Could the bi-level cars ever be used on the lines out of Grand Central like the New Haven and Hudson Lines? Have the clearances been reduced by modern bridges or the same since NYC days?
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not sure the GCT tunnels themselves are large enough.
I assume they could lower the tunnel floors if needed?
Originally Posted by Mike W.:
I assume they could lower the tunnel floors if needed?
Why would it be "needed"?
It's taken them over 40 years to build the 2nd Avenue Subway, which is scheduled to be completed in 2029. Can you imagine the cluster that would occur trying to lower the floors of the GCT tunnel system? Yikes.
Are you aware of the maze of "stuff" that's in the immediate area? It's a mind-boggling 3-dimensional nightmare of levels, trackage, drainage, utilities, pilings, building foundations, etc, all inter-woven.
It would probably be do-able, given a few billion bucks and fifty years.
Well..perhaps MNCR would want to run the new bi-level cars (on the hudson line) like NJT uses into Penn Station.
The answer would be no. Not only the Park Ave tunnel, but the overpasses in the Bronx on the Harlem and New Haven lines to the Woodlawn junction are inches above the trains. There is also the station overpass in White Plains that is low. Just to much money to raise and/or lower the tracks.
Why did they let all of these overpasses (most were built in recent decades) encroach upon the ROW?
Discussion on Railroad.Net forums about proposed M9 cars that briefly sidetracked itself into a discussion on the suitability of NJT-style multilevel cars...
The two posters with conflicting "official" info are both current or (recently) retired Metro-North engineers.
---PCJ
