by mtuandrew
Backshophoss wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2020 12:47 am Trash and construction debris will always go via CSX to Selkirk, there's always something that could start a fire.Hm okay. So going from that, here’s some suspect or FDNY-prohibited loads:
Believe FDNY considers trash as Haz=Mat for tunnel crossings
-Hazmat (radioactive, chemicals like ammonia, molten metal, oxidizers)
-construction debris
-trash
-untreated lumber
-petroleum products, even heavy crude (see Lac-Megantic, though that was high in volatiles)
-locomotive fuel tenders aka anything outside of a locomotive’s own fuel tank
-natural gas and propane
-fertilizer
-paper
-coiled metal
-excessively large batteries (locomotive battery tender if lithium)
-coal, probably
-oversize loads
-military equipment traveling with armament
What’s that leave us for a PSNY Tunnel?
-food in boxcars
-perishable beverages like juice & beer in refrigerated boxcars
-grain in hoppers
-limestone and cement in hoppers, and finished concrete & masonry products
-metal ore, scrap metal, processed metal stock and finished metal products
-gravel & construction fill
-some construction materials like treated lumber and cement siding
-consumer goods in containers
-plastic pellets?
-autos, trucks, and military equipment without fuel or other flammables/explosives
So - is that enough to make a tunnel worth it? Trash is the big commodity leaving NYC and Long Island, so without trash shipments such a tunnel would rely on inbound containers, food, cars, and construction goods.
Perhaps PANYNJ should issue an RFI for two bidirectional rail ferries of 100+ car capacity, with four 25-car or five 20-car tracks, another RFI for rebuilding Bay Ridge to handle that kind of capacity, and a third for a DBOM contract for the same. (China State Railways would eat that stuff up tbh.) Also, the Port Authority should consider chopping the ferry rate in half or less. This is an area where public subsidy benefits everyone.