PHILADELPHIA — Amtrak has begun a $122 million project to improve its Harrisburg line between Lancaster, Pa., and Harrisburg, a project that will see some trains replaced by a bus bridge on that 36-mile segment four days a week for more than six months beginning April 8.
Those outages, along with schedule adjustments at other times, will allow Amtrak to complete the project in nearly half the original two-year timeline.
“Amtrak is making historic infrastructure investments through projects like this one, which will replace obsolete 1950s-era rail infrastructure which is at the end of its useful life,” Laura Mason, Amtrak executive vice president of capital delivery, said in a press release. “We’re taking a fresh approach and expediting this important project with a combination of single- and full-track outages that will improve work efficiencies and reduce the duration of customer impacts.”
Overall, work began March 15 and is slated to be completed in late December. The outages are scheduled to begin April 8 and run through Nov. 21. Mondays through Thursdays, between approximately 8 a.m and 4 p.m., Keystone Service trains will be replaced by buses, which is estimated to add approximately 45 minutes to trip times. Current schedules available on the Rail Passengers Association website suggest this will affect five trains a day in each direction; Amtrak says it will affect fewer than 450 passengers daily. The New York-Pittsburgh Pennsylvanians will continue to operate through that segment middays, and will offer additional seating capacity. More schedule information is available at the Amtrak website or on the Amtrak mobile app.
Work will include replacement of the existing wood ties with 113,000 concrete ties, which have an expected lifespan of 60 years compared to the 25-year estimate for wood ties; installation of 43 track miles of rail; and cleaning and refreshing of 226,500 feet of ballast.
Share this article
