Jump to content


Photo

Amtrak speeding up New York Penn Station Improvement Initiatives


  • Please log in to reply
49 replies to this topic

#41 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 22 August 2017 - 01:09 PM

Times-Union, Albany, NY 8/21/17:
 

Amtrak on schedule to complete Penn Station work by Labor Day

 

 

Amtrak's chief operating officer said Friday he expects New York City's Penn Station to be back in full service on the Tuesday morning following Labor Day.

 

Scot Naparstek told reporters on a weekly conference call that work to replace aging tracks and switches  is on schedule.

 

"I absolutely see no reason we would not be at full service by Tuesday morning, Sept. 5," he said.

 

Continue here.



#42 KevinKorell

KevinKorell

    Board Leader

  • Sr. Admin
  • PipPip
  • 82315 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Lakewood, NJ
  • Interests:Making America TRAIN again!

Posted 24 August 2017 - 11:24 AM

WPIX-TV, PIX-11 in New York, NY, 8/24/17:

 


 

Amtrak announces end date for ‘summer of hell’ at Penn Station

 

The end of the “summer of hell” is near.

 

Amtrak work at Penn Station is on schedule, and regularly scheduled operations are set to resume Tuesday, Sept. 5, officials announced Thursday.

 

Not really news; the reduced train schedules were to last until Labor Day weekend.  So this really is not an announcement, just a confirmation.  More here.



Kevin Korell


OTOL Board Leader


Lakewood, NJ


#43 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 24 August 2017 - 12:23 PM

Amtrak news release:

New York Penn Station to Resume Regular Schedules on Sept. 5

 
August 24, 2017

 

Infrastructure renewal work remains on schedule

 

 

NEW YORK – The Amtrak Infrastructure Renewal program at New York Penn Station continues to remain on schedule and as committed, regularly scheduled operations will resume Tuesday, Sept. 5.

 

“We thank customers for their patience while we renew the infrastructure at New York Penn Station. We also appreciate the collaboration and support of our commuter partners, NJ TRANSIT and the Long Island Rail Road,” said Amtrak co-CEO Wick Moorman. “Our engineering forces are making great progress and we look forward to resuming scheduled operations Sept. 5.”

 

To date, Amtrak engineering forces have completed nearly seven of the eight weeks of the summer infrastructure renewal work. This summer’s work focused on “A Interlocking,” the critical sorting mechanism routing incoming and outgoing trains that enter and exit Penn Station from the Hudson River tunnel and the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) West Side Yard to the various station tracks and platforms. The work in A interlocking includes total track and switch replacement. This work will improve the reliability of train service through this area in Penn Station.

 

The resumption of regular schedules Tuesday, Sept. 5, includes all previously announced modified routes at New York Penn station as well as Empire Service trains, which will be returning to Penn Station for all arrivals and departures. Full Amtrak schedules are available for reservations at Amtrak.com.

 

Amtrak and commuter partners LIRR and NJT committed to modified schedules during the summer so that infrastructure renewal work that address aging infrastructure could be accelerated. Additional work will last through approximately June 2018, with most of it taking place on weekends, resulting in minimal impacts to service or disruptions to customers.

 

To learn more about the infrastructure renewal program, please visit Media.Amtrak.com.

 

 



#44 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 31 August 2017 - 08:50 PM

Amtrak news release:

Amtrak Completes Accelerated Renewal Work at New York Penn Station

 

August 31, 2017

 

Infrastructure work will improve reliability for the future

 

NEW YORK – Amtrak engineering forces have completed the summer infrastructure renewal work at New York Penn Station, allowing for regularly scheduled operations to resume Tuesday, Sept. 5.

 

“This accelerated work was an enormous undertaking. We did it on time, on budget, and most importantly, safely,” said Amtrak co-CEO Wick Moorman. “We thank passengers for their patience and flexibility, and our commuter partners, local governments and the states for their collaboration this summer. This summer’s work and support from our partners will result in greater reliability in the future. I also want to specifically thank all of the Amtrak employees who were involved in this massive project. Without their skill, dedication and hard work, none of what we do would be possible.”

 

This summer’s work focused on “A Interlocking,” the critical sorting mechanism routing incoming and outgoing trains that enter and exit Penn Station from the Hudson River tunnel and the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) West Side Yard to the various station tracks and platforms. The work in A interlocking included total track and switch replacement that will improve the reliability of train service through this area in Penn Station. In total, approximately 360 dedicated Amtrak employees worked around-the-clock to install 897 track ties, 1,100 ft. of rails (or six football fields worth of track), 1000 tons of ballast, 7 turnouts (switches), 4 complex diamond crossings, and 176 yards of concrete.

 

“As we mark the conclusion of this intense two-month work period, we must remind everyone that much more work remains and that rebuilding our infrastructure is a continuous process. We have more work planned throughout the fall, winter and into next year to improve other areas of track within New York Penn Station. Most of this work will be handled during our normal weekend maintenance periods and should not have major impacts to service levels,” said Moorman. “Now we need continued investment from the federal government, our railroad partners, and the states to help us make the necessary improvements to infrastructure at Penn Station and all along the entire Northeast Corridor.”

 

This renewal work is one element of Amtrak’s plan to modernize stations, infrastructure, and equipment on the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak’s Penn Station concourse operations improvement study has begun and improvement projects for the restrooms, waiting areas and Acela Lounge in Amtrak’s concourses are underway. New Acela trainsets that will provide more frequency and smoother rides will enter service starting in 2021. Passengers will see refreshed Northeast Regional coaches with new seats, carpet, improved lighting and other enhancements later this fall and in 2018, pulled by our new electric locomotive fleet. The much anticipated construction of the Moynihan Train Hall is now underway and key projects of the Gateway Program to preserve and expand rail capacity into New York City are ready to begin construction.

 

Regularly scheduled services including all previously announced modified routes at New York Penn Station as well as Empire Service trains, which will be returning to Penn Station for all arrivals and departures, will resume Tuesday, Sept. 5, with the exception of the Crescent, which will resume regular operations between New York and New Orleans Saturday, Sept. 2. Full Amtrak schedules are available for reservations at Amtrak.com.

 

To learn more about the infrastructure renewal program, please visit Media.Amtrak.com.

 

 



#45 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 07 September 2017 - 06:37 AM

AP via ABC news 9/2/17:

 
Penn Station commuters say 'summer of hell' wasn't that bad
NEW YORK — Sep 2, 2017, 8:53 AM ET

 

It was billed as the "summer of hell." Thankfully, it was more like the summer of "meh," New York rail commuters say.

 

Amtrak wrapped up an extensive summertime track repair project at New York's Penn Station on Thursday that officials had warned could create an infernal bottleneck in the nation's busiest rail hub.

 

Predictions back in the spring, when the station had just gone through a series of major disruptions related to train derailments, couldn't have been more dire. Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said track closures and service reductions for the maintenance work would be a "potential crisis" and told rail riders to brace themselves for a "summer of hell."

 

But now that the repairs have been completed and normal service is returning Tuesday on Amtrak and the two regional railroads that also serve Penn Station, many riders say their commutes have been surprisingly fine. They've been better than normal, actually. (Emphasis added)

 

Continue here.



#46 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 19 November 2017 - 05:15 PM

PRNews, 11/16/17:
 

3 PR Lessons From the ‘Summer of Hell’ at Penn Station

 

 

Thousands of commuters from New Jersey and Long Island braced for the worst when they learned about a major refurbishment of New York Penn Station's infrastructure spanning July to September 2017. Before work even started, the communications team at Amtrak, owner of Penn Station, was working at a disadvantage. The media had already dubbed summer 2017 as the "summer of hell."

 

But after the work was completed and service resumed as usual in early September, commuters seemed to come through the other side unscathed. The New York Times even declared “Summer Was Not So Hellish for Commuters at Penn Station.” Amtrak's communications team can claim some of the credit for that success.

 

Christina Leeds, media relations and business communications director at Amtrak, said the key to the successful PR efforts was having a clear plan for the life of the project, and sticking to it. “We knew that this was going to be a long-running campaign, and we committed to remaining transparent and providing regular updates throughout.”

 

Leeds, who will be talking about the Penn Station project in more detail at the Media Relations Conference, Dec. 6-7 in Washington, D.C., shared the three major pillars to the successful campaign, and how other communicators can apply the lessons learned along the way.

 

Continue here.



#47 jis

jis

    Member

  • Global Moderator
  • PipPip
  • 1753 posts

Posted 20 November 2017 - 01:11 PM

Rumor has it that next summer's outages for Penn Station repair are going to be more spectacularly disruptive. Things being considered include rerouting all of the Lake Shore Limited to Boston for the duration.



#48 KevinKorell

KevinKorell

    Board Leader

  • Sr. Admin
  • PipPip
  • 82315 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Lakewood, NJ
  • Interests:Making America TRAIN again!

Posted 20 November 2017 - 01:24 PM

Rumor has it that next summer's outages for Penn Station repair are going to be more spectacularly disruptive. Things being considered include rerouting all of the Lake Shore Limited to Boston for the duration.

 

I suppose that is an option, although with the majority of Lake Shore Limited passengers using the New York section of the train, it will mean a mass transfer operation at Albany, plus a delay to whatever Empire Corridor train gets the brunt of the refugee Lake Shore passengers, and a longer overall trip for passengers to or from New York and other stations along the Hudson Valley.  Also, CSX would have to quit their shenanigans of taking the line out of service and forcing Boston section passengers onto buses.



Kevin Korell


OTOL Board Leader


Lakewood, NJ


#49 BillMagee

BillMagee

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 5361 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Cherry Hill, NJ
  • Interests:Travel, Rail, Aviation, Sports

Posted 23 November 2017 - 11:16 AM

This could be an opportunity to fulfill the long planned addition of through New York - Chicago cars to the Pennsylvanian.  The Lake Shore would run Boston - Chicago.  New York - Chicago traffic would be handled by the Pennsylvanian / Capitol Limited run-through using equipment from normal the Lake Shore New York section.  Only Hudson Valley O&D passengers would be inconvenienced.  Amtrak could throw cost of the required Norfolk Southern Pittsburgh track work into the NYP Renewal project pot, where it would pretty much be financial background noise.  As a permanent benefit when the NYP work is done, Amtrak would have re-established the capability for daily, direct service between New Jersey, Eastern/Central Pennsylvania and Cleveland, Chicago, pending delivery of the new Viewliner II sleepers sometime in [sarcasm] 2045 [/sarcasm].



#50 KevinKorell

KevinKorell

    Board Leader

  • Sr. Admin
  • PipPip
  • 82315 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Lakewood, NJ
  • Interests:Making America TRAIN again!

Posted 23 November 2017 - 12:22 PM

Good idea, Bill.  The Hudson Valley passengers who would be "inconvenienced" would at least get a small reward for their trouble --- an extra frequency.  Assuming that a Boston-Chicago Lake Shore Limited and a New York-Chicago Pennsylvanian run on the same schedules respectively as the current Lake Shore Limited and Pennsylvanian, those people would have the choice of taking a connecting Empire Service train to Albany to hook up with the Lake Shore Limited around 7 PM, or a connecting Empire Service train in the other direction to New York, albeit hours earlier, to catch the Pennsylvanian (which currently departs New York before 11 AM).

 

Besides the need for more sleepers should a through Pennsylvanian become permanent, an immediate need  over that summer would be a full (or new) diner.   With all service going Boston-Chicago, another meal is going to be required and the dining car along with the rest of the train would be on the Boston-only train as well. They get away with what they do now because fewer meals are required for the majority of passengers who normally use the train's New York section.



Kevin Korell


OTOL Board Leader


Lakewood, NJ





1 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users