Amtrak CEO Anderson to NJT: Be PTC Compliant or NO Penn Station.

[Karl1459]

I know its been mentioned in another thread but this seems to be explicitly throwing the gloves down!

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/transportation/2018/02/15/safety-system-deadline-could-threaten-nj-transit-trains-penn-station/340269002/

 

[dlagrua]

Most of NJ Transit runs on its own routes that were owned by the former Erie-Lackawanna and Jersey Central Railroads. NJT runs only one service on a Amtrak line being the N.E. Corridor but because the tracks in Penn Station are all owned.by Amtrak they have the upper hand. I don't see how NJT has a choice but to comply. .

 

[Maverickstation]

Actually NJT runs a number of it’s lines into New York Penn Station. The NE Corridor, most North Jersey Coast, Mid Town Direct, and some Raritan Valley weekday trains all run into NYP. NJT needs to get its act together to protect these services.

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[Triley]

Actually NJT runs a number of it’s lines into New York Penn Station. The NE Corridor, most North Jersey Coast, Mid Town Direct, and some Raritan Valley weekday trains all run into NYP. NJT needs to get its act together to protect these services.

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Or don't, and create less traffic through the tunnels.
Tada! Only one tunnel is now required in to the station!

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[Lonestar648]

The new Govenor has no money and NJT is in terrible shape. Somehow they have to get compliant into NYP.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

Money for equipment and training.

However NJT has equipment ready and has Engineers trained on the equipment. Of course it not enough to run a full level of service. However it shows they have able to meet the requirements. Mechanical service are experience in installing the equipment. People are trained in using the equipment and can train there co-workers to use it. So yes funds are need to get it done, but its not outside the possibility of meeting the deadline.

 

[jis]

Actually NJT does not have equipment ready with working PTC hardware. They have scads of installed PTC hardware (i.e. ASES) that does not work due to software issues. There are scenarios in wihc they can get enough head end equipment equipped to operate service to Penn Station at least from NEC and NJCL. Midtown Directs can always be routed to Hoboken to operate under waiver if push comes to shove.

I don't expect any service to cease to operate on 1 Jan 2019, after all the posturing etc. is done with.

 

[neroden]

Yeah, I don't expect so either. This is basically Anderson telling NJ to get their act together. In fact, Anderson's "threat" might even have been requested by NJT officials as a way of badgering the governor/legislature into funding them properly for a year!

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

Scathing article in the Trenton Times this morning on the many things the feds found wrong with the NJT trains (as in brakes that didn't work properly, paper tickets stuck next to electric wiring that could cause a fire, etc.) Sorry I can't post it--it was in the hard-copy edition I read at breakfast (just before leaving for the train, of course!), and I can't find it on their website. (Just checked online again, and it was a repeat of a Bloomberg article from February 21, and it won't allow me to post it.)

However, if anyone wants to look it up, the title is "New Jersey Transit's Hidden Danger: Bad Brakes, Bad Wires, Rotten Parts."

At least our new governor keeps mentioning fixing NJT (if he wasn't serious about that, I don't think he would keep bringing it up). I think we may have turned a corner.

 

[Thirdrail7]

Click on the link to view the full release, specific accomplishments and future plans.

NJ TRANSIT COMPLETES PTC MILESTONE

100-percent Completion of 2018 Year-End Federal Requirements

https://www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=PressReleaseTo&PRESS_RELEASE_ID=3262

NEWARK, NJ – NJ TRANSIT today marked 100-percent completion of the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) 2018 year-end milestone for Positive Train Control (PTC).  Criteria for this requirement included installation of equipment on locomotives and cab control cars, installation of 326 miles of wayside equipment including radios, transponders and poles, as well as initiating PTC testing and employee training.  The achievement means NJ TRANSIT can apply for an alternative schedule to have PTC fully operational by the end of 2020.

 

[jis]

Cleverly worded. They did not actually fully meet all FRA requirements as one might think reading the first sentence. They just met the minimum required to get an extension as explained in the last sentence. Admittedly that is great too, specially for NJT, which is one of the last to achieve that ****y prize milestone. [emoji57]

 

[Acela150]

Cleverly worded. They did not actually fully meet all FRA requirements as one might think reading the first sentence. They just met the minimum required to get an extension as explained in the last sentence. Admittedly that is great too, specially for NJT, which is one of the last to achieve that ****y prize milestone.

I did find it rather humorous. My understanding is that they installed it on each cab car and still have locomotives to go. So they'll have some interesting consists going around. 

 

[RPC]

Does this mean we can have Atlantic City trains back?  :lol:

 

[AutoTrDvr]

Actually NJT runs a number of it’s lines into New York Penn Station. The NE Corridor, most North Jersey Coast, Mid Town Direct, and some Raritan Valley weekday trains all run into NYP. NJT needs to get its act together to protect these services.

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I used to take he Midtown-Direct to/from NYP a lot when I commuted.  It probably wouldn't affect me that much as I could easily take the train to Hoboken and either PATH or the NY Waterway ferry to downtown NY and walk the rest of the way.  And that's what usually happens when something goes awry on the Amtrak Portion of the Midtown direct line (i.e. beyond Newark Penn or Broad St. Statiosn). They simply divert all the trains to Hoboken and PATH honors their passes for PATH trains.  Now, how it affects trains on the NEC that are south of Newark Penn is a different matter.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

From what I have heard Murphy has actually been deepening the politicising of NJT. I haven’t really heard anything good at all about NJT as of late. I have reached the point where I don’t trust it at all though.

 

[jis]

Hey GML! Long time no see. How are you?

 

[Thirdrail7]

While NJT continues to press on with PTC installation , an "throw it out there and see it it works"  solution has emerged: the cab car sandwich...and the filler is the engine! This make them compliant.

 

[TiBike]

It's a Jersey thing.

 

[cpotisch]

4 hours ago, Thirdrail7 said:

While NJT continues to press on with PTC installation , an "throw it out there and see it it works"  solution has emerged: the cab car sandwich...and the filler is the engine! This make them compliant.

  

Forgive me, but can you explain why doing this makes them PTC compliant?

 

[jis]

The cab car has PTC installed, the locomotive does not.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

The trains run push pull. By have a cab car equipment with PTC in both ends. The train now is PTC controlled.

Intresting they are not use the car in front of the locomotive for passenger.  Sure if they were thinking outside of the box, they would split the train in half and use all the cars for passengers.  This would keep the work load of the crew even.  While maximizing the availability of seats.

 

[jis]

Maybe there is some quaint FRA or NJTRO rule that says all cars in the train that are open to passengers must be connected together by gangways with no breaks in the train, or something like that?

 

[Dutchrailnut]

no such rule , but reason the extra cab car is unoccupied is a locomotive can only see one door circuit, but with the two cab cars there is two. 

so doors on that one car are not active or a false door light could be created , plus if passengers were in that single car it would require extra crew member.

 

[Thirdrail7]

no such rule , but reason the extra cab car is unoccupied is a locomotive can only see one door circuit, but with the two cab cars there is two. 

so doors on that one car are not active or a false door light could be created , plus if passengers were in that single car it would require extra crew member.

I was actually curious about the door status indicator for that car.  I figured they may be in bypass, but that would only work one way and would expose the train.

So, I guess the doors are just cut out and not mu'd to the engine?

At any rate, thanks Dutch. You should post here more often.