1 Train Service Suspended Indefinitely
Late Sunday night, a collapse of the brick facade from the ceiling above the tracks at the 181st Street station on the 
occurred. This led to service being suspended through the area & forcing the line to run in two sections. Within the last 10-15 minutes, I received an update from MTA Spokesman Paul Fleuranges to share with my readers:
Due to a collapse of the brick façade from the ceiling above the tracks at the 181st Street station, and the continuing repair operations at the station, 1 train service will remain suspended until further notice. The cause of the ceiling collapse remains under investigation. A contractor is mobilizing to remove any remaining loose brick and make temporary repairs, but those repairs will take several days to complete. 1 service will not resume until it is safe to operate trains through the area.
Customers in Upper Manhattan who can use the A Line at stations between 207th Street and 168th Street are strongly urged to do so to in order to avoid overcrowding on the 1 Line during both the morning and evening rush hour periods.
1 train service will continue to operate in two sections, with a FREE shuttle bus in operation between affected stations in Upper Manhattan:
• 1 train service will operate in both directions between South Ferry and 168th St
• FREE Shuttle buses will operate between 168th St and Dyckman St
• 1 train service will operate in both directions between Van Cortlandt Park – 242nd St and Dyckman St, skipping 207th street. Customers at 207th Street should use the A for downtown instead.
• The M3 bus, which operates along St. Nicholas Avenue, will be FARE FREE for northbound customers 168th Street; in both directions at 181st Street, and; southbound at 191st Street.
This suspension in service will continue to have an impact on wheelchair customers who rely on the 1 train. Those customers are advised to do the following:
• Customers who use wheelchairs seeking Manhattan bound service at 231st Street should call 1-800-834-1173 and make arrangements for a shuttle bus to take them to 207th Street, where they can transfer to the A for downtown service
• Customers who use wheelchairs heading northbound on the 1 should transfer at 72nd Street to the M5 bus to 168th Street. At 168th Street they can transfer to a free shuttle bus that will take them to stops heading northbound. Another option for these customers would be to take the A train to 168th Street where they can transfer to a FREE shuttle bus that will make all 1 station stops heading northbound
1 line customers should add additional time to their commute during this outage. We apologize for the inconvenience. Additional Transit personnel will be on hand at both the 168th Street and Dyckman Street stations on the 1 line to assist customers with travel information.
I will post further updates as they come in.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- MTA NYC Transit To Inspect 168th Street Station
- 181st Street Station Update
- FASTRACK Comes To The 1
- 168th/181st Street Station Updates
- 1 Train Service To Resume At 5 AM
MTA May Appeal Arbitration Panel Decision
I urge any of my readers to please wake me up when the children go to bed. The children I am referring to are the MTA bigwigs who, like a child who lost a game, want a do over in regards to the recent arbitration panel’s decision to award transit workers from TWU Local 100 with a 11% raise. The agency is considering appealing the decision of a panel they practically forced down the throats of union members to decide the stalemate between the two parties. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News had more this past weekend:
The MTA is considering challenging an arbitration panel’s decision to grant transit workers generous wage hikes, officials said Friday.
A state judge can throw out a contract after concluding arbitrators didn’t properly apply the criteria mandated by the legislation, including an employer’s ability to pay wages and benefits.
The pact grants transit workers staggered annual raises totaling 4%, 4% and 3.5% over the three-year contract.
Click here for the complete report.
The idea that an appeal is under consideration sickens me. The MTA needs to get over the decision as they don’t get do overs because they did not like the final verdict given. I find it even more disturbing that the PR work will be out in full force to showcase their own employees as being undeserving of these raises.
The fact of the matter is the agency failed to properly budget for wage increases as they fully expected the bully pulpit they share with the Bloomberg administration to side against transit workers. The outrage that these raises have garnered from some might be the worst. Why is it okay for cops, firefighters, teachers, etc…. to get decent raises but those who get many of those people to work safely each day don’t? Talk about complete hypocrisy!
I think the unnamed union spokesman in the Daily News article I quoted put it best when they said the MTA’s legal review is:
another attempt by the MTA to mask its incompetence
So true, so true….
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- Workers Should Keep Their Raises
- Transit Workers Poised For Healthy Raises
- MTA: No Money For Raises This Year
- MTA Going Forward With Appeal Plans
- TWU Seeks Confirmation From State Supreme Court
MTA Still Frustrating Long Island City Residents
Just about two months ago, I talked about a story in the New York Daily News which highlighted how the MTA was frustrating some Long Island City residents. The source of the frustration was from an exhaust fan that the MTA was part of the replacement of rails in the East River Tunnel. Fast forward to the present & the frustration is still there from local residents. Joe Kemp of the New York Daily News has more in this report:
They’re just tired of it.
Hundreds of Long Island City residents continue to be awakened after midnight by the howling of an MTA exhaust fan, a month after the agency promised to reduce the disturbance, neighbors said.
Residents of Citylights and other buildings near the small industrial plant where the fan is located have been roused from their slumber by the noise every weeknight between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. since late May, locals said.
Workers for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority have been using the fan for ventilation as they cut and weld new rails on the 7 train line in the Steinway Tunnel, a spokeswoman said.
In a letter sent in June, the MTA told residents the agency would use an exhaust fan at the other end of the tunnel in Manhattan by mid-July to mitigate the loud noise at the Queens end.
But because the work is currently being done closer to the Queens end, using the fan on the Manhattan side now would not reduce the air quality risk for those workers, said Deirdre Parker, a spokeswoman for the MTA.
“Safety is a prime importance for our workers,” she said, adding that they are working on a plan to use the other fan.
City Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Sunnyside) said the MTA had better act quickly. He plans to hold a protest at noon today at the site of the fan.
Click here for the complete report.
As I said back in June, the MTA just can’t win when they battle people who make a living complaining & local politicians who jump at the chance to score a positive response from their constituents. The work needs to be done & sometimes that is at the detriment of some. If the work does not get done, these same people would complain about how the MTA neglected their local subway line. Do you see how they can never win? A shame……..
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- MTA Frustrating Long Island City Residents
- Track Work Disturbing Locals
- MTA Workers Claim Agency Risking Derailment
- Some Hunters Point Residents Need A Hobby
- LIRR Angers Some Bellerose Residents
Agents Temporarily Replace Closed Ticket Offices
In 5 days, some severely underused LIRR ticket offices will be closed. Starting on that day & lasting until August 25th, Passenger Services Department employees will temporarily replace the closed ticket offices by providing assistance when necessary. A press release containing full details was sent to me earlier today:
Long Island Rail Road personnel will be posted at 20 LIRR stations where ticket office windows are scheduled to close in order to assist customers with ticket vending machine usage.
Passenger Services Department employees will be at the impacted stations from Wednesday, August 19 through Tuesday, August 25 (excluding the weekend) during the normal ticket office hours in order to assist customers. The ticket machines at each of the affected stations will be available to customers 24-hours a day.
Twenty of the MTA Long Island Rail Road’s least-utilized ticket offices will be closed starting Wednesday, August 19. The closings are part of a cost savings program.
As previously announced, the ticket office closings will take place at the following stations: Bethpage, Broadway, Cedarhurst, Douglaston, East New York, Farmingdale, Floral Park, Forest Hills, Hewlett, Kew Gardens, Lindenhurst, Little Neck, Massapequa Park, New Hyde Park, Northport, Nostrand Avenue, Oceanside, Rosedale, Seaford and Woodmere.
Station waiting rooms will continue to remain open with their regular hours. Train service will not be affected. Cleaning schedules for the stations will not be changed and restrooms will be available for customer use during the same time periods currently in effect.
Most LIRR customers who purchase tickets at a station do so using the popular ticket vending machines, which were first introduced in 1983. Approximately 70% of LIRR tickets sold are purchased through ticket vending machines.
In addition, the LIRR Lost and Found Office located at Penn Station, will no longer have weekend hours starting the weekend of August 22-23. The Lost and Found Office’s weekday hours, 7:20 AM to 7:20 PM, will remain. Customers who wish to report a lost item are urged to file a claim online at:www.mta.info/lirr/LostandFound.
Customers are encouraged to buy their tickets at a discount through the LIRR’s popular Mail&Ride Program and WebTicket services.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- LIRR To Run Belmont Special
- LIRR Introduces The Belmont Special
- LIRR To Streamline Ticket Procedures
- Metro-North New Year’s Eve Service Plan Info
- LIRR To Restore Service To Belmont Park
Service Diversions 08-14
I have just updated the service diversions page with the latest information for the weekend & upcoming week (beyond in some cases). Don’t forget to check in for any changes to the page. I also suggest printing out a copy of the page to use while riding the system. Have a safe & wonderful weekend!
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:
