TECHNICAL ARTICLE

AS PUBLISHED IN The Journal July 2018 Volume 136 Part 3

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Alison Stansfield MARKETING DIRECTOR Permanent Way Institution [email protected]

PLEASE NOTE THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS JOURNAL ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE EDITOR OR OF THE INSTITUTION AS A BODY. TECHNICAL

US railways today AUTHOR:

Eur Ing John Dolan CEng FICE FCILT FPWI Part 2: The Infrastructure

Unfortunately the following table and NB: Operating Revenue includes; Passenger Not included are shares of capital expenditure, comments were omitted from the end of Revenue, Operating Contractual Contributions, including expenditure under the headings Part 1, pages 18-21 of the April Journal. Commercial Revenue and all other revenue of “State of Good Repair” and “Capitalised including adjustments for Bad Debt and Credit Maintenance”, terms not defined in the Plan. The following information, for Financial Year Cards. This data indicates why President Trump is 2017, is taken from the Amtrak 2016 Five Year concerned about the cost of the heavy loss- Plan. It provides an insight into the financial NB: Operating Cost includes: operating making Long Distance trains, but wishes to performance of North East Corridor and a expenses related to service line management, invest in the North East Corridor. selection of long distance services. Train Operations, Equipment, Infrastructure, ($m in millions). Stations, National Assets and Corporate Services.

Extract from the Amtrak 2016 Five Year Plan for Financial Year 2017

INFRASTRUCTURE However, if Amtrak in doing this adversely The Conway Scenic Railroad, a tourist railway, affects the operation of the services operated operates over some 35 miles of route in New OWNERSHIP by the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, Hampshire. The state owns the route and it, MBTA’s contractor for rail commuter services, not the tourist railway, maintains track and Much of the railroad infrastructure is owned, MBTA has the right under the agreement to structures. The railroad is only responsible for operated and maintained by the Class I step in. In contrast, the Amtrak service north of operations and stock. railroads and Amtrak. Elsewhere, infrastructure Boston uses trackage rights over MBTA track may be owned, operated and maintained by (and, beyond the Massachusetts state line, Problems can arise when a host railroad commuter railroads or by the states. However, Pan Am Railways). ceases to run any of its own trains over a the actual arrangements vary considerably. section of track, but another railroad continues For example, Amtrak has an operating and Vermont Rail System (a private freight to use trackage rights. The host railroad will maintenance lease from CSX for the 94 miles company) leases much of its 350 mile receive track access charges, but these are between Poughkeepsie and Schenectady, in network from the state of Vermont and has only designed to cover the additional costs. New York. It has used this lease to upgrade the a full operating and maintenance lease. This There is a risk that the host railroad, still track to permit 110mph operation. includes dealing with major catastrophes, such saddled with the administrative costs, will run as the damage caused by Hurricane Irene in down the section concerned. To incentivise Amtrak has an operating and maintenance 2011. The slide (taken from the presentation the host railroad, the second railroad may agreement with MBTA for the section of its made by Vermont Rail System to the Vermont approach the host railroad for the latter, for a Washington DC – NYC – Boston North East State House and Senate Transportation fee, to haul its trains over the section. This is Corridor within the state of Massachusetts. Committee on October 12, 2011) gives an an alternative reason to that given in Surface Amtrak is responsible for operation and example of the work undertaken and the Transportation Board (April Journal) for the maintenance, including to FRA Class 8 (see timescales (image 1). use of haulage rights. Federal Road Administration; April Journal).

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Image 1. Before and after hurricane Irene in 2011 (Vermont Rail System website)

INFRASTRUCTURE WORK, This work was carried out during a mixture TRACK ACCESS AND TRAIN of extended overnights, weekends and partial blockades. Unfortunately, it had to be SERVICES carried out as a matter of urgency; earlier in 2017, there had been a number of incidents, Virtually all track, including loops and including a low speed derailment. The work notionally double track routes, is signalled for affected both Amtrak and the New Jersey bi-directional working. In day-to-day operation, Transit and Long Island Rail Road commuter this can be used to allow faster trains to trains. As Amtrak normally opens booking overtake slower trains, but it comes into its own 11 months in advance, trains with issued for engineering work. reservations had to be amended. Some of these amendments were significant. A number It is common to see Adjacent Line Open of “Empire” services from along the Hudson daytime engineering work. This can range from Valley were diverted to use NYC Grand Central rail testing, using road-rail vehicles, via spot station. Some overnight sleeper trains serving sleeper replacement to major works such as the south of the USA did not operate north of ballast cleaning or track replacement. Where Washington DC. the work requires it, speed restrictions are applied on the open adjacent track. Longer distance Amtrak trains generally have significant recovery time – referred to by Arrangements may also be put in place to allow conductors as “padding”. For example, one the work to “foul” the open line between trains, recent trip on the “Maple Leaf” between NYC with passing trains sometimes brought to a and Canada saw a lateness of 40 minutes stand until it is confirmed that the track past the in northern New York, caused by daytime site is clear. engineering work, converted to “right time” running by the time the train crossed into It is noticeable how much plant is involved, Canada. Another saw a lateness of 20 minutes some of it basic but, in its way, innovative. The in northern New York converted into an arrival following Amtrak photographs of the summer over 15 minutes early at Schenectady. The 2017 switch & crossing replacement work at Image 2: Selection of images conductors invited passengers to “take the air” Pennsylvania station, NYC, illustrate a range of from S&C replacement work at whilst the train “stood time”. equipment (image 2). Pennsylvania station, NYC, Summer Amtrak has significant problems when there 2017, illustrating a range of One of the most interesting pieces is a is unplanned disruption, as the number equipment. (Amtrak media) concrete mixer lorry converted to operate as of stations that can handle the transfer of a road-rail vehicle, allowing concrete from the passengers and checked baggage to road batching plant to be brought straight to site. coaches is limited. Some of these disruptions This avoids very long pumping runs, which happen during the night, a problem for might lead to segregation, or site mixing, Amtrak’s premium customers, the sleeper requiring significant materials handling. passengers. In addition, only a few stations can then service a stranded sleeper train.

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SPEEDS TRACK

It may come as a surprise to learn that On thousands of miles of American track, rail Amtrak operates trains travelling at 150mph is still spiked to wooden sleepers. Generally, on conventional, not high speed, routes. This the spike, which is not elastic, passes through speed is permitted for about 35 miles at the a baseplate. Rail directly spiked to sleepers Boston end of the North East Corridor. The is now comparatively rare on the more important running lines. Whilst this form of Image 3: Susquehanna River, level crossings have been stopped up and lineside fencing is to a much higher standard track construction is often regarded as typically Maryland. (Amtrak media) than is usually seen in the United States. American, it was used in Great Britain. There Intermediate stations have a grade-separated was a section on the Medway Valley line in crossing between the platforms, but access Kent well into the 1980s. to platforms is still possible when trains are passing. On the more important running lines, continuously welded rail (CWR) is common. The only trains permitted to travel at 150mph However, ballasting, whilst generally full in the are the Acela trains, essentially a tilting TGV beds and on the shoulders, is not heaped on with six non-articulated coaches and two the shoulders. To a British eye, it looks under- power cars – and, notwithstanding British ballasted. concerns about multiple pantographs at high speed - a deployed pantograph on each Jointed track remains in places, usually with Image 4: Castella, California. (Mount power car. Unfortunately, despite it being a 39’ rails. It is often found on loops on otherwise Shasta Herald) premium service, the Acela rides very badly. CWR single track main lines. Joints are rarely In contrast, the locomotive-hauled North East in the same bed; American railroads do not Regional trains, which are limited to 125mph, have the traditional British concern about twist ride remarkably smoothly. One has to “time” and 10’ wheelbase four wheel wagons. mileposts to confirm that that is indeed the speed. On spiked track, rail anchors are extensively provided for both CWR and jointed rails, often South of NYC, the Acela is limited to 135mph, at alternate sleepers. with North East Regional trains again limited to 125mph. Track on routes with higher speeds and / or heavier traffic is increasingly likely to have Image 5: Castella, California. (Mount Amtrak’s public timetable suggests that the concrete sleepers. Pandrol Fastclip types are Shasta Herald) fastest start-to-stop speeds are achieved over widely used. Whatever the type of sleeper, they the 69 miles between Baltimore, Maryland, and are more closely spaced than was traditional in Wilmington, Delaware -101mph Acela, 92mph Great Britain. Regional. Rail corrugation does not seem to be According to Amtrak, it maintains more than widespread. It is not clear if this is because it is 350 route miles of track for 100+ mph service. less of a problem or because the rail surface is Sections outside the North East Corridor spine very well managed. where up to 110mph is permitted include: STRUCTURES • 104 miles Philadelphia – Harrisburg, in Pennsylvania; electrified. Mostly through Traditional British type masonry and brick trains to / from NYC, essentially forming a structures can be found in the North East, but Image 6: Superliner branch from the North East Corridor; are virtually unknown elsewhere (image 3). • 95 miles Porter (Indiana) – Kalamazoo (Michigan); for only four trains per day Most other older structures are metal trusses each way; (structure above the track) or trestles (structure • 94 miles Poughkeepsie – Schenectady, below the track). in New York’s Hudson Valley, leased from CSX. As noted in Ownership previously, repairs to trusses can be completed in a remarkably Also, according to Amtrak, more than half of short time-frame, particularly given the terrain. its trains operate at top speeds of 100mph or This is partly due to the construction technique. greater. They were assembled from a set of parts and, often, damage can be dealt with by replacing All the 100+mph routes owned by Amtrak have the members concerned. three levels of advanced signalling, including cab signal, Automatic Train Control and This bridge, on the Union Pacific route Positive Train Control. Positive Train Control, between Portland, Oregon, and Sacramento, Image 7: Grand Central station, the most recent system, matches train speed to California, was damaged by a derailment on 25 NYC, which has over 40 terminal track conditions, e.g., speed restrictions. The April 2017 (images 4 and 5). platforms on two levels leased section in New York was still being fitted at the end of the 2016 Financial Year (October). The derailed wagons cut through the diagonal All Amtrak locomotives are fitted with Positive elements of the truss at the running off end, at Train Control, so that they can take advantage the level of the upper corner of the wagons. when host railroads commission the system.

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The railway, of strategic freight importance, is Department of Transport website. At Mystic, in a gorge on the slope of Mt Shasta (14 179 this can lead to a train calling at the station ft). It is also used by Amtrak’s “Coast Starlight” being held there…blocking the level crossing. Seattle – Los Angeles train. The line re-opened less than a fortnight later, on 8 May; the first STRUCTURE GAUGE Amtrak trains operated on 9 May. Although the general perception is that there Whilst this problem cannot be directly are two structure gauges in the USA, big and attributed to bridge management, another very big, that is not actually the case. developing problem can. No railroad – freight, Amtrak, commuter rail or state infrastructure Operations on the North East Corridor are – seems concerned about corrosion. On constrained by tunnels in the NYC and what seems to be almost every metal Baltimore areas, to the extent that Amtrak’s railroad bridge, there are significant areas Image 8: Albany, New York, interior. “go-anywhere” Amfleet coaches are, at 12’ 8”, with no surface coating. Given the size and about the same height as British Mk1 and Mk (Wikimedia Commons) inaccessibility of many trusses and trestles, III coaches. They are much wider, at 10’ 6” this would seem to be a “ticking time bomb” for rather than the British 9’ 3”, and much longer the medium term. at 85’. The double-deck Superliners, which Amtrak uses to serve the rest of the country, A further problem for both the railroad including south from Washington to Florida, operators and maintainers is the number of are 16’ 2” high (image 6). moveable bridges, including on the North East Corridor. Freight services can be even taller. CSX offers three categories of trains with double stack Further south on the North East Corridor, in containers, with heights of 18’ 2”, 19’ 2” and Maryland, the Susquehanna swing bridge is 20’ 2”. the longest on the North East Corridor. It limits Amtrak (including Acela), commuter rail and The freight railroads are steadily pushing freight to 35mph. the boundaries of double stack eastwards from its traditional limit of the Mississippi Image 9: Albany, New York, The greatest North East Corridor concentration valley. For example, there is currently a large is between New Haven and Mystic, platforms. (Wikimedia Commons) transhipment yard at Syracuse, New York. Connecticut, with five in 60 miles. They include one vertical lift (like Kingsferry in Kent), two Work is in progress on gauge enhancement swing (like Goole and Selby) and two Scherzer on several routes, often supported by state STATIONS, INCLUDING bascule (like the now fixed bridge at Keadby, or federal grants. One such project was the ACCESSIBILITY near Scunthorpe). It should be noted that Heartland Corridor, a $290 million joint federal, many of these bridges must open as soon as state and Norfolk Southern project completed At the upper end of American stations are possible after a boat signals, others within 20 in 2010 that gives direct double stack access the restored Union stations in Chicago and minutes. The requirements are set out in detail, from Chicago and the Great Lakes to the Washington DC, and Grand Central station in by bridge and by time, on the Connecticut Atlantic port of Norfolk, Virginia. NYC, with their magnificent great halls (image 8).

Unfortunately, their platforms are generally less impressive, being low and, in the case of Grand Central and Chicago, being below air- rights developments.

Some of the intermediate stations are attractive, well maintained structures, e.g., Portland, Oregon. Portland is a smaller example of a traditional Union station, well positioned for interchange with the trams, local Image 10 Minot, North Dakota Image 11: Fraser, Colorado buses, Greyhound coaches, etc. An essentially new station is Albany- Rensselaer, New York, opened in 2002 (images 8 and 9). It is one of Amtrak’s “top ten” for passenger numbers, although actually owned by the Capital District Transportation Authority.

The station, built with a brick façade, has a light, airy main hall, with ticket office and information counter, seated waiting area, café, bookstall and post office. This is at bridge level. At lower levels under the forecourt are a large multi-storey car park and, at the lowest level, coach bays. The station is across the Hudson River from downtown Albany, but hotels run Image 12: Rutland, Vermont Image 13: Glacier Park, Montana. free shuttle services. (Amtrak Media)

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One of the odder stations is the Transbay Terminal, San Francisco, California. This is fully staffed, with ticketing, wheelchair access and checked baggage. What it doesn’t have are trains. Because of the geography – San Francisco is at the end of a 50 mile peninsula - the main line stations are across the Bay. The coach links over the Bay Bridge to Emeryville (for trains heading north or east) and Oakland Image 14: Rutland, Vermont Image 15: Harrington (with hump). (for trains heading south) are regarded as (National Rail Enquiries) an integral part of the Amtrak network, with guaranteed connections, baggage transfers, etc.

At the other end of the scale are surprisingly substantial buildings for what might be one train per day in each direction. These may be adopted, and are sometimes staffed, by local amenity groups.

Interestingly, many of these smaller stations have only one platform, even on a two track railway or where there is a loop (images 10, Image 16: Minot, North Dakota Image 17: Scotscalder. (National 11, 12, 13). This means that there is no need Rail Enquiries) for passengers to have to cross a track to reach the far platform, so no need for a bridge, subway or crossing. A crossing would in any case be unsatisfactory as the near track might be occupied by a passing mile long freight. However, this causes problems when the platform track is being used by a freight train. An Amtrak train has to wait at a suitable crossover, which may be several miles away, until a path is available.

As in the United Kingdom, there is legislation to ensure access for all. In the case of the USA, it is the “Americans with Disabilities Act 1990”. Image 18: View from the car park, Image 19: View from the crossing, As in Great Britain, some stations provide level access (images 14 and 15). Proctor station Virginia Proctor station Virginia Also, as in Great Britain, some stations do not provide easy access for any passenger (images 16 and 17).

The most awful station in the United States is, without a doubt, Pennsylvania station in NYC. It is the principal station for Amtrak, New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Rail Road, and is alledged to be busier than London Waterloo and London Victoria combined. The station is totally subsurface, on three subterranean levels, with track and platforms at the lowest level (see Appendix A). There is no central hall; Image 20: Capitol Corridor train, Image 21: South Shore train, there is a labyrinthine complex of passageways Oakland, California. (Wikimedia Michigan City, Indiana. (Wikimedia on the upper two levels, making both access Commons) Commons) to / from the street and to / from the subway a nightmare even for the initiated. Each operator has its own concourse, two on the Upper and one on the Lower Level; platform access The wide bridge gives access, via lifts and • International passengers for Canada, who arrangements are complicated as some escalators, to the two island platforms. These need special checks; platforms are shared. offer what is effectively level boarding. • Business Class passengers for upstate The narrow, low platforms are a Stygian horror, The width of the bridge is used to set New York, who are given priority but the one saving grace is that almost all up separate queues, as necessary. For boarding; trains are electric. However, it is not unknown example, for the NYC – Canada “Maple Leaf”, for Amtrak Hudson Valley “Empire” services passengers boarding at Albany are divided into • Coach Class passengers for upstate New to coast into the station when powered by a three groups: York. diesel, rather than electro-diesel, locomotive.

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Non-steam power in Manhattan was originally The entrance to a museum on the coach party In La Grange, Kentucky, up to 30 CSX main a legal requirement (New York Chapter 425 Act circuit is through an arch of marble and across line freight trains per day operate for around 1903, Chapter 901 “Kaufman” Act 1923); it is two tracks. There are no warning signs in 540m along a single track embedded in Main not clear if it still is, but Amtrak staff operate on either direction. Visibility to the north is limited Street, through the principal Down Town the basis that it is, and that it applies equally to by the curve and, possibly, given that the rails shopping area. Video cameras have been diesels. The coasting manoeuvre is announced indicate it is in use, vehicles on the siding. erected so that railfans can monitor a live over the public address, together with a webstream for rail activities on Main Street. reduction in coach lighting, etc. Trains do run whilst the museum is open, double-headed freights with thirty or so In Oakland, California, 500m of double track LEVEL CROSSINGS bogie wagons travelling at around 25mph. is laid in Embarcadero West, by the Jack Reliance seems to be placed totally on the London Square restaurant area (image 20). It Whilst certain level crossing matters are train whistling, which, to be fair, does start well is used by around 15 Amtrak “Capitol Corridor” closely controlled by the FRA, the road before the crossing. intercity trains each way daily, plus Union traffic aspects are dealt with by individual Pacific freights and the daily long-distance states. Adjoining states can have surprising On-street train operation is a US situation Amtrak “Coast Starlight.” differences in requirements. For example, not found in this country. This must be in Vermont, school buses and certain other distinguished from trains operating on street In Michigan City, Indiana, 2.9km of 1.5KV coaches must come to a stand at open tramways, e.g., at Weymouth, under tramway DC electrified single track is laid along W crossings with warning lights / bells and check conditions, complete with train bells, etc. In the 10th Street, W 11th Street and E 11th Street. for trains before proceeding, even if the lights past, US town development often took place The bulk of the rail traffic has been diverted are not activated. This does not apply in either side of the railroad tracks. away from the on-street section, but a dozen neighbouring New York. or so South Shore services each way still In most towns, the railroad either remains, but run, including double deck units on Chicago However, Vermont is much less concerned has a defined, ballasted “right of way,” or has commuter runs (image 21). about pedestrian safety. The photographs were been diverted around the settlement. However, taken in Proctor, Vermont (images 18 and 19). a few significant sections of on-street operation remain.

Appendix 1: NYC Pennsylvania station, sub-surface layout plans

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