Thursday, February 13, 2020

West End Hoosac Tunnel Liner Collapse

There has been a failure of the liner on the west end of Hoosac Tunnel, causing debris to partly cover the track.

Norfolk Southern has issued the following press release:

Feb 12, 2020

Norfolk Southern’s partner, Pan Am Railways, has reported a partial wall collapse in the Hoosac Tunnel which affects all trains operating between Mechanicsville, New York, and Ayer, Massachusetts.  Pan Am Railway’s engineering department is evaluating the situation and Norfolk Southern will provide updates as they are available.  Customers with traffic in the affected area should expect delays of at least 48 hours.
LINKS:

https://www.wwlp.com/news/hoosac-tunnel-out-of-service-for-structural-evaluation/

https://www.rtands.com/freight/norfolk-southern-short-line-partner-suffers-partial-tunnel-wall-collapse/

https://www.news10.com/news/local-news/partially-collapsed-hoosac-tunnel-was-an-1800s-engineering-feat/

https://www.wwlp.com/news/local-news/berkshire-county/hoosac-tunnel-out-of-service-for-structural-evaluation/

UPDATE:
Videos are starting to be posted of the collapse