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SI Railway Thanksgiving 2017 Service Plan

Posted by
on November 17th, 2017 at 3:34 pm

Here is the Thanksgiving 2017 service plan for the MTA Staten Island Railway:

MTA Staten Island Railway (SIR) customers looking to get a head start on the Thanksgiving Day holiday will be able to catch earlier afternoon express train service on Wednesday, November 22 with SIR’s Early Departure Getaway schedule. Extra SIR trains will be added earlier in the afternoon beginning at 2:30 p.m. from the St. George Ferry Terminal.  One express train and one local train await every ferry until 7:50 p.m. On Thanksgiving Day, SIR will operate on a Saturday schedule.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Hudson Line Service Changes

Posted by
on November 8th, 2017 at 5:24 pm

Service on the MTA Metro-North Railroad’s Hudson Line will see some changes this weekend due to the removal of the retired Tappan Zee Bridge. Here is more via the press release I received:

MTA Metro-North Railroad advises customers that from Friday evening, November 10, through Saturday morning, November 11, Tappan Zee Constructors will remove a span of the retired Tappan Zee Bridge deck above the Hudson Line in Tarrytown as part of the New NY Bridge project. This work is necessary in order to complete construction of the second span of the new Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, a 3.1-mile state-of-the-art crossing. All traffic is now on the first span of the new bridge.

During the overnight operation, Tappan Zee Constructors will use its largest floating crane to carefully remove a 235-foot section of the old bridge’s steel span above Metro-North’s tracks and place it on a barge in the Hudson River for disposition.

To accommodate this improvement to New York State’s infrastructure, train service will not operate on the Hudson Line between Irvington and Tarrytown stations from approximately midnight on Friday, November 10, until 7 a.m. on Saturday, November 11.

During this time, buses will substitute for trains between Yonkers and Tarrytown Stations.

Customers should expect an additional 30 minutes in travel time.

Customers should plan their travel accordingly by either traveling earlier in the evening or later in the morning when the bus operation is not in effect.

Northbound: Friday night, November 10:

For customers traveling to Tarrytown Station and stations north to Poughkeepsie after 11 p.m., train service will be provided to Yonkers Station. At Yonkers, customers will be able to transfer to an express bus to Tarrytown Station.  At Tarrytown Station, customers will board train service to Poughkeepsie, making all station stops.

For customers traveling to stations between Yonkers and Irvington, local shuttle train service will be provided only as far as Irvington station.

Customers traveling from Glenwood, Greystone, Hastings, Dobbs Ferry and Ardsley Stations to Tarrytown and stations north to Poughkeepsie will take a local train to Irvington.  At Irvington, customers will be able to transfer to bus service to Tarrytown Station for continuing train service to Poughkeepsie, making all station stops.

Northbound service operates normally on Saturday morning, November 11.

Customers can view a detailed schedule at this link:

http://web.mta.info/mnr/pdf/TappanZeeDemo.pdf

Southbound: Friday Night, November 10, and Saturday morning, November 11:

For southbound customers traveling to Yonkers and stations south to Grand Central Terminal, train service will be provided to Tarrytown Station.  At Tarrytown, customers will be able to transfer to an express bus to Yonkers Station for continuing train service to Grand Central.

Southbound customers traveling to Irvington, Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, Greystone and Glenwood will take the train to Tarrytown and transfer to bus service to Irvington where local train service will be provided.

Regular train service between Irvington and Tarrytown will resume after 6:30 a.m.

Customers can view a detailed schedule at this link:

http://web.mta.info/mnr/pdf/TappanZeeDemo.pdf

Customers are advised that there’s a possibility that the work could be delayed until late Saturday night into Sunday morning due to weather or unforeseen conditions.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 10-26-17

Posted by
on October 26th, 2017 at 6:29 pm

I have just updated the Service Diversions for the weekend through the end of the next week.

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

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA To Introduce New Fare Payment System

Posted by
on October 26th, 2017 at 4:12 pm

Yesterday afternoon, the MTA Board voted to introduce a new fare payment system to replace the Metrocard which they hope to start implementing in someway by mid 2019. Here is more via the press release I received:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) board voted today to approve a contract to phase in a new fare payment system that will incorporate the latest digital technologies and ease travel across all MTA transit and commuter rail systems. The moves help officially mark the formal transition away from the MetroCard, which was first introduced in 1994.  The design-build contract, which improves efficiency and quality by letting a single world-class, private sector vendor both design and build the new system, was awarded to Cubic  Transportation Systems, Inc., which has delivered similar technology for London’s public transit system.

The shift away from the MetroCard and other existing ticketing systems will take place in a series of phases over a period of more than five years, with customers first being able to use contactless open payment options as soon as midway through 2019.

Rather than swiping a MetroCard, MTA users will instead be able to use a mobile wallet like Apple Pay or tap a contactless bank card at turnstiles and on buses across the city. The new system will test payment options for all-door boarding on SBS buses, a critical measure for reducing the time it takes for customers to board and travel.  Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad customers will also be able to merge their subway, bus and rail tickets into one integrated form of payment as well.

The new account-based system will allow customers a variety of convenient self-service options to manage their account, including via the web and on mobile devices.

An additional critical component of the program will provide benefits to customers who do not have, or want to use, smartphones or contactless bank cards by enabling them to purchase and reload contactless transit cards from new vending machines and through an out-of-system retail network. The new system is expected to have lower maintenance costs than the current systems, and the vendor will be able to adapt to new technologies as they emerge during the course of the contract.

“The move to a truly 21st century method of payment represents a critical step in our overall efforts at modernizing the subway system and improving service for all our customers,” said MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota. “The subway, bus and commuter rail network is the lifeblood of our regional economy and major upgrades like this help make the system more convenient and efficient for the millions of New Yorkers who use it every day.”

By 2019, a total of 500 subway turnstiles and 600 buses are set to receive the necessary technology upgrades. At the same time, customers will still be able to use MetroCard until 2023.  MetroCard will not be retired until the new system is fully tested and operational.

Mike Brown, Commissioner for Transport for London (TfL): “It’s great to hear that New York will be introducing contactless payments, similar to that introduced on the Tube and buses in London, to help its customers travel more conveniently. This system has completely transformed the way people pay for travel for public transport in London, with over a billion journeys already made since it was first introduced in 2012.”

Shashi Verma, Chief Technology Officer at Transport for London: “As cities become smarter and more reliant on public transport, technology like this provides customers with a simple and convenient way of paying the right fare at the right time, without the need to purchase a ticket. This contactless ticketing system is helping commuters all around the world and it’s great that New Yorkers will benefit from the technology.”

Matthew Cole, President of Cubic Transportations System: “Today’s vote is a tremendous win for New Yorkers, paving the way for flexible payment options, a streamlined trip through the region’s public transit, and updated equipment that will help save money in operating costs. Together with the MTA, we look forward to building a transportation system of tomorrow.”

Let me congratulate the MTA for being on the cutting edge of fare payment technology (sarcasm exits stage left…..). What can I say, it is about time the agency finally addresses a better way to pay for fares. The Metrocard is not only outdated, it poses too many issues compared to its previous token predecessor.

What I look forward to the most is hopefully the elimination of people selling swipes at turnstiles. I was speaking to one of my best friends the other day & she was telling me how rampant the sales are at her home station. The same culprits tamper with the machines & force one to have to buy a swipe or find another station to board at. How the cops have not been called on them is a mystery to me.

Hopefully when these new payment options become available, these lowlife individuals will have to go out & find a real job instead of trying to earn illegal money off of riders.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Metro North To Perform Rail Testing

Posted by
on October 26th, 2017 at 4:01 pm

Starting on Halloween & ending the next day, the MTA Metro-North Railroad will be performing ultrasonic rail testing between Southeast & Wassaic. Here is more via the press release I received:

MTA Metro-North Railroad today announced that it will perform ultrasonic rail testing on the Upper Harlem Line on Tuesday, October 31, and Wednesday, November 1. Metro-North will put the specialized Sperry Rail car into action on the section of track between Southeast and Wassaic. The railroad uses this high-tech piece of equipment to detect defects and metal fatigue inside the steel rails, inspecting them with ultrasonic and induction test equipment. The Sperry Rail car identifies issues before they become major problems, resulting in a safer, smoother ride and more reliable service.

Elsewhere along the tracks, Metro-North crews will make improvements to the Muddy Brook under-grade bridge north of the Patterson station, as well as cut brush and weld rail joints.

To accommodate Upper Harlem Line maintenance and improvements, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 31 and Wednesday, November 1, buses will substitute for trains between Southeast and Wassaic on the Harlem Line.  Buses will operate 20-40 minutes earlier than scheduled trains.

Service details are below:

Southbound

From 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., buses will substitute for trains from Wassaic to Southeast, making all scheduled stops at the following stations: Tenmile River, Dover Plains, Harlem Valley-Wingdale, Pawling and Patterson. Bus service will operate 20 – 40 minutes earlier than normally scheduled train times. Buses will connect with regularly scheduled trains at Southeast for continuing service to Grand Central Terminal.

For a detailed bus service schedule, customers may visit:

http://web.mta.info/mnr/pdf/Wassaic_bus_10_20_2017.pdf

Northbound

From 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., buses will substitute for trains from Southeast to Wassaic, making all scheduled stops at the following stations: Patterson, Pawling, Harlem Valley-Wingdale, Dover Plains, Tenmile River and Wassaic. Customers should allow for later arrival times.

For a detailed bus service schedule, customers may visit:

http://web.mta.info/mnr/pdf/Wassaic_bus_10_20_2017.pdf

xoxo Transit Blogger

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