From Progressive Railroading Jan 12, 2012
“• Amtrak will advance design, engineering and other pre-construction activities for a $450 million project that will boost train speeds from 135 mph to 160 mph along a 24-mile section of the NEC between Trenton and New Brunswick, N.J. Major construction is scheduled to begin in 2013 and be complete in 2017.”
Cool! But, 5 years to upgrade 24 miles of RR? Can’t we get this elephant to dance a bit faster?
Please understand that, despite all the fanfare, this is nothing more than a clean-up of long deferred maintenance with some extra bells-and-whistles.
This has to be new, constant tension catenary, and perhaps a voltage/freq change. A good start. The rest of the NEC’s southern end needs this. This is all “off the shelf” stuff. Why a 5 year period to do a mere 24 miles?
The longer the gap between the money going out and the return flowing in, the worse the ROI - by a lot! Big projects like new intermodal terminals in frt RRs typically take only a few years from first thought to completion.
Maybe we really do need fewer elephants to accomplish this. In fact, no maybe about it, get rid of the elephants and call in the donkeys!
When there is only one elephant on or near the dance floor, what options do you have. I recommend you booze it up on the premise that the only elephant in the bar, irrespective of appearance, will begin to look good as closing time approaches.
What part of competitive markets do we not understand?
Donkey’s don’t move in a straight line any faster than elephants.
Why not just bid the whole deal out? Have bidders give timeline and costs. Smallest net present cost for the project wins. Bonus paid if it can beat promised deadline. Keep as much of Amtrak’s internal bureaucratic out of it as possible! Send’em out for dancing lessons!
$450 million and five years for an additional 25 mph on 24 miles of railroad?
This reminds me of how the Boardman administration addressed the shortage of revenue space on long-distance trains in July 2010, with a five-year, $298-million contract for 130 cars that include 55 baggage cars and 25 baggage-dorms.
Maybe it is time to throw in the sponge on Amtrak … or at least on Joseph Boardman and his board.
Your statements are based on assumptions that are not actually the way rail operations are conducted on the 24 miles.
1. If it was 135 to 160 MPH then only 1:36 would be saved for each Acela.
2. Unfortunately for Amtrak they are not going 135 for the whole 24 miles.
2a. Acelas generally only run the route at 125 MPH max as well as the regionals especially during extreme weather temps.
2b. There is a 60 MPH slow order at the Elizabeth “S” curve. The 60 may be for only regional trains and Acelas may be higher.
2c. The curves at Lincoln,Croyden, Torresdale, Frankford all have various speed restrictions from 90 - 115 MPH.
2d. The best scheduled timing for the 24 miles from Metropark to Trenton of a regional is 21 minutes or 68 MH.
3. Next is construction duration. The time is due to complexity of rebuilding a RR while it is providing service.
3a. First the acquisition of ROW to effect curve realignments will have to be addressed especially at the Elizabeth “S” curve.
3b. The construction of new alignments will require new high voltage transmission line locations.
3c. The new alignments will require the inside of curve tracks to be relocated one at a tiime but in coordination with installation of the constant tension CAT.
3d. New constant tension CAT is required for speeds over 150 MPH.
[quote user=“blue streak 1”]
dakotafred:
$450 million and five years for an additional 25 mph on 24 miles of railroad?
This reminds me of how the Boardman administration addressed the shortage of revenue space on long-distance trains in July 2010, with a five-year, $298-million contract for 130 cars that include 55 baggage cars and 25 baggage-dorms.
Your statements are based on assumptions that are not actually the way rail operations are conducted on the 24 miles.
1. If it was 135 to 160 MPH then only 1:36 would be saved for each Acela.
2. Unfortunately for Amtrak they are not going 135 for the whole 24 miles.
2a. Acelas generally only run the route at 125 MPH max as well as the regionals especially during extreme weather temps.
2b. There is a 60 MPH slow order at the Elizabeth “S” curve. The 60 may be for only regional trains and Acelas may be higher.
2c. The curves at Lincoln,Croyden, Torresdale, Frankford all have various speed restrictions from 90 - 115 MPH.
2d. The best scheduled timing for the 24 miles from Metropark to Trenton of a regional is 21 minutes or 68 MH.
3. Next is construction duration. The time is due to complexity of rebuilding a RR while it is providing service.
3a. First the acquisition of ROW to effect curve realignments will have to be addressed especially at the Elizabeth “S” curve.
3b. The construction of new alignments will require new high voltage transmission line locations.
3c. The new alignments will require the inside of curve tracks to be relocated on
Although not an official topic at the Railway Age conference one of the presenters is directly involved in this and gave a brief overview. This section has been on the wishlist for quite some time. Since Florida rejected the HSR monies this became the runner up prize. The work will involve constant tension catenary, signaling for the higher speeds and there is at least one interlocking which still has 45 MPH switches which will be replaced. This is a stretch of railroad that varies between four and six tracks wide and thus will chew up quite a bit of money.
Don: I agree that the time line is very long.
1. Certainly the upgrade to 100 MPH iinterlockings could be completed by this time next year.
2. the installation of intermediate cross arms for the constant tension CAT can also start.
3. Sections of Constant tension CAT can then be installed when the iintermediate supports are installed.
4. Signal upgrades should also be substantially completed.
Then the problems begin.
5. NS was able to complete their work on owned ROW.
6. Unfortunately Amtrak will have to go outside existing ROW for the curve realignments.
7. THE nimbys , BANANAS, and everyone else will fight the various required EISs. Ssome persons will try to inflate the value of the property needed to realign the ROW. Even construction access easements may be difficult. There may not be the access cooperation that MNRR got for rebuilding the Port Jervis line ? Anyone know what the various rules in NJ for adverse property acquisition both temporary and permanent ?
8. So Amtrak could find 22 miles completed in 2 years while the various curves prevent HSR operation.
9. When all the work is completed then the FRA will step in
Certainly for some of the work. Daylighting some of the tunnels, at the least.
Oltmannd: Do you or anyone know if Amtrak has already completed or at least started EIS ?? iF SO WHAT IS THE PROGRESS? excuse capitals keyboard is acting up.
I have not seen in print nor heard from anyone involved anything pertaining to the acquisition of property for curve realiglmnets. I shall re-review my notes but for a paltry $450 million all we can rightly expect is some new hardware.
To put all of this into perspective, Metro-North/ConnDOT have been doing something similar on the former New Haven catenary slowly replacing the original hardware with constant tension. “Thus far, 132 track miles of catenary wire have been replaced…” at a cost of $218.5 million. “When the entire project is finished, 217 track miles of wire throughout the New Haven Line will have been upgraded.” Amtrak should have no problem blowing through $450 million in under 24 miles.
The preliminary EIS is called a FONSI. (Finding of no significant impact). I don’t know, but we should be able to look it up on the EPA web site…
[quote user=“blue streak 1”]
dakotafred:
$450 million and five years for an additional 25 mph on 24 miles of railroad?
This reminds me of how the Boardman administration addressed the shortage of revenue space on long-distance trains in July 2010, with a five-year, $298-million contract for 130 cars that include 55 baggage cars and 25 baggage-dorms.
Your statements are based on assumptions that are not actually the way rail operations are conducted on the 24 miles.
1. If it was 135 to 160 MPH then only 1:36 would be saved for each Acela.
2. Unfortunately for Amtrak they are not going 135 for the whole 24 miles.
2a. Acelas generally only run the route at 125 MPH max as well as the regionals especially during extreme weather temps.
2b. There is a 60 MPH slow order at the Elizabeth “S” curve. The 60 may be for only regional trains and Acelas may be higher.
2c. The curves at Lincoln,Croyden, Torresdale, Frankford all have various speed restrictions from 90 - 115 MPH.
2d. The best scheduled timing for the 24 miles from Metropark to Trenton of a regional is 21 minutes or 68 MH.
3. Next is construction duration. The time is due to complexity of rebuilding a RR while it is providing service.
3a. First the acquisition of ROW to effect curve realignments will have to be addressed especially at the Elizabeth “S” curve.
3b. The construction of new alignments will require new high voltage transmission line locations.
3c. The new alignments will require the inside of curve tracks to be relocated on
Buying baggage-dorms does release revenue space in sleepers now occupied by attendants.
Oltmannd: You may be correct of only 2 curves ?. I took the all curves listed in Amtrak’s statement from NYP to PHL. Someone who knows all the locations may be able to locate them.
2b. There is a 60 MPH slow order at the Elizabeth “S” curve. The 60 may be for only regional trains and Acelas may be higher.
2c. The curves at Lincoln,Croyden, Torresdale, Frankford all have various speed restrictions from 90 - 115 MPH.
Lincoln is north of New Brunswick; Croyden, Torresdale and Frankford are south of Morrisville. There is a reason that these particular 24 miles were chosen for upgrade.
Buying a whole sleeper creates even more revenue space.
You can make perfectly good 125 mph baggage cars out of Amfleet cars.