Update from August 29th: I’ve upgraded the speeds back to 160. What a crazy exercise of futility. One day later I also obtained summary bulletin order describing most of the changes. There’s still a little more work to do.

Update from August 11th: There are ramblings about the maximum speeds already being changed since July, before I even made this post. I may have shot myself in the foot here although the original editor of the edits I “reverted” presumably didn’t know about the actual rule changes either.

I’ve tried requesting the newest ETT on August 8th and I received the same ETT I already had. The speed changes may have been issued by general order without a general ETT update. As I still have no hard evidence, I can’t yet modify the speed limits yet. It may be necessary to wait for revenue service if nobody can point me to the document I need to request.

On the bright side while going through all of this, I had a chance to closely review speed limits in the Rhode Island and Massachusetts areas. The editors (presumably stevea at least at first) had a solid understanding of the speed change boundaries.

While researching the editor(s), I encountered a changeset that has a URL to yet another ETT I don’t have. Amazing.

https://web.archive.org/web/20121019023013/www.acm.jhu.edu//~sthurmovik/movies/NEC_GO_301_1-18-10.pdf

End updates

https://archive.org/details/AMTK-NEC-employee-timetable-20250505-si

This is the most up to date Northeast Corridor Employee Timetable (ETT) I’ve requested, published May 5, 2025. It contains Amtrak’s maximum authorized speeds on the Northeast Corridor. The Acela 2’s planned speeds (mostly focusing on changing 150 to 160 mph) have not yet been integrated into the rules by Amtrak, despite the observed or assumed compatibility with 160 mph service by track class, catenary structure or demonstration in recent test runs. The current runs remain just that: test runs.

… See full entry

Background

CGP Grey made a video about this issue.

Ellis Island (and Liberty Island, formerly called “Bedloe’s island”) sits on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. New York was quite territorial over the river, claiming the entire river as New York territory, such that New York claimed that even New Jersey’s piers belonged in New York’s jurisdiction. New York and New Jersey agreed to a compact in 1834, which set the proper boundary, as one might expect, down the center of the river and bay. The compact also set the other interstate boundaries around Staten Island and into Raritan Bay.

This is the southernmost portion of New York City, which is also the southernmost part of New York City. The New Jersey border is highlighted:

… See full entry