Harold Interlocking

Harold Interlocking and Sunnyside Yard in 1977

Harold Interlocking is a large railroad junction located in New York City. It is the busiest rail junction in the United States.[1] It serves the Amtrak Northeast Corridor trains, the Long Island Rail Road, and New Jersey Transit. The junction is being rebuilt to address congestion problems and occasional accidents.

Location and operation

The junction is located in Queens, east of the East River Tunnels and next to Amtrak’s Sunnyside Yard. During the rush hour period, over 40 trains per hour pass through the interlocking; and a total of 783 trains each weekday.[2][3] In addition to Amtrak trains, the interlocking serves the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and New Jersey Transit (NJT), which uses the yard for train storage.

The complexity of the junction and the large volume of traffic has caused frequent delays and occasional accidents in this portion of the Northeast Corridor.[4][5]

History

The Pennsylvania Railroad built the Harold Interlocking in 1908 as part of the New York Tunnel Extension project, which built Pennsylvania Station, the North River Tunnels (under the Hudson River), the East River Tunnels and Sunnyside Yard.[2]

Planned improvements

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) began construction of several infrastructure improvements to the junction area in 2009, but a major project to redesign and rebuild the interlocking required additional funding.[6]

In May 2011, a $294.7 million federal grant was awarded to address congestion at the interlocking. The work will allow for dedicated tracks to the New York Connecting Railroad right of way for Amtrak trains arriving from or bound for New England, thus avoiding NJT and LIRR traffic. A grade-separated route is being constructed for Northeast Corridor Trains.[7] The MTA is constructing and managing the improvement project as part of the adjacent East Side Access project to bring the LIRR to Grand Central Terminal.[1] Work on this project started in 2013.[8] However, by October 2015, the tunnels were behind schedule because Amtrak and the MTA could not cooperate on track access schedules.[9] As of late 2017, MTA estimated that the project would be substantially complete in 2022.[10]

Coordinates: 40°44′55″N 73°55′37″W / 40.7485°N 73.927°W / 40.7485; -73.927

References

  1. 1 2 "Harold Interlocking Northeast Corridor Congestion Relief Project". Capital Program. New York: Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Bibel, George (2012). Train Wreck: The Forensics of Rail Disasters. JHU Press. p. 83. ISBN 9781421406527.
  3. ↑ Via, Cynthia (August 30, 2011). "Federal transit funding arrives for Sunnyside Yards". Forest Hills/Rego Park Times.
  4. ↑ McGeehan, Patrick (May 22, 2012). "Guiding Hundreds of Trains, a Junction Named Harold". New York Times.
  5. ↑ "Rail Safety Section Abbreviated Report. Case No. 6935; Date of Accident: March 29, 2002; Carrier: Long Island Rail Road; Type of Accident: Collision". Office of Modal Safety & Security. New York State Public Transportation Safety Board. October 18, 2002. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  6. ↑ "MTA reaches two milestones on East Side Access". Railway Track & Structures. Simmons-Boardman. December 8, 2015.
  7. ↑ Colvin, Jill (May 9, 2011). "New York Awarded $350 Million for High-Speed Rail Projects". DNAinfo.com. Archived from the original on May 13, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
  8. ↑ "East Side Access trackwork to speed LIRR and Amtrak trains". Railway Track & Structures. 2013-07-18. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  9. ↑ Castillo, Alfonso A. (2015-10-03). "MTA 'megaproject' challenged by Amtrak". Newsday. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  10. ↑ East Side Access Quarterly Progress Report: October, November, December 2017 (PDF) (Report). MTA. December 2017. p. 83.
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