Metro North Making Temporary Viaduct Repairs
After yesterday’s fire, MTA Metro-North Railroad has been working around the clock to make temporary repairs to the Park Avenue viaduct. Here is more via the official presser:
In order to restore full train service as quickly as possible, MTA Metro-North Railroad crews are working around the clock to make temporary repairs to the railroad’s Park Avenue Viaduct in Manhattan that was damaged by a four-alarm fire underneath the viaduct on Tuesday evening.
The fire caused structural damage to one steel supporting column and three adjacent horizontal steel girders that run east-west along the width of the underside of the viaduct and are known in engineering terminology as floor beam stringers. Because of the structural damage, Metro-North has taken the inside two of the viaduct’s four tracks out of service, and put a speed restriction in place on the two outside tracks.
As a result of the track restrictions, Metro-North is operating on a Saturday schedule until further notice.
Scores of workers from Metro-North’s engineering division are installing six temporary steel columns that will surround the damaged column and connect to it and to one another. Once in place, the seven columns, braced together, will function as a single structure that will bear the weight of the overhead viaduct until permanent repairs can be put in place.
As soon as the temporary repairs are completed, Metro-North will perform structural tests including the impact of train movement over the viaduct. If testing proves successful, restricted speed train service could then resume over the tracks that are currently out of service. The construction and testing process is expected to take 24 to 48 hours to complete.
The fire did not cause any damage to Metro-North’s tracks, signals, or third rail power systems. The damaged column, located near the centerline of the viaduct, is an older, multi-piece “built-up” column design notable for its lattice-like steel appearance; portions of the column date to the initial construction of the viaduct in the 19th century. Columns on the east and west sides of the viaduct, which were put in place by Metro-North in the 1990s, are a newer design consisting of single monolithic blocks; they were not damaged by the fire.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Service Diversions 05-13-16
I have just updated the Service Diversions for the weekend & through the end of next week.
Make sure to follow @TransitBlogger on Twitter as I am using it more often. Also if you are into indie music make sure to follow @IndMusicReview & @SurgeFM!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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FASTRACK Comes To The F & G
MTA NYC Transit’s FASTRACK program will be making its Brooklyn debut on the 
& 
next week. Here is more via the official press release:
On Monday, May 16, for the first time, MTA New York City Transit brings FASTRACK to the lines in Brooklyn. For four consecutive weeknights from Monday, May 16 to early Friday morning, May 20, between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., trains will not stop at Bergen St, Carroll St, Smith-9 Sts, 4 Av-9 Sts, 15 St-Prospect Park, and Fort Hamilton Pkwy. service will be suspended between Church Av and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts. Free shuttle buses and trains will provide alternate service.
F & G trains will operate as follows:
• F trains will run express between Jay St-MetroTech and Church Av in both directions, stopping at 7 Av.
• G service will operate in two sections: Between Court Sq and Bedford-Nostrand Avs, and between Bedford-Nostrand Avs and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts.
• To continue your trip, transfer at Bedford-Nostrand Avs.
Travel Alternatives:
• Free shuttle buses operate between Jay St-MetroTech and Church Av, stopping at Bergen St, Carroll St, Smith-9 Sts, 4 Av-9 St, 7 Av, 15 St-Prospect Park sand Fort Hamilton Pkwy.
• Transfer between G & A trains at Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts.
• Transfer between A & F trains at Jay St-MetroTech.
• Transfer between free shuttle buses and F trains at Jay St-MetroTech, 7 Av, or Church Av.
FASTRACK has been designed around the careful determination that there is adequate alternate means of transportation, including enhanced services along some bus lines during work periods. Alternative transportation options will be detailed in announcements and posters on trains, in stations and on selected buses; brochures will be available in both English and Spanish.
Wynton Habersham, Senior Vice President for the Department of Subways said “FASTRACK has proven to have a significant impact on decreasing delays-both in terms of consolidating maintenance forces in a concentrated area and in terms of proactive maintenance that improves service delivery.”
FASTRACK was introduced in January 2012, devoting four straight weeknights to perform maintenance work in tunnels, stations and on tracks, completely suspending service within a given line segment for a seven-hour period between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.. This gives free access to the system, allowing an army of maintenance workers to perform dozens of tasks repairing and replacing components that are vital to providing safe and reliable train service without the concern of having to “clear up” to allow trains to pass. FASTRACK efforts have been highly successful in providing a safer work environment for employees and improved station conditions for customers.
Our next FASTRACK overnight closure will be on the line between Bedford-Nostrand Avs and Church Av in Brooklyn for two consecutive weeks from June 6 to June 10, and June 13 to June 17.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Service Diversions 05-06-16
I have just updated the Service Diversions for the weekend & through the end of next week.
Make sure to follow @TransitBlogger on Twitter as I am using it more often. Also if you are into indie music make sure to follow @IndMusicReview & @SurgeFM!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Buses Replace Trains Btw Southeast & Wassaic
Metro North Harlem line riders make note that buses will replace trains between Southeast & Wassaic this weekend. Here are the details:
After 10 p.m. on Friday, May 6, buses will replace select trains on Metro-North Railroad’s Harlem Line at all stations between Wassaic and Southeast. From Saturday, May 7, through 2 a.m., Monday, May 9, substitute bus service will be provided for all trains between Southeast and Wassaic.
Buses will operate 15-30 minutes earlier than scheduled trains. Customers should listen for announcements and check local or express bus service to their destination while boarding.
Southbound, Friday, May 6
Buses will replace the last train from Wassaic to Southeast, making stops at the following stations: Tenmile River, Dover Plains, Harlem Valley-Wingdale, Pawling and Patterson. Bus service will connect with the 12:18 a.m. train at Southeast and will operate up to 30 minutes earlier than normally scheduled train times.
Northbound, Friday, May 6
The 8:52 p.m., 9:52 p.m. and 12:10 a.m. trains from Grand Central to Southeast will connect with bus service departing from the Southeast station at 10:23 p.m., 11:23 p.m. and 1:44 a.m. respectively, making stops at: Paterson, Pawling, Harlem Valley-Wingdale, Dover Plains, Tenmile River and Wassaic.
Southbound, Saturday, May 7, and Sunday, May 8
Substitute bus service will be provided for all trains departing Wassaic and the following station stops: Tenmile River, Dover Plains, Harlem Valley-Wingdale, Appalachian Trail, Pawling and Patterson.
At Southeast Station, customers will connect with continuing train service to Grand Central Terminal. Buses will operate up to 30 minutes earlier than normal train times.
Northbound, Saturday, May 7, and Sunday, May 8
Customers will connect with substitute bus service at the Southeast station for the following station stops: Paterson, Pawling, Appalachian Trail, Harlem Valley-Wingdale, Dover Plains, Tenmile River and Wassaic.
This weekend’s service change will help ensure the on-going reliability and safety of Harlem Line trains. The weekend work will include replacing bridge timbers in Dover, welding rail joints, brush cutting and raising track north of Patterson by 4 – 6 inches to prepare for improvements to the Swamp River Bridge that will be taking place in June.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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