Port Jervis Line repair ahead of schedule
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefMTA Metro-North Railroad says its efforts to repair its Port Jervis Line, providing West-of-Hudson service to New York’s Rockland and Orange counties, is ahead of schedule and, so far, under budget expectations.
Metro-North now hopes to restore limited service on the portion of the line between Harriman and Suffern, N.Y., severed due to Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene in late August, before the end of the year. Additional work, including restored double-tracking of the segment, would continue into 2012. Projected cost of the repair now is at $37 million, less than the initial estimate of $50 million.
Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said costs were “way down” because Metro-North personnel from its Tracks and Structures department have made “significant” progress, by working 12-hour days and on weekends. Ballast and other materials also have been salvaged to greater degree than first anticipated; Metro-North now expects about 80,000 tons of new ballast will be required, just more than half of the 150,000 tons initially believed necessary.
“We’re able to salvage a tremendous amount it,” Anders said. “We’re able to scoop it up and put it back in where was supposed to be.”
Limited rail shuttle service now links rail riders between Port Jervis and Harriman, N.Y., where customers can board shuttle buses to bridge the rail service gap between Harriman and Suffern. Port Jervis Line service in New Jersey, part of NJ Transit’s Bergen/Main Line service, is accessable in Ramsey, N.J., for continued trips to and from Hoboken, N.J., the Port Jervis Line’s other terminus.
