RAIL OPERATIONS COORDINATION: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS TO IMPROVE CONSTRUCTIBILITY SECAUCUS TRANSFER - ALLIED JUNCTION PROJECT

The Secaucus Transfer Station - Allied Junction Project involves the design and construction of some 4.7 million square feet of mixed-use development, including 40-story office buildings to be erected above Amtrak's Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Hackensack Meadowlands located between Newark, NJ and New York NY. As part of this complex, a new two-level station will be integrated with these multi-story structures to serve both the NEC and also NJ TRANSIT's (NJT) Main and Bergen County Lines, which cross underneath the elevated portion of the NEC at this location. Track centers on the NEC will be widened significantly to accommodate two additional interior tracks that will serve the upper level of the new station. To widen the track centers, the two existing NEC tracks must be relocated to new viaduct structures almost two miles in length. Train service must be maintained during construction; therefore, all work must be done "under traffic". During a typical weekday, approximately 300 trains pass this location. Rail operations considerations are significant at this location because all NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak lines are high-density, high-speed operations. Of special concern is the NEC operation, which operates both Amtrak Intercity and NJT commuter trains. On a per-track basis, this section of railroad has the highest train density of any location on the NEC. Trains currently operate through this area at authorized speeds up to 90 MPH and on headways as close as two minutes during peak-hour periods. Probable conflicts between construction of the station and prevailing rail operations are significant enough to cause major project cost and schedule impacts. Traditional approaches to solve this type of problem were not effective and, therefore, a unique solution had to be developed. The concept of "cluster scheduling" was proposed and developed as a solution to the operations/construction conflict. Cluster scheduling has been accepted by the departments and agencies involved in the project and is expected to significantly reduce construction costs and shorten the project duration. This paper details the need for development of, and benefits of cluster scheduling on this major construction project.

• Corporate Authors:

  American Public Transportation Association

  1201 New York Avenue, NW
  Washington, DC    20005
• Authors:
  • Whitehead, R
  • Dewes, P
• Conference:
  • Proceedings of the 1996 Rapid Transit Conference of the American Public Transit Association
  • Location: Atlanta, Georgia
  • Date: 1996-6-2 to 1996-6-6
• Publication Date: 1996

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures;
• Pagination: p. 114-123

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Cluster analysis; High speed rail; Passenger terminals; Railroad commuter service; Railroad stations; Railroad transportation; Scheduling; Structural design; Track laying; Transfer points
• Identifier Terms: Amtrak
• Uncontrolled Terms: Clustering
• Old TRIS Terms: Critical; Passenger station design
• Subject Areas: Construction; Finance; Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation; Railroads; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00749097
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Volume 2
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 14 1998 12:00AM