Passenger Trains > Amtrak claims NEC improvements - What exactly?

On their website welcoming Amazon to NYC and DC area - Amtrak  says they are upgrading "...track capacity and ride quality along the Northeast Corridor".

Can anyone give us examples of specific track work being done.

I haven't ridden the NEC for a year -- but I found "ride quality" rather poor -- especially between DC and BWI airport station.  Any improvement?

Also - what "track capacity" are they talking about.

Thanks for any news.

 

5'-0 guage?
 

New Corinthian Leather seats.

Amtrak has been replacing ties, and adding new rail along the NEC in NJ. The right of way felt like a log road in some places.

There's this....New Jersey High-Speed Rail Improvement Programhttps://nec.amtrak.com/project/new-jersey-high-speed-rail-improvement-program/


Was suppose to be done by Fall of 2017, I beleive - instead, they reduced the scope
of the project and now the project is scheduled for completion is now 2020.

/Mitch
 

The only additional capacity that I know of is the new segment of 3rd track that Delaware is paying for between the south end of West Yard in Wilmington and the north end of Ragan Interlocking, about a mile south.  It was a deal between Delaware and Amtrak to operate additional DelDOT-sponsored SEPTA commuter trains between Wilmington and Newark, DE.

There's a new high-speed interlocking being installed near Landover, MD, to be called Hanson, I think, named for the parallel John Hanson Highway (US 50).  It'll replace Landover Interlocking, which is one of the last interlockings in the NEC situated on a curve.

Does anyone know of any other "capacity improvements" in the NEC?

There's also a capacity improvement at North Brunswick NJ, about milepost 36 on the NY Division.  A loop is being constructed near the new station which will allow short turn trains to turn back for NY without fouling all four mains. Up and over.

Amtrak has also removed several crossovers in the past 10-15 years. That has lengthened the distance between working crossovers, and reduced the flexibility of the line.

ronald321 Wrote:
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> On their website welcoming Amazon to NYC and DC
> area - Amtrak  says they are upgrading "...track
> capacity and ride quality along the Northeast
> Corridor".
>
> Can anyone give us examples of specific track work
> being done.

Delaware Third Track may eventually be getting completed.

Track 1 from New Carrollton to Grove is being upgraded for higher speeds and some additional switches are going in to give more capacity between BWI and DC.

Some sort of new interlocking going in in a few years near Mystic.

A LOT of money is being spent on new TLM systems for concrete tie renewal since the ties installed on the NEC never seem to come close to getting the promised 45-50 year life.

NJ catenary replacement/improvement progressing well, should be completed sometime 2019. Tracks 1,2,3, completely finished, track 4 finishished north of Monmouth Jct.  Constant tension catenary south of Monmouth only portion still under construction.

The constant tension Catenary will be a huge improvement in the summer.

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SP4360 Wrote:
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> New Corinthian Leather seats.

My favorite comment so far this year, I can hear Ricardo Montalban now...