LIRR To Run “Tiger Express 2”
Yesterday evening, I blogged about the MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)’s plan to run a “Tiger Express” train for riders wanting to arrive on time for Tiger Woods’ 1st round tee-off in the U.S. Open in Bethpage. As you know by now, 1st round action was suspended due to rain. So with that in mind, the LIRR has announced it will be running the “Tiger Express 2” for riders who want to be there on time to see Tiger Woods resume play. The agency will be running 3 such express trains as compared to the one today. Here are the complete details:
MTA Long Island Rail Road is urging customers heading for the U.S. Open Championship on Friday, June 19 to use three early morning trains if they want to get to Bethpage Black in time to spend the day with golfer Tiger Woods. With Woods set to resume play at the sixth hole at 7:30 AM, the special “Tiger Express” trains leaving Penn Station at 5:35 AM, 6:07 AM and 6:18 AM will get fans to Farmingdale Station for the action.
Once at Farmingdale, customers will board MTA Long Island Bus shuttle buses – courtesy of the United State Golf Association – for the short trip to one of the nation’s most challenging courses. Rain shortened the first day of play at Bethpage Black, so officials are expecting a big turnout on Friday if the weather brightens. Tiger Woods is the defending Open champ and also won in 2002 when it was last played at Bethpage.
The Tiger Express trains, which will make stops at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville and Farmingdale, are just part of the extra half-hourly service the LIRR is offering between Penn Station and Farmingdale for the Open.
Customers are urged to purchase round trip tickets before boarding the train. Tickets cost more if purchased on the train. For train schedule information customers may contact the LIRR Travel Information Center 24-hours a day in Suffolk County at 631-231-LIRR, in Nassau County at 516-822-LIRR or in New York City at 718-217-LIRR. The Travel Information Center’s TDD telephone number for the hearing impaired is 718-558-3022. Customers may also consult the LIRR’s website at www.mta.info.
Hopefully play will not be suspended again although with the current forecasts, that is highly probable.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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MTA Frustrating Long Island City Residents
If you live in Long Island City, I am sure this story will hit home in all the ways you wish it didn’t. Residents of the area are getting frustrated by the noise caused by a MTA operated exhaust fan. The fan is in place to help provide service in & out of the East River tunnel during the overnight hours due to third rail being shut off due because of the replacement of rails. This has caused the agency to need diesel power to run their equipment.
Brendan Brosh of the New York Daily News has more on the residents frustration:
Hundreds of Long Island City residents are losing sleep because an MTA exhaust fan that sounds like “an air raid siren” is keeping them up at night, neighbors charge.
Residents of the swanky Citylights co-op and nearby buildings have been plagued by the loud noise every weeknight from 1a.m. to as early as 5 a.m. since late May, say numerous neighbors.
The noise is coming from a nondescript property near the building where the exhaust fan is located.
A Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman said workers are replacing rails in the East River tunnel for the nearby No. 7 train – and that nothing can be done to muffle the sound.
“While we’re doing that work, the third rail has to be shut off, so all the equipment we are using is diesel-powered,” said MTA spokesman Charles Seaton.
The MTA tried using portable fans, but they were inefficient, said Seaton, noting workers are using less fan power to minimize the sound impact.
He said the work will be completed in late summer.
Some neighbors say the late-night noise is causing sleep deprivation.
Click here for the complete report.
I have spoken with a few friends who live in the area. They all agreed that the noise is frustrating, however they understand that is a temporary issue & have learned to deal with it. They feel (and I agree) that fellow residents should suck it up & stop complaining. Subway service benefits many in the area & if these repairs were not made, they would be complaining about how these issues should have been fixed. With people like this, it is impossible for the MTA to win.
Now we throw in the local political figure who will always jump in head first when an opportunity to go against the MTA in the court of public opinion presents itself. In this case, it is no surprise that the opponent is Democratic City Councilman of Sunnyside, Eric Gioia. He is one of the usual suspects who is quick to grab an opportunity to oppose the MTA. Councilman I urge you to take a break & find a legitimate battle to fight for your constituents. Seriously…….
xoxo Transit Blogger
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MTA Will Save On Next Bus Fuel Contract
Back in September, I blogged about MTA NYC Transit being price gouged on their bus fuel contract with long time supplier Sprague Energy Corporation. The gouging occurred when the MTA saw its cost rise by approximately $26M which was triple what they had paid the previous year. These events led NYC Transit to request a review of their bus fuel contract a few days later.
Lets fast forward to today where NY1 broke the story that the agency has agreed to a 5 year contract worth $700M with Sprague Energy Corporation which with pending board approval, would provide them with 55M gallons a year of ultra-low sulfur diesel.
Click here for the complete report.
The savings accomplished with this potential deal are pretty decent. My main concern is whether or not this was the best deal possible. I am skeptical on that being the case considering Sprague’s past actions. I would love to know if the MTA received any other offers. If so, was this truly the best they could get?
xoxo Transit Blogger
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MTA Contract Workers Accused Of Stealing
Yesterday afternoon, a story broke about equipment being stolen from a MTA warehouse. MTA contract workers are being accused of stealing 8 forklifts & other equipment so they could be sold as scrap metal to chop shops. Lets take a look into the story more courtesy of A.G. Sulzburger of the New York Times:
Three contract employees for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority were accused Tuesday of stealing forklifts and other equipment from a Queens warehouse and selling them for scrap metal.
The Queens district attorney’s office said in a press release that the employees took the equipment by flatbed truck from New York City Transit’s central warehouse, in Maspeth, to the nearby Dependable Scrap Yard, which paid a total of $7,812 for it. If bought new, the eight forklifts and 17 steel-cased batteries would have cost more than $250,000, said an official with the office of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s inspector general, which conducted the investigation.
The employees were from Crown Equipment, which has a maintenance contract with New York City Transit, the arm of the transportation authority that runs the subways and buses. The contract included the 90 forklifts in the plant, which were sometimes transported out for repair. In September, a routine inventory check determined that the equipment was missing, according to the press release.
Click here for the complete report.
I am a firm believer that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. One could have a feeling if accusations are true but it is just that a feeling at first. So my comments are based on the assumption that they are guilty. So with that in mind, what the hell were these guys thinking? Did they really think they could get some cash for items such as forklifts & have it go unnoticed? The bigger insult is they risked so much from their professional life down to their freedom for pennies on the dollar. Who in their right mind would do something like that?
If the individuals accused are found guilty, they deserve the book thrown at them for not only committing the crime but for being so stupid!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Take The “Tiger Express” To The U.S. Open
The wait is over as the U.S. Open is set to start tomorrow from Bethpage. The world’s best golfers are in town trying to win one of the most historic major tournaments in the sport. When the best golfers are in town, you know the first name on the list is Tiger Woods. He is set to tee off at 8:06 A.M. & MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) wants to make sure you get there on time. To make this happen, the agency will be running a special “Tiger Express” to get riders to Bethpage in time for his tee off. Here are the complete details about the “Tiger Express” & the extra overall service available during the tournament courtesy of an e-mailed press release:
MTA Long Island Rail Road has added a special train on Thursday morning, June 18 to get fans to Bethpage Black golf course in Farmingdale, L.I. in time to see Tiger Woods tee off at the 2009 U.S. Open Championship.
The LIRR’s “Tiger Express” is scheduled to depart Penn Station at 6:18 AM and arrive at Farmingdale Station at 7:20 AM. Free MTA Long Island Bus shuttle buses – courtesy of the United States Golf Association – will transport fans from Farmingdale Station to Bethpage State Park and the U.S. Open. Tiger is scheduled to tee off at 8:06 AM in a trio that includes Padraig Harrington of Ireland and Angel Cabrera of Argentina. Woods is the defending Open champ and also won in 2002 when it was last played at Bethpage.
The Tiger Express will make stops at Woodside (6:34 AM), Jamaica (6:42 AM), Mineola (6:55 AM), Hicksville (7:05 AM) and Farmingdale (7:20 AM). That’s in addition to the 14 extra trains providing half-hour service that the MTA LIRR is running each day to and from Farmingdale during the Open.
Customers are urged to purchase round trip tickets before boarding the train. Tickets cost more if purchased on the train. For train schedule information customers may contact the LIRR Travel Information Center 24-hours a day in Suffolk County at 631-231-LIRR, in Nassau County at 516-822-LIRR or in New York City at 718-217-LIRR. The Travel Information Center’s TDD telephone number for the hearing impaired is 718-558-3022. Customers may also consult the LIRR’s website at www.mta.info.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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