Massive Power Failure Hits NYC

[AlanB]

The latest update from Amtrak:

AUGUST 15, 2003 8:00 P.M. SERVICE UPDATE AS A RESULT OF THE POWER OUTAGE IN THE NORTHEAST

Amtrak will operate Federal service between Washington, D.C. and Boston tonight, and will operate on a normal weekend schedule starting tomorrow morning (August 16, 2003).

Please call 1-800-USA-RAIL for more information.

So it now looks very good that Bill will be able to get home via the Crescent tomorrow.

 

[Amtrak Railfan]

On Saturday I will back to Post new Disussions to the Amtrak Forum maybe in the morning or in the afternoon.

 

[PRR 60]

My office is located next to the NE Corridor in Newark, NJ.  As I was leaving work at 5:10PM EST yesterday, one of the long distance trains (Might have been one of the Florida Trains, 3 Viewliners) was slowing heading north to Newark Penn Station.
What surprised me was how this train was operating at all?  If there was no power anywhere in my area, how was their power in the overhead catenary?

Most, if not all of the power that feeds the catenary through New Jersey and into Penn Station comes from Pennsylvania.

Amtrak, for catenary supply on the NEC to New York, receives its power from PECO Energy in Philadelphia and Safe Harbor Dam near Harrisburg. That power is then transmitted by Amtrak on the former PRR high-voltage transmission system (the wires at or near the top of the catenary frames) to the RR-owned wayside substations for step-down to catenary (11kV) and tertiary feed for signals. The old PRR transmission system and substations are wholly independent of the 60hz utility power grid except for the handful of feed interconnections, so as long as Amtrak suppliers remain on (both PECO and Safe Harbor did), the old PRR section of Amtrak stays on. I may be wrong, but I do not believe that Amtrak purchases any power from New Jersey suppliers (PSE&G, or JCP&L aka GPU aka First Energy).

The old NYNH&H north (east) of New York does not have internal transmission, so the connection points with the utility suppliers are more frequent and any loss of supply those multiple supply points kills the RR.

 

[Amtrak Railfan]

Hello there I just check the MTA Website this morning and all Metro North Railroad Trains are runing on a regularly Weekend Train Schedule this Weekend to and from GCT.

 

[AlanB]

Hello there I just check the MTA Website this morning and all Metro North Railroad Trains are runing on a regularly Weekend Train Schedule this Weekend to and from GCT.

That's correct, Amtrak Railfan, Metro North is indeed running a weekend schedule.

Additionally all LIRR and NJT trains are running on a normal schedule. Additionally Amtrak is also running a normal weekend schedule.

The subways returned last night. Just after 1:00 AM, I believe that a couple of lines started running revenue service, that included my line the #7, the A train, and the L train.

By around 5:00 to 5:30 AM this morning all lines within the subway system were up and running.

 

[Viewliner]

Wow, at least Bill's trip wasn't a total loss, I also heard another problem was that the doors to rooms couldn't be openend in certain hotels because of the electric locks

 

[AlanB]

Wow, at least Bill's trip wasn't a total loss, I also heard another problem was that the doors to rooms couldn't be openend in certain hotels because of the electric locks

Viewliner,

That is correct, there were hotels where people couldn't get into their rooms because the electronic locks wouldn't open. In other hotels, they had the opposite problem. All the locks were open because there was no power. This caused great security issues, so in some cases the hotel just locked it's lobby doors forcing all of it's guests to sleep on the streets.

Otherwise people could have been robbed in their rooms. Worse someone who was stranded could have returned to their room only to find that their neighbors on the floor had stolen all of their stuff.

 

[AlanB]

AUGUST 16, 2003 10:00 A.M. SERVICE UPDATE

As a result of the restoration of power in the Northeast, Amtrak trains on the Northeast Corridor will operate on a normal weekend schedule.

Due to continuing power outages in Michigan, Michigan service will experience delays and cancellations today.

Please call 1-800-USA-RAIL for the latest train information.

 

[AlanB]

AMTRAK SERVICE IN THE NORTHEAST OPERATING NORMALLY TODAY

Service fully restored between Boston, New York and Washington

WASHINGTON — Amtrak today is operating on a normal Saturday schedule with no anticipated cancellations or delays as a result of the Northeast power failure.

Operations between Boston and New York resumed last night with the departure from Boston of the Federal at 10:00 p.m. The train arrived in Washington 10 minutes early this morning.

On Friday, with commercial power still out in New York, Amtrak was able to offer limited service between Penn Station and points south along the Northeast Corridor, including Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. With their computers dark and ticket printers idle, Amtrak personnel in New York wrote tickets by hand.

On a typical weekday, more than 125 Amtrak trains arrive and depart New York Penn Station, and in 2002, Amtrak carried more passengers between New York and Washington than all airlines combined.

Amtrak plans to operate a normal Sunday schedule tomorrow and will resume normal weekday operations on Monday.

For information or reservations, passengers may call 1-800-USA-RAIL.

 

[Budd Metroliners]

G-d bless Amtrak! Acela Express 2159 left NYP on time on Friday and got me to Washington, DC only a few minutes late! I had the time of my life in a nearly empty business class car. I will have pics on Tuesday. Aparently all the people upstairs at Penn Station didn't know that the conductor was honoring ALL AMTK TICKETS and was selling tickets on board! At least that's why I gathered from what I heard and saw on the train.