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SEPTA new Trenton Regional Rail schedule 4/29/18 - Amtrak trackwork


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#1 CNJRoss

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Posted 18 April 2018 - 06:13 AM

SEPTA.org:

 
SIGNIFICANT CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS WITH IMPACTS TO REGIONAL RAIL SERVICE

 

Amtrak - Northeast Corridor Track Work Impacting Trenton Line

 

 

In March, Amtrak began work to improve track conditions on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) between Trenton Transit Center and Holmesburg Junction. The project involves the rebuilding of track structure in this area to replace infrastructure that began to deteriorate before the end of its useful life.

 

The scope of the work requires taking track out of service for extended and continuous periods of time, which is creating an impact at 8 stations (Trenton Transit Center, Levittown, Bristol, Croydon, Eddington, Cornwells Heights, Torresdale and Holmesburg Junction) served by the Trenton Regional Rail Line. Additionally, as part of this work, the inner track fencing is temporarily being removed, which creates concerns for the safety of SEPTA customers.

 

In an effort to maximize their resources, Amtrak is deploying 3 full work gangs to this track repair work. While this will benefit the project in the long run, in the short term it is creating longer "out of service" areas because they have more resources available to work. When work gangs are out in active track area, travel speeds must be reduced to ensure their safety. Additionally, once Amtrak deploys the special equipment they use for a complete rebuilding of the track infrastructure it remains on the tracks for the duration. So, even when the track gangs are not in the field, the impact of their work is being imposed on our service.

 

While this project is reducing the number of tracks available for train service the amount of traffic generated by Amtrak, SEPTA, and freight carrier service is not reduced. As the owner of NEC, Amtrak is responsible for dispatching all trains, including ours. SEPTA is working to coordinate with Amtrak on dispatching issues, but more often than not, their service gets first priority and our trains must follow the instructions provided by Amtrak.

 

Amtrak and SEPTA agreed to a series of schedule changes for both rail operations in order to minimize impacts on service. In anticipation of the project start, SEPTA published a new timetable in January (01.14.18) reflecting these train adjustments.

 

Even with Amtrak trains getting first priority within the NEC corridor, the schedule changes agreed to should have been able to mitigate most of the impacts to SEPTA customers. Unfortunately, this ended up not being the case, and our customers are experiencing significant, daily service delays mainly on the Trenton and Chestnut Hill East Regional Rail Lines with a trickle effect on the Fox Chase Line.

 

How Significant are the SEPTA Delays?

Since the Amtrak project began in March, service on more than half of the Trenton Line trains, both inbound and outbound, and a significant number of AM and PM, outbound Chestnut Hill Line trains are being impacted.

 

TRENTON LINE - INBOUND SERVICE

The most significant delays for service from Trenton have occurred for customers traveling on Trains 726, 732, 734, 736, 738, 740, 758, 9756, 1766, 768, and 774 - all operating with between 30% and 75% on-time performance.

 

TRENTON LINE - OUTBOUND SERVICE

The most significant delays for service from Center City going to Trenton have occurred for customers traveling on Trains 9701, 9703, 1703, 705, 705, 8721, 725, 731, 733, 9737, 9781, 9739, 783, 743, 8749, 759, 765, and 769 -- all operating with between 10% and 75% on-time performance.

 

CHESTNUT HILL EAST LINE - OUTBOUND SERVICE

In addition, because of the way train sets are cross-routed to other lines, Chestnut Hill East Trains 726, 732, 734, 736, 738, 740, 758, 768, and 774 have also experienced delays because of the Amtrak work on the Trenton Line.

 

FOX CHASE LINE - OUTBOUND SERVICE

Train #7842.

 

The current situation is frustrating for customers who rely on our service for their daily travel. It is equally disappointing for our Operations and Planning staffs because their advanced preparations and schedule adjustments still ended up being insufficient despite their extensive work with Amtrak to make appropriate schedule changes. While we expected some impacts to our on-time performance, we certainly did not anticipate having the OTP numbers our customers are currently experiencing.

 

What Will Happen in the Next Phase of Amtrak Work Scheduled to Take Place May 1-25?

Beginning May 1, the Amtrak track project will expand in scale with the work zone stretching to encompass 2 additional stations - Tacony and Bridesburg - for a total of 10 stations. During this phase, ALL inbound Amtrak, SEPTA, and freight service will operate on a single track with intermittent track delays for outbound service.

 

What Steps Will SEPTA Take to Address this May Amtrak Work?

Taking the lessons learned from the first phase of work and again working in coordination with Amtrak, the SEPTA Rail Service Planning group built a new schedule with additional service adjustments.

 

On Sunday, April 29, 2018, a new Trenton Regional Rail Line schedule will go into effect. In the next several days we will publish the full details but here are the highlights:

  • Departure times for more than 50% of the current service will change:
    • Many AM Trains will depart earlier
    • Many Midday Trains will depart 15-17 minutes later
  • Midday service (9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.) will NOT stop at Tacony or Bridesburg Stations. Customers traveling from/to Tacony and/or Bridesburg Station will have several options:
    • Bus Routes 73 and 84 to Frankford Transportation Center for connections to the Market Frankford Line
    • SEPTA Bus Shuttle to Holmesburg Junction Station for connections to Trenton Line service

Once the May work is completed, Amtrak will continue their track work improvements through the end of this calendar year.

 

We will continue to keep customers updated based on the progress of the Amtrak work and any additional adjustments to our Regional Rail service.

 

 






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