Hurricane Sandy

Has MNRR started to make any preparations IF Hurricane Sandy makes a impact on the NYC area Monday Night into Tuesday. I gather that they would operate a reduced schedule with diesel hauled trains. If the forecasts are right it sounds like this could be a heck of a storm. Currently models show the storm hitting the Jersey coast.

Has preparations begun: yes.

I would think it's premature to determine whether or not there would be a reduced schedule come Monday or Tuesday. As of right now, per the national weather service website, the hurricane will hit the Delaware/South Jersey area. If and when there are warnings placed for the Tri State Area, then service issues will be addressed. Any guessing right now would be pure speculation.

I think that MN will do a system wide shutdown if conditions get to a certain point. This is what they have done during Irene and the snowstorms of 2010-2011. I'm sure MN will make its plans well know via local media.

http://www.mta.info/Alert_hurricaneSandy.htm
Hurricane Sandy
In anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Sandy

All planned subway service changes this weekend are cancelled—with the exception of changes planned for the and , which are now scheduled through Saturday only. Visit our Planned Service Changes page for details.
Access-A-Ride trips are only being scheduled one day in advance of travel for both Saturday, October 27 and Sunday, October 28.
The LIRR's scheduled weekend track work between Jamaica and Queens Village, and the resulting bus service for westbound Queens Village and Hollis customers will proceed on Saturday 10/27, but will be suspended at 11:59 PM Saturday night due to preparations for Hurricane Sandy. Westbound customers at Queens Village and Hollis should anticipate normal westbound train service on Sunday, 10/28.
Please monitor mta.info to stay abreast of changes for all MTA services, as conditions demand.

During the storm:
Service is subject to change as conditions demand. Depending on conditions, this may include suspension of service on one or more routes.
It is important that customers take any Federal, State, or City government calls to evacuate seriously. Evacuations are called before the worst of the storm conditions are expected. During the evacuation period, we stand prepared to enhance subway and bus service as needed.
Well in advance of severe weather conditions reaching our area, for the safety of our customers and to protect equipment, we will begin to relocate trains and take buses off the road. Service will be reduced and, if necessary, completely suspended.

After the storm:
Our goal is to restore as much service as possible after assessing the storm’s impact to critical infrastructure. We urge customers to monitor media reports and www.mta.info for the latest service updates.

The before, during and after storm:
Stay informed through your local news outlets as we will update them regularly.
Monitor "Service Status" on our homepage for all subway lines as well as bus, railroad and bridge and tunnel information. You can also subscribe to our free email or text message alerts.

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninsca ... ricane.php

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) just sent us its plan for what it will do if the storm that's predicted to basically be the storm to end all storms hits New York City.

For now, the MTA is suspending construction on almost all subway construction projects it had planned for the weekend, with the exception of work planned for the 7 and J lines. Those projects are planned to conclude before the "Frankenstorm" is expected to hit the Big Apple on Sunday.

As is currently the plan, there will be no shutdown of services in advance of the storm, but officials say there will be if the storm's winds top 39 mph.

The rest of the MTA's plan for the storm is as follows:

...

Metro-North Railroad

Metro-North personnel are stockpiling material in preparation for possible washouts or bank erosion, and are securing road crossing gates when necessary.

Much of Metro-North's territory runs along rivers and the Long Island Sound With nearly 800 miles of tracks to take care of, Maintenance of Way workers have already begun preparing for Sandy at known trouble spots.

Culverts are being cleared of fallen limbs and other debris. Ditches and swales are being cleaned out. Pumps are being tuned up and put in place at known low spots such as New Haven Yard and Mott Haven Yard, while generators at all rail yards are being fueled and tested.

Cranes and excavators and back hoes are being positioned along the tracks, and a tree service contractor is on call to respond rapidly if needed.

There is no Football Train to the Meadowlands because of this on the New Haven line.

Busing has begun on the Danbury.

I ride the Hudson line, and from what I can see from my seat, much of it is only 2 to 3 feet above normal river level. (Someone please correct me if my guess is out of whack.)

I looked on the National Hurrican Center website (www.nhc.noaa.gov), and it looks like the storm surge map shows something like a 30% probability of a storm surge on the Hudson of over 3 feet.

Am I correct in assuming that if the water rises over the tracks anywhere along the line, the line will be shut down?

And what would be involved in getting the line back into shape if it does get flooded by a storm surge?

It's official, all Metro North train service will be suspended effective 7PM.

amm in ny wrote: And what would be involved in getting the line back into shape if it does get flooded by a storm surge?

If it's minimal flooding (2 or 3 inches above the running rail) the train could operate 2 mph through the affected area by rule. If it's severe flooding then the service would be suspended. As far as restoration there are inspection crews that run the line before passenger service starts running. As long as there is no physical damage the water subsiding is usually adequate.

Even with the Hudson River's proximity to the Hudson Line, flooding on the Harlem Line is more of a concern due to the Bronx River.

amm in ny wrote:And what would be involved in getting the line back into shape if it does get flooded by a storm surge?

Read my post linking the preparations MNRR is taking previously in this thread. I would imagine very similar to what's happened in the past with washouts on Danbury and Port Jervis branches.

Amtrak7 wrote:Busing has begun on the Danbury.

Notice to Dutch: get ready for that Maybrook/Beacon line run!

Here's the latest from MNRR, already noted earlier in thread:

http://mta.info/supplemental/mnr/mnr_weather_info.html

Metro-North Service Suspended During Hurricane Sandy

Metro-North's storm preparation has begun and regular train service will continue through Sunday, October 28.

Metro-North will suspend all train service beginning at 7 PM on Sunday, October 28 due to the expected severity of Hurricane Sandy and its impact on our service territory.

Shutting down the system allows Metro-North to secure and protect its equipment and infrastructure from the hurricane force winds and flooding expected to hit the territory on Monday, October 29.

The shutdown will be as orderly as possible and early enough so that all trains enroute will be able to complete their runs.

Grand Central Terminal and all outlying Metro-North station buildings will be closed for the duration of the service suspension. All Connecting Service will also be suspended.

For the safety of our customers, those needing to travel are encouraged to do so as soon as possible and not wait until the last minute.

Customers can also contact the Metro-North Customer Information Center by calling 511, the New York State Travel Information Line, and say: Metro-North Railroad. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, use your preferred relay service provider for the free 711 relay to reach Metro-North at 511. For customers outside New York State, call toll free 877-690-5114.

The following is a list of the last trains that will operate on Sunday before the system-wide suspension:

Hudson Line
-6:50 PM train from Grand Central to Poughkeepsie arriving 8:32 PM
-6:59 PM train from Grand Central to Croton-Harmon arriving 7:57 PM (this train is normally an express but will make all local stops from Yankees-E. 153rd Street to Croton-Harmon)
-6:35 PM train from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central arriving at 8:22 PM
-7:00 PM train from Croton-Harmon to Grand Central arriving at 8:07 PM

Harlem Line
-6:48 PM train from Grand Central to Southeast arriving at 8:18 PM
-6:55 PM train from Grand Central to North White Plains arriving at 7:43 PM (This is normally a Saturday-only train)
-7:06 PM train from North White Plains to Grand Central arriving at 7:59 PM
-7:13 PM train from Southeast to Grand Central arriving at 8:40 PM
-6:55 PM train from Wassaic to Grand Central arriving at 9:05 PM

New Haven Line
-7:07 PM train from Grand Central to New Haven arriving at 8:59 PM
-7:10 PM train from Grand Central to Stamford arriving at 8:17 PM
-6:53 PM train from New Haven to Grand Central arriving at 8:44 PM
-7:03 PM train from Stamford to Grand Central arriving at 8:09 PM

New Canaan, Danbury and Waterbury Branch customers: all branch line train service will end with the last train operating prior to the 7 PM suspension.

The last Amtrak trains to operate on the New Haven Line will be 7:05 PM Acela out of Penn Station, NY and the 7:18 PM southbound out of New Haven.

Port Jervis Line
-6:15 PM train from Hoboken to Port Jervis arriving at 8:23 PM
-5:27 PM train from Port Jervis to Hoboken arriving at 7:38 PM

Pascack Valley Line customers should contact NJTRANSIT for information or visit http://www.njtransit.com/

Our goal is to restore as much service as possible after assessing the storm's impact to critical infrastructure. We urge customers to monitor media reports and to check http://www.mta.info/ for the latest updates.

NY Governor Cuomo annouced a short while ago that all MTA systems will cease operations at 7:00 PM tonight and NYC Mayor Bloomberg announced all city schools will be closed tonmorow as well.

wow - its like deja vu all over again! 'da storm 2012 - hurricane Sandy' I don't think Sandy will be going up to the Catskills and Adirondacks - let us hope Sandy won't undue the work done to restore the PJ line after TS Irene last year

in case anyone forgot what Irene was like last year here is a short video I did of the last train out of Poughkeepsie and the storm during 'da storm 2011 -TS Irene'
http://youtu.be/uEzMUvqsKrY

Jeff Smith wrote:

amm in ny wrote:And what would be involved in getting the line back into shape if it does get flooded by a storm surge?

Read my post linking the preparations MNRR is taking previously in this thread. I would imagine very similar to what's happened in the past with washouts on Danbury and Port Jervis branches.

Except that (a) Danbury and Port Jervis aren't electrified and (b) the Hudson line doesn't run along rivers that flood in heavy rains, so washouts aren't likely to be the problem. The storm surge wouldn't be rapidly flowing water, simply a very, very high tide. They've been talking about 8 or 11 feet of water, which would put wayside buildings mostly or entirely underwater, including power distribution and signal buildings. I don't know to what extent that equipment is resistant to total immersion. If house wiring gets immersed, you usually have to get an electriction to check out all of the wiring that was underwater before you turn the power back on.

To add to the fun, the additional water would be saltier than usual, since it would come from the ocean or at least from the more brackish parts of the Hudson.

I've been in the area 26 years, and I've never seen the river rise up over the tracks on the Hudson line, so I have no idea what would happen if it did.

(Not relevant to MNCR, but they've also built a bunch of grandiose town houses on the flood plain by the Hudson, it will be interesting to see how their market value is affected if the river rises into the ground floor of the houses.)