Penn Station Emergency Repairs: Trackwork, etc.

Track 5A is completely gone. The switch that lead to it has been removed and the switch configuration there is now different.

How is the ROW for 5A now being used ? Staging for the repair work this winter or for Gateway bores or something else ?

Amtrak is running much better since all the work done since this thread was posted. Much less issues with trains from Penn Station. The upcoming work for next month should improve reliability even more as we head to 2018 and hopefully get even better over time as more and more Penn Station related work is completed.

The work on the LIRR Yard in Brooklyn which will be finished as of December, with signals complete will mean LIRR can run more trains without delays to Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn to bypass Penn Station’s tracks of which Amtrak is working on. This was not yet ready when the previous summer project which took out more tracks was completed. So now future projects in general will be less disruptive at Penn Station and the station will get even better over time as more and more work is performed and finished.

Penn station was IMHO a serious weak link in Amtrak’s network considering it is also the busiest but at least work is going in to deal with it and project schedules are being announced.

adamj023 wrote:
Penn station was IMHO a serious weak link in Amtrak’s network considering it is also the busiest but at least work is going in to deal with it and project schedules are being announced.

Once Wick became aware of the problems he acted very decisively.

adamj023 wrote:The work on the LIRR Yard in Brooklyn which will be finished as of December, with signals complete will mean LIRR can run more trains without delays to Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn to bypass Penn Station’s tracks of which Amtrak is working on. This was not yet ready when the previous summer project which took out more tracks was completed. So now future projects in general will be less disruptive at Penn Station and the station will get even better over time as more and more work is performed and finished.

The switch for the new yard lead is going in as we speak, but I have not heard anywhere that the lead itself will go into service this month.

It is scheduled for finishing in December. I believe it will be ready for Monday morning as that is how it seems from LIRR press reports. It was scheduled to be finished earlier than December but got delayed. Next phase is the new platform in Brooklyn in the building before highrise goes up.

Should be faster with more trains running as yard was substantially improved. All publically available information. The Brooklyn yard is an MTA project not Amtrak, but it helps due to tracks taken out of service to reroute trains to Brooklyn instead of Penn Station where Amtrak is responsible for tracks.

Repair work for Track 15 in Penn Station started this past Monday, 1-8-18. Last week, the beginnings of platform barriers between Tracks 15 &16 were being constructed. Monday morning saw the barriers completed. Track 15 is not accessible from the platform. My LIRR commute usually sees my trains enter Penn on Track 16 and leave from 15. Track 15 is OOS. A peek over the barrier ascending the 7th Ave stairway revealed a backhoe on Track 15 and the rails removed. There should be a view from the Track 13/14 platform. I will see if they are removing the concrete as well.

Saw this work too this morning, 1/11. The ties have been ripped up and are awaiting disposal. They're moving pretty fast.

I can't recall, but aren't there one or two more tracks that will undergo the same treatment during this project?

Yes. I believe Tracks 18 & 19 are to be done in this round as well. This work will more affect the LIRR. I hope they are not done at the same time.

Aren't some of those LIRR tracks direct fixation? I know I've peeked down and seen some that appear to be. I wonder if they'll be replaced with traditional half-ties like the rest of the station tracks?

As the learning curve for the work at NYPS gets higher it may be more work will be done during this work window. That is unless some calamity befalls some where else on Amtrak tracks and the track crews have to be pulled from NYPS.

Some photos of the track replacement on Track 15 from this past Saturday, 1/13 - taken from the stairway by the Exit Concourse of Track 14:

My sources tell me that necessary repairs to the Empire Connection tunnel and the Spuyten Duyvil swing bridge may require some significant temporary changes to Empire Service (as well as trains 48/49, 63/64, 68/69 and the Ethan Allen) this summer, possibly starting on Memorial Day weekend. What I heard was everything would run to/from Grand Central Terminal, except for trains 48/49, which would become a CHI-BOS thru train for the duration of the repairs.

Westbound, New Yorkers transferring to the Lake Shore in Albany will rely on the later dinner seatings!

Eastbound, the Lake Shore from Albany to New York is a bore and a trial anyway. A transfer might even get passengers to New York faster. The Lake Shore lingers at least an hour in Albany no matter how late it already was. Moreover, the only accommodation unique to the Lake Shore -- first class -- degrades sharply eastbound upon departure from Albany.