East Coast Blizzard

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fixj

fixj

Service Attendant
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
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194
Location
Panama City, FL
We know what cold weather and snow does to Amtrak in Chicago, but with what they are predicting Monday for the North East, What effects will it have on Amtrak? Looks like a real mess shaping up there.
 
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shhh. If you don't mention it, we won't notice anything!

I predict the number of people making french toast will hit record highs! (I mean, why else do you need bread, milk & eggs at the grocery store?)
 
Amtrak Preparing for Pending Winter Storm Preparations underway throughout Northeast Corridor
January 25, 2015

5:45 p.m. ET

Amtrak forces are preparing for the potential of a highly disruptive winter storm to impact the Northeast Corridor during the early part of the coming week. With extreme conditions expected in some areas over the next 24 to 36 hours, crews are actively monitoring the latest forecasts and planning for the possibility that service adjustments may be necessary.

Amtrak is planning to operate a normal Monday schedule, but may re-evaluate as conditions warrant. Announcements about service changes will be made as far in advance as possible, but passengers holding reservations for travel late Monday and early Tuesday are strongly encouraged to keep a close eye on conditions and make any necessary changes in advance of their scheduled departure.

A wide range of tools are available to assist with travel planning including Amtrak.com, the Amtrak mobile apps (available for iPhone, Android & Windows phones) and 1-800-USA-RAIL.

Following is a summary of major preparation activities already underway:

Equipment Positioning – To more quickly respond to potential problems, diesel locomotives and on-track maintenance equipment are strategically positioned in designated locations along the Northeast Corridor. Should downed trees or limbs disable the overhead electrical system, diesel power can help move trains when it is safe to do so, and on-track equipment can be dispatched to make any necessary infrastructure repairs.

Tree Trimming Crews – To supplement standard coverage, independent contractors are on standby to quickly respond to reports of trees or limbs down along the right-of-way, which could damage the overhead electrical system or prevent safe passage of trains. Amtrak engages in a regular year-round tree trimming program to proactively minimize such impacts.

Additional Staffing – Mechanical, engineering and operations forces are mobilizing additional crews to ensure safe and efficient operation of the railroad. Additional on-board staff are also on standby and ready to respond should a re-crewing need arise.

Amtrak’s top priority is the safety of our passengers, employees and the traveling public. Anyone planning to travel during the storm is urged to allow extra time and be extremely careful in and around stations, on platforms and on-board trains.

Amtrak regrets any inconvenience. 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.

To be notified of service disruptions on the Northeast Corridor (including Acela Express, Northeast Regional and other corridor services), follow @AmtrakNEC on Twitter.
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I might suggest that if anyone is booked on a train during that time, that you sign up for email/text message alerts. Not only are the regular train times reported to you, but also cancellations and service disruptions - and it's free. See ASM Alerts.

jb

ps Also see the Guide.
 
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Looking forward to this weather up here in Nova Scotia. Its been ages since I've been in a proper blizzard! And the weather is forecast to be pretty nice and clear on Thursday for railfanning with NS VIA Fan and riding the Ocean.

Seriously, though. Looks like this could be a real nasty storm. Stay safe and be patient if you absolutely need to travel!
 
As Winters get progressively colder and harder Amtrak and the Hosts are getting to know the routine quite well; look for them to handle this best they can.
 
From Facebook, Julie is busy today.

...at the Amtrak call center; 43 minutes waiting time on hold, probably due to not only the issues with the CZ [train 6 five hours down into OMA], but the major snowstorm going up the east coast.
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If the forecast holds up, I expect the northern half of the NEC will be shut down by early Tuesday. Even if Amtrak wanted to keep a few trains running north of NYP, Metro-North and CTDOT may shut down the New Haven Line for a day or longer until the roads and stations can get dug out. There will probably be many cancellations of Regionals and Acela service for WAS-NYP with Amtrak trying to keep the southern part of the NEC open. But the wind gusts, heavy snow, and falling trees & branches are likely to take the catenary down, so it will be a mess.
 
There is also the issue of how employees get to their work location and how arriving passengers travel to anywhere from the station in areas where Emergency has been declared.

I still get notifications from my NJ office since I am still nominally connected with them. The last notification says that it is very likely that an emergency will be declared tonight covering all of Northern NJ lasting possibly through late Tuesday or early Wednesday. So even if lots oft rain are running there will not be many passengers on them from northern NJ. I cannot imagine that Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts will fare any better since they are supposed to get hit harder than NJ is. So it si not just a question of Amtrak's ability to run trains that is the determining factor. They have to coordinate with emergency management authorities too.

BTW, United is likely to cancel or reschedule all flights in the northeast for Tuesday and clear out most of their critical aircraft resources out of the area, so that they can restore service rapidly once the mess clears. AFAICT all international flights out of Newark stand cancelled on Tuesday already.
 
And here I will be having a phone interview with 2 or 3 people tomorrow afternoon. At least one of them is in CT. I imagine they'll all be calling into the conference call from their homes. This employer, the one I was just displaced from, has a strong work-at-home presence, so many employees do not get snow days.
 
I know you can only take this so far, but as I recall growing up in Japan, it was essential to keep the trains running to keep the ROW clear. I know things can accumulate fast on the NEC - Hope they can hold out longer than the airlines!
 
Running trains to keep the tracks clear is an entirely different sort of operation from actually carrying passengers. It takes much less of resources and is much less risky to just keep a skeletal track clearing service running.

BTW, Connecticut just announced a total travel ban starting 9pm this evening until further notice. So what are people who arrive at Stamford or New Haven or New London going to do?
 
To accommodate people who travel by rail, MTA will be adding more Metro-North trains between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. A decision will be made later on service for Tuesday.
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http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Possible-Coastal-Storm-Could-Bring-Noreaster-289682371.html

I think the "travel ban" is more of a scare tactic than an actual ban - trying to just get people to rethink going out if they don't have to. Or at least, I'd hope so... surely there will be SOME people on the roads that need to get somewhere.
 
Yeah it is mostly to get people to refrain from doing stupid things that takes emergency resources to recover from. Does not mean that people will not do stupid things though, only the frequency of such would be reduced.

The one time I lived through such an emergency in NJ, and another time in LI, the only practical way to get around the travel ban was to use skis. Long Island Expressway was being used by folks to practice cross country skiing while the road clearing folks tried to figure out where to put all that snow. Finally they started a "truck the snow into Long Island Sound" thing, to start clearing the road. Helicopters were used for medical emergencies. If your house caught fire in the middle of it, you were pretty much stuck watching it burn down.

Of course it is hard to tell what will actually happen until it happens.
 
People go out in these crazy conditions? Like to Best Buy to get a laptop that's on sale? No, say it isn't so. :giggle:

Well, we did call first to make sure the store would be open. And did use a snow worthy truck (which my husband had picked up at his work so he could get to work the next day). While in the store waiting for the laptop to be set up, they announced they would be closing. Luckily they finished my laptop before they did. Then I spent the rest of that snowy day moving stuff from my old laptop to the new one. This was the President's Day weekend blizzard.

Edit: Oh, and my husband would go out just about every snowstorm to see what was "happening". Just around the area, not on the highways.
 
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Not only is transportation being affected but hotels are in sheer turmoil; a friend of mine works for a major chain and said their phones are lighting off like Hydrogen Bombs with literally infinite time on hold. The last thing anyone in the path of a monster like this needs to be thinking about is traveling somewhere.
 
CHamilton said:
Amtrak is readying all available personnel.

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Are they unionized? :p
 
Temperature here plunging into the 60s this afternoon...oh the calamity!
 
Going to the store to buy some sun screen so I don't burn in the 75 degree weather we are enjoying!

Having lived in the NE for 25 years I feel the pain those of you experience when the "Clippers" and "Noreasters" blow in! Stay warm and dry and stay home if you can!
 
In addition to UA, now AA has canceled their entire schedule out of NY, PVD and BOS tomorrow. Basically airlines are getting their last flights out of NY today and then coming back on Wednesday. DL is headed towards complete cancellation too as is WN. Just learned that BA has canceled their entire slate tomorrow and the late evening departures today and their corresponding westbounds from London earlier in the day. The last BA flight from London is due into JFK in another hour and turn around and leave in tow hours. They are then shut down until late tomorrow or more likely early Wednesday.

SQ rescheduled their JFK - FRA flight to 1600 from the usual 2030, to get the plane out of harms way earlier. That is something i have never heard of before. it must be quite a job informing all the passengers booked on the flight of a departure 4.5 hours before scheduled departure!
 
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