by MACTRAXX
Guys: As usual a good group of posts on this matter. I will say this: With the construction of the Secaucus Transfer,something should have been done to eliminate this crucial bottleneck in the NEC. What about the higher-level bridge or bridges that was supposed to replace the Portal Bridge? Is seems to me that Amtrak and NJT dodged a bullet big time on this one as the damage to the bridge structure itself could have so much worse. To me,the wake-up call on Portal Bridge should had been after that derailment caused by the mitre rails 10 or so years ago. Amtrak breathed the proverbial sigh of relief on this one-What would happen and how much would life be disrupted for literally thousands of people had there been serious damage causing the bridge to be closed for a period of time? What gets me is that we are relying on a bridge and tunnels into NYP that are now 95 years old and should be supplemented if not outright replaced! Many things to think about.... MACTRAXX