Penn Station Emergency Repairs: Trackwork, etc.

[BenH]

This page was just (this afternoon) updated by Amtrak
https://www.amtrak.com/NYPrenewal
Note in particular the new YouTube video and the PDF document labeled "Penn Station Track System."

[Backshophoss]

The entire trackwork biltz is centered on what was Tower A at NY Penn and the approaches to the North(Hudson) Tubes,
at times it could affect access to the LIRR West Side Yard.
Figure on Track 5a and 1x being used to expand the tracks that the Empire Connection can access.
New switch on 2 main to 5a,new crossover 5a to 1x,new crossover 1x to 2x.
Platform tracks 9 thru 14 are being rebuilt.

While nothing was was mentioned on the Empire service train affected, 6 regional train are canned,Crescent turns at DC,6 Keystones turn
at 30th street in Philly,1 Keystone turns at Newark Penn Station,no changes to Acela or Regional service trains to/from Boston as of now.

[Allouette]

Figure on Track 5a being used to expand the tracks that the Empire Connection can access.

Track 5A isn't marked as part of the blitz. I think it would have to be raised to match Track 2 Main's grade. Track 6D is listed in a 1999 timetable as equipped for DC operation, meaning at least some Empire service access to Penn is possible on tracks 5-7 without fouling the work area. Those might be a little shorter than they'd like for the Lake Shore.

[Backshophoss]

The unoffical "plan" for the Empire service has 3 round trips in/out of GCT,the LD's (Lake Shore,Maple Leaf,and Adirodack) take
the "Detour" via MO wye- Woodlawn- New Rochelle for a reverse "tow-in" to/from NY Penn.





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[east point]

Amtrak announces schedule changes for work

http://media.amtrak.com/2017/05/amtrak- ... n-station/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jeff Smith]

From the above link:

Acela Express: No changes
Northeast Regional Service: Three round trip trains (six total trains) between New York City and Washington, D.C. canceled. Service between New York City and Boston will operate at currently scheduled levels

Keystone Service: Three round trip trains (six total trains) will start and end in Philadelphia, and one round trip train (two total trains) will start and end at Newark, New Jersey. Service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg will operate at currently scheduled levels.

Empire Service: To be announced shortly.

Long-Distance Service: The Crescent, operating between New York City and New Orleans, will originate and terminate in Washington, D.C. daily during work period. Connections will be provided on other Northeast Corridor trains.

[Gilbert B Norman]

Gray Lady has somewhat greater depth in her reportage today. Here is Fair Use from the possibly paywalled material:

...Jim Fahey, director of the Association of Commuter Rail Employees, a 1,500-member union, said he had heard that three Amtrak trains would go in and out of Grand Central each weekday during the disruption. He said that rather than crossing the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge and running down the West Side of Manhattan to Penn Station, those trains would turn east and head toward Grand Central. He said the plan called for engineers from Metro-North Railroad to pilot the trains between Spuyten Duyvil and Grand Central, because Amtrak engineers are not familiar with the complex network of tracks at the terminal.

“Whoever came up with this idea to take some of the pressure off Penn Station, I give them kudos,” Mr. Fahey said. “Because it is a good idea

[Jeff Smith]

GCT Effect: CTPost.com

Bracing for more traffic at Grand Central
...
“Amtrak moving trains is an issue and a concern, and will make life more difficult for the Metro-North commuter,” said Jim Gildea, chairman of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council.
...
The number of additional daily commuters traveling through Grand Central if Amtrak sends trains to the East Side station is not yet known, and officials are tight-lipped about the proposal.

“Neither Amtrak nor Metro-North have announced details on when, whether or how many Amtrak trains could use Grand Central,” said Aaron Donovan, a Metro-North spokesman. He declined to comment further.

Metro-North carried 86.5 million riders last year, with the majority of those going to Grand Central. The Long Island Rail Road carried 89.3 million passengers.
...
Jim Cameron, founder of the Commuter Action Group, said he does not believe diverting a few Amtrak trains to Grand Central will pose a major problem for Connecticut commuters.

“I don’t think it will be a problem,” Cameron said. “It’s just the Albany and upstate N.Y. trains, I’m guessing. And they used to run out of Grand Central, so there’s probably room.”

Gildea wasn’t so sure there would be no impact.

“With all the increased service into and out of New York City, coupled with lost track capacity due to the East Side Access project, I believe this will increase delays and potentially reduce service for the Metro-North commuter,” Gildea said.
...

[mohawkrailfan]

The unoffical "plan" for the Empire service has 3 round trips in/out of GCT,the LD's (Lake Shore,Maple Leaf,and Adirodack) take
the "Detour" via MO wye- Woodlawn- New Rochelle for a reverse "tow-in" to/from NY Penn.





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What's that going to add to their schedules? An hour?

[nova08]

With these service cuts, might they add a few cars on the other regionals to try to backfill capacity? I'm not sure those PHL-HAR runs will necessarily need all 5 cars. Though that is narrow mindily assuming they'd dedicate specific sets just to those runs.

[pumpers]

The unoffical "plan" for the Empire service has 3 round trips in/out of GCT,the LD's (Lake Shore,Maple Leaf,and Adirodack) take
the "Detour" via MO wye- Woodlawn- New Rochelle for a reverse "tow-in" to/from NY Penn.

The Amtrak site for the project http://media.amtrak.com/2017/05/amtrak- ... n-station/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; still has "to be announced" for Empire service and nothing at all about Lake shore service, Maple Leaf, etc.

[Amtrak7]

I notice that both Amtrak and NJT service plans are continuous Jul 10 - Sept 1. Is the plan to work continuously during that time? If I recall, the original announcement of rush hour outages called for a couple weeks of gap time in between two work periods.

[Gilbert B Norman]

The unoffical "plan" for the Empire service has 3 round trips in/out of GCT,the LD's (Lake Shore,Maple Leaf,and Adirodack) take
the "Detour" via MO wye- Woodlawn- New Rochelle for a reverse "tow-in" to/from NY Penn.

The Amtrak site for the project http://media.amtrak.com/2017/05/amtrak- ... n-station/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; still has "to be announced" for Empire service and nothing at all about Lake shore service, Maple Leaf, etc.

Mr. Pumpers, I have to be concerned about just how happy MNRR will be about having their railroad being tied up at SHELL, day in and day out, with that move. By the time it was done, all four tracks would have interference.

I assume the North-West quadrant at MO is active.

There may have to be "rethink" with all Empire trains into GCT and the Lake Shore annulled NY-ALB

[Jeff Smith]

Mr. Pumpers, I have to be concerned about just how happy MNRR will be about having their railroad being tied up at SHELL, day in and day out, with that move. By the time it was done, all four tracks would have interference.

It shouldn't be that bad. The loss of a slot in the crowded Harlem Line throat in the Bronx from MO to Woodlawn might be troublesome, but SHELL has been reworked so that only tracks 2 and 4 feed into the Harlem River (Hell Gate) line. A train coming up to New Rochelle would proceed past the station to the electrified yard tracks, where a Sprinter would follow and couple to the (now southern) end to tow it down. On the outbound trip, you'd have to switch the P32 to the other end with the ACS on the northbound side; detach the Sprinter at New Rochelle yard and the P32 departs happily south to the MO wye and then north up to ALB.

Easy-peasy.

[ThirdRail7]

Except no one other than members of this board are saying the Empire connection will be blocked for a significant period of time making an actual need for a NRO necessary. No one has even mentioned Backshophoss's plan except for a possible 55 hour outage.