Passenger Trains > NY Penn service update

New York Penn Station Service Update
March 24, 2017
2:00 p.m. ET

Due to a minor derailment, Acela Express and Northeast Regional service between Newark, NJ and New York will be subject to delays.NJ TRANSIT service will terminate either in Newark Penn Station or Secaucus.
Keystone Service will end and originate in Newark where passengers can transfer to Northeast Regional trains into New York. PATH will also honor Keystone Service ticketed passengers in and out of New York.
Empire Service will terminate and originate in Yonkers, NY. A Metro North shuttle train will transport passengers to and from Grand Central Terminal.This information is correct as of the above time and date. Information is subject to change as conditions warrant.

Passengers with travel plans can confirm their train's status, change their plans or review refund information using a range of tools – including Amtrak.com, smartphone apps or by calling 800-USA-RAIL. Service Alerts, Passenger Notices and other announcements are posted at Amtrak.com/alerts.
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don't understand why one or two tracks being out of service would
shut down the entire Penn Station?

ronald321 Wrote:
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> don't understand why one or two tracks being out
> of service would
> shut down the entire Penn Station?

It's a maze of tracks and Acela usually uses the middle tracks - especially since this was the train from Boston to NYP. That usually comes in on track 11 or 12. So likely any tracks below the track that the Acela was to arrive on is currently out of service due to either investigation or the derailed cars clogging it up. But the only train that really derailed is the Acela. The NJT train they could get out, if it was a through track it was lined up to for Sunnyside Yard. But since the Acela cars are sort of permanently joined together, that probably caused more of a delay. They could uncouple what didn't derail and send that on its way (if possible) but then they had to re-rail the car that derailed and eventually attach some sort of "locomotive power" to it and get it out of the Station.

However, NJT derailed a couple of cars in 2014 - in the "middle tracks." The whole evening rush hour was a disaster because the derailment happened around 12 noon or so and they didn't have enough time to get the cars back on track. It was slow moving derailment, but I think it was two or three or cars that "picked the switch" or whatever they call it. It was heading for the north tube so obviously it too took out all the lower track numbers because the trains couldn't get around the derailment area. I took the PATH to Hoboken and then a train from there.

As I mentioned in another post, there always seems to be some derailment or track trouble (almost yearly) between the platforms and when the trains enter the north or south Hudson River tubes. And now that this area is covered in I am sure that doesn't help things.    

Friends tell me that the Acela was far enough down the ladder that it blocked access to Tracks 1 through 12.  The station only has 21 tracks.  It has more than 1,000 trains per day.  Lose access to 57% of your tracks, and you're going to have a tough time running a busy city terminal.