Friday morning rail news:
TRAINS: David Lassen
Weekend rail service to San Diego suspended for maintenance work
Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service between Oceanside, Calif., and San Deiego, and Metrolink commuter train service to Oceanside, will be suspended this weekend for the first of two weekends of maintenance work on the North County Transit District’s rail line in San Diego County. The work window will begin at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and continue through 5 a.m. Monday; a similar suspension is scheduled Oct. 17-19. One Surfliner train will be affected on Friday. Details on Amtrak service changes are available here. Coaster trains are currently not operating on weekends because of the COVID-19 pandemic; additional information from the transit district is available here. The San Diego Union Tribune reports most of this weekend’s work will involve stabilization of the Del Mar Bluffs; the work on the bluffs is the subject of a matter before the Surface Transportation Board [see “Digest: AAR filing supports right to perform maintenance …,” Sept. 21, 2020]
Bridge project brings weekend changes on Long Island Rail Road
Major service disruptions are scheduled Saturday and Sunday as the Long Island Rail Road moves a bridge into place as part of a grade crossing separation project. The bridge at School Street, on the border of the communities of Westbury and New Cassel, was the site of Feb. 26, 2019, collision that killed three people that had driven around crossing gates. With trains slowing for the Westbury statition, it is at a location where crossing gates are down 27% to 35% of the time during peak commuter periods. It will be the fourth of eight bridges being installed to replace grade crossings as part of the LIRR Expansion Project, which is also adding a third track to the LIRR Main Line. As a result, there will be no rail service between the Jamaica and Hicksville stations, and other LIRR lines will have schedule adjustments. More details on the project and weekend schedules are available here.
Design work progressing on rail expansion at Longview, Wash., port
The Port of Longview, Wash., has spent about $2.6 million so far in design costs for its $76 million Industrial Rail Corridor expansion project, which will add up to 10 miles of track to increase port capacity and improve rail traffic flow when it is completed in 2023. The Longview Daily News reports design work on the project will be 60% complete this year. At a Thursday meeting, port commissioners reviewed four different options for the project, ranging from a full buildout of a six-track right of way to preparing a roadbed for six tracks but only building out two, three, or four tracks. The four-track option meets current funding goals. The port’s CEO, Dan Stahl, said the port has periods when it currently struggles to handle traffic at peak periods.
