Explosion at Van Nest substation in the Bronx.

[wintower]

Channel 7, WABC, is reporting that an explosion took place at the Van Nest substation in the Bronx around 11:00a. this morning.

[Gilbert B Norman]

Local News outlet NY1 appears to have most coverage of the incident at present:

https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/ne ... oad-tracks#

One fatality, an Amtrak employee, is reported.

A guess on my part, but this facility could supply overhead power, i.e. what Amtrak uses, from New Rochelle to Penn Station.

Of interest, this is where a former New Haven RR shop that handled maintenance for the electric locomotive fleet until about 1960 was located. After that, it was pretty much "run 'em until they drop", as the New Haven discontinued heavy repairs of any equipment with contracting out, and subsequently sold the facility to Consolidated Edison.

[CTRailfan]

It is the substation that supplies Amtrak's 60hz power on the Hell Gate Line. I didn't realize Amtrak has a 60hz power system south of Metro-North, but they do. Amtrak 25hz power in the NYC area is provided via a static converter at Sunnyside.

[twropr]

Is the substation just east of the Bronx River, at about Milepost 13?
I'm not sure what happened after the fatality, but the railroad was apparently closed for about 5-6 hours.
Andy

[CTRailfan]

Is the substation just east of the Bronx River, at about Milepost 13?
I'm not sure what happened after the fatality, but the railroad was apparently closed for about 5-6 hours.
Andy

It's this Con Edison Yard, at least the equipment immediately adjacent to it. Con Edison kept saying it wasn't their facility, so presumably Amtrak owns the part closer to the tracks.

https://goo.gl/maps/aANeDiPr8poHmTa28

Did the power on Amtrak's 60hz system actually go out, or was it due to police activity in the area?

[CTRailfan]

Upon a second look, it appears that there is a small, fenced-off triangle just south of the Con Edison Van Nest Substation, which presumably is where Amtrak feeds the 60hz section of their railroad from, and is connected over the fence to the Con Edison system.

[MACTRAXX]

Everyone - Two more news reports about the VN Substation accident:
WPIX Channel 11
https://www.pix11.com/news/local-news/b ... uthorities
News 12 Bronx (Optimum Cablevision):
http://bronx.news12.com/story/41412579/ ... erson-dead
(Posted 12/5 - 12:34 PM; Updated 7:04 PM)
This substation steps down ultra high voltage AC current down to what is fed to the catenary.
In a facility such as this one an indication of how far that AC can "jump" to ground is by the length and
size of the insulators visible. Getting too close while grounded as an example can be disasterous...
MACTRAXX

[JimBoylan]

WCBS 880 KC on the AM dial reported in the evening that 1 employee was killed and 2 injured when electricity wasn't shut off where they were working. Amtrak warned of train delays.

[CTRailfan]

This substation steps down ultra high voltage AC current down to what is fed to the catenary.

You're basically right, but I would note that we have little to no ultra high voltage power transmission in the US, and AFAIK, none in the NYC area. They are stepping down high voltage or extra high voltage to lower voltage either for further transmission to substations or for the catenary itself. UHVAC is over 800kV, and the highest voltage power lines in the US AFAIK are 765kV.

That being said, whatever they are feeding in, being it 115kV, 345kV, or some other voltage, it is still extremely dangerous to work with, and can jump significant distances to ground.

[Suburban Station]

It is the substation that supplies Amtrak's 60hz power on the Hell Gate Line. I didn't realize Amtrak has a 60hz power system south of Metro-North, but they do. Amtrak 25hz power in the NYC area is provided via a static converter at Sunnyside.

if it were part of the 25 hz system would this have shut down power? they were still towing trains into NYP with diesels around midnight.

[ThirdRail7]

The catenary power was out until the police and fire department investigations were completed. Once they went to restore, there were still problems so they towed for most of the night.

This is terrible all around. This is the third in the last few months.

[Ken W2KB]

This substation steps down ultra high voltage AC current down to what is fed to the catenary.

You're basically right, but I would note that we have little to no ultra high voltage power transmission in the US, and AFAIK, none in the NYC area. They are stepping down high voltage or extra high voltage to lower voltage either for further transmission to substations or for the catenary itself. UHVAC is over 800kV, and the highest voltage power lines in the US AFAIK are 765kV.

That being said, whatever they are feeding in, being it 115kV, 345kV, or some other voltage, it is still extremely dangerous to work with, and can jump significant distances to ground.

Good info! My recollection is that, with the exception of the DC tie lines New England - Canada (450 Volts phase to ground, 900 volts phase to phase as I recall), the highest transmission voltage is 345kV anywhere in New York State and New England. In New Jersey and most of the PJM Interconnection, it is 500kV (EHV). AEP has 765kV in the Ohio area. But for two locations in Manhattan (49th St and one other station) which are 345kV, the rest of ConEd is 138kV, so that would be the highest at the Van Nest station. The NESC minimum clearance for a 138kV conductor phase to ground is about 9 feet, and companies typically add 3 feet as a safety margin. Amtrak's single phase transmission on the NEC NJ tunnel portal to Washington is 138kV.

[east point]

Everyone on this site. Remember this substation and do not claim that MNR is supplying 12.5 Kv 60 Hz power to the Hell Gate line. That misinformation keeps coming up over and over.

[CTRailfan]

Good info! My recollection is that, with the exception of the DC tie lines New England - Canada (450 Volts phase to ground, 900 volts phase to phase as I recall), the highest transmission voltage is 345kV anywhere in New York State and New England. In New Jersey and most of the PJM Interconnection, it is 500kV (EHV). AEP has 765kV in the Ohio area. But for two locations in Manhattan (49th St and one other station) which are 345kV, the rest of ConEd is 138kV, so that would be the highest at the Van Nest station. The NESC minimum clearance for a 138kV conductor phase to ground is about 9 feet, and companies typically add 3 feet as a safety margin. Amtrak's single phase transmission on the NEC NJ tunnel portal to Washington is 138kV.

Also good info. I thought that there was 765kV in Upstate NY coming from Niagara, but I looked at some maps, and there isn't so I must be thinking of very large and high amperage 345kV lines.

I believe you're right on both the 450kV HVDC lines from Quebec, as well as Amtrak's 25hz power system, but I would caution that while those voltages are correct, they are different animals and probably have slightly different insulation and safety requirements.

On Amtrak's 25hz system, is the part fed from Sunnyside separate from the rest, i.e. not tied together with transmission lines? In that case, is it not phase synchronized with the rest? I know SEPTA also has another 25hz power system (ex-Reading?). 25hz power is really neat in this day and age, and also kind of appalling that it hasn't all been converted to modern 60hz.

Everyone on this site. Remember this substation and do not claim that MNR is supplying 12.5 Kv 60 Hz power to the Hell Gate line. That misinformation keeps coming up over and over.

Yeah, it's interesting, I did not know Amtrak has 60hz power south of MN. I thought the Hell Gate Line was fed off of MN. Not so.

[troffey]

Local News outlet NY1 appears to have most coverage of the incident at present:

https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/ne ... oad-tracks#

One fatality, an Amtrak employee, is reported.

[snip}

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