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RealMaRoFu t1_j14xkuz wrote

Reply to comment by lynch_95_ in All I want for Christmas is for PATH to do this between Newport & Christopher St by objectimpermanence

Those curves are no joke. Especially when the PATH reaches the New York side of the river: Google Maps shows a beeline from JC to Christopher Street, but in reality, the line first goes to Morton Street (you can actually see the vents if you go there), then it makes a very sharp turn north onto Washington Street, and then another very sharp turn to head east onto Christopher Street. If you want to speed up trains then a full on reconstruction of the tunnel will be needed.

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FloatingWeight t1_j151q6d wrote

Yet still a better investment than 10b on highway extension

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Economy-Cupcake808 t1_j179497 wrote

A new tunnel and Hoboken alignment would cost magnitudes more. I don’t it’s feasible.

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lynch_95_ t1_j14xx2x wrote

Reconstruction is needed regardless. The tunnels mid river are literally disintegrating.

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j17hsbr wrote

It's not just curve, it's also a climb and a drop. Particularly in the flying junction on the NJ side of the tunnel.

Speed control on a train is drastically impaired when a train is not level. That's because the wheels have very little grip on the track. Remember that minimal friction allows it to move so much weight with minimal power also means it doesn't have much control.

That's why track anywhere near a curve or station tends to be setup to be as flat as possible. But occasionally compromises have to be made. Less curves can only be done if the turn radius is larger, meaning more track distance, moving stations, potentially more obstacles. Even if the train runs faster, the distance can wipe away most of the time improvement.

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rbastid t1_j17u3le wrote

Riding the NY subway, even at high speeds, I very rarely get jostled around, but with the PATH the thing could be going 5 MPH and it hits a turn that will throw everyone in to the wall.

In Manhattan at least, many of the trains are running a pretty linear path, with a few turns here and there, so speeding up is much more doable.

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Itchy-Entrepreneur19 t1_j179xrr wrote

Wow, did the ancient folks who constructed the path not realize that the population would definitely increase...along w/ advances other aspects related to engineering or simply updated Path trains???

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xmrseanx t1_j190ib3 wrote

In the late 1800s when the Hudson Tubes were first dug, there was barely any underground trains let alone one that was under a river. The local newspapers at the time ridiculed the Tubes and called their creation lunacy and a fool's errand.

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