Hurricane Sandy and Amtrak.

[The Davy Crockett]

Now it is reported that 270,000 customers are without power in the DC area. That is double the number I saw when I checked about an hour and a half ago. Another site said over 3,000,000 are in the dark in the Northeastern U.S.

 

[CHamilton]

Via a friend on Facebook.

Nydailynews: Transit update from from Pete Donohue: Subways could be out for days All under-water tubes linking Manhattan and Brooklyn are flooded - raising the possibility that subway service could be out at least in part for days. The 4, 5, 2, 3, A , C, F and R trains use the five tunnels under the East River. There also is flooding on the No. 1 line in lower Manhattan.

Read more: http://live.nydailynews.com/Event/Tracking_Hurricane_Sandy_2/54247483#ixzz2AkDPrCpJ

 

[GG-1]

I think I may have seen a squirrel doing the backstroke in my back yard as it was growing dark. Or maybe it was the two beers I've had.

Aloha
And How many beers till you do the backstroke? :giggle: :lol:

 

[The Davy Crockett]

I think I may have seen a squirrel doing the backstroke in my back yard as it was growing dark. Or maybe it was the two beers I've had.

Aloha
And How many beers till you do the backstroke? :giggle: :lol:

I tried to find out once, but I ran out of beer before the pool was deep enough for me to attempt it.

It is still raining, but the winds have died down here in ALX. There are still some gusts, but none with near the intensity of last night. When it gets light out I'll take a look around the house to see if there is any damage, but we never lost power and our trees, near as I can tell, all weathered the storm. Boy, do I feel lucky. From what I'm reading, over 500,000 customers were without power in the DC-Baltimore region last night, and that number is only down by about 25,000 this morning. It is going to be a while before everyone is back on the grid and the mess is cleaned up.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

So far, so good at my house. Didn't lose power though houses in the area have per Delmarva. No water in the basement, yet. And only a minor leak at the bottom of my living room window.

Waiting for sunlight to check the outside.

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

AB, I hope you are doing well.

For that matter, I hope all of you in the Northeast are ok. Im keeping all of you in my thoughts.

 

[Ryan]

Lost power here about 10:00 last night. Winds seem to have died down considerably overnight, hopefully the worst is over and the power comes back soon!

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

I hope you get you power back soon Ryan.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

They won't send crews out, at least not the cherry pickers(buckets) until the winds die down to a safe level (I think I heard 40 mph). I don't know if that's sustained or gusts.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

AC, thanks for the well-wishes.

Hope we hear from our NJ members that things are well for them also.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

Once the rain stopped yesterday evening, I was surprised that this is when the winds started to pick up.

Driving into work this morning, most of the traffic signals where dark. It seems that most drivers think that when a signal is dark, that you're suppose to slam your gas pedal to the floor, and speed thru the intersection as fast as you can.

I pass by a few RR crossings. Their "arms" all seemed to be intact. The one freight train that I usually see stopped (but running) in a siding each morning, wasn't there this morning.

In the distance, I could see an oasis of light. It was where I worked, and apparently still had power. It was kind of strange that our sign out by the main road was lit, but the traffic signal there was dark.

My favorite radio station is off the air.

AT&T had one of its main towers explode, so for AT&T customers, cell coverage is spotty.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

Once the rain stopped yesterday evening, I was surprised that this is when the winds started to pick up.

Driving into work this morning, most of the traffic signals where dark. It seems that most drivers think that when a signal is dark, that you're suppose to slam your gas pedal to the floor, and speed thru the intersection as fast as you can.

I pass by a few RR crossings. Their "arms" all seemed to be intact. The one freight train that I usually see stopped (but running) in a siding each morning, wasn't there this morning.

In the distance, I could see an oasis of light. It was where I worked, and apparently still had power. It was kind of strange that our sign out by the main road was lit, but the traffic signal there was dark.

My favorite radio station is off the air.

AT&T had one of its main towers explode, so for AT&T customers, cell coverage is spotty.

Charlie, which part of the country are you reporting from?

 

[CHamilton]

Worst Disaster in Subway's History, M.T.A. Chief Says

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said early on Tuesday that the storm was the worst disaster in the history of the New York City subway system.

...

• As of last night, seven subway tunnels under the East River flooded. Metro-North Railroad lost power from 59th Street to Croton-Harmon on the Hudson Line and to New Haven on the New Haven Line.
  
• The Long Island Rail Road evacuated its West Side Yards and suffered flooding in one East River tunnel.
  
• The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel is flooded from end to end and the Queens-Midtown Tunnel also took on water and was closed. Six bus garages were disabled by high water.
  

Asked when New Yorkers could expect the transit system to be back up and running, a spokesman for the authority, Aaron Donovan, said in a television interview that there was “no firm timeline.”

 

[CHamilton]

[Maryland] MTA restores some service; MARC remains suspended

The Maryland Transit Administration will begin limited service for the local buses, the Baltimore subway and mobility/paratransit trips it operates.

MARC trains and commuter buses remain suspended for the day. The MTA will have information on when that service will resume later today.

Here's a list of train and transit closures in the DC area.

 

[JackieTakestheTrain]

Amtrak.com now showing that LSL is sold out on Thursday -- again not sure if this is really sold out or cancelled....

Might be here until Thanksgiving at this rate.

Dont really want to fly back in the end of the hurricane!!

 

[MrFSS]

Amtrak.com now showing that LSL is sold out on Thursday -- again not sure if this is really sold out or cancelled....

Might be here until Thanksgiving at this rate.

Dont really want to fly back in the end of the hurricane!!

Jackie - we are about 80 miles south of you and have an extra place at the table for Thanksgiving if you want to come down into central Kentucky.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

Amtrak.com now showing that LSL is sold out on Thursday -- again not sure if this is really sold out or cancelled....

Might be here until Thanksgiving at this rate.

Dont really want to fly back in the end of the hurricane!!

Water level route is open and trains are traveling. The storm had a cut off line south of Albany, NY someplace south you have heavy damages. Us folks up north (I90) did not notice any storm last night. Ok I live south of I-90 so there some minor damage, and I have no power. Lost power about 1930 hrs. Local and contract crews are out looking for issues this morning. Past two pick-up looking for damage. One driver had her child strap in a booster seat. Triage by payroll clerk.

Edit: Lost power Monday at 1920 hrs. Power to the house return at Tuesday at 1445 hrs. I live upstate NY, alot of contract power crews in the area, just working a day or two before heading down state. The storm did one heck of a left turn. We miss the bad stuff.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Rail cars on NJ Turnpike.

http://m.nbcnewyork.com/nbcnewyork/pm_107633/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=NHAWo0o0

 

[The Davy Crockett]

Just got back from an outing to Old Town ALX. Very minor flooding, a few trees down, a couple of wires down, some traffic lights dark, but nothing like north of here.

I think Charlie already addressed this with his link, but heard on the radio the DC Metro will be opening with limited bus and rail service after 2:00 PM today.

 

[pennyk]

I have not heard from either Shanghai (who is on Long Island babysitting) or Dave (in Rhode Island). I have sent a text to each of them and have not heard back. My sister in Maryland is fine with minimal damage and did not lose power.

 

[CHamilton]

AMTRAK ASSESSING DAMAGE FROM HURRICANE SANDY AND MAKING REPAIRS

by Amtrak on Tuesday, October 30, 2012 at 6:51am ·

Decision on limited service restoration to be made later in the day

Amtrak crews are currently inspecting tunnels, tracks, equipment and stations to assess the damage from Hurricane Sandy and are beginning to make the necesasry repairs along Amtrak-owned sections of railroad in the Northeast, including the Northeast Corridor.

In addition, Amtrak is working closely with host railroads on whose tracks Amtrak train operate to determine when passenger train service can resume operations on their railroads.

Necessary repairs include the removal of trees and other debris from the tracks and the overheasd electrical power system, as well as track and signal repairs.

Most Amtrak service in the Northeast remains suspended on Tuesday, October 30. Amtrak stations in the affected areas and along the affected routes should be considered closed. A decision on limited service restoration north and south of New York will be made later today for Wednesday, October 31.

Customers are encouraged to monitor Amtrak.com/alerts and those Northeast Corridor passengers on Acela Express, Northeast Regional or Keystone Service trains can follow @AmtrakNEC on Twitter to be notified when updates are posted on Amtrak.com. Amtrak will also be providing updates on its Facebook.com/Amtrak and Twitter.com/Amtrak pages.

Passengers who have paid but choose not to travel due to this service disruption can receive a refund or a voucher for future travel. Some reservations booked online can be modified or canceled on Amtrak.com or by using the free Amtrak mobile app.

Amtrak regrets any inconvenience. This information is correct as of the above time and date. Information is subject to change as conditions warrant. Passengers are encouraged to call 800-USA-RAIL or visitAmtrak.com/alerts for Service Alerts and Passenger Notices. Schedule information and train status updates are available at the Amtrak.com home page.

 

[AlanB]

MTA expects to resume bus service at 5PM, running on a Sunday schedule. No fares will be charged. Subways, who knows. I can hear work crews on my scanner out on my line, the #7 line. However, the MTA chairman reported that the tunnel to Manhattan used by the #7 is flooded. One subway station in lower Manhattan has water to the ceiling! There is a 40 foot boat parked on Metro North tracks by Ossening. The East River got west of 1st Avenue at 34th Street.

I personally never lost power here where I am in Queens. A few flickers and UPS batteries protested, but no loss of power. For those who know my mom, she's OK out in PA but lost power around 5:30 PM last night and it remains out.

 

[afigg]

I think Charlie already addressed this with his link, but heard on the radio the DC Metro will be opening with limited bus and rail service after 2:00 PM today.

The DC area only got side swiped by the storm. NJ and NYC took the direct hit.

Gov. Christie in his news conference said that every NJ Transit rail line suffered major damage and the coast rail line had been washed out. So the NEC in NJ may have taken significant damage.

In NYC, the statement from the MTA stated that besides the multiple subway tunnels with flooding, one of the East River tunnels used by LIRR and thus Amtrak had flooding. No concrete info on the state of NYP, Sunnyside yard, the Hudson River tunnels or Metro-North New Haven Line. The winds over much of the NEC region are still at 20-30+ mph speeds, so there could still be trees and branches falling down through tonight.

 

[CHamilton]

From Gov. Christie's press conference:

• 2.4 million NJ households without power, “This is twice the number as Hurricane Irene.” 1.2 million of those are PSE&G (in the Newark and Jersey City areas.) “Hurricane Irene took 8 days to restore, this may take longer.”

• Avoid travel unless absolutely necessary. Private employers: Unless you can identify a safe route for employees to get to work, I’d ask you to let them stay home today.

• Garden State Parkway open. Turnpike open from Exits 1 to 10.

• 24 small rail cars were moved by tidal surge onto elevated roadway at NJ turnpike, Northbound side, around exit 12. Cranes are working to remove these railcars.

• NJ transit assessing the system. There is major damage on “each and every one of New Jersey’s rail lines. Large sections washed out on the coast, large trees on rails across the state, several rail bridges damaged.

 

[CHamilton]

I think Charlie already addressed this with his link, but heard on the radio the DC Metro will be opening with limited bus and rail service after 2:00 PM today.

Scott, yes.

Metro notes: Normal fares/parking rates, service gaps

Metro is restoring only limited bus and rail service on Tuesday at 2 p.m., but that doesn’t mean the cost will be any lower for riders.

Fares at Metro’s stations and parking garages will be the usual weekday rates, with peak fares being charged between 3 and 7 p.m. This is because changing the fares takes several hours for testing and implementation, and Metro doesn’t have enough time to make these changes by the time peak fares kick in, said Metro spokesman Dan Stessel.

Trains will run less frequently than they would on a normal weekday, but they will still operate slightly more often than on a Sunday, Stessel said.

He said Red Line trains will run every seven to eight minutes, while trains on the other four lines will operate every eight to 15 minutes.

One big difference for riders: Unlike a normal weekend, there’s no track work, so at least riders can avoid those delays. Some trains could encounter minor delays if debris or leaves gets blown onto the tracks, Stessel said.

Trains will begin test runs on the tracks at noon. Stessel said that once the system reopens at 2 p.m., it might take about 30 minutes for the first trains to service all of the stations.