WSJ: Unsnarling the Penn Choke Point

[marmar]

By ANDREW GROSSMAN


"Something is happening in the tunnels," said Kevin O'Connor, the man responsible for making New Jersey Transit's trains run on time, as he watched the giant map inside the Penn Station Central Control center at 5 p.m. on a recent Tuesday. "I can't get my trains from Sunnyside."

Without trains from Sunnyside Yard in Queens, about a quarter of NJ Transit's rush-hour capacity was suddenly lost. Over the next one-and-a-half hours, Mr. O'Connor and his dispatchers canceled trains, rerouted others and turned expresses into locals in an effort to get as many passengers home to New Jersey as possible.

It was another rough evening for NJ Transit, the Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak, the three systems that share Penn Station and the track that feeds into it. One small problem badly disrupted the delicate dance the three railroads perform each evening.

NJ Transit, LIRR and Amtrak must get 170 trains loaded on 21 platforms in four hours, moving more than 120,000 commuters and long-haul travelers out of Manhattan. It is the nation's busiest station. If all goes according to plan, a train opens its doors on a platform every 60 to 90 seconds, picking up or dropping off about 900 passengers—the equivalent of two full Boeing 747s. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704278404576037631824416772.html?mod=WSJ_NY_LEFTSecondStories