An industry mourns, and reflects on its future - terrorist attacks on World Trade Center and Pentagon

Railway Age, Oct, 2001

Railroad reaction to the terrorist acts of Sept. 11 in New York City and Washington, D.C., came swiftly, in the form of heightened security and an outpouring of compassion and offers to help those affected by the disaster.

In New York at "Ground Zero," where the World Trade Center's 110-story twin towers once stood, there was a direct and devastating effect on one of the country's busiest rail commuter/rapid transit hubs. Beneath and around the WTC lay a complex of Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) and MTA New York City Transit rail tunnels.

The PATH tubes that looped around the WTC complex collapsed when the twin towers fell. A week later, water from broken pipes and from fire hoses was still seeping through the tubes, and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey announced that it would plug them with concrete at Exchange Place in Jersey City, N.J. The tubes to 33rd Street in New York were not affected, and service was operating normally within a few days. No PATH employees or customers were lost or injured, and it was the quick thinking of train crew members that got them safely out of PATH's vast underground WTC concourse.

The Port Authority said it would take several years, and an estimated $850 million, to rebuild its WTC station, which was used by around 80,000 riders daily. To help accommodate displaced riders, the agency plans to spend around $100 million to restore ferry service to lower Manhattan.

NYC Transit also took a hit. Parts of the No. 1 and No. 9 lines were choked with debris and awash in water, and 1,000 feet of subway tunnel collapsed. The Cortlandt Street station was destroyed and the Rector Street station was damaged, shutting down service to Manhattan's southern tip. No NYC Transit employees or customers were lost or injured on trains and buses operating in the area at the time of the attack.

Experts said it could take years to restore service on the 1 and 9 lines. Stations on other lines near the WTC sustained damage but should be returned to service within a few months. Long-term, it was suggested, the need to rebuild could shift the New York MTA's priorities away from billion-dollar-plus capital projects like the Second Avenue Subway and Long Island Rail Road East Side Access.

The extent of the human loss to the transportation community was not immediately clear. The Port Authority reported 74 of its workers lost. Its executive director, 46-year-old Neil D. Levin, was among the confirmed dead. The New York State DOT reported two of its staff missing. Washington Infrastructures Services, whose rail projects include design of New Jersey's Hudson-Bergen light rail line, had around 200 people on the 91st floor of one of the towers. Thirteen were lost.

This is a part of lower Manhattan rich in railroad history. Up until the 1960s, it was home to a cluster of railroads and railroad suppliers. Atop 50 Church Street--part of the old Hudson & Manhattan Railroad terminal complex--the Railroad Machinery Club for many years hosted rail industry stalwarts who came to ear and drink and deal. On the 12th floor of H&M's companion building at 30 Church St., Railway Age and other Simmons-Boardman publications had their offices. The magazine's editors of that day watched the first World Trade tower rise outside their windows (illustration, left). On Sept. 11, 2001, a new generation of editors watched the towers collapse from the windows of their offices on lower Hudson Street, about 20 blocks from the scene of the disaster (p. 4).

The railroads responded quickly. Norfolk Southern immediately offered to move up to 1,000 heavy duty railcars into northern New Jersey to haul away debris. Union Pacific dispatched medical supplies to New York and Washington and pledged to match, dollar for dollar, all employee contributions to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Amtrak embarked on a joint effort with the Red Cross to operate the Clara Barton Express (named after the Civil War nurse who founded the Red Cross), a special train carrying supplies to the rescue and recovery workers at Ground Zero. Amtrak offered to run additional relief trains as needed.

Security was an urgent priority. Within hours of the attacks, Union Pacific employees had inspected every major bridge and structure on the 33,000-mile system, as well as rolling stock. In a service advisory, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe said its police were on heightened alert and it had increased security at critical locations. The railroad told customers it was taking "appropriate operating and inspection measures" to ensure safety. CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern took similar measures.

The railroads all used the same term to describe their post-attack operating mindset: "heightened awareness." FRA Associate Administrator for Safety George Gavalla said the agency has embarked on a comprehensive, industry-wide assessment program involving management and labor on the state of security and safety, evaluating what, if anything, needs to be done. "In light of what happened, we're not going to rest on our laurels," Gavalla said. Special emphasis is being placed on intercity passenger and commuter rail operations.