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FASTRACK Returns To Queens Blvd

Posted by
on January 17th, 2014 at 2:26 pm

Once again MTA NYC Transit’s FASTRACK program will be returning to the Queens Blvd corridor. Here is more on the service changes for the E Train, F Train, M Train & R Train:

On Monday, January 20, MTA New York City Transit brings FASTRACK to the E F M R lines in Manhattan and Queens. From 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., for four consecutive weeknights from Monday, January 20 to early Friday morning, January 24, E service will be suspended between Roosevelt Av and World Trade Center. F service will be suspended between Roosevelt Av and 21 St-Queensbridge. M service will end early between 71 Av and Essex St each night. R service will end early between 71 Av and Whitehall St each night.

Travel alternatives:

• Take the 7 between Manhattan and 74 St/Roosevelt Av or Queensboro Plaza.

• Take the N between Manhattan and Queensboro Plaza.

• In Manhattan, transfer at 5 Av/42 St-Bryant Pk 7 D F, Times Sq-42 St/Port Authority 7 A, and 34 St-Herald Sq D F N.

• Take the R between Queens Plaza and 71 Av. When R service ends, E trains run local between Queens Plaza and 71 Av until 10 PM. After 10 PM, take the E Local between Roosevelt Av and 71 Av.

• In Manhattan along 8 Avenue, take the A Local or C instead of the E.

• Along 53 St, use the D or nearby 6 and N stations instead.

• Free shuttle buses run local between Queensboro Plaza and 74 St-Roosevelt Av making station stops at Queens Plaza, 36 St, Steinway St, 46 St, Northern Blvd, and 65 St.

• In Queens, transfer between shuttle buses and trains at 74 St-Roosevelt Av 7 E F or Queensboro Plaza 7 N.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 01-16-14

Posted by
on January 16th, 2014 at 3:58 pm

Get a head start on your weekend plans as I have just updated the Service Diversions.

Make sure to follow @TransitBlogger on Twitter by clicking the button in the sidebar as I am using it more often. Also if you are into indie music make sure to follow @IndMusicReview & @SurgeFM!

Have a safe & wonderful weekend!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Weekend 7 Line Work Resumes In February

Posted by
on January 16th, 2014 at 3:57 pm

7 Train line riders need to prepare for more weekend service disruptions as weekend closures will be returning as of next month. Here are the details:

MTA New York City Transit has announced the latest round of ongoing work to modernize, improve and fortify MTA New York City Transit’s Flushing 7 Line. The extensive work will require additional periodic weekend service disruptions. When completed, this work will result in a more reliable subway line with the ability to run more trains and improve performance for growing neighborhoods in Queens.

This capital improvement work and the associated service impacts will continue through 2014 with the next round of weekend service diversions scheduled to begin February 28 between Queens and Manhattan. The majority of the upcoming service diversions support the interconnected trio of ongoing infrastructure projects aimed at improving the Flushing 7 Line: the continued installation of CBTC (Communications-Based Train Control), the replacement of critical track panels, and reconstruction inside the Steinway Tube under the East River. The tube work also includes tunnel duct reconstruction and work to replace and improve components damaged during Superstorm Sandy.

“We understand that these service disruptions are inconvenient to the customers who depend on the 7 train and we appreciate their patience,” said MTA NYC Transit President Carmen Bianco. “We have made every effort to schedule these projects simultaneously to get as much work done as we can during these periods.”

The majority of the 2014 work will concentrate on the segment of the line between 74 St-Broadway and Times Square- 42 St. However, work is also being performed along the line east of the 74 St-Broadway Station, particularly along the segment between Mets-Willets Point and the Flushing-Main St stations. There will be no 7 service between Mets-Willets Point and Flushing-Main St between 11:45 p.m. Friday, February 15 and 5 a.m. Tuesday, February 18, as well as between 11:45 p.m. Friday, February 22 and 5 a.m. Monday, February 24.

Customers will be kept informed through notices posted in the system and printed brochures, which will explain the work and the service changes. NYC Transit will operate a special free shuttle bus along all closed 7 Line stations during the service suspensions. Also, N and Q service will be increased during these periods. For service to and from Manhattan, customers should use NQ service at Queensboro Plaza or E service at Court Sq. Customers can also transfer at 74 St-Broadway for EFR service to Manhattan.

The multi-year, $550 million capital improvement project to replace the antiquated 50- to 90-year-old signaling system on the 7 line with state-of-the-art CBTC technology will continue into 2017. Upon completion, CBTC technology will interface with subway cars and countdown clocks to increase operational flexibility and reliability, and allow NYC Transit to run more trains per hour. These improvements will reduce crowding, prevent signal problems associated with old equipment, and further accommodate the population growth in Queens.

NYC Transit will also continue its work bringing the 120-year old Steinway Tube back to a state of good repair. Work in 2014 will include $33 million in component replacement and upgrade, which will include demolishing and reconstructing collapsed duct which houses critical electrical and communication lines to house new cables that supply power for the new technology we’re installing. NYC Transit will be rehabilitating the tube’s pump room and discharge lines, which were damaged during Sandy.

In 2014, service suspensions between Queensboro Plaza and 74 St-Broadway are required to address critical track conditions that require the removal and replacement of elevated track panels that have neared or exceeded their useful lifespan and pose risks not just to safety but also to the 7 Line’s operational capacity. If old track panels are not replaced, they become subject to mandatory speed reductions to prevent derailments, which result in fewer trains operating per hour and more crowding. In all, NYC Transit expects to renew and replace approximately 2,980 feet of old track representing a $15 million investment.

“We have timed this vital work to minimize impacts to customers, pedestrians and vehicular traffic, and to avoid dates with high projected ridership,” added Bianco. “This is far more work than can be completed during our overnight FASTRACK program, which was designed to accommodate typical subway maintenance. Work of this scope on the 7 Line cannot be done overnight and requires more than 48 hours of continuous access to the tube and tracks.”

Dates have been set for weekend service changes through July and are noted below. Service diversions for the remainder of the year are tentative.

No service between Times Square-42 St and Queensboro Plaza on these dates unless noted with asterisk:

• February 28-March 3

• March 7-10, 14-17, 21-24, 28-31

• April 11-14

• May 2-5, 16-19* *(No service between Times Square-42 St and 74 St-Broadway)

• May 30-June 2

• June 6-8, also reduced service between 74 St-Broadway and Queensboro Plaza (Service resumes early a.m. Sunday, June 8 for Puerto Rican Day Parade)

• June 20-23, 27-30, also reduced service between 74 St-Broadway and Queensboro Plaza

• July 18-21, also reduced service between 74 St-Broadway and Queensboro Plaza

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA Adds L Line Arrivals To App

Posted by
on January 13th, 2014 at 12:01 pm

Back in December 2012, the MTA introduced the Subway Time app which featured real time arrival information for the 1 Train, 2 Train, 3 Train, 4 Train, 5 Train, 6 Train & S Train 42nd St Shuttle.

Just a short time ago, the agency announced that they have added the L Train arrival times to the app. Here is more:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that the real-time train arrival estimates that appear on platform countdown clocks on the L Line are now available via the MTA Subway Time™ iPhone and web app. And the MTA is now providing the data to app developers to include in third party apps that help with subway navigation.

The MTA launched the Subway Time app in December 2012 with real-time train arrival estimates showing the number of minutes away a train is due at each station on the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 lines and S 42nd Street Shuttle. Today’s announcement marks the first expansion of the app and real-time data feed from that initial group of lines.

“Know before you go – we like to repeat this catchy slogan because it is so much more helpful to have information with you before you get to our station than once you’re already there,” said MTA Chairman Thomas F. Prendergast. “That’s why we’re delighted to be able to extend the reach of our real-time data so that our L Line customers can have it wherever they are, and make a decision about when to venture out from the comfort of your own home, coffee shop, office, or wherever you may be.”

MTA Subway Time for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch is available via the Apple app store at this link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mta-subway-time/id561507659?ls=1&mt=8 . A web-based desktop version is available at http://bit.ly/1eOUQg4. A number of apps developed by external tech developers include the same real-time data feed as well. Information about many of those apps can be found at the MTA’s online App Gallery at this link: http://web.mta.info/apps/

MTA Subway Time™ is designed to be quick to load and easy to use. The opening screen displays icons for the subway lines served by the app. You can select a line to see all the stations it serves, then select a station to see real-time arrival estimates for up to nine trains approaching that station from each direction. For simplicity, stations that serve multiple lines show all trains combined in a single list.

The arrival time estimates can be refreshed anytime by touching the icon in the upper right of the screen. The exact time the data was provided is displayed at the bottom of the screen.

The app is synchronized with the mta.info website displaying planned service changes and real-time service disruptions. The MTA is evaluating how to best incorporate this real-time information into its point-to-point trip planning web utility, Trip Planner +.

The new real-time data is also being made available simultaneously in raw form to app developers via a GTFS-Real Time feed on the MTA’s cloud-hosted open data portal. Developers who wish to add L line real-time data to their existing apps, or learn how to use the raw open data on any of the lines that have real-time train arrivals, can access it at http://mta.info/developers.

The addition of the L Line’s real-time information into the app is made possible by a technology known as Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC), the modernized signal system employed on the L Line that also powers the countdown clocks located overhead on L station platforms. Signaling on the 7 Line is currently being upgraded to CBTC. The project is expected to be completed in 2016, and the 7 could be added to Subway Time thereafter. The MTA hopes to have countdown clocks in place at the remainder of the lettered lines within three to five years, through digital means overlaid on top of the existing signal system that uses technology dating back to the 1930s.

The L Line, built in sections between 1913 and 1931, has 24 stations in Brooklyn and Manhattan. It was the first line to receive countdown clocks on platforms. They were activated in January 2007.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA Adds Real-Time To Weekender App

Posted by
on January 10th, 2014 at 1:08 pm

Earlier this morning, the MTA announced that its Weekender App has received a major upgrade. The upgrade is the agency adding its Real-Time arrival feature. Here is more via press release:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that its official Weekender™ app for iOS 7.0 and Android has received a major upgrade. It now displays real-time train arrival information at all 154 stations served by the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 lines and upcoming real-time departures for the two terminals of the S 42nd Street Shuttle. The app also now uses GPS technology to center the subway map on your current location.

Real-time information, which had been available separately on the MTA’s Subway Time app and website, is now fused with the information in The Weekender app to put weekend planned service changes and the real-time train arrivals together in one convenient place.

“Real-time arrival info complements and reconfirms the general information already being offered our Weekender app,” said MTA Chairman Thomas F. Prendergast. “The Weekender app already describes the nature of service we’re able to provide each weekend with maps and text. It tells you which trains you can expect to arrive at which stations, and where they will stop once you get on. Now, on most of our numbered lines, the app tells you exactly when those trains are arriving. There is no longer any need to toggle back and forth between The Weekender for service info and Subway Time for specific train arrivals.”

Those who already have The Weekender installed on their smartphone or tablet will receive the updated version of the app automatically as an update. To download The Weekender app visit the Apple App Store or Google Play and search for The Weekender.

Besides providing the new real-time train information, The Weekender app, which was launched in June 2012, tells you everything you need to know about the subway service being provided each weekend in light of service changes for track work. It provides the info for the numbered lines AND the lettered lines. Its key features are:

• Service by Line: Click on a subway line symbol to get a line diagram showing an overview of the line’s service changes, as well as text summaries of the changes.
• Service by Borough: Click on a borough for text-based information about any service changes impacting a borough.
• Service by Station: Select a station for details on any service changes impacting that station, or click on the map to zoom to a detailed area.

Due to the large amount of data and mapping involved in the mobile version of The Weekender, MTA developers have smartly “packeted” the data, so the initial download includes the basic functions needed to get started. Then, each time the user plans a trip or taps to view a particular neighborhood map, only those images are added to the app, so the app gets smarter with every use without hogging device memory.

The Weekender for Mobile was created by MTA developers following initial design concepts from Vignelli Associates. The diagram used as the base of The Weekender both online and in the mobile app is designed to illustrate service diversions at a glance. It is inspired by the 1972 New York City subway map designed by world renowned map maker and designer Massimo Vignelli, and was recently updated by Vignelli, Beatriz Cifuentes and Yoshiki Waterhouse.

As with the web-based version, The Weekender for Mobile also provides the popular Neighborhood Maps that are posted inside subway stations. These maps show the precise locations of subway station entrances within the street grid, along with locations of popular area destinations.

The Weekender is part of the MTA’s continuing efforts to provide real time information about service status. Other digital offerings include real-time locations of buses through MTA Bus Time™ on the web and via text message, real time train arrivals and track assignments via Metro-North Train Time™ and Long Island Rail Road Train Time™ via web and app, real-time driving conditions at MTA’s Bridges and Tunnels through MTA Drive Time™, and Real-time service alerts for all MTA agencies via text message and email, and via social media. The MTA also provides raw schedule, geographic, and real-time data to third party app developers, who have built 106 apps that are listed on the MTA’s App Center.

For more information, click on http://bit.ly/1ejjBma or http://web.mta.info/apps/weekenderApp.html

A nice addition to what is a good app that every rider should have at their disposal.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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