Acela & Amtrak NEC (HSR BOS-NYP-WAS and branches only)

I did more digging on the proposal of extending 3 daily trips of NER to Ronkonkoma - which seems to be stuck as a proposal for the entirety of this year. While this was maybe an idea before it became a proposal, does anyone have anymore info on if this will go anywhere? From Reddit discussions a few months ago, it seemed to have some support. I'm sure LI will push back - and won't this require work on overhead caternary? I love the idea of connecting to JFK from Amtrak and an easier ride for those in Queens - but I wonder if that is enough support to get it built. It still wouldn't be cheap.

It wouldn't happen until the dual-mode Charger 42E's are in-service, so they'd change from electric to diesel at HAROLD interlocking where the third rail -only LIRR tracks split off. All Northeast Regional equipment would be capable of making the power change by that point.
 
It wouldn't happen until the dual-mode Charger 42E's are in-service, so they'd change from electric to diesel at HAROLD interlocking where the third rail -only LIRR tracks split off. All Northeast Regional equipment would be capable of making the power change by that point.
Nothing to get excited about anytime too soon then!
 
Nothing to get excited about anytime too soon then!
The equipment should be fully available within 3 years. I think that'll be lots sooner than the haggling process with Long Island. There are lots of traffic management difficulties with meshing an intercity super-express with crush-load LIRR local traffic, and the community input process is sure to be tortured because it's Long Island. Right now the pols are solidly behind it so it stands a good chance, but it also wouldn't surprise me if that support proves fickle over time and ultimately collapses.
 
I happen to have a Google alert set up for that exact question. Newest info I could find indicates "late" 2024, so expect something like an 11:50PM departure on 12/31/24. Not an obviously top tier site, but they reference an email they received directly from Amtrak after an inquiry.

A spokesman for Amtrak, Jason Abrams, said in an email this week that the new units are on presently track for a public launch in "late" 2024, based on the latest information from the train’s manufacturer, Alstom.

I wonder if there will be any immediate timetable adjustments once all the rolling stock has been replaced? The higher top speed would maybe take ~5 mins off the BOS <> NYP run?
 
According to Amtrak, the old Portal Bridge, which opened in 1910 and connects Kearny and Secaucus, carried more than 450 daily Amtrak and NJ Transit trains with more than 200,000 daily passengers at the height of its use prior to COVID-era reductions.

Footage filmed by Jon Williams shows one of the three planned sections of the bridge being ferried down the Hudson River near Hudson, New York, by tugboats on Tuesday morning.
 
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400-foot-long bridge arch floats through N.J. river. This is where it’s headed.​

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https://www.nj.com/news/2024/11/400...hrough-nj-river-this-is-where-its-headed.html

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https://x.com/amtrak/status/1817228472655245597?s=46

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https://x.com/varun_vish/status/1834948778807201865?s=46
 
 
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Planning for enabling construction is advancing, with major construction slated to begin in 2026.
 
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Bet that the new Airo trains will be frigging delayed also when it time for their revenue service as well!!!! :eek:
 

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