5

Weekend 7 Service Suspended For 11 Weekends

Posted by
on January 13th, 2012 at 12:11 pm

The last couple of years has been extremely frustrating for those depending on the 7 Train as the line has faced major but necessary service disruptions due to important projects.

While the long term benefit is good for riders, it is a hard sell in the present especially with the latest news that weekend service between Manhattan & Queens will be suspended for 11 weekends beginning next weekend:

A continuation of upgrade and modernization work to the Flushing Line and its stations will necessitate suspension of 7 train service between Queensboro Plaza and Times Square for eleven weekends beginning January 21, as well as the full closure of the Court Square Station on the 7 line until April 2, 2012.

MTA New York City Transit is currently involved in a long-term project to install state-of-the-art signaling along the line, replacing a system that is between 50 and 90 years old. The new Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) system, scheduled to be completed in late 2016, will improve reliability, enhance safety and reduce maintenance requirements while increasing line capacity and operational flexibility.

Additionally, a major station rehabilitation project is underway at the Court Square Station in Long Island City. That works consist of platform and windscreen replacement and the enhancement of accessibility features with the installation of ADA boarding areas, tactile warning strips and signage. This project, combined with work already completed at Court Square, which included the installation of three ADA elevators, will make the station accessible to the disabled at the time of its scheduled completion in June, 2012.

“We are taking the opportunity to do a lot of work during this period and while we regret the inconvenience to our customers, this is work that must be done in order to improve the performance of this line,” said NYC Transit President Thomas F. Prendergast. “We have already accomplished a lot here and we have seen an improvement in reliability. With the work we are doing now, we are continuing that progress.”

With only two tracks and virtually no clearance in the Steinway Tube (which is the link between Queens and Manhattan), it is not possible to perform certain jobs, such as CBTC installation. In order to perform this work, train service can only run between Main Street, Flushing and Queensboro Plaza.

Service diversions are scheduled for the weekends of January 21-23, January 28-30, February 4-6, February 11-13, February 18-21, February 25-27, March 3-5, March 10-12, March 17-19, March 24-26 and March 31-April 2, 2012 weekends. During these weekend shutdowns, there will be no 7 line subway service between the Times Square-42nd Street and Queensboro Plaza stations from 12:01 a.m. Saturdays to 5 a.m. on Mondays. As has been done in the past, a special fare-free shuttle bus service will operate between the Vernon-Jackson and Queensboro Plaza Stations while the service diversion is in effect.

Riders boarding the 7 line east of Queensboro Plaza must transfer between that line and the Astoria Line (N and Q) to travel between Queens and Manhattan when the service diversion is in effect. Service on these trains will be increased during these weekends. Additionally, we remind our customers that they can ride the E train to reach Court Square and Queens Plaza. If late night diversions are in effect on the E line, there will be a free shuttle bus connecting the G at Court Square to the rerouted E at 21st Street-Queensbridge F station.

In order to carry out the $7.2 million Court Square project, the station will be closed at all times from January 21 through April 2, 2012. Riders may reach the Court Square area by using the E, G or M subway lines or the Q39, Q67, Q69 or B62 bus lines during the station closure. Those riders who now transfer between the 7 and G lines at Court Square may now make a special free walking transfer with their MetroCards between the 7 line’s Hunters Point Avenue Station and the G line’s 21st Street-Van Alst Station. The free transfer between the E, G and M lines at Court Square is not affected by the project.

We are taking the greatest possible advantage of the closure of the Steinway Tube on these weekends to perform station, track and tunnel work on the 7 Line. The following projects will also be carried out while the service diversions are in effect:

Additional track and tunnel maintenance work in the Steinway Tube. We are upgrading emergency alarms and telephones, installing the copper cable associated with them and replacing collapsed ducts in the tube, another step towards improving service reliability.

Track replacement work along 23rd Street between Queens Plaza South and 44th Drive.

Installation of electrical equipment at the Vernon-Jackson Station for the CBTC project.

Station renewal work is continuing at the Hunters Point Avenue Station, including platform, stairway and mezzanine repairs, bringing the station to a state-of-good-repair. This $5.2M project is scheduled for completion in May 2012.

We will carry out a series of station improvements at the Vernon-Jackson station. This work includes replacing platform edge concrete, removing wood rubbing boards and replacing them with boards made from polyethylene, installing tactile platform edge ADA warning strips and repairing or replacing platform columns. We will also repair cracked platform surfaces, walls and station ceilings while improving the lighting.

Track replacement work will take place in the area of the Times Square-42nd Street station to facilitate the extension of the 7 to a new western terminal at 34th Street and 11th Avenue.
Customers will be notified of these temporary service changes by notices posted in the subway system. Brochures explaining this work and the alternate services will also be available in the subway system.

We will make announcements on trains and in stations throughout the system about the service changes. NYC Transit personnel will be on hand at all affected stations and along the substitute shuttle bus routes in order to assist riders with any questions they may have. Notices about the diversions will also be posted on the service advisory page of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s website, http://travel.mtanyct.info/serviceadvisory.

It is important to note that work on the 7 Line will continue beyond these weekends. Service diversions facilitating CBTC installation, additional Steinway Tube maintenance work and other work along the line are scheduled to take place in Fall 2012.

I know this will be difficult for those who ride the line. However before becoming completely frustrated, understand that in the end, this work will help provide a much more convenient & practical ride in the future.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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1

LIRR Service Plan For MLK Jr Day

Posted by
on January 13th, 2012 at 12:02 pm

Here is the service plan information for the MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) on Martin Luther King Jr. Day:

The MTA Long Island Rail Road will operate on a holiday schedule with extra trains added on Monday, January 16, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a federal holiday. There will be 37 extra eastbound and westbound trains, to and from Penn Station, added on various branches to accommodate holiday travelers. Off-peak fares will also be in effect all day.

Customers are reminded to check regular printed branch timetables – dated December 12 – February 26, 2012 – or the LIRR’s website at www.mta.info for details on the extra train departure times.

Please note some trains are listed more than once due to common stations on different branches. For example, Hicksville is served by both Port Jefferson and Ronkonkoma Branch trains.

The extra trains are as follows:

Babylon Branch:

Westbound

Depart Babylon 5:08 AM, making all stops to Rockville Centre, then Jamaica, arrive NY 6:20 AM

Depart Babylon 5:51 AM, making all stops to Rockville Centre, then Jamaica, arrive NY 7:03AM

Depart Babylon 6:18 AM, making all stops to Rockville Centre, then Jamaica, arrive NY 7:31 AM

Depart Babylon 6:51 AM, making all stops to Rockville Centre, then Jamaica, arrive NY 8:03 AM

Depart Babylon 7:19 AM, making all stops to Rockville Centre, then Jamaica, arrive NY 8:31 AM

Depart Babylon 7:38 AM, making all stops to Rockville Centre, then Jamaica, arrive NY 8:51 AM

Depart Babylon 7:45 AM, stopping at Jamaica, arrive NY 8:51 AM

Depart Babylon 9:15 AM, making all stops to Rockville Centre, then Jamaica, arrive NY 10:28 AM

Eastbound:

Depart NY 2:35 PM, stopping at Jamaica, then Babylon (arrive 3:35 PM)

Depart NY 4:59 PM, stopping at Jamaica, Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon (6:13 PM)

Depart NY 5:32 PM, stopping at Jamaica, Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon (6:47 PM)

Depart NY 5:59 PM, stopping at Jamaica, Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon (7:13 PM)

Depart NY 6:32 PM, stopping at Jamaica, Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon (7:47 PM)

Montauk Branch:

Westbound

Depart Speonk 6:45 AM, making all stops to Babylon, then Jamaica, arrive NY 8:47 AM

Eastbound:

Depart NY 2:35 PM, stopping at Jamaica, Babylon, then all stops to Speonk (4:35 PM)

Port Jefferson Branch (to Huntington):

Westbound

Depart Hicksville 5:47 AM, stopping at Jamaica, Woodside, arrive NY 6:29 AM

Depart Huntington 5:42 AM, making all local stops to Jamaica, arrive NY 6:48 AM

Depart Hicksville 6:47 AM, stopping at Jamaica, Woodside, arrive NY 7:28 AM

Depart Hicksville 7:30 AM, stopping at Jamaica, arrive NY 8:15 AM

Depart Huntington 7:30 AM, making all local stops to Jamaica, arrive NY 8:34 AM

Depart Hicksville 7:45 AM, stopping at Jamaica, Woodside, arrive NY 8:28 AM

Depart Hicksville 8:47 AM, stopping at Jamaica, Woodside, arrive NY 9:30 AM

Eastbound:

Depart NY 3:35 PM, stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, then Hicksville (4:19 PM)

Depart NY 4:35 PM , stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, then Hicksville (5:19 PM)

Depart NY 5:07 PM, stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, then all local stops to Huntington (6:13 PM)

Depart NY 5:35 PM, stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, then Hicksville (6:19 PM)

Depart NY 6:07 PM, stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, then all local stops to Huntington (7:13 PM)

Depart NY 6:35 PM, stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, then Hicksville (7:19 PM)

Port Jefferson Branch:

Westbound

Depart Port Jefferson 8:25 AM, making all local stops to Huntington, Jamaica, arrive NY 10:15 AM

Eastbound:

Depart NY 4:05 PM, stopping at Jamaica, then all local stops to Huntington, then all local stops to Port Jefferson (6:01 PM)

Port Washington Branch:

Westbound

Depart Port Washington 7:10 AM, making all local stops to Woodside, arrive NY 7:55 AM

Depart Great Neck 7:43 AM, making all local stops to Woodside, arrive NY 8:18 AM

Depart Port Washington 8:10 AM, making all local stops to Woodside, arrive NY 8:55 AM

Depart Great Neck 8:24 AM, making all local stops to Woodside, arrive NY 9:03 AM

Eastbound:

Depart NY 4:48 PM, making all stops to Port Washington (5:34 PM)

Depart NY 5:03 PM, making all stops to Great Neck (5:39 PM)

Depart NY 5:48 PM, making all stops to Port Washington (6:34 PM)

Depart NY 6:03 PM, making all stops to Great Neck (6:39 PM)

Depart NY 7:03 PM, making all stops to Great Neck (7:39 PM)

Ronkonkoma Branch:

Westbound

Depart Ronkonkoma 5:10 AM, making local stops (except Pinelawn) to Hicksville, Jamaica, arrive NY 6:29 AM

Depart Ronkonkoma 6:10 AM, making local stops (except Pinelawn) to Hicksville, Jamaica, arrive NY 7:28 AM

Depart Ronkonkoma 7:10 AM, making local stops (except Pinelawn) to Hicksville, Jamaica, arrive NY 8:28 AM

Depart Farmingdale 7:19 AM, stopping at Bethpage, Hicksville, Jamaica, arrive NY 8:15 AM

Depart Ronkonkoma 8:10 AM, making all local stops (except Pinelawn) to Hicksville, Jamaica, arrive NY 9:30 AM

Eastbound:

Depart NY 3:35 PM, making stops at Woodside, Jamaica, Hicksville, then all local stops (except Pinelawn) to Ronkonkoma (4:55 PM)

Depart NY 4:35 PM, making stops at Woodside, Jamaica, Hicksville, then all local stops (except Pinelawn) to Ronkonkoma (5:55 PM)

Depart NY 5:35 PM, making stops at Woodside, Jamaica, Hicksville, then all local stops (except Pinelawn) to Ronkonkoma (6:55 PM)

Depart NY 6:35 PM, making stops at Woodside, Jamaica, Hicksville, then all local stops (except Pinelawn) to Ronkonkoma (7:55 PM)

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

Metro-North Service Plan For MLK Jr Day

Posted by
on January 13th, 2012 at 2:56 am

Here are the service plan details for the MTA Metro-North Railroad on Martin Luther King Jr. Day:

On Monday, January 16, 2012, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Metro-North Railroad will operate on a Saturday schedule with a few additional trains.

It is a federal holiday and New York City’s financial markets are closed. But for those people who are working, Metro-North will operate 32 trains more than a normal holiday schedule. Extra inbound trains during the morning and outbound in the late afternoon will be provided.

The additional trains are included in October 16, 2011 Hudson and Harlem Line timetables, and the January 7, 2012 New Haven Line timetable. Check Metro-North’s website at mta.info for
details on the extra train departure times.

Off peak fares apply all day.

Additionally, the uptown exits of Grand Central North will be closed all day.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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2

MTA Launches Bus Time On Staten Island

Posted by
on January 13th, 2012 at 1:47 am

Two days ago, MTA NYC Transit announced the launch of “Bus Time” on Staten Island. The program will provide real time bus location information for every route in the borough. While the launch is only two days old, the desire & plan to bring it to the borough has long been in the making.

The process dates back to October 18, 2010 when the agency debuted the 34th Street Crosstown Bus Pilot aka “Bus Time” on the M16 & M34. After a successful pilot, the agency introduced the service to riders in Brooklyn as it debuted on the B63 this past February. After yet another successful run, the agency announced this past July that it would be coming to Staten Island. More about the Staten Island debut via press release:

For Staten Island bus riders who have ever wondered: “Where is my bus and when will it get here?” The answer has arrived: MTA Bus Time! Beginning today, every bus and bus route that operates in Staten Island, including express routes, can be tracked in real time on the Internet, smart phones and by text message to any cell phone. Staten Islanders are first to receive real-time bus information on a borough-wide basis.

“Bus Time is going to transform the way that our 2.5 million bus riders use the bus system every day, and we’re thrilled to start here on Staten Island,” said MTA Chairman Joseph J. Lhota, “The MTA continues to bring new technology to our customers in ways that make our transit system better every day. With Bus Time you can get real-time information right on your cell phone or computer.”

“In a borough that lacks a subway system,” said Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro, “this is a great improvement for the people of Staten Island to track the real time location of buses to enhance their commuting experience.”

MTA Bus Time is easy to use in three ways: Click it. Text it. Scan it.

• Click it: From a desktop or a smartphone, customers can enter the bus route, intersection or bus stop code and get a map showing where the buses are along the route and how close the next bus is.

• Text it: Customers can text a bus stop code or intersection to 511123 on their cell phones and they’ll receive a text back stating how many stops away the next bus is. Bus stop codes can be found online at www.mta.info/bustime or at bus stops printed on the posted Guide-A-Ride schedules in the coming weeks.

• Scan it: In addition, if customers have a smart phone with a QR reader, they just scan a Quick Response (QR) code also available on the Guide-A-Rides in the coming weeks and get the same information. (The Guide-A-Rides will be distributed to 2100 Staten Island bus stops including the Staten Island express bus stops in Manhattan over the next six weeks.)

Bus Time will use accurate location data provided by an enhanced Global Positioning Device mounted inside each bus. That information will be integrated with the bus operator login information (including the route, run and destination sign code) and will then be transmitted wirelessly to a Bus Time server using onboard cellular equipment. This server will integrate location and login information with schedules and map files to output real time “next bus information” to the customers who will be able to obtain this information through their cell phones, smart phones, PCs and digital displays.

Brochures and Guide-A-Rides will have clear instructions on how to use Bus Time. In addition there is an in-depth website at www.mta.info/bustime.

MTA Bus Time will communicate bus location information to the customer through a range of digital and mobile interfaces made possible by a number of contractors, including Cambridge Systematics, Verifone, Open Plans Transportation, and Mobile Commons.

Over the summer, seven electrical engineering graduate students from Columbia University and City College under the direction of Professors Nicholas Maxemchuk (Columbia) and Umit Uyar (CCNY) collaborated with the MTA on ways to improve the accuracy of our bus location tracking by the use of new algorithms. Their contribution helped overcome previous problems GPS systems had with signals being blocked by tall buildings.

“We’ve taken a new approach by using already existing off-the-shelf components and tailoring open standards and software,” said MTA New York City President Thomas Prendergast. “The benefit of this in-house, open-design approach allows the MTA more freedom to purchase equipment from several different suppliers and adapt to new technology allowing us to roll out this important communications tool to our customers at a much lower cost.”

MTA NYC Transit will shortly begin deployment of Bus Time technology to depots in the other boroughs. Over the next year, more than 6,000 buses and 14,000 bus stops will be upgraded in order to make Bus Time fully operational city-wide by the end of 2013.

While I don’t ride buses on Staten Island, I am excited to see the MTA roll out the first borough wide version of Bus Time. The availability of this information to the riding public is long overdue for a system that carries millions. Hopefully this will be another successful run leading into a system wide implementation by the end of 2013.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

Service Diversions 01-05-12

Posted by
on January 5th, 2012 at 11:04 pm

I have just updated the Service Diversions with the latest planned work for the upcoming weekend, next week & beyond in some cases.

As always if I see anything of interest or importance, I will tweet about it so follow @TransitBlogger or click the button in the sidebar.

The next service diversions entry update will be on Monday at 5:01 AM.

P.S. Don’t forget to check out Surge FM which is now up & running with the best in independent music.

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Service Diversions