Acela 2151 Stalled in Queens

[Amtrak25]

I think after 20+ years of Acela, they should have gotten their laptop situation straightend out.

 

[Ryan]

They did. Replacement equipment that won't require it is Coming Soon.

 

[Rasputin]

They did. Replacement equipment that won't require it is Coming Soon.

I assume that there will be some other flaw crop up eventually that will require a seven hour delay now and then.

 

[Amtrak25]

The delay on Acela 2.0 has been they can't seem to keep the pantograph in contact with the catenary very well.

 

[daybeers]

They did. Replacement equipment that won't require it is Coming Soon.

Still does nothing for the stuck passengers now. Would those passengers be excited about new trains that are already very delayed? Probably not; they'll probably be averse to train travel for quite a while, or indefinitely.

 

[Joe from PA]

Especially frustrating when you've paid double the NER price to arrive earlier.

 

[jis]

The delay on Acela 2.0 has been they can't seem to keep the pantograph in contact with the catenary very well.

I expected that to be a problem trying to run a pantograph at upto 160mph on a mix of catenary suspension systems. Pantograph - contact wire dynamics is difficult in the best of circumstances, and this is far from that. Eventually they have apparently been able to tune it just right, and the last I heard they might drop the max speed in NJ to 150mph after all. They have had a few relatively minor problem in the pure constant tension parts up north.

 

[Danib62]

I wonder how many trains destined for NYP passed them while they were stuck waiting for 7 hours and why they didn't to just transfer the passengers to one of them when it became clear there wasn't a quick fix.

 

[jis]

I wonder how many trains destined for NYP passed them while they were stuck waiting for 7 hours and why they didn't to just transfer the passengers to one of them when it became clear there wasn't a quick fix.

First of all, let me preface this by saying that I am not making excuses for a 7 hour delay. It was pretty inexcusable.

Having said that, whether it was possible to carry out a transfer would depend on exactly where the train was stuck. As I mentioned earlier, if it managed to get stuck on the Amtrak duck under bypass track, there would be no adjacent track where another train could be parked to effect such a transfer.

In that situation, all the trains passing by would do so over it on the LIRR approach trackage bypassing the bypass track.

 

[neroden]

So, it's pretty weird to have a failure mode where the train can't be *dragged*. I would assume Jis is right and that's what happened, since otherwise "Take it to Hunterspoint" is the obvious solution. But there should definitely be more than one laptop in Sunnyside for dealing with this egregious failure mode.

 

[jis]

So, it's pretty weird to have a failure mode where the train can't be *dragged*. I would assume Jis is right and that's what happened, since otherwise "Take it to Hunterspoint" is the obvious solution. But there should definitely be more than one laptop in Sunnyside for dealing with this egregious failure mode.

I would hasten to add that I was speculating based on myself being stuck once for a couple of hours while they went out on a laptop hunt. Who knows what actually happened this time

 

[Amtrak25]

I rode the LIRR on a September Saturday. It was routed on the westbound Main Line local track and through East River tunnel Line 1 (normally used by Amtrak). The Hell Gate track first merges with the LIRR Port Washington Branch, then the LIRR Main Line. We literally zoomed through the whole Harold Complex and dove into the tunnel all at 60MPH (Woodside to NYP took 8 minutes). I don't recall passing through any new duck-unders except for the old Pennsy duck-under for the westbound LIRR Main Line under the Hell Gate line well before Harold.

With constant construction and track relignments for ESA and no railfan front window anymore, it is hard to vizualize the current track layout.

 

[jis]

I rode the LIRR on a September Saturday. It was routed on the westbound Main Line local track and through East River tunnel Line 1 (normally used by Amtrak). The Hell Gate track first merges with the LIRR Port Washington Branch, then the LIRR Main Line. We literally zoomed through the whole HaroldcComplex and dove into the tunnel all at 60MPH (Woodside to NYP took 8 minutes). I don't recall passing through any new duck-unders except for the old Pennsy duck-under for the westbound LIRR Main Line under the Hell Gate line well before Harold.

Why would you? You can't get to the bypass from the LIRR side. It is for Amtrak to get a direct run into the tunnel normally used to get to the Amtrak side. LIRR always had a direct run to it. It is Amtrak that had to cross over the other tunnel track to get to it.

All I can find with a quick search is an old MTA document roughly showing the location of the new tracks for Amtrak:

http://web.mta.info/capital/harold_alt.html
And I actually happen to know that what is depicted there is different from what is actually being built.

On thing I am not sure about is whether they are actually in service since for the life of me I can;t find anything on such an event. But MTA generally is awfully secretive unless there is some political gain to be had by their bosses. So who knows? I know construction started in 2013.

 

[alanh]

Really, the only thing that makes sense is that the brakes were stuck on and they couldn't get them to release. Otherwise, they should have been able to tow it to a station.

 

[west point]

IMO this is a safety issue that the FRA looks into. Any propriety software that prevents the engineer from allowing a train from continuing should be banned. suppose an Acela has brake that sticks, causes a fire and the train cannot be moved off a bridge. Think Susquehanna bridge. Iss it an open deck bridge?

Any train that stops that has a problem that can only be restarted by a remote computer is just plain dumb! Wonder if there are other reasons that can only be restarted by that screwed up remote computer system?

As well wonder if HHP-8s can be subject to this and other stoppages that can only be reset by a remote computer?

 

[jis]

I discovered that the Harold Bypass construction has not been completed after 9 years and it won't be completed until 2025. I started a new thread about it at:

https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/the-sad-saga-of-amtrak-harold-bypass.81191/

 

[Amtrak25]

So that couldn't be an excuse why they would not bridgeplate or drag the train somewhere.

 

[jis]

So that couldn't be an excuse why they would not bridgeplate or drag the train somewhere.

As has been mentioned by me before, I did not provide that as an excuse but as a possible explanation of difficulties. Still, without knowing the exact location it is impossible to surmise what issues might have been faced or not. Due to construction many of the seemingly available tracks are out of service from time to time, and I have no clue which tracks were in service that day, just to give you an example.

 

[Maverickstation]

Here is a good follow up article from the Boston Globe.

Amtrak has stated time and time again that business travelers are a profitable revenue stream for them on the NEC, and in more normal times
this train often sells out the First Class car.

The article states that Amtrak is blaming the long, long, delay on ice build up on the pantograph.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/02...e-stranded-7-hours-amtrak-acela-train-queens/

 

[BlackDiamond]

If the picture in the Globe article is from this incident and not a file photo, it appears the train did break down where there is an adjacent track. If that is true then it should have been possible to bring another train alongside and rescue people.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

At some point much sooner than the repairs were finished. The operation center should of just stop a passing train to rendered assistance and transfer the passengers. Yes I am pretty sure track and time for the mechanics would be a issue, but a cranky old conductor assigned the task would of gotten it done.

 

[jis]

Looks like it was somewhere within F interlocking. That viaduct is likely the now mostly disused track to Long Island City. In that area indeed there would be many possibilities.

I think they prioritized wrongly. Rescue should have been prioritized IMHO even if it took stopping traffic into Penn Station for a bit because of the need to turn off the third rail. I suspect LIRR may have blocked any such thought.

This is why an independent investigation outside the control of Amtrak or LIRR should be ordered.

 

[joelkfla]

Here is a good follow up article from the Boston Globe.

Amtrak has stated time and time again that business travelers are a profitable revenue stream for them on the NEC, and in more normal times
this train often sells out the First Class car.

The article states that Amtrak is blaming the long, long, delay on ice build up on the pantograph.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/02...e-stranded-7-hours-amtrak-acela-train-queens/

Interesting that, unlike the doom and gloom here of passengers abandoning Amtrak like rats from a sinking ship, the passengers quoted in the article generally write it off as just one of those things that sometimes happen.

 

[daybeers]

The train had power

The train did not have power.

 

[Danib62]

Interesting that, unlike the doom and gloom here of passengers abandoning Amtrak like rats from a sinking ship, the passengers quoted in the article generally write it off as just one of those things that sometimes happen.

I'd posit that the doom and gloom passengers here who talk of abandoning Amtrak are all talk and little action.