B & P tunnel problems

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west point

Engineer
Joined
Jun 9, 2015
Messages
4,619
Location
SW ATL airport
Once again the need for new B & P tunnels rears its ugly head. Just 2 MTs on the busy Baltimore - WASH segment. The sooner the better.





MARC Service Alert <[email protected]>

To

MTA Maryland Alerts Subscriber

Today at 12:45 PM

Amtrak has notified MARC Train that there is a defect on one of the tracks inside the tunnel between West Baltimore and Penn Station. All trains (Amtrak and MARC) traveling in both directions will be required to share one track for the remainder of the day today.

North and southbound Penn Line trains will experience delays passing through this area. The length of delay will vary based on the amount of train traffic in the area. Delays are expected to be the most significant between 4:00pm and 7:00pm.
 
I certainly would be interested to know the nature of the issue as well. That said, it still highlights the limitations and potential problems that the current B & P Tunnel presents.

As far as the replacement tunnels, the ROD should be issued within a month or two. Maybe a few repeats of today's incidents will help to bring attention to funding the final design and construction of the replacement sooner rather than later.
 
Once again the need for new B & P tunnels rears its ugly head. Just 2 MTs on the busy Baltimore - WASH segment. The sooner the better.





MARC Service Alert <[email protected]>

To

MTA Maryland Alerts Subscriber

Today at 12:45 PM

Amtrak has notified MARC Train that there is a defect on one of the tracks inside the tunnel between West Baltimore and Penn Station. All trains (Amtrak and MARC) traveling in both directions will be required to share one track for the remainder of the day today.

North and southbound Penn Line trains will experience delays passing through this area. The length of delay will vary based on the amount of train traffic in the area. Delays are expected to be the most significant between 4:00pm and 7:00pm.
Glad I stayed late at the office today.

Hope things are ok tomorrow morning.
 
Once again the need for new B & P tunnels rears its ugly head. Just 2 MTs on the busy Baltimore - WASH segment. The sooner the better.





MARC Service Alert <[email protected]>

To

MTA Maryland Alerts Subscriber

Today at 12:45 PM

Amtrak has notified MARC Train that there is a defect on one of the tracks inside the tunnel between West Baltimore and Penn Station. All trains (Amtrak and MARC) traveling in both directions will be required to share one track for the remainder of the day today.

North and southbound Penn Line trains will experience delays passing through this area. The length of delay will vary based on the amount of train traffic in the area. Delays are expected to be the most significant between 4:00pm and 7:00pm.
Glad I stayed late at the office today.

Hope things are ok tomorrow morning.
I hope so too. I'm arriving at BAL around 8 am for a 9:00 appt.
 
Once again the need for new B & P tunnels rears its ugly head. Just 2 MTs on the busy Baltimore - WASH segment. The sooner the better.





MARC Service Alert <[email protected]>

To

MTA Maryland Alerts Subscriber

Today at 12:45 PM

Amtrak has notified MARC Train that there is a defect on one of the tracks inside the tunnel between West Baltimore and Penn Station. All trains (Amtrak and MARC) traveling in both directions will be required to share one track for the remainder of the day today.

North and southbound Penn Line trains will experience delays passing through this area. The length of delay will vary based on the amount of train traffic in the area. Delays are expected to be the most significant between 4:00pm and 7:00pm.
Glad I stayed late at the office today.Hope things are ok tomorrow morning.
Yep, here I am, it's 7:45 and our train is stuck at West Baltimore waiting our turn to pass through the tunnel.
 
These tunnels need to be upgraded plus additional Tubes, if not for safety and reliable service, then for National Security. We have to have a rail system that can keep business moving, if another 9/11 brings the air system down again, but for longer.
 
But what is the defect? Broken rail? Bad catenary? Signals? Or a true problem with the tunnel itself?

jb

It was a broken rail which is a condition that happens all over the railroad. There is no problem with the tunnel itself, nor does this highlight some need to replace the tunnel.

Yep, here I am, it's 7:45 and our train is stuck at West Baltimore waiting our turn to pass through the tunnel.
Assuming you're on 446, you seem to have arrived within tolerance...like most of the MARC trains today.
 
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From somewhat reliable sources the broken rail occurred at a location known for water intrusion and soft track grade. That can be a receipt for broken rails. Hopefully new tunnel bores will have proper drainage and not just earth underneath ?
 
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Aaaaand a somewhat reliable source stated that broken rails can not only occur where they may be water intrusion but they also occur in the heat....and in the cold...and during the night....and the during the day....and on straightaways....and curves....and during weather changes....and in tunnels...and on bridges.

Sometimes, all you need is label.

To clear this up for you West Point, as long as you have rails, you have a recipe for broken rails.
 
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Yet 408 was early this morning. My wife didn't even know there was any issue on either of her trips last night or this morning.

Hopefully everything gets up and running soon.
 
Still a mess this morning? 409 just rolled through 19 min behind, and 511 is supposedly 10 minutes down already.

Remember, there is a major outage between BAL-OTN. That is impacting trains since they are using bridge plates. Additionally, a major passing zone is closed since you're double tracking. 9409 was held to follow another train and 9511 lost time on the run using the bridge plates.
 
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