Amtrak Effects of East Palestine Derailment Incident

For whatever it be worth (FWIW), Train Status reports #29(9) CLE 89ML; 30(9) PGH 40ML

Appears "it's over" - well unless you're "Glen Lerner and his colleagues"; for them, it's "the beginning of a payday".

Has anyone heard of if the Capital Limited is being rerouted or if NS is just pulling up one track at a time to remove contaminated dirt?

One track at a time. Maybe use sheet piling to keep other track useable?

Rerouting just doesn't seem to be a viable option for Amtrak for any challenge for various reasons. Capitol Limited is all NS from Pittsburgh to almost Chicago [IIRC], while a detour using the former Low Grade, E&A and Youngstown Line would need to use CSX , Ashtabula-Cleveland, since I do not think NS [NKP] is cleared for Amtrak routing. All the trackage mentioned is signaled, but no one on Amtrak is qualified for the section from Rochester, PA to Ashtabula, so pilots would be required.

The Ex. Three Rivers route would be a good alternative permanent route for the Three Rivers due to higher population from Akron eastward to Pitt. This would also put the train on the routing of it's legacy incarnation, and with it being on an all-CSX routing, there would be no dispatching handoffs in Cleveland. To keep two trains in Cleveland, the Pennsylvanian could be extended to Chicago on a daylight schedule through Ohio, which Amtrak has done before.

The late Three Rivers/Broadway Ltd. used what was then Conrail from New Castle to Pittsburgh [now NS], IIRC.

Anthony wrote: ↑Sun Mar 05, 2023 3:10 pm To keep two trains in Cleveland, the Pennsylvanian could be extended to Chicago on a daylight schedule through Ohio, which Amtrak has done before.

That was due to the express freight in the 1999-2002 era, being a "mixed train". 42/43 could terminate in
Cleveland, but Ohio would have to join up with PennDOT for funds.

The thing is, had suggested NS's Cleveland Line from Rochester, PA to Alliance, OH. The only issue is that to serve Alliance, you will need a reverse move to get off the Fort Wayne line. The station is on the Fort Wayne line, and the current route (Chicago-bound) goes from the Fort Wayne Line to Cleveland Line starting at the station itself.

Unfortunately, I don't know what the speeds are on that line so I don't know how late said train would get. But there's no station between Alliance and Pittsburgh...