Passenger Trains > Thoughts about Albany track closure

It was on Thursday, July 28, that Amtrak found that debris was falling from a  building adjacent to its tracks just west of the Livingston Avenue Bridge (LAB) over the Hudson. The line was embargoed until the full extent of danger from the building could be assessed.  

On Friday, July 29, Empire Service was terminated at Albany ... and all service between Schenectady and Albany ceased. The inaugural run of the extended Ethan Allen service was completed with busing from Saratoga to Albany. 

By Saturday, July 30, a bus bridge was established to allow for the Lake Shore Limited, Maple Leaf, and Ethan Allen to run. 

By Sunday, July 31, Amtrak had begun qualification runs on the Selkirk line in case a long-term embargo was needed.  At the same time, emergency mitigation at the building site (not Amtrak's doing) proceeded, to secure the failing facade of the building. 

By Monday, August 1, service through the area began again, Lake Shore Limited and Maple Leaf pass, albeit with a speed restriction (but not that much of an issue because the aging bridge has its own speed restriction).  It appears other service will resume later in this week. 

I cannot think of anything more Amtrak could or should have done.  This was a thoughtful, pro-active, measured response keeping safety in mind but also exploring alternatives.  

Well done, Amtrak!

Yup. People dealing with an unexpected situation, and doing what can be done. Bravo to the front line people actually doing it. 

I agree with the Reverand - I think he is speaking the gospel truth about this situation.

Agree with all of the above sentiments. Amtrak responded responsibly and quickly to a potentially hazardous situation. Well done.

MC

They did well with this, the west coast trains, no so much.

Posted from Android

Thank you forbeing a voice of calm reason among the nasty chaos that often is TO.