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1. Not all NEC stops are high-platform. All stops the Acela stops at, however, are.

2. Low-level platforms were generally standard in the U.S. for many, many years. High-level platforms were only used at central city termini (Washington Union, Baltimore Penn, Philadelphia 30th St., NY Penn, Grand Central) where reduced loading time made a difference--and even then, nearly all of the cited examples were done by the Pennsylvania Railroad, the lone exception being Grand Central.

It takes quite a bit of expense to raise platforms. But, along the NEC, they will, slowly but surely, be raised to meet ADA requirements.

I agree MARC and VRE do need to merge. MARC also needs to stop treating Baltimore like a red-headed stepchild.

And finally, the CSX concerns are not particularly serious, as long as the wires are strung high enough not to come into (electrical) contact with the top level of containers. Norfolk Southern has been known to route double-stacks along the Trenton Cutoff, for example, a freight route whose connections at either end (Trenton, NJ, and Norristown, PA) must pass under wire. Metra Electric runs gallery cars under wire. China runs double-stacks under wire. Etc.

by Steve S. on Jul 17, 2012 11:57 am • link • report