Major NEC Disruption Between Baltimore and DC

[bmorechris]

Apparently due to a water main break at Halethorpe, there is either one track open or possibly no tracks operating in that area. MARC service has been suspended and Amtrak is showing service disruptions for any trains to or from DC. I'm guessing they would turn trains at Baltimore, just running the engines around since there is no wye there. Otherwise, they are just stuck.

MARC advisory http://www.mtamaryland.com/status/index.cf...ce=MARC%20Train

Baltimore Sun http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/traffic/b...0,3123867.story

The sun blurb says its near CSX tracks, but does say the Penn Line (NEC) is affected. Of course, the CSX tracks and the NEC cross just south of the Halethorpe station

 

[Ryan]

Thank god I got into work today when I did, the first two southbound MARC trains both ran about 10 min late before things turned to crap.

MARC's turning trains at Odenton and running them back down to WAS from there it seems.

 

[bmorechris]

update from the washington post

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/getthere/...ml?hpid=topnews

apparently there is mud, debris, and trees on the tracks. No service before noon at the earliest

 

[bmorechris]

This article has a poor quality picture, but i believe the backhoe is actually on the trackbed (judging from what appears to be the caternary lines overhead. It may have a video but i cannot view it right now.

http://wjz.com/local/marc.train.2.997111.html

I believe this may be the location shown in the picture from the news story, if the structure in the foreground is indeed the CSX bridge.

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...9&encType=1

Edit to add: The above suspicion was correct, new pictures from the baltimore sun

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/traffic/b...03.photogallery

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

Is MARC going to run longer trainsets on the Camden Line until the track is cleared, if it doesn't get cleared up in the next few hours?

 

[battalion51]

I'm guessing whatever captive sets they have from the Penn Line will be pushed over to the Camden side (switching from a Hippo to a GP if necessary) and then use bridges to Penn Station using light rail if necessary.

 

[Rafi]

For some pretty dramatic footage of the water gushing out onto the CSX (ex-B&O) mainline and down onto the Amtrak NEC underneath, go here and here.

Rafi

 

[jis]

So looks like some trains are running through the area and the back-hoes are at work trying to build a temporary protective barrier to protect the tracks that are not under water.

 

[Ryan]

From the MTA at 1400:

MARC PENN LINE SERVICE INTERRUPTIONWEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009

Due to an earlier water main break just south of Halethorpe that caused major flooding, AMTRAK was forced to suspend all train service on the Northeast Corridor north of Odenton Station, including MARC Train Service. At this time, MARC continues to operate train service between Washington D.C. and Odenton as well as a bus bridge between Penn Station and Odenton.

NORTHBOUND SERVICE

AMTRAK is currently anticipating opening one track within the next hour and has advised MARC that they hope to start MARC Northbound Service out of Washington Union Station with MARC Train 530 (4:24 PM departure) making all regular stops.

In addition, trains 432 (4:46 departure), 534 (5:20 departure), 440 (6:40 departure), 544 (9:00 departure) and 446 (10:30 departure) are expected to operate making all of their regular stops.

SOUTHBOUND SERVICE

MARC Train 426 departing Washington at 3:27 PM, is expected to operate to Odenton ONLY, arriving at approximately at 3:56 PM. This train will become MARC train 535 departing from Odenton Station.

There will be NO further Southbound service on MARC trains from Perryville and Baltimore to Washington D.C. Instead MARC will operate a bus shuttle departing from Penn Station stopping only at BWI, Odenton and New Carrollton Stations at 4, 5 and 6 PM, today only.

Please continue to monitor the MTA website, www.mtamaryland.com; the MARC Tracker, www.marctracker.com/PublicView/location.html; and email notifications for further information on this situation. Be advised that these current plans may change due to the conditions of the water main break.

We appreciate your patience during this service interruption.

Thank you for riding MTA MARC Train Service.

Then updated at 1415:

SOUTHBOUND PENN SERVICE UPDATE:Trains 443 (7:25 Baltimore departure) and 445 (9:15 Baltimore departure) are expected to operate. In addition, MARC will operate a bus shuttle departing from Penn Station stopping only at BWI, Odenton and New Carrollton Stations at 4, 5 and 6 PM, today only.

Refer back to www.mtamaryland.com for information concerning morning Penn Line service for Thursday, April 30.

Looks like a fun ride home - glad I get off in Odenton!

 

[AlanB]

The Amtrak site, unlike many times, actually has been updating the situation with the NEC.

Here is their earlier press release:

Amtrak and MARC Penn Line Service Suspended between Baltimore and Washington Due to Water Main Break
At 7:45 a.m. Amtrak halted all train service, including MARC Penn Line trains, between Washington and Baltimore due to a major water main break between BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport Station and Baltimore Penn Station. The tracks in the area are covered with mud, trees and other debris.

Amtrak repair crews are working to clear the site, but service restoration is not expected until at least noon today, and may extend beyond that time.

No alternate service is available, and travelers are urged to delay their travel plans or seek other options.

Passengers may call 800-USA-RAIL or visit Amtrak.com for additional information and train status updates.

Currently the site reports that service was restored on a single track as of 1:00 PM. However, when one clicks on the link for that press release, one actually get the press release above, since someone obviously forgot to update the link.

 

[Ryan]

Aaaaaand the evening MARC trains are canceled again - looks like they're going to shut everything down again this evening to get workers on the tracks fixing things up.

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

I'm guessing whatever captive sets they have from the Penn Line will be pushed over to the Camden side (switching from a Hippo to a GP if necessary) and then use bridges to Penn Station using light rail if necessary.

I assume CSX doesn't want the total number of trains running on the Camden Line to go up, but might be able to tolerate longer trainsets. On the other hand, they don't seem to be contemplating making this change at all. And as I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised if the typical Camden Line trainsets are already the maximum length for the platforms, given that CSX is unlikely to want shorter trains enabling more frequent headways as the normal service pattern.

Were there any trains on the NEC tracks in the vicinity of the flood area right at the time the flooding started?

 

[AlanB]

I'm guessing whatever captive sets they have from the Penn Line will be pushed over to the Camden side (switching from a Hippo to a GP if necessary) and then use bridges to Penn Station using light rail if necessary.

I assume CSX doesn't want the total number of trains running on the Camden Line to go up, but might be able to tolerate longer trainsets. On the other hand, they don't seem to be contemplating making this change at all. And as I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised if the typical Camden Line trainsets are already the maximum length for the platforms, given that CSX is unlikely to want shorter trains enabling more frequent headways as the normal service pattern.

I would think, and hope, that CSX could make a one time concession to allow one or two extra trains on the Camden line. I don't think that it's all that busy that things would suffer so terribly if they allowed MARC to slip in an extra train or two. I seem to recall that the line is double tracked. The real question is, does MARC have enough diesel equipment to add a couple of runs?

Were there any trains on the NEC tracks in the vicinity of the flood area right at the time the flooding started?

At the hour of the morning that this break happened, I'd say that if there wasn't a train right there at the break site at that moment, one happened by within a few minutes of the break. The NEC at that point is rather busy both with several north and southbound Amtrak trains, as well as MARC trains. One of the videos shot from the helicopter actually shows an Amtrak long distance train moving slowly through the area. I'd assume that the helicopter shots were very early on in the break, as that would be the first "news crew" to arrive in the area. And it was an LD, since I could see a few Viewliners.

 

[Ryan]

God, what a fouled up evening.

Ended up having to work late, got to WAS just missing MARC's 640 departure. I grabbed some dinner at the Corner Bakery (highly recommended for those of you passing through WAS) then proceeded to wait for the 730 Penn Line departure. Looking at the "Arrival" board and seeing the 7:15 scheduled arrival listed as "cancelled" set off all kinds of alarm bells, even though th northbound 7:30 was listed as "On time" gate A, no track assigned (not unusual).

Finally at about 7:20 the status tripped over to "Canceled". Jumped on the last Camden line train out of the station departing at 7:35 - texted the Fiancee to pick me up at Savage and take me back to Odenton to pick up my truck. Got lucky in that I had a backup plan and was aware of my options. When I got to Odenton the automagic message board listed the northbound train as cancelled, but said that the next available train North was train 544 - but, since I was on the last MARC set at WAS, and all the SB trains are cancelled, there's no way that train is gonna run.

Usually I'm one to give MARC the benefit of the doubt - posting here I understand the difficulties that they face, and admire them for getting things accomplished. However, with ALL DAY to plan, the info still wasn't posted at WAS until the last minute. There were a good number of folks that were completely clueless that there was anything amiss because they don't get the automated emails and don't read the boards. Lots of cars left in the Odenton parking lot, and since I was on the last train out (it seems), I'll wager that there are a decent handful of folks that are either stranded in town or have to have someone come and fetch them from New Carrollton or Greenbelt. Extra trains could have been added (more cars wasn't as issue that late, don't know how crowded some of the earlier trains were) and shuttle service could have been established from Savage to Odenton and BWI and from Camden Station to Penn Station.

Oh well, you win some and loose some, and tonight's events highlight the need to be flexible and have a backup. My supreme backup plan is to crash in the spare bedroom of a good friend that lives a block from my office in DC - had MARC communicated that I would have to catch the last Camden train out and then make my own way to Odenton, I likely would have saved myself the hassle.

Anyhow, rant over. Thanks!

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

I would think, and hope, that CSX could make a one time concession to allow one or two extra trains on the Camden line. I don't think that it's all that busy that things would suffer so terribly if they allowed MARC to slip in an extra train or two. I seem to recall that the line is double tracked. The real question is, does MARC have enough diesel equipment to add a couple of runs?

The other question along those lines is when the first northbound Camden MARC train normally reaches Camden and parks for the night, and whether that trainset could turn around and make one more round trip on days when there are unusual problems on the Penn Line.

 

[Ryan]

OK, part of my rant can get cancelled out a little bit - I reread the service annoucement that I posted above. The 7:30 departure isn't listed in trains that they expected to run. BUT, the only other train that they didn't run the call out in bold all caps on their website:

Train 446 (10:30 Washington departure) will NOT operate due to AMTRAK making track repairs.

So, it's pretty easy to miss the fact that train 442 (7:30 departure) isn't running - compounded with the fact that it was listed on the boards at WAS as "on time" until 5-10 minutes before departure.

 

[AlanB]

I would think, and hope, that CSX could make a one time concession to allow one or two extra trains on the Camden line. I don't think that it's all that busy that things would suffer so terribly if they allowed MARC to slip in an extra train or two. I seem to recall that the line is double tracked. The real question is, does MARC have enough diesel equipment to add a couple of runs?

The other question along those lines is when the first northbound Camden MARC train normally reaches Camden and parks for the night, and whether that trainset could turn around and make one more round trip on days when there are unusual problems on the Penn Line.

I can't imagine why the trainset can't be turned and sent back to DC, other than perhaps CSX saying that they don't want that extra traffic on the line in addition to the increased northbound traffic.

The bigger problem in my mind would be, does CSX have a qualified crew to run the train back to DC and get back to Baltimore before their hours of service are over?

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

The bigger problem in my mind would be, does CSX have a qualified crew to run the train back to DC and get back to Baltimore before their hours of service are over?

If they don't, how do they handle crew members getting sick without stranding commuters?

 

[AlanB]

The bigger problem in my mind would be, does CSX have a qualified crew to run the train back to DC and get back to Baltimore before their hours of service are over?

If they don't, how do they handle crew members getting sick without stranding commuters?

They don't always handle it. There have been a few cases of a train being cancelled because CSX didn't have enough rested crew members to operate all the train on the Camden and Brunswick lines.

Amtrak crews the NEC trains.

 

[Rafi]

Alan's correct on this. The problem, as best i can discern, with getting more runs on the Camden line was the fact that CSX doesn't have hardly enough passenger qualified crews ready to go at a moment's notice. MTA usually has to give CSX a few days' heads up when they want to run an extra train from what I've been told. That said, I wish they could have thrown more cars onto the Camden line. From what I can tell, they didn't do that, and I think they should have and made a concerted effort to get people onto the Camden line.

What hasn't been reported, however, is that the Camden line itself was shut down to all traffic after the last southbound MARC ran yesterday because of the water main break (the break happened right where the Penn and Camden lines cross over each other in Halethorpe). It didn't open back up until the early afternoon for the first afternoon MARC camden line trains.

Rafi

 

[jis]

What hasn't been reported, however, is that the Camden line itself was shut down to all traffic after the last southbound MARC ran yesterday because of the water main break (the break happened right where the Penn and Camden lines cross over each other in Halethorpe). It didn't open back up until the early afternoon for the first afternoon MARC camden line trains.
Rafi

In the video that Rafi posted a pointer to you could clearly see half of one of the tracks of the Camden Line hanging in air with all ballast under that half near the big hole through which water was gushing out, having been washed away. Apparently the next track over had also been sufficiently undercut since a freight on that track was being held and not allowed to pass. So in effect Camden Line had only two tracks open through that area, when it was opened.

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

They don't always handle it. There have been a few cases of a train being cancelled because CSX didn't have enough rested crew members to operate all the train on the Camden and Brunswick lines.

For a CSX conductor/engineer who's already qualified to run freight on those tracks, how much does it cost to get them qualified to also run passenger trains? It's hard for me to imagine that the cost of providing this extra training for a dozen more CSX crewmembers wouldn't be peanuts in the grand scheme of MARC's budget.

 

[AlanB]

They don't always handle it. There have been a few cases of a train being cancelled because CSX didn't have enough rested crew members to operate all the train on the Camden and Brunswick lines.

For a CSX conductor/engineer who's already qualified to run freight on those tracks, how much does it cost to get them qualified to also run passenger trains? It's hard for me to imagine that the cost of providing this extra training for a dozen more CSX crewmembers wouldn't be peanuts in the grand scheme of MARC's budget.

Handeling a passenger train is rather different than a freight train. After all box cars don't have to buy tickets to ride and freight conductors don't have to handle money and cut tickets. It costs money to bond people.

In any event, MARC contracts with CSX to run the trains. CSX decides who to train for what.

 

[Rafi]

Handeling a passenger train is rather different than a freight train. After all box cars don't have to buy tickets to ride and freight conductors don't have to handle money and cut tickets. It costs money to bond people.
In any event, MARC contracts with CSX to run the trains. CSX decides who to train for what.

And I should add that CSX is itching to get out of the passenger train game. The only reason they're still involved today with the Camden and Brunswick lines is the legacy they inherited from the B&O/Chessie. They have made it clear to MARC that they want out, so the Maryland MTA is putting out a bid request for other contractors to run those two lines. With that said, CSX is hardly jumping at the opportunity to qualify more crews for passenger service.

Rafi

 

[Long Train Runnin']

freight conductors don't have to handle money and cut tickets.

Hence the reason the job is so appealing!