The article below from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\ THE CLEARING - IN THEATERS JULY 2 - WATCH THE TRAILER NOW An official selection of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, THE CLEARING stars ROBERT REDFORD and HELEN MIRREN as Wayne and Eileen Hayes - a husband and wife living the American Dream. Together they've raised two children and struggled to build a successful business from the ground up. But there have been sacrifices along the way. When Wayne is kidnapped by an ordinary man, Arnold Mack (WILLEM DAFOE), and held for ransom in a remote forest, the couple's world is turned inside out. Watch the trailer at: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/theclearing/index_nyt.html \----------------------------------------------------------/ Fixing Problems in Tunnels, but Keeping Trains Running June 2, 2004 By MICHAEL LUO The tunnels that feed into Pennsylvania Station have long troubled those who have seen them. A serious train accident under the East or Hudson Rivers could send panicked passengers stampeding up the spiral staircases that rise 10 stories to the surface but are so narrow that rescue workers would not be able to descend at the same time. Passengers trying to walk out might have to edge along narrow, crumbling ledges along the walls. And firefighters rushing to help would be hampered by the absence of a water supply that runs the length of the tunnels. In the last two years, helped by federal money provided after Washington and New York City Fire Department officials repeatedly raised concerns, Amtrak, New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Rail Road, the three railroads that use the tunnels, have begun to make significant improvements. Railroad officials say that they are fixing the most critical problems as fast as possible but that they are limited by the relentless tide of trains that deliver 500,000 people in and out of the station daily. "You have to do this work," said Dan Stessel, an Amtrak spokesman. "But you can't shut down the nation's busiest terminal to do it." So certain crucial fixes remain a long way off - some not scheduled to be completed until 2009. This is a worrisome reality when many have singled out commuter trains as likely terror targets. "When you hear the completion dates, they are a little unnerving," said Gerry Bringmann, vice chairman of the Long Island Rail Road Commuters Council, which represents riders. But he says he does not believe the railroads can work any faster. The only thing to do is wait it out, he said, and hope for the best. "They are making progress," he said. "It's just a long way to go." For years, the work stagnated, primarily because Amtrak, the owner of Penn Station and the 16 miles of tunnels that funnel into it, was having financial problems. But after a series of critical reports by the United States Department of Transportation's inspector general and then the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Congress earmarked $100 million in emergency money to Amtrak for the upgrades, adding to $100 million already in its capital program. (The Long Island Rail Road had set aside $186 million for the tunnel work but had been waiting for Amtrak to put up its part.) The work is now proceeding, and federal officials say they are pleased. But a tour of the tunnels produces a mixed picture, showing the work that has been done and the problems that remain. Entering the tunnels from Queens aboard a slow-moving work train, what is immediately noticeable is how clean they are. Hardly a scrap of garbage or piece of debris can be found on the track bed. Properly maintaining the tunnels has long been the first line of defense against disaster, said James J. Dermody, president of the Long Island. The tunnels are now well lit by high-pressure sodium lamps, installed two years ago. They used to have a jury-rigged lighting system that worked like strings of old Christmas lights - when one bulb went out, the whole chain went. They were also far too dim to be helpful in an emergency. "It was lit, but you needed a flashlight everywhere," said Steven J. Alleman, Amtrak's director of fire and life safety. The light from the lamps casts a pale glow on the crumbling benchwalls. Metal sheets bridge the most serious depressions, but they are clearly in bad shape. Stepladders have been placed throughout the tunnels so passengers can climb down to the gravelly roadbed in an emergency and walk out on a smoother surface. Along the walls are signs, put in recently, that tell people where they are in the 2.5-mile-long tunnel. The train rolls past metallic emergency communication boxes, illuminated by blue lights. Last year, these phone systems, capable of reaching emergency workers and the Penn Station Control Center, came on line in the four East River tunnels after several years of work. The system replaced an antiquated system that required users to crank up the phones by hand. But work on the communications system has not yet been finished in the two tunnels under the Hudson. "The old communication system has nowhere near the reliability you would need in an emergency situation," Mr. Alleman said. Metal shielding overhead interrupts the smooth arc of the tunnel ceiling. The shield hides construction work going on above the tunnel, Mr. Dermody said. On either side of the East River, in Queens and Manhattan, and on the western side of the Hudson River in New Jersey, workers are digging new ventilation shafts and building new emergency staircases to the surface. The new staircases will replace the almost-century-old spiral ones that have come to symbolize the dangerous conditions underground. The staircases are the only escape routes from the tunnels other than entrances and exits themselves. The new ones will be scissor-style, with landings every 15 or 20 feet for people to rest. They will also be wide enough for passengers to ascend and rescue workers to descend at the same time. At the same time, new reversible ventilation systems are being installed next to them that will be able to supply fresh air to the tunnels and suck out heat and smoke. The old blowers could move air in only one direction. But the staircases and the ventilation plants are among the critical changes that will not be made for some time. The ones on the New Jersey side will not be done until early 2005; Queens will be next in 2007 and Manhattan's exit stairwell and plant will not arrive until 2009. Officials point out that the staircases are to be used only as a last resort. In an emergency, the first option would be to send a locomotive in to tow the crippled train out of the tunnel; the second option would be to send a rescue train into an adjacent tunnel and have passengers escape through one of the passageways between the tunnels. The passageways, closed since World War II, were reopened recently as part of the improvements. Also incomplete is the standpipe system that firefighters need to get water into the tunnels to fight fires. Most of the metal piping is in place, but there are gaps that still need to be connected. Previously, the standpipes extended only 200 feet into the tunnels. As a stopgap, a decade ago, 150-pound dry chemical extinguishers were installed every 100 feet, but they would be useless in a major fire. The new system should be ready next year. Even after all these improvements are finished, more than $500 million in work still needs to be done, including repairing the benchwalls and repairing the tunnels themselves, officials said. Senator John McCain has introduced a rail security bill that would give $570 million to Amtrak to finish the work. Representative Peter T. King has offered a similar bill in the House. "Since Sept. 11, this becomes a homeland security issue," said Mr. King, who toured the tunnels recently. "After Madrid, it's even more so." But it is unclear whether the bills will pass, officials said. Some in Congress view the money as pork-barrel spending for New York. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/02/nyregion/02tunnels.html?ex=1087188041&ei=1&en=acf6182f38ffffe4 --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! 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