Amtrak Gateway and NJ HSR

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jis

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There were two separate sessions on Amtrak Capital Projects on the NEC. One was on Gateway and Portal and the other one on the $450 million HSR project. This is a brief set of jottings from the sessions and associated sidebar discussions. Of necessity there are a few NJT issues intertwined, but on the whole I decided to place it in the Amtrak forum since its is an Amtrak run project, though 3/4ths of its use is by NJT.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Gateway and Portal

This was a joint presentation from NJTransit and Amtrak. First presentation was by Drew Galloway of Amtrak:

* Portal Bridge and Hudson River Tunnels have the highest mainline train density in the Western Hemisphere.

* Train miles in the Newark - New York segment have doubled since 1976 when Amtrak took over operations.

* Growth over next 40 years is projected to be between 45% and 70% depending on what baseline and growth scenario is used.

* The Sawtooth Bridge where the High Line crosses the M&E near Hudson Tower carries over 400 trains per day and is 105 years old is being held together at present by toothpicks and bailing wire. He showed pictures of patched up fatigue cracks. This bridge needs to be replaced and will be a major project involving shoe-flies during reconstruction. Proposal is to replace with 4 track bridge.

* $15 million this year is being used for completing final design of Portal North Bridge - a 50 feet high fixed span for two tracks consisting of three main linked arch spans and approach viaducts. Design will be completed by the end of the year and it will be ready to be constructed. There is a $60million TIGER request for next year to begin construction. Portal North Plans leaves the current Portal Bridge in place pending the construction of Portal South.

* Once Gateway gets going it will require funding at the level of about $3 billion per year for 4 or so years.

* So far no technical flaws or regulatory showstoppers have been found in Gateway Plans.

* There is an issue about the ability to build east from the Block 780 station. If the station is at the same level as the current station then it is not possible to dive down fast enough to get under the 6th Ave IND Express tracks. Possible configuration of a two level station where the upper level has connectivity with the present station but cannot be extended eastwards, and a lower level that does not have connectivity with the current station but can be built out eastwards is being considered. There are a dozen or so alternative configurations being studied and no final determination has been made yet.

* Tier 1 PEIS (Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement) for all of NEC is in progress and is expected to be completed in 3 to 3.5 years.

Next speaker was Tom Schulze of NJ Transit:

* Trans Hudson all modes ridership growing again.

* Trans Hudson 2/3rd of the ridership is by bus, 1/3rd by train.

* We have enough capacity to handle expected growth for the next 10 or so years, but beyond that we will need additional capacity to be in place.

* Acknowledged that realistically something like 7 to Secaucus will probably be necessary in addition to tunnels to Penn Station for the long haul.

* NJT is redoing forecasts with NYMTC and NJTPA to take into account the downturn to make sure that too much capacity is not being projected based on out of date projections and baselines.

* Bus and Ferry are integral part of the mix.

* FTA grant of $4.5 million is being used to build a bus terminal at Secaucus Jct. to offload some buses from PABT. The GWB Bus Terminal is being revived by PANYNJ to enable diversion of some buses from PABT to relieve congestion at PABT and Lincoln Tunnel. The XBL in the morning carries 700 buses per hour. No XBL in the afternoon due to logistical reasons.

* Considering terminating more trains at Newark recognizing the fact that Newark has significant O/D connecting to PATH and local buses.This to relieve congestion at NYP while reducing overcrowding west of Newark.

* Gateway is projected to be in the 2025 timeframe in current capacity planning.

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$450 million NEC HSR

This was another joint session between Amtrak and NJT. The lead presenter was Al Fazio of Amtrak, who used to work for the RiverLine during its construction. Now he is Chief Engineer of NEC HSR. NJT was represented by Steve Santoro who is in charge of Capital Programs and Planning at NJT. He incidentally was also the Chief Guest at the NJ-ARP Patron's Lunch on Saturday, where we got to pick his brain some more. He discussed some stuff that he specifically asked not to publicize at present, so I will stay clear of those.

* Brief discussion about Acela replacement, Tier 3 standards and modifications thereof to allow mixed operation of Tier 3 and Tier 2 at speeds higher than 125mph under specific high speed PTC system like ACSES. Apparently Amtrak has entered into such a discussion with FRA and Volpe Center with Al and his staff leading. The concept of Short Interval Temporal Separation (SITS) developed on the RiverLINE is being used as one of the foundational pieces in this work.

* NJT will be re-certifying the MLVs at 125mph, as will MARC for operation on the NEC. The Outer Zone Expresses of NJT will use the center track at this speed upto County (Jersey Avenue) and then move over to the outer tracks clearing the way for 160mph Amtrak trains on the center tracks. This will effectively increase the capacity of the center tracks since NJT expresses will require less time on them than at present.

* The outer tracks between County and Ham (Trenton) will be upped to 125mph.

* The infrastructure is being designed to meet the proposed operations plan.

* A new turning loop including a flyover across the NEC will be constructed just west of Adams using the Delco Lead from jersey Avenue Yard to get to it westbound. It will join track 1 just west of Adams. Room will be left for future North Brunswick station at the old J&J site. This will eliminate all conflicting crossovers at County interlocking for the mid-zone trains O/D at Jersey Avenue. Jersey Avenue will get a full fledged high platform station on the main line. This is an NJTransit Capital Project. Amtrak is just putting the connection points in place.

* The old PRR signaling system with ACSES overlay will be completely replaced by a new integrated ACSES system while keeping all interfaces to trains unchanged. Block lengths will be variable and will be determined by operational needs typically with shorter block lengths approaching interlocking while longer block lengths are used away from interlockings. All trackside signals will be removed and this segment will become purely cab signal based Rule 562 territory. Additional blocks will be included on the outer tracks to improve following train performance.

* Catenary will be completely replaced by Constant Tension Catenary using completely new fixtures. Some of the existing poles may be reused. The final design is yet to be completed.

* Metuchen Converter gets 80MW boost to its capacity. Two new substations will be built at Hamilton and an YTBD location. In general the power system for the segment will be completely revamped.

* Midway Interlocking will be entirely rebuilt with #20 higher speed moving frog crossovers. Midway will also cease to be the point where outer zone NJT expresses cross over from/to inner tracks to/from outer tracks. For that two purpose built 80mph crossovers (#32.7) will be put in at new interlockings at Adams and Delco.

* Concrete ties will be renewed on 1 and 4. Entire ROW will be excavated and subgrade renewed at Midway. Track 2 and 3 centers will be spread wherever feasible. Curves 275 and 276 will be realigned to allow higher speed, i.e. better helical curve alignment.

* Al Fazio specifically said that this project is viewed as a "Model Home" Project with the intention of developing standards that will be deployed in a cooky cutter fashion on other segments of the NEC. First targeted add on segments are - New Brunswick to Metuchen and Trenton to Holmesburg. Other segments to follow include Ragan to Prince between Wilmington and Perryville. Additional work needs to be done for anything west of Perryville because freight traffic is much much heavier between Perry and Bayview. Also the procedures, protocols and standards developed here will help raise the speeds in New England from 150 to 160mph.

* NJT will be ordering new higher speed EMUs for use on stopping trains on the NEC.

* Time saving on Trenton Express trains of NJT will be much much more than for an Acela as a result of all this work and upgrades of infrastructure and equipment. An Acela will save somewhere between 2 and 2.5 minutes. NJT saving will be somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes, and even more if they get rid of some of the gratuitous padding. And on the whole we will have a more fluid free flowing system in place in 2017.

* The I Ladder to be put in place at Penn A interlocking will at present allow Empire Corridor trains to use any of the higher numbered platforms upto 19 if necessary. In the future it will provide connectivity from the Gateway tunnel leads to the higher number tracks.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

I have the new track diagrams with me on paper.
 
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Thank you for taking the time to pass along the information you pick up at these meetings. As always, it is much appreciated.
 
Thank you for taking the time to pass along the information you pick up at these meetings. As always, it is much appreciated.
You're most welcome. This is my humble contribution to try to have discussions that are grounded on the most upto date and best available facts rather than on fantasies. :) And in this case I think the facts are too darned exciting not share besides!
 
jis, thanks for posting this report. Very useful to get a summary from someone who understands what these projects are about and the technical issues involved.

Gateway and Portal

...

* Portal Bridge and Hudson River Tunnels have the highest mainline train density in the Western Hemisphere.

* Train miles in the Newark - New York segment have doubled since 1976 when Amtrak took over operations.

* Growth over next 40 years is projected to be between 45% and 70% depending on what baseline and growth scenario is used.
My money is on growth over the next 40 years above the high end of their range. I bet their growth models do not take into account the full impact of a new era of high oil prices, inevitable decline in the daily world production of oil in the coming decades, and the resulting growth of local rail transit traffic in the cities on the NEC which will lead to more people taking Amtrak to get between WAS-BOS.

* $15 million this year is being used for completing final design of Portal North Bridge - a 50 feet high fixed span for two tracks consisting of three main linked arch spans and approach viaducts. Design will be completed by the end of the year and it will be ready to be constructed. There is a $60 million TIGER request for next year to begin construction. Portal North Plans leaves the current Portal Bridge in place pending the construction of Portal South.

* Once Gateway gets going it will require funding at the level of about $3 billion per year for 4 or so years.
The US DOT stated they received $10.2 billion in total applications for the $500 million of TIGER IV FY12 funding. Will be difficult to get even a piece of it for the Portal Bridge North project. If CSX and the FRA continue their stand-off on the $75 million 3rd track project on the VA RF&P line with the deadline for obligating the HSIPR stimulus funds coming in September, Amtrak should let the FRA know that they will take it and any other remaining unobligated stimulus funds as they should be able to obligate the funding quickly.

The person that Amtrak puts in charge of the Gateway project will need to have considerable political skills and acumen. Amtrak will need the full support of and funding contributions where appropriate from the Port Authority, state of NJ and NJ Transit, the state of NY, the NJ and NY congressional delegations, the city of NY, and MTA. Amtrak is going to have to team with the Port Authority and NJT as they can bring capital funding and management resources. Getting $12 billion in funding lined up will be a challenging task, regardless of the outcome of the 2012 elections. Can not afford to repeat the mistakes of NJ Transit with the ARC project with it having been seen as entirely NJT's show. Tie everyone up in binding agreements so no one newly elected Governor can kill it.

* Tier 1 PEIS (Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement) for all of NEC is in progress and is expected to be completed in 3 to 3.5 years.
Depressing how long the EIS stages take.

$450 million NEC HSR

...

* Catenary will be completely replaced by Constant Tension Catenary using completely new fixtures. Some of the existing poles may be reused. The final design is yet to be completed.

...

* Al Fazio specifically said that this project is viewed as a "Model Home" Project with the intention of developing standards that will be deployed in a cooky cutter fashion on other segments of the NEC. First targeted add on segments are - New Brunswick to Metuchen and Trenton to Holmesburg. Other segments to follow include Ragan to Prince between Wilmington and Perryville. Additional work needs to be done for anything west of Perryville because freight traffic is much much heavier between Perry and Bayview. Also the procedures, protocols and standards developed here will help raise the speeds in New England from 150 to 160mph.
Some of the catenary poles on the NEC in NJ are seriously beaten up. They should should leave one in place, even if not used just for the before and after comparisons. Good to hear that they have concrete plans for upgrading the catenary, signals, track for other sections of the NEC in a segment by segment basis. Only way they will eventually be able to upgrade the entire WAS-NYP NEC to new catenary and get it to the long sought state of good repair.

I for one, look forward to some 160 mph Acela runs on the NEC, even if they won't last all that long before the train has to slow down.
 
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One interesting tidbit that I learned is that Amtrak had next to zero expectation of getting the $450 million project. They almost fell off the proverbial chair when they learned that they had won, and then started scrambling to figure out what to do about delivering on it, since they realize that this is a big test for them. But they have a good team together. Al Fazio is a great RR Engineer and he understands the issues well and knows how to manage complex projects. He has a good team working with him. I am very optimistic. I met several of them at TransAction last week and got some pretty deep insights into where they appear to be headed. The fact that they NJT completely on board is also very encouraging. Governor Christie apparently is pretty enthused about it too!
 
Looks like not only are we in for more reliable and faster service, a lot of the construction projects listed sound like the only way they can be accomplished is relatively major disruption to the existing NEC. (new ladder at NYP? redigging an entire ROW?)

One thing I don't like is designing of infrastructure and capital plans based on current NJT "zone expresses". Service patterns should be based on physical plant, not the other way around. What if ridership patterns shift? Reconstructing the physical plant to accommodate that would be prohibitively expensive.

How much constant tension is to be installed?
 
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Looks like not only are we in for more reliable and faster service, a lot of the construction projects listed sound like the only way they can be accomplished is relatively major disruption to the existing NEC. (new ladder at NYP? redigging an entire ROW?)
No. A ladder track is one that connects a series of parallel tracks using slip switches. There is no digging of anything. Actually in this case it is essentially a new diagonal track that will connect everything south of the main tracks coming through the tunnels to everything to the north.

One thing I don't like is designing of infrastructure and capital plans based on current NJT "zone expresses". Service patterns should be based on physical plant, not the other way around. What if ridership patterns shift? Reconstructing the physical plant to accommodate that would be prohibitively expensive.
It is not based just on current operating patterns. It is based on what NJT plans to operate over the next 15 to 20 years. The patterns that they talked about are evolutions from the ones that are operated now taking into consideration what population growth and flow projections are. That is the best that one can do.

At least all the people that have spent considerable time studying this and that I got a chance to talk to, appear to agree with the proposal. Do you have some specific study or knowledge that causes you to believe otherwise? Or is your objection general and theoretical in nature?

How much constant tension is to be installed?
Assuming you are quite familiar with the territory, since you seem to have some objections based on some detailed knowledge I presume, it is from County exclusive to Ham exclusive, roughly 4 tracks times about 22 miles + one replacement of an existing interlocking (Midway) and two new interlockings (Adams and Delco). When the loop is completed it will be a fifth track from County to roughly Adams along the Delco Secondary and then along the new loop flyover down to new Adams interlocking. There is a sixth track from Adams to County for which space is being left now, but the track is not going to be constructed at this time. Whether these new tracks will have Constant Tension or Anchored Catenary is not decided yet and is upto NJT to decide since they will be their tracks not Amtrak's.
 
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Amtrak has started the ball rolling on another piece of Gateway. It is asking for vendor interest and proposals for putting together a conceptual design for replacing the Sawtooth Bridge on the NEC between Newark and Secaucus Jct. The NEC crosses over the M&E, PATH and Conrail Center Street track on this bridge. Here is an excerpt from the RFI describing the work:

Description: Amtrak is beginning a project to improve a portion of the

Northeast Corridor (NEC) in Northern New Jersey. The first phase of this

project is to provide a Concept Design (CD) for the replacement and

expansion of Amtrak Bridge No. 7.80 (Over NJ Transit) and Amtrak Bridge No.

7.96 (Over PATH and Conrail), collectively referred to here-in as the

Sawtooth Bridges. The Sawtooth Bridges are integral to Capacity of the

Northeast Corridor (NEC) for Rail Traffic. Replacement and expansion of

these bridge structures to carry four (4) tracks will improve the long term

serviceability of the Northeast Corridor and support strategic growth of

intercity and local/commuter rail traffic. This multi-disciplinary project

will be implemented on a heavily trafficked section of the NEC without

disrupting existing service levels. Amtrak intends to utilize the concept

design in subsequent project design phases to ultimately lead to the

completion of a construction project that will result in improved rail

passenger service on the NEC.

The existing the two track Sawtooth Bridges were constructed in 1910 and are

a complex crossing of numerous tracks proximate to the Passaic River and the

NJ Turnpike. Bridge No. 7.80 has three (3) staggered viaduct structures

with an approximate overall length of 196 ft and an overall width of 92 ft.

Bridge No. 7.96 has two(2) staggered viaduct structures with an approximate

overall length of 278 ft and an overall width of 71 ft. Both bridge

structures have a concrete encased floor beam slab system connected to

girders supported on concrete encased columns resting on pile supported

foundations. The limits of the project will be considered between Hudson

Interlocking (MP 8.3) and Swift Interlocking (MP 7.2) inclusive.The existing

speed across Sawtooth Bridges is 60 MPH and the proposed speed is 90 to 100

MPH for all four tracks.

The Concept Design will require Bridge Design, Site Inspection, Survey,

Right of Way/Utility/Geo technical Analysis, Constructability and

Construction Alternative Analysis, Construction Cost Estimating, Scheduling

and Operations Analysis associated with the constructability of the project.

The Concept Design will require the gathering of existing engineering data,

the development of new engineering data for the alternatives with

recommendations all summarized in a Final Report with plans, schedules and

estimates.

The Concept Design will:

1. Identify the Type, Size, and Location of the new railroad bridge

structures providing 4 track capacity.

2. Identify construction strategies and constructability issues in order to

complete the project while maintaining railroad operations.

3. Provide Amtrak with sufficient conceptual design information, costs, and

schedule to progress the design in subsequent project phases.

The first phase of the Project is comprised of Conceptual Design (CD)

Services. However, Amtrak shall have an option, in its sole discretion and

at any time, to add additional design and construction services associated

with additional phases of this project to the scope of this Contract. The

project cost for this first phase is estimated at $400,000 to $500,000

By way of this notice, Amtrak is now accepting Letters of Interest including

Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) specifically for the Conceptual Design

Services Contract. The SOQ will be limited to twenty (20) one-sided typed

pages.
 
More news on New York Penn Station:

(Reuters) - Plans to expand New York City's famous Pennsylvania

Station, the busiest passenger rail facility in the United States,

will begin later this year with a $270 million project to improve

access to underground passenger platforms, officials said on

Tuesday...

...A source familiar with the bidding process said that Skanska on

Wednesday will be awarded a $148 million contract to add two

street-level entrances, one each at the 33rd Street and the 31st

Street sides of the (adjacent James Farley) post office, to the

platforms below.

The company will also widen and extend an underground concourse to

help passengers reach the three railroads that use Penn Station: New

Jersey Transit, Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road.

The remaining $122 million of the first phase will be spent on a

ventilation system and an underground walkway to Penn Station.

Funding for the first phase is coming from the federal government

and other sources.
See http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/09/us-newyork-pennstation-idUSBRE84803820120509
 
Amtrak has started the ball rolling on another piece of Gateway. It is asking for vendor interest and proposals for putting together a conceptual design for replacing the Sawtooth Bridge on the NEC between Newark and Secaucus Jct. The NEC crosses over the M&E, PATH and Conrail Center Street track on this bridge. Here is an excerpt from the RFI describing the work:
Looking at the location with Google Earth and the track map I have, building a new bridge there will present a significant construction challenge. Tight fit with NJ Transit and PATH tracks which can't be closed for long. Then there is I-95 to the east which has a high clearance, but the construction will still have to work around the bridge. The solution may be to build prefabricated bridge segments in a nearby staging area and then slide them in stages.

If they are just starting the process with RFIs for bidders to create conceptual designs for the replacement bridge, it will be some years before construction can even begin. I figure Amtrak will get some funding from NJ Transit to help pay for it.

Given the close proximity to the Portal Bridge, wouldn't it have been better to design the Sawtooth replacement project in combination with the North Portal Bridge replacement, so they could be built in one coordinated project?
 
Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I thought it might be better to have some context than creating a new one. Mods, please move if you think it's needed.

Does anyone have any updates on the NJ HSR project? This article claims it's scheduled to be completed by 2019.
 
Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I thought it might be better to have some context than creating a new one. Mods, please move if you think it's needed.

Does anyone have any updates on the NJ HSR project? This article claims it's scheduled to be completed by 2019.
Good question, tho the article you refer to already tells us more than I knew, so thanks for that.

And since you resurrected this old thread, what if anything has happened to the Sawtooth Bridges project discussed herein?
 
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I saw them installing them at Hamilton when I went into the city for a family event. I was amazed what percentage of the slow moving installers where just people who stood around sounding horns.
 
I don't mean to derail this thread too much, but does anyone know the status of re-certifying the Bombardier MultiLevel Coaches for 125 mph? I know jis wrote in his original post that NJT and MARC were going to do this.
 
I saw them installing them at Hamilton when I went into the city for a family event. I was amazed what percentage of the slow moving installers where just people who stood around sounding horns.
The FRA is quite serious about watchmen. This tidbit from CFR 214.329 may help:

Train approach warning shall be given in sufficient time to enable each roadway worker to move to and occupy a previously arranged place of safety not less than 15 seconds before a train moving at the maximum authorized speed on that track can pass the location of the roadway worker. The place of safety to be occupied upon the approach of a train may not be on a track, unless working limits are established on that track.
Track speed is 135mph in that are so that means is moving approximately 200 feet per second so they have to spread out and elongate the warning since the train would cover more than a half of a mile in 15 seconds.
 
Finally, some good news....if you don't drive a vehicle over one of the Port Authority's bridges or tunnels.

Port Authority votes to spend an additional $44M for Hudson River tunnel project

Despite no commitment from the Trump administration, the Port Authority on Thursday voted to spend another $44 million on a multibillion-dollar Hudson River tunnel project.

Port officials who are backing the tunnel construction as part of Amtrak’s massive Gateway project said the money is necessary to keep the project moving, so that when federal funding materializes, there will be no delay in construction.

“It’s momentum,” Port Authority director Rick Cotton said of the money requested from the Gateway Development Corp., which is overseeing the project.Construction can start on one part of the project, the Portal Bridge, in New Jersey this year, officials said. The Hudson River tunnel is under design, with officials hoping to start construction next year.
 
This sounds non-optimal

Brief fair use quote:

President Trump is pushing congressional Republicans not to fund a crucial infrastructure project a long-delayed plan to build a new rail tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey setting up a confrontation that could complicate passage of a massive government spending bill this month.

Trump personally appealed to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) this week to target federal funding for the $30 billion Gateway project, which would construct a tunnel into New Yorks Penn Station to supplement two aging tubes that are at risk of failing in the coming years.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/trump-pushes-republicans-to-oppose-crucial-new-york-new-jersey-tunnel-project/2018/03/02/06987446-1e6c-11e8-9de1-147dd2df3829_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_gateway-755pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
 
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It is strange that even the Washington Post article does not note that Gateway is a multi part construction item. They made it sound like the tunnel will cost $30.0 B . But Gateway is the tunnel , North and probably south Portal bridges, 4 tracking from Newark Penn to the new tunnel and old tunnel, Secaucus loop, NYP upgrades. Hey Wa Po get your writer corrected ! .
 
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