Can someone enlighten me with what Norfolk Southern (NS) is doing to the former EL main line east of Waverly, NY? It appears that there is a Herzog slot train in town that is picking up ties from one of the two main lines and they are being loaded into open top cars in a work train with a unit on each end. With all of the truck traffic on Route 17, eventually to become Interstate 86, I would think that NS is making a mistake by removing one of the main lines and turning the route into a single track main line with passing sidings every so many miles. Maybe this truck traffic is all local in nature and no long hauls which would explain why NS would remove a main line. With this happening, what will NS have left as an operation east and west of Waverly, NY?
The Southern Tier line is now virtually single track from Johnson City to Buffalo, the segments between Johnson City and Owego and Owego and Wavrely having been accomplished since last summer. Herzog dong some of the work…mainly picking up the rail; ties have been neatly stacked every 20 or 30 feet apart all the way.
I felt the same way you do, however, with the single tracking and CTC control came increased track speeds which seems to make the trains move faster. The next however is that there is bunching and fleeting of trains in both directions, and some apparent delays…of course once a fleet arrives in Binghamton the JJ Young, Jr’s designation of Malfunction Junction continues the norm of operations. So have they gained? Some say the line is running better than before, others see the congestion as a problem. Only the NS bookeepers know for sure.
The former Erie line from Port Jervis to Binghampton has been single track for a while.