles and add one to the weekday schedule without triggering a PTC install.



...for now, at least. Should NS buy out Pan Am's half of PAS in the next few years as widely anticipated then the Conn River becomes part of a Class I and the exemption drops from 12 to 4 trains per day. So there is some outside risk involved in holding onto that exemption, though there'd probably be a new deadline drafted for that individual installation of X years forward from the date the line becomes part of a Class I.