east point wrote:MARC cannot even avoid being delayed by Amtrak on a Saturday.
MARC Service Alert <[email protected]>
To
MTA Maryland Alerts Subscriber
Today at 2:27 PM
MARC Train 487 (1:55p DPT Baltimore) is operating with a 12-15 minute delay departing BWI due to following Amtrak Train 91.
NOW another delay today ! !
MARC Service Alert <[email protected]>
To
MTA Maryland Alerts Subscriber
Today at 4:58 PM
Marc 688 (410pm Dpt Washington) is operating with a 15-20 minute delay approaching BWI due to following an Amtrak Train.
There is a bit of humor in all of this. While you're using these tweets to bolster your claim that the tunnels are the cause of the delays, the reality is our former dispatcher is correct. It has more to do with the traffic patterns after Fulton that shapes the decisions. For the vast majority of this year, the Penn line has been a two track railroad from Bowie to WAS. This is due to track work. In the meantime, no one reduced the amount of trains in the area. As such, the potential for passing is greatly reduced. Therefore, they often try to position the Amtrak since they make less stops AND travel at a higher rate of speed.
What I find humorous is the typical deflection of OTP. Let's take 9487(3). It is true that it was held "5 for 91. Why did they hold it? 91 operates at 110mph and doesn't stop until WAS and there were norhtboound movements on 2tk. 9487 operates at 90mph (if it is lucky) and will make 7 stops. It makes sense to run 91 first. The funny thing is, 9487 left WBL "6 down. However, it dwelled in HAE for 4" and dwelled in BWI for 6". By the time 9487 left BWI -17", 91 was passing Landover Int, which is 20 miles away!! Why did it lose so much tim enroute?
Largely for the same reason 9688(3) ran into trouble. It left WAS on time with nothing in its path. However, it had a small hiccup and lost a little time coming up to NCR. It continued to lose time on the run until it arrives at OTN -13". At this point, the Amtrak that left WAS 15 minutes after 9688 had closed in. So they held the MARC at Grove and ran the Amtrak around it. Once again, the Amtrak will operate at 110mph to BWI, depart at 110mph and maintain that speed until MP100. If you keep the MARC ahead, it will operate at 90 (if it makes it), stop at BWI and it will travel at 45mph from BWI to HAE, where it will have to change tracks to access the high level platforms.
Yet, the MARC alert just states "amtrak interference" without bringing up the fact that the slow loading, plodding diesels that are saddled with double deckers aren't much of a match for the undulating territory between BAL-WAS. That is a major source of delays and why the dispatchers often ask "are you operating with an electric or a diesel?" They can't get out of their own way.
STrRedWolf wrote:Jeff Smith wrote:I split this topic as while it tangentially had something to do with the tunnels, it was more about MARC delays being caused by choke points along the NEC, lower priority to Amtrak NEC, as subsequent posts noted. The tunnels are one of several choke points, yes.
The tunnels aren't the only choke point, just the one with the biggest impact (30MPH speed limit + tight curves + ageing infrastructure). There's a few more in Maryland, one I can easily name off the NEC:
AVENUE to CARROLL is one of them. It's basically two track all the way up from Union Station DC to New Carrolton, MD and a bit beyond. Break down in this area, and you got four tracks of traffic squeezing down to one AND depending on where it breaks down, you need to start single-tracking at BOWIE. To solve this in the short term, just enhance the CARROLL Interlock to allow moves from track 3 to track 1 going south/westbound. Long term? Shift track 1 closer to Track 2, lay down track A next to it, build a second platform (probably more NE of the existing platform), and enhance CARROLL.
Even if you had a crossover that could reach from 3 to 1, it still isn't going to accomplish much if you're transfering passengers from a disabled train on two of the three tracks. You'd still have to single track starting at Bowie. With the influx of MARC traffic, your long term goal is short sighted. Anticipating future traffic patterns, the
NEC Transportation Plan-Proposed Track Configuration (1998) wanted 4 tracks by 2015. NCR has (for lack of a better word) a tunnel box in which they could add another platform between 2 and 1 track. Even without a forth track, there was plan established a few years ago to build Hanson further south than originally anticipated. It would replace Landover and consist of high speed crossovers that would connect to 1 track. This would reduce the long, double block protected 45mph crossover from 2-1.
An immediate goal should be to replace 2-1 at Carroll and 1-A at Winans with a high speed crossovers.
STrRedWolf wrote:
The others need me to look up on Wikimapia...
North of Baltimore is a mess: Going Northbound, GUNPOW shrinks down to two tracks to MAGNOLIA, where it goes to four again before down to two at WOOD, up to three at BUSH, down to two at GRACE, then back up to four at PERRY before shrinking down to two at PRINCE. It goes back up to three at BACON, and then four at IRON right at the MD/DE line. I could go on...
It is a mess depending on the traffic levels. With freight traffic in the area leveled off, the current capacity usually works (particularly after they raies the speed on 3tk between the south limits of OAK and the north limits of BUSH and equipped them both with high speed crossovers) unless there are late trains bunching up or MARC and/or SEPTA plan to stuff more trains into the area.
STrRedWolf wrote:
Operationally, MSA aka Martin State Airport Station is something I got to wonder about, because it's got a single side platform. Come on! Folks are going up and down on the MARC here, why have it just on one side? Tunnel under and build a new platform on the other side like Odenton. I'm also wondering about Perryville myself but given it's a termination station for MARC...
When Amtrak reconfigured the NEC in the 80's they probably didn't foresee a huge uptick in commuter service. As such, they upgraded the outside tracks through the area. What you're basically suggesting is to routinely stop a 90mph train at a lightly used station in the middle of 125mph territory. Working it off the lower speed track works fine since a good number of trains serving the station originate or terminate at MSA.
Sand Box John wrote:"BandA"
Is there room on the ROW for quad tracking?
Yes. From Landover to just south of the B&P tunnel there is room between the catenary poles for 4 tracks, the only exceptions is at New Carrollton where the platform is between tracks 3 and 2, at Seabrook, Bowie State and Odenton where the platform is where track 4 would be and at BWI where the platform is where track 1 use to be.
This is not necessarily true. While the cat poles were built with expansion to four tracks in mind, a lot of the clearance on the curves has been eliminated by the super elevation required for high speed operation. Glaring examples exist between MP110 and MP111.