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Metro North tracks used by Amtrak


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I was on Metro North this week and we passed quite a few Amtrak Northeast Regional trains, which made me wonder the following:

 

How do the Amtrak trains get from the Metro North tracks to Penn Station? And how come no Metro North trains use these same tracks? Wouldn't that make the whole East Side Access plan less important if they used these tracks too? 

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Amtrak contracts with Metro North to use the track.  Metro North has never had the need to go to Penn.

 

Regardless, currently, Metro North tracks can not operate on the Hell Gate to Penn Station as they are not properly equipped to do so.  Further more, there are a very limited number of train crews that are qualified.  They only reason they are qualified is for the Meadowland football games.

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Assuming you mean the New Haven Line, South of New Rochelle there is a junction where Amtrak and MN split, actually under the New England Thruway

Yup, that's what I was referring to, thanks!

 

Amtrak contracts with Metro North to use the track.  Metro North has never had the need to go to Penn.

 

Regardless, currently, Metro North tracks can not operate on the Hell Gate to Penn Station as they are not properly equipped to do so.  Further more, there are a very limited number of train crews that are qualified.  They only reason they are qualified is for the Meadowland football games.

Good to know, thanks!

 

With all the hype around East Side Access, I was thinking that maybe Metro North could use it as a way to get trains to Penn Station (or, alternatively, give LIRR trains a roundabout way of getting to Grand Central). I didn't even know there were MNRR trains that went to the Meadowlands.

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Just because there are tracks going from point A to point B, you can't run train's there. Penn has enough congestion with the 3 railroads utilizing it.

 

At the same point, there's to room at GCT (or the tracks leading to it) for more trains. Plus if LIRR came up the Hell gate to New Rochelle, once on MNR tracks the crew would have to change ends as the is no place to loop the train around, causing congestion that we don't need.

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The MN trains that go to the Meadowlands use NJT equipment.

 

There was proposed service into NYP by MN when the ESA opens, with new stations in The Bronx along the Amtrak route and everything.

That would be pretty cool!

 

Just because there are tracks going from point A to point B, you can't run train's there. Penn has enough congestion with the 3 railroads utilizing it.

 

At the same point, there's to room at GCT (or the tracks leading to it) for more trains. Plus if LIRR came up the Hell gate to New Rochelle, once on MNR tracks the crew would have to change ends as the is no place to loop the train around, causing congestion that we don't need.

Oh well. It's good to know those tracks are there anyway, in the event of some emergency or something like that. 

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We can't run train's to Penn is we wanted to same with LIRR on Metro North. It could be the biggest emergency of the century, it can't happen!

 

Crews are not qualified, trains are not compatible! This was the wet dream of some politicians when there was the explosion in Harlem.

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We can't run train's to Penn is we wanted to same with LIRR on Metro North. It could be the biggest emergency of the century, it can't happen!

 

Crews are not qualified, trains are not compatible! This was the wet dream of some politicians when there was the explosion in Harlem.

LOL! Got it. 

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