NEW YORK — Amtrak service, between New York City and Albany today (Sunday, Nov. 12) because of structural issues regarding a building adjacent to the line between Penn Station and the connection to Metro-North’s Hudson Line, will see that extension continue into Monday, Amtrak has indicated in an updated service advisory.
WABC-TV reports the problem concerns a parking garage above the tracks at West 51st Street.
An advisory posted at 8:40 p.m. EST today indicates plans for Monday that will see more trains originate or terminate at Croton-Harmon, with Amtrak passengers’ tickets honored by Metro-North between Croton-Harmon and Grand Central Terminal.
Those plans call for trains 63, 64, 232, 236, 238, 239, 243, 281, 283, 284, and 294 to originate or end at Croton-Harmon. Trains 233, 234, 235, 237, 240, 241, 244, and 280 are cancelled; trains 49 and 69 will originate in Albany.
Changes for today (Sunday) included:
— Trains 64 (the Maple Leaf), 68 (the Adirondack), 284 (Empire Service) and 290 (the Ethan Allen Express) are cancelled south of Croton-Harmon, N.Y.; customers’ tickets will be honored by Metro-North between there and New York Penn.
— Trains 290 (the Ethan Allen Express) and 48 (the Lake Shore Limited) will be combined.
— Trains 49 (the Lake Shore Limited), 283 (Empire Service), and 291 (the Ethan Allen Express) will originate at Albany.
Updated train status will be available at Amtrak.com and Amtrak’s smartphone app; information is also available at the Amtrak NEC Alerts X/Twitter feed.
— Updated at 8:30 p.m. CST with suspension of service continuing into Monday.
Unsure the loop track is still in service at GCT (I think it had to go to accommodate the LIRR Madison project) so that would be another complication of running into GCT, no way to turn the Amtraks and they would have to be dragged out by their tails.
So how could Metro North trains get from Croton-Harmon to Penn Station if Amtrak can’t?
Amtrak’s P32DM’s have overrunning 3rd rail shoes for PRR/LIRR 3rd rail. MNR’s P32DM’s have underrunning 3rd rail shoes for NYC 3rd rail. (Amtrak dieselates when on MNR).
If Amtrak’s HEP and auxiliaries are compatible with MNR’s they could change engines at Harmon; if not, you change trains at Harmon.
Remember, going in on MNR gets you to GCT, not NY-Penn. Subway connection (2 trains) gets you from GCT to Penn the fastest way.
A few years ago, Amtrak did operate temporarily into GCT with its own P32DM’s. They had to change the 3rd rail shoes to underrunning and couldn’t run them to NY Penn until they changed them back.
Back before Amtrak built the West Side Connection, you couldn’t get there from here. The current problem is on the West Side Connection between Spuyten Duyvil and NY Penn. MNR can still serve GCT.
In the good old days, if there were a blockade of the Hudson Div, NYC through trains ran on the West Shore to Weehawken NJ with a ferry to 42nd St NY.
Good question. In the good ol’ days of passenger service (before, say, 1960) the railroad (i.e., New York Central) would have been regularly servicing Grand Central Terminal and would have easily done that.
That’s right. It could have been feasible in the golden days of the U.S. passenger rail service.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
So, no way for Amtrak to operate into Grand Central?
If you read Mr. Mulligan’s excellent information above, you will see that it would be complicated and time-consuming to convert Amtrak engines to be able to run into GC. I suspect that Metro North does not have a surplus of engines to substitute, either.