Originally Posted by
fairviewroad
You are correct. The tracks are being shifted, for reasons that aren't really explained in the above article. You have to think this will impact the Keystones schedule during the construction phase as this will likely require single-track operations through the area for an extended period of time.
That is odd. Seems way more expensive to move tracks than to pour some extra concrete, but what do I know.
There isn't a ton of traffic on the part of the line between HAR and COT (once out of SEPTA territory), so single-track running shouldn't be an issue. That said, the schedule right now does have several trains meeting in the MID area, as the eastbounds out of HAR leave about 10-15 minutes before the westbounds are scheduled to arrive at HAR, so this is actually a spot where many meets occur. There are also several other places in the schedule where the westbound arrives a few minutes before the eastbound departs, but in the not-unusual event that the westbound is late, they cross paths in/around MID.
That all said, there are crossovers (obviously) at HAR and I believe there are crossovers not far from the current MID station (a Google Maps satellite view review shows one just south of the Burd Street bridge just on the other side of Swatara Creek from the current station), so potential single-track delays should only be a few minutes at most. I would not be surprised to see some tweaks to the schedule, though, to prevent this from happening.
I miss hopping off the train at MID, walking under the tracks, and enjoying a burger and $3 lager at the Blue Room, though.
(Why do I know so much about MID and HAR train departures? I spent a lot of time point-running in that area, so I had to know what the most efficient HAR turns were.
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