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can anyone tell me about the infrasturucture of the new acella service? Is it run on freight mainlines?
reggierail Member # 26
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The Acela service is run on dedicated track not used by the frieght companies. Reggie
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pelican Member # 754
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While Amtrak owns the NEC trackage, it is not really dedicated passenger. In some areas there is a fair amount of freight operation. NS and CSX both operate through and local trains along portions of the corridor.
reggierail Member # 26
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Right you are Pelican, freight is operated in the N.E. corridor, but not on all tracks. Metroliners & Acela operate on dedicated tracks, which are concrete tied with special roadbed & ballast specs. Northeast direct Amtrak service & inter corridor service to points south of DC operate on other tracks that are also used by the frieght roads. Most of the frieght traffic is restricted to off peak hours also. Reggie
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rresor Member # 128
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Reggierail, you are not entirely correct. Freight trains can (and do) operate on all tracks on the NEC, at dispatcher option. Freight operation does tend to be at night, however, when fewer passenger trains are around to get in the way.
I was waiting for a train at BWI at 11 pm last week, and an NS freight came down Track 2 (middle track, concrete ties etc.) at 50 mph. So there are no dedicated tracks for high speed trains. It's entirely dispatcher option as to which track to use for which train.
HOWEVER, maximum track speeds do vary. South of Philadelphia, where the railroad is three main tracks, one (usually the east track) has a speed limit of 80 mph, while the other two are good for 125 (or, for Acela Express, 135). North of Phila., where, there are four tracks, the two outside tracks have lower speed limits as far as Trenton. North of Trenton, where NJ Transit has paid for welded rail and concrete ties on both "local" tracks, I understand the maximum speed is the same on all four tracks.
With respect to freight, the only segment of the NEC with significant through freight is Perryville, MD to Baltimore (about 60 miles), with about 20 million gross tons of freight per mile per year. Limited through freight service also runs north from Perryville to Newark, DE. North of there, virtually all freight is local switchers only. Between Baltimore and Washington it's local freight only, except for the Pope's Creek and Chalk Point coal trains (which leave the NEC at Bowie, halfway between Balto and Wash).
reggierail Member # 26
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Rr, could you clarify that just a little more? Just kidding, I think you went into a little more detail than most of us laymen here needed. It's good to know that someone here actually knows what they're talking about. Reggie
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Eric Member # 674
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>FREIGHT OPERATION DOES TEND TO BE AT NIGHT, HOWEVER, WHEN FEWER PASSENGER TRAINS ARE AROUND TO GET IN THE WAY.< Is it the passenger trains that are in the way of the freight trains, or are the freight trains in the way of the passenger trains?
reggierail Member # 26
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In the NE corridor, passenger trains are given the priority. There are a lot of commuter services throughout the corridor also & the dispatchers have to do one heck of a job keeping things running smoothly. Elsewhere in the country, most of the time, passenger rail takes a back seat to the freight trains. It seems BNSF does a pretty good job of Getting Amtrak through its system, the UP doesn't. Reggie
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MPALMER Member # 125
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Part of that may be due to BNSF having more double track segments than UP, though I don't think that is the only reason.
ennisav Member # 750
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I am a conductor for NS and someone mentioned that pasanger trains in general take a back seat to freight trains. That is inacurate to say the least. I have set at a red board for over an hour with less then thirty cars waiting on amtrak, numerous occasions.
MPALMER Member # 125
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Ennisav, It seems to work both ways, depending on the line. To expand on my previous post...when the Desert Wind was still running, it went into sidings often between Las Vegas and Daggett/Barstow. The Amtrak train was pretty short (engine+baggage+4 or 5 cars) and easily fit in the sidings, while the coal trains and other freight trains did not. On the Santa Fe (now BNSF) segment south/west of Daggett, the double track allowed fast running. More recently, I have noticed that the UP holds freights at Santa Barbara while waiting for the various Amtrak trains to go through. This line is mostly single track, but some of the sidings have been extended recently. I can't speak for the Sunset (ex-SP) however; I don't know if the delays are caused by heavy freight traffic or other reasons.
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