Next came word that Amtrak was going to go on strike. Then word came out that Amtrak was going to try to avoid striking. Now it appears that there is an ominous possibility that Amtrak will go on strike.
Ai Caramba! Train Rider will not be happy if Amtrak goes on strike.
So here is the run down on the strike rumors:
The CBS-affiliate out of Providence, RI posted an Associated Press story to their website yesterday afternoon. The AP article noted that 17,000 riders rely on commuter rail service between Providence and Boston.
Also, "the MBTA says any contingency plan could only accommodate 25% of the 47,000 passengers a day who use South Station." I don't know why North Station passengers weren't factored into this equation. Maybe the North Station-bound trains don't ride on Amtrak rails? Maybe the towns that rely on service to North Station are too far for a Rhode Island TV station to care.
Boston Magazine's "Boston Daily" published a tongue-in-check article about the pending strike that basically contained most of the information from the AP story.
Even the Harvard Crimson got in on the action (that the Boston Globe, MetroWest Daily News, and Worcester Telegram & Gazette, not to mention the Boston TV stations all seem to be ignoring). The Crimson's "Updating Amtrak" article noted that in the past 36 years, Amtrak has never gone on strike. This well reported article provides some details as to why Amtrak workers are thinking about waging a strike.
Finally, The Boston Herald outlined some of the cities that will be impacted by the strike. This strike will not be pretty - here is a run down on the cities that will be impacted:
- Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority/Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail - TrainRider would be among the 47,000 daily passengers affected.
- New Jersey Transit - 218,000 daily trips.
- Long Island Rail Road - 85,000 passengers out of 100,000 customers. Basically anyone who needs to go into Penn Station.
- Metro-North (New York City Area and Connecticut) - not affected.
- Shore Line East (Connecticut) - 2,000 passengers who travel between New Haven and New London. This line actually has a contingency plan!
- Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority - 5 out of the 13 SEPTA lines run on Amtrak tracks and a 6th line runs on both Amtrak and SEPTA tracks.
- MARC (Maryland) - 19,000 riders who rely on the Penn line between Baltimore and Washington, DC. Two other lines will be able to run, but would need to terminate before reaching Union Station in DC.
- Virginia Railway Express - this line would be completely shut down because it is operated by Amtrak employees. 15,000 riders would be impacted.
- METRA (Chicago) - 80,000 riders because Union Station would be closed.
- Caltrain (California) - Service between San Francisco and San Jose would be shut down, impacting 36,000 riders.
4 comments:
The reason the south side is affected but not the north side is dispatching.
The T owns all of the physical track over which the commuter rail runs except the Framingham-Worcester section (owned by CSX) and the Allston freight yard (owned by Harvard University). However, Amtrak handles the dispatching at South Station itself and along the Providence line. If Amtrak strikes there would be no dispatchers so no trains could enter South Station.
I can't find the link now, but I think it was floated in one of the papers that the T might be able to run a limited schedule of trains Worcester-Back Bay, Needham-Forest Hills, and Old Colony lines-Quincy, where customers would have to transfer to the subway. The Providence/Stoughton line would be closed completely. I'm not sure about the Franklin line since it travels along the main line inbound of Readville - I assume it might have to close as well.
Anonymous,
Thanks for the background information regarding why the pending Amtrak strike will affect all the lines that go into South Station (Fairmont, Framingham/Worcester, Franklin, Greenbush, Kingston/Plymouth, Middleborough/Lakeville, Needham, and Providence/Stoughton).
I knew that CSX owned the Worcester to Boston rails (because, unfortunately, my commutes are impacted by this relationship).
I've been trying to keep my eyes open, looking for the contingency information should Amtrak strike, but I haven't been able to locate any definite details.
I feel for all of us who could be impacted by the strike, especially for all the Providence/Stoughton commuters. What a bum rap!
Let's hope Amtrak doesn't strike. Congress can stop the strike, so if Amtrak is serious about walking I hope Congress steps in.
Thanks for visiting.
Train Rider
I and 40,000 other commuters ride Caltrain every weekday. Caltrain is operated by Amtrak employees. Adding 40,000 more cars to an already overcrowded highway system = A Big Huge Mess between San Jose and San Francisco.
I know that the strike is averted and everything is ok, but here it goes. I found out that the Worcester/framingham line would have run on limited service, but just to Back Bay. No trains would have run on the other south side lines because they are dispatched by Amtrak. The Old Colony lines would have ran because they are dispatched by the MBTA and the Greenbush would not have operated
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