What Infrastructure Spending Means

 The new trillion dollar infrastructure package will likely have an impact on that I will call "interesting signaling", I suspect mostly by replacing it, but in a few cases adding in stuff that wasn't there before. We've been through this before with the 2008 infrastructure package trickling down to various rail projects such as the New Jersey NEC modernization that brought in Rule 562 signaling between HAM and COUNTY.

Take the New York Penn Gateway project.  The connections to the new tunnel could be built as part of the existing pneumatic point machine plant, it could be built seperate from it, but leave the existing plant alone...or it could result in the whole Penn Station getting electric M3's.  

For good or for ill the PTC push has pretty much decimated signaling across the board.  What am I most worried about with the new infrastructure money?  Well a complete NEC rebuild would eliminate the remaining pneumatic plants and  intermediate PL signals.  NJT, METRA, SEPTA and the LIRR also have a number of more vintage signaling elements that have hung around due to a lack of funding. The good news is that it feels that bigger ticket items will be the target of this money as signal modernization might have a limited ability to surge (or not as the PTC push is over) and is not as critical. 

The position examples include things like the Glassboro, NJ line or other light rail projects that would use somewhat oddball signaling like IIATS or Westcab train stops.  There are also plans to restore passenger service to places like Allentown or Scranton that might see not only an expansion of Rule 562 cab signaled CTC, but also target type signals, especially in the northeast. All in all its a mixed bag and only time will tell.