Harold Interlocking Explained

Harold Interlocking is a large railroad junction in New York City. The busiest rail junction in the United States,[1] it serves trains on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line and Port Washington Branch, which diverge at the junction.

Reconstruction work on Harold Interlocking started in 2009, as part of the East Side Access project to bring LIRR service to a new station under Grand Central Terminal. As part of the project, two tunnels for Northeast Corridor trains to bypass Harold Interlocking were built to reduce congestion and accidents.

Location and operation

The junction sits in Queens, New York, east of the East River Tunnels and next to Amtrak's and NJ Transit Rail Operations' Sunnyside Yard. It sees 783 trains each weekday,[2] [3] including more than 40 per hour at peak periods. The interlocking serves Amtrak trains on the Northeast Corridor and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), whose Main Line and Port Washington Branch diverge from the Corridor here.

thumb|left|Entering the Harold Interlocking on the LIRR from the east

The complexity of the junction and the large volume of traffic have caused frequent delays and occasional accidents.[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.

The interlocking was renovated over a nine-week period in summer 1990,[6] several months after a power surge caused trains to be stuck in the interlocking. Since the 1990s, Harold Interlocking has been controlled from a tower at Penn Station.[4]

East Side Access 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.[7]

In May 2011, a $294.7 million federal grant was awarded to address congestion at the interlocking.[8] The work allowed for a grade-separated route between the East River Tunnels and the Hell Gate Bridge for Amtrak trains traveling to or from New England, thus avoiding LIRR traffic. Northeast Corridor trains from the Hell Gate Bridge and New England would be able to avoid the junction entirely, while trains to the Hell Gate Bridge and New England would be able to bypass a major section of the junction. The MTA undertook this effort as part of the adjacent East Side Access project to bring LIRR service to Grand Central Terminal.[1], two of three East Side Access tunnel portals had been built at Harold Interlocking;[9] the remaining portal was completed by early 2021.[10] The full East Side Access project was completed on January 25, 2023, in line with the MTA's schedule estimates.[11] [12]

Other improvements

Work on the Northeast Corridor bypass started in 2013.[13] However, by October 2015, the tunnels were behind schedule because Amtrak and the MTA could not cooperate on track access schedules.[14] These delays ultimately raised construction costs by almost $1 billion as of April 2018,[15] and in a report that month, the MTA attributed the delays to a lack of cooperation on Amtrak's part.[16] The work at Harold Interlocking also included the installation of a microprocessor-based interlocking logic, replacing the old relay-based one.[17] [18]

While some of the interlocking improvement projects are complete as of early 2023, several other projects are ongoing and will be complete by late 2025.[19]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Harold Interlocking Northeast Corridor Congestion Relief Project . . Capital Program . Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) . New York . April 30, 2016 .
  2. Book: Bibel, George . Train Wreck: The Forensics of Rail Disasters . 2012 . JHU Press . 9781421406527 . 83.
  3. News: Via . Cynthia . August 30, 2011 . Federal transit funding arrives for Sunnyside Yards . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160604022214/http://www.foresthillstimes.com/view/full_story/15269781/article-Federal-transit-funding-arrives-for-Sunnyside-Yards . June 4, 2016 . April 30, 2016 . Forest Hills/Rego Park Times.
  4. News: McGeehan . Patrick . May 22, 2012 . Guiding Hundreds of Trains, a Junction Named Harold . The New York Times.
  5. Web site: Rail Safety Section Abbreviated Report. Case No. 6935; Date of Accident: March 29, 2002; Carrier: Long Island Rail Road; Type of Accident: Collision . . October 18, 2002 . Office of Modal Safety & Security . New York State Public Transportation Safety Board . April 30, 2016.
  6. Web site: Lyall . Sarah . 'Waiting for Harold,' a L.I.R.R. Saga . The New York Times . July 3, 1990 . December 1, 2018.
  7. Web site: MTA reaches two milestones on East Side Access . Nunez . Jenifer . December 8, 2015 . Railway Track & Structures . Simmons-Boardman.
  8. Web site: Colvin . Jill . New York Awarded $350 Million for High-Speed Rail Projects . DNAinfo.com . May 9, 2011 . May 13, 2011 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110513083616/http://www.dnainfo.com/20110509/midtown/new-york-awarded-350-million-for-highspeed-rail-projects . May 13, 2011 . mdy-all .
  9. Web site: East Side Access: Bringing Long Island Rail Road Service to the East Side of Manhattan LIRR Committee Report . November 13, 2018 . MTA . November 20, 2018.
  10. Web site: East Side Access Approach Structure Selected as a "Top Project" by RT&S . A Modern LI . March 18, 2021 . November 14, 2022 . November 14, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221114233526/https://www.amodernli.com/east-side-access-approach-structure-selected-as-a-top-project-by-rts/ . dead .
  11. Web site: Castillo . Alfonso A. . December 19, 2022 . LIRR shuttle service to start before full opening of Grand Central Madison . December 19, 2022 . Newsday.
  12. Web site: Hoogensen . Finn . December 19, 2022 . LIRR to offer direct train between Grand Central Madison and Jamaica, Queens . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20221222012341/https://pix11.com/news/local-news/lirr-to-offer-direct-train-between-grand-central-madison-and-jamaica/ . December 22, 2022 . December 22, 2022 . PIX11.
  13. Web site: East Side Access trackwork to speed LIRR and Amtrak trains. July 18, 2013 . Nunez . Jenifer . Railway Track & Structures . March 15, 2018.
  14. News: MTA 'megaproject' challenged by Amtrak . Castillo . Alfonso A. . October 3, 2015 . Newsday . March 15, 2018.
  15. News: East Side Access price tag now stands at $11.2B. Castillo. Alfonso A.. April 15, 2018. Newsday. April 16, 2018. April 15, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180415065109/https://www.newsday.com/long-island/east-side-access-tour-1.18020231. dead.
  16. Web site: Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting . April 23, 2018 . MTA . April 20, 2018.
  17. Web site: MTA: Another snag for East Side Access project . Castillo . Alfonso A. . March 1, 2018 . Newsday . April 16, 2018.
  18. Web site: LIRR to test upgraded signal system for East Side Access project. For Railroad Career Professionals. April 5, 2018 . Progressive Railroading . April 16, 2018.
  19. Milestone Report; Network Expansion—Regional Investments . 2023-02-08 . MTA.

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