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Metro-North Service To Remain Suspended

Posted by
on August 28th, 2011 at 9:40 pm

Just a couple of minutes ago, I received word from the MTA that Metro-North Railroad service will remain suspended for tomorrow. Here are details courtesy of a press release:

Metro-North Railroad cannot operate regular service on any of its three Lines, Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Lines, on Monday, August 29. There is still significant damage to many portions of the Metro-North system. Local streams and the Bronx River continue to overflow their banks and high winds continue to fell trees across the right-of-way.

New Jersey Transit also has announced that it will not operate Monday for the same reasons. Therefore, there will be no service on the Port Jervis and Pascack Valley lines.

The most significant issues include:

• The signal system is not fully functioning on any of the three lines.

• Various sections of track along Hudson line have been damaged by mudslides and washouts. One mudslide in the area of Spuyten Duyvil has also undermined a home that is up a steep hill from the track. Another mudslide in the area of Scarborough has damaged 300-feet of third rail.

• There is no signal or third-rail power on the Upper Harlem Line because of downed transmission poles and water-damaged substations.

• The tracks through Tuckahoe station are flooded with up to 4 feet of water as the Bronx River continues to overflow its banks.

• There is significant flooding at stations and parking lots. The underpass at Beacon Station is completely under water as is the North White Plains station parking lot.

• Trees have fallen on the tracks on all three Metro-North lines.

• West of Hudson, the Port Jervis Line has a dozen severe washouts and both the Port Jervis and Pascack Valley lines have numerous trees on the tracks.

Until the water recedes, the full extent of the damage cannot be determined. The National Weather Service has extended the flood warning for Metro-North’s service territory until Monday night at midnight.

Metro-North work crews will continue to inspect and repair the infrastructure throughout the night.

Metro-North’s goal is to restore as much service as possible as soon as it is safe to do so. This will take some time as employees and equipment must be in place before any level of service can begin.

Grand Central Terminal will open Monday morning at its normal hour, 5:30 a.m.

Customers should monitor media reports for the latest information, check mta.info and sign up for customer email and text message alerts.

I will continue to post as I receive updates.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Subway Service Restoration To Start At 6 AM

Posted by
on August 28th, 2011 at 8:38 pm

Just a couple of minutes ago, the MTA sent out word that the start of subway service restoration will begin at 6 AM tomorrow. Here are the details:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman Jay Walder tonight announced that the MTA will begin restoration of service on the subway system at 6:00 a.m. on Monday. The subway restoration is part of an MTA service plan that will restore some service to the subways, buses, and SI Railway by the morning rush. Damage assessment is continuing on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad, which was hit hard by widespread flooding and mudslides.

Governor Cuomo said, “Today government worked. Days of preparation and coordination prevented much injury and loss. The MTA will begin resumption of subway service Monday morning. I applaud the good work of the thousands of MTA professionals, National Guard and first responders for their advanced planning. Suspending service allowed the MTA to secure equipment, thus expediting the return to service. None of us should underestimate the damage caused by Hurricane Irene. One thing we can all be proud of is how New Yorkers came together as one. In the darkest hours New Yorkers shine the brightest. They did once again.”

MTA Chairman Jay H. Walder said, “We still have a lot of work to do in parts of our 5,000-mile territory that were hit extremely hard by the storm, but we can now see very visible progress. Customers should stay tuned to mta.info for the latest updates.”

Service Plan for Monday Morning Subways: With limited exceptions, service will resume across the subway system at 6:00 a.m. Monday morning. Service will be less frequent than normal, and customers should expect longer waits and more crowded trains. Frequency of service will improve over the course of the day.

Exceptions:

3 Train trains will operate between 137th Street/City College and New Lots Avenue; Substitute bus service will be provided between Harlem 148th Street and 135th Street connecting with the 2 Train train.

C Train trains suspended; A Train trains will make all local stops from 207th St. to Lefferts Blvd.

No service in the Rockaways. (Rockaway Blvd. to Far Rockaway and Rockaway Park)

6 Train trains runs local in the Bronx

7 Train trains run local

S Train Franklin Avenue Shuttle (FAS) Suspended

N Train trains terminate at Kings Highway. Shuttle bus service between Kings Highway and Stillwell Terminal.

The Staten Island Railway will resume normal service at midnight tonight.

Buses: Limited bus service was restored in all five boroughs of New York City earlier this evening. Service levels will continue to increase but may not reach normal levels tomorrow.

Bridges and Tunnels: All MTA Bridges and Tunnels are open as of 7:00 p.m.

Access-a-Ride and Able Ride are expected to be operating normal service beginning at noon tomorrow. In the morning, these services will help return evacuees to their homes.

Additional details on Metro-North and LIRR service will be provided as soon as they become available.

The MTA’s regular fare and toll policy will resume tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m.

I will continue to post updates as I receive them.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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1

Hurricane Irene Damage Photo Tour

Posted by
on August 28th, 2011 at 6:56 pm

When the cable outage was fixed, I immediately logged in to check my e-mail & see what I had missed from the MTA’s press office. I assumed I would have some e-mails showcasing damages caused by the storm via pictures & I was correct.

As I went through the photos, I just got a new e-mail with 2 new photos showing damage in Metro-North territory. So here are just a few photos that the agency has posted, starting with the two I just received regarding the Metro-North.

Beacon Station Parking Lot:

Metro-North Railroad Beacon Station Parking Lot

Beacon Station Pedestrian Underpass:

Metro-North Railroad Beacon Station Pedestrian Underpass

Mudslide At Scarsborough:

Mudslide At Scarsborough

Tree Down On LIRR Montauk Branch By Jackie Robinson Pkwy Overpass:

Tree Down On LIRR Montauk Branch

Flooding At Coney Island Subway Yard:

Coney Island Yard Flooding

Pumping Out Water At The 148th St/Lenox Subway Yard:

148th St-Lenox Subway Yard

The Metro-North photos are courtesy of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The Long Island Rail Road photo was courtesy of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Francis Zaino.

The Coney Island Subway Yard photo was courtesy of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority / David Knights.

The 148th St/Lenox Subway Yard photo was courtesy of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority / George Von Dolln.

For more photos, check out the MTA’s Flickr page by clicking here.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA Begins To Restore Limited Bus Service

Posted by
on August 28th, 2011 at 6:21 pm

I apologize for not posting over the last few hours. Unfortunately I did not lose power but did lose access to the internet among other things. Anyhow the MTA sent out a brief notice almost 2 hours ago to announce that they were beginning to restore limited bus service:

As of 4:30 p.m. the MTA will begin restoring limited bus service in New York City. Full details about the routes where service will be provided will be available at mta.info. Restoration will begin in Manhattan and the Bronx, followed by Queens and Brooklyn. Conditions in Staten Island continue to prevent restoration of service at this time. No fares will be charged for service provided today.

“Conditions vary greatly across our system, but we’re working hard to assess storm damage and will begin to restore service wherever we can do it safely, starting with limited bus service this afternoon,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Jay H. Walder. “The actions we took to protect the system have helped limit damage, but there were still storm impacts across our system and we will keep customers informed as we work to restore service across our 5,000 mile territory. I can’t say enough about the hard work of our employees first in evacuating New Yorkers and now in bringing service back.”

Full restoration of service is a lengthy process, as damage is assessed and repaired, equipment and personnel are positioned, and safety is ensured. Customers are urged to stay tuned to mta.info as more details are made available about efforts to restore service.

Assuming nothing else will be happening in terms of outages in my area, I will be able to post in real time as I get word from the agency.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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2

MTA Service Remains Suspended

Posted by
on August 28th, 2011 at 8:53 am

Just a couple of minutes ago, the MTA sent out a press release to highlight that service remains suspended:

Subway, bus and rail service remains suspended as Hurricane Irene makes its way through the region. Members of the public should not attempt to travel on the MTA’s public transportation network until further notice. Suspensions and restrictions are also in place at MTA bridges and tunnels (see service status on MTA.info for updated details).

The process of assessing the damage from the storm cannot safely begin until the storm passes locations around the MTA’s 5,000-square-mile territory. Thousands of personnel and the necessary equipment have been positioned at key locations so that workers can begin this process as soon as conditions allow. In addition, Governor Cuomo has directed the National Guard to assist in the recovery efforts and helicopters will be provided to quickly assess damage.

There are already reports of flooding and down trees across the region, and the storm surge and heavy rains may cause additional widespread flooding, mudslides, washouts, fallen trees and downed power lines that wreak havoc on the MTA’s signals, tracks, stations, under-river tunnels, catenary wires and other infrastructure. Restoration of service will be implemented as quickly as possible without compromising the safety of our customers, employees or equipment, but it is expected to be a lengthy process that will begin with damage assessment and could include significant repairs.

Important: The subway, LIRR and Metro-North all use electrified third rail and even though passenger service has been suspended, track cars and equipment trains may be moving on the rails at some point before service is restored. No one should assume that the third rail is deactivated. Stay off tracks and away from third rail at all times.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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