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LIRR Wednesday A.M. Service Changes

Posted by
on November 25th, 2008 at 9:52 pm

The effect of Sunday’s train derailment has lessened considerably for the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). The agency just sent out a press release via e-mail a few minutes ago to announce the service changes for Wednesday’s A.M. rush along with info on extra afternoon service. Here are the complete details:

Service on MTA Long Island Rail Road will continue to improve Wednesday morning, November 26 with rush hour customers seeing fewer cancellations and delays as a result of last Sunday’s derailment at Jamaica Station.

The Railroad will also provide an extra complement of eastbound get-a-way trains for those leaving work early Wednesday afternoon to begin their Thanksgiving holiday.

Hundreds of LIRR employees continue to work around the clock to repair damaged track and signals. The last of the derailed cars was safely removed at 3 AM Tuesday morning. The derailment caused damage to a 600-foot stretch of track, requiring replacement of more than 115 feet of running rail, 400 feet of third rail, 400 feet of third rail protection board, and repair to 6 switches and signal circuitry. Testing of the repaired tracks and signals is expected to continue into Wednesday.

Wednesday AM Rush Service:

Six trains will be canceled Wednesday morning, down from 12 on Tuesday morning. The work may also cause minor delays for trains passing through Jamaica.

Wednesday AM Rush Service:

Six trains will be canceled Wednesday morning, down from 12 on Tuesday morning. The work may also cause minor delays for trains passing through Jamaica.

The following Wednesday morning westbound trains will be canceled:

• The 6:57 AM from Freeport, scheduled to arrive Penn Station at 7:40 AM.

• The 8:03 AM from Valley Stream, scheduled to arrive in Penn Station at 8:42 AM.

• The 8:03 AM from Long Beach, scheduled to arrive in Penn at 8:54 AM.

• The 7:23 AM from Hempstead, scheduled to arrive in Flatbush Avenue at 8:20 AM.

• The 8:25 AM from Freeport, scheduled to arrive in Penn Station at 9:08 AM.

• The 7:43 AM from Merrick, scheduled to arrive Penn Station at 8:31 AM.

———-

Wednesday early-afternoon service:

Nine extra trains will be depart Penn Station to accommodate customers heading home for Thanksgiving between 2:09 PM and 4:01 PM. Three trains will operate on the Babylon Branch, three on the Port Jefferson Branch (one to Hicksville, two to Huntington), one on the Port Washington Branch to Great Neck, one to Far Rockaway and one to Montauk.

———-

Wednesday Evening Service:

For Wednesday evening’s rush, some schedule adjustments may be necessary and customers are urged to check the LIRR’s website www.mta.info/lirr and email alerts for further updates.

Note: Alcoholic beverages will not be allowed on LIRR trains, stations and platforms from 8:00 PM on Wednesday, November 26 (Thanksgiving Eve) to 8:00 AM on Thursday, November 27, (Thanksgiving morning). MTA Police will enforce this restriction.

———-

Thanksgiving Day Service:

The LIRR will also provide extra service on Thanksgiving Day for those heading to and from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Special holiday off-peak fares will be in effect through Sunday.
Six extra westbound trains will be provided in the morning on the Babylon, Montauk, Ronkonkoma and Port Jefferson branches.

Between 11:37 AM and 2:03 PM, ten extra eastbound trains will depart from Penn
Station to accommodate customers returning from the parade. Three of the extra trains
will operate on the Babylon Branch, four will operate on the Ronkonkoma Branch, two
will operate on the Port Jefferson Branch and one will operate on the Montauk Branch to
Speonk.

———-

Service Updates:

The LIRR will continue to update this Service Advisory as track repairs are made. Customers should monitor news media reports and the LIRR’s website (at www.mta.info/lirr) for updates to this AM modified service plan and information regarding PM train service.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA NYC Transit & MTA Bus Thanksgiving Holiday Service

Posted by
on November 25th, 2008 at 6:50 pm

Late this afternoon the MTA sent out a press release via e-mail to announce details for NYC Transit & MTA Bus’ Thanksgiving Holiday service. Here are the complete details:

MTA New York City Transit and MTA Bus officials today announced service plans on subways and buses for the upcoming Thanksgiving Day holiday.

On Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 27th, New York City Transit subways will run on a Sunday schedule, with additional service provided after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Buses of New York City Transit and MTA Bus will also run on a Sunday schedule, with slight adjustments to schedules and reroutes for bus routes along the parade route in Manhattan.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving though, subways and buses will operate on a regular weekday schedule. However, while local and express service will be running as usual on Staten Island, limited-stop service will be suspended for the day.

Customers may call our Travel Information Center at 718-330-1234 from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, or log onto www.tripplanner.mta.info to use Trip Planner to plan their trips. Customers with web enabled phones or PDAs can use our Trip Planner On-the-Go! by going to www.tripplanner.mta.info/mobile; in addition to planning their trips, Blackberry users can download the free icon for one touch access to the service.

Sorry for not posting it sooner

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Staten Island Railway Thanksgiving Day Holiday Service

Posted by
on November 25th, 2008 at 4:16 pm

The MTA just issued a press release via e-mail to announce additional service on the Staten Island Railway for the Thanksgiving Day Holiday. Here are the complete details:

MTA Staten Island Railway (SIR) officials today announced their “Get-A-Way” service plan for the upcoming Thanksgiving Day holiday.

On Wednesday, November 26, SIR customers can take advantage of the early departure service to begin their four-day Thanksgiving weekend. Express train service will begin at 2:31 p.m. out of St. George Terminal, and there will be one express train and one local train awaiting every boat until 7:50 p.m. This amounts to twice as much regular service, two hours ahead of schedule. Customers using the express trains will have a faster ride home, while local train riders should have a more comfortable ride on less crowded trains.

On Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 27th, SIR trains will run on a weekend schedule, while on Friday, November 28th, trains will run on a regular weekday schedule.

According to John Gaul, Chief Officer of SIR, “This Get-A-Way service plan has proven to be extremely popular among our customers, and we will continue to find innovative ways to improve service.” The “Get-A-Way” service plan on SIR is also available on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, the day before July 4th, the Friday before Labor Day, Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

LIRR Tuesday P.M. Service Changes

Posted by
on November 25th, 2008 at 2:47 pm

The Long Island Rail Road just e-mailed a press release to announce P.N. service changes as they still try to cope with Sunday’s train derailment. Thankfully the service changes are on the lighter side so the railroad is inching closer to getting back to normal. Here are the complete details:

Most MTA Long Island Rail Road service will be restored by this evening’s rush hour, although customers are advised to anticipate schedule changes that include some delays and six canceled trains – fewer than yesterday’s PM rush hour. Most across-the-platform transfers will be available. However, customers should anticipate track changes this evening as ongoing repair work is performed to fix damage caused by Sunday’s derailment in Jamaica.

More than 200 LIRR employees have been working round-the-clock since Sunday to clear damaged cars from the track. Work has involved re-railing the three train cars that left the track west of Jamaica Station. The derailment caused damage to a 600-foot stretch of track, requiring replacement of more than 115 feet of running rail, 400 feet of third rail, 400 feet of third rail protection board, and repair to 6 switches and signal circuitry.

A 150-ton crane was used in the re-railing process. The re-railing in some instances involved an inch-by-inch precision move to ensure safety and avoid additional damage.

The last of the train cars, which was blocking three tracks, was re-railed around 11:15 PM Monday, but could not be safely moved until 3 AM Tuesday morning. Additional testing of the signal system is required before a full assessment of service can be made for Wednesday and Thanksgiving Day service. The LIRR will issue another update later today.

Tuesday PM Service Changes:

The Tuesday PM Rush service plan includes the cancellation of 6 of the 132 eastbound PM rush trains operated. Customers should anticipate delays and there will be track changes at Jamaica. LIRR station personnel will be available at Penn Station, Flatbush Avenue-Brooklyn, Jamaica and Woodside to assist customers with service information. The LIRR appreciates the patience and understanding of our customers.

Eastbound PM Peak Service train cancellations:

The following evening rush hour trains from Penn Station will be canceled.

• The 4:12 PM to Massapequa Park will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 4:21 PM train to Freeport, which will be extended to Massapequa Park.

• The 4:34 PM to Babylon will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 4:37 PM to Wantagh, which will be extended to Babylon

• The 4:57 PM to Wantagh will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 5:03 PM to Freeport, which will be extended to Wantagh.

• The 5:19 PM to Wantagh will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 5:24 PM to Freeport, which will be extended to Wantagh.

• The 5:40 PM to Seaford will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 5:47 PM to Freeport, which will be extended to Seaford.

• The 6:05 PM to Wantagh will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 6:10 PM to Freeport, which will be extended to Wantagh.

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Service Updates:

The LIRR will continue to update this Service Advisory as track repairs are made. Customers should monitor news media reports and the LIRR’s website (at www.mta.info/lirr) for updates to this PM modified service plan. The LIRR would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding during this period.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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1

Details Of The MTA’s Text Messaging/E-Mail Alert Initiative

Posted by
on November 25th, 2008 at 12:46 pm

Yesterday afternoon, I wrote about the MTA’s plans to hold a press conference at their headquarters Tuesday morning. The press conference was to announce a major text messaging/e-mail alert initiative. Shortly after the press conference, they e-mailed a press release to talk specifically about the new initiative:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today launched an email and text messaging system that will notify registered customers of planned and unplanned service changes at any of the MTA’s family of transportation agencies. The system is a direct response to a key recommendation in the MTA’s report on the storm of August 8, 2007, which raised awareness of the need for increased communication during large-scale service disruptions. The system will be fully operational tomorrow morning.

Using the MTA’s website at www.mta.info, customers can register to receive alerts about any combination of subway lines, bus routes, rail lines, bridges or tunnels. They can choose to receive them 24/7, or only during a particular time of day or week. The system will use an email transmission technology called Distributed Processing, giving it the capability of sending out up to a million messages every five minutes.

“This is a revolutionary step that has the potential to transform the experience our customers have with us,” said Elliot G. Sander, the Executive Director and CEO of the MTA. “If you know about a service disruption before you leave your home, or now, even as you are making your way to a subway or rail station or a bus stop, you can avoid the frustration of delays by seeking an alternate route.”

This initiative builds upon years of experience that Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road have had in sending email messages notifying customers about service disruptions, and that New York City Transit has had providing weekly email updates about service changes caused by track work.

The launch of this system incorporates the functionality of those earlier initiatives, presenting them in a single online portal. It marks the first time that the MTA will send timely notifications of unplanned service disruptions on subways, buses, bridges or tunnels, and is the first MTA service to use text messaging.

This service is being provided in partnership with the MIS Sciences Corporation under a $10,000-a-month contract that includes an unlimited volume of emails and text messages.

While the MTA will not charge customers to use this service, those customers who have cell phone plans that charge for incoming text messages will be liable for those fees.

It is about time the MTA caught up with the times & provided real time information to customers. I hope that we the riding public take advantage of this service. I know I will!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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