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MTA To Hold Special Finance Committee Meeting On Monday

Posted by
on November 7th, 2008 at 1:56 pm

The MTA is in the midst of a financial crisis which is news to no one who follows these things. They have sent word that the Finance Committee will hold a special meeting this Monday. Here are the details:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will hold a special meeting of its Finance Committee to allow staff to present the board with updated information on revenue and expense projections for the agency’s operating budget. MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliot G. Sander and Chairman H. Dale Hemmerdinger will hold a brief media availability following the committee meeting. Full details of the revised 2009 budget proposal, based on these updated projections, will be presented at the next regularly scheduled full board meeting on November 20.

WHEN: Monday, November 10, 2008 – 9:30 a.m.

WHERE: MTA Headquarters, 347 Madison Avenue (between 44th & 45th Streets), 5th Floor Board Room, New York, N.Y. 10017 (4, 5, 6, 7, S or Metro-North to Grand Central)

xoxo Transit Blogger

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2

Straphangers Asked To Grade The 2 & 3

Posted by
on November 7th, 2008 at 9:59 am

241st/Wakefield bound 2 train entering Simpson St.
241st/Wakefield bound 2 train entering Simpson St. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit.

Earlier this morning, MTA’s New York City Transit sent out a press release to announce that the 2 Train & 3 Train will be the next lines graded in the 2008 Rider Report Cards. Here are the details:

In our continuing effort to solicit feedback from our customers, MTA New York City Transit is again distributing Rider Report Cards throughout the system. Riders on the 2 and 3 are next in line of NYC Transit’s over five million daily subway customers asked to rate the progress of their lines since the initial round of report cards was distributed in July 2007.

The report cards are being distributed to riders during the morning rush hours from Tuesday, November 11th through Friday, November 14th. The cards will be handed out at several different stations along the line each day over the four days. Grades will be used to identify rider preferences and to gauge how much improvement customers along the 2 and 3 lines have noticed since last year’s report card.

Again, the Rider Report Card will ask subway riders to grade 21 specific areas of service from an A (Excellent) to an F (Unsatisfactory). Among the areas riders will grade include: car and station cleanliness, safety, security, quality of announcements, and the courtesy and helpfulness of front line customer service staff. Riders will also assign an overall grade for 2 and 3 service. From this list of 21 service attributes, riders are also going to be asked to rank the top three improvements they would like to see made to this line.

The Rider Report Card is once again being distributed in a mailer format, designed to be returned at no cost to the rider. Customers will also have the option of completing the survey on-line, on the MTA website at www.mta.info, where it will be available in 3 languages: English, Spanish and Chinese. From the time the survey begins, riders will have two weeks to mail in their response or to complete the survey online.

Rider Report Card results are posted on line for riders to review once they have been tabulated.

Report cards are being distributed between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. at each station. The schedule for distribution of Rider Report Cards along the 2 and 3 lines is as follows:

• Tuesday, November 11th – New Lots Avenue, Van Siclen Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, Junius Street, Rockaway Avenue, Saratoga Avenue, Sutter Avenue-Rutland Road, Kingston Avenue, Nostrand Avenue, Eastern Parkway-Brooklyn Museum, Grand Army Plaza, Bergen Street, Hoyt Street, and Clark Street.

• Wednesday, November 12th – Wall Street, Park Place, Chambers Street, and 14th Street.

• Thursday, November 13th – 34th Street-Penn Station, 72nd Street, and 96th Street.

• Friday, November 14th – Central Park North-110th Street, 116th Street, 125th Street, 135th Street, 145th Street, and Harlem-148th Street.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

Port Washington Branch Construction Reminder

Posted by
on November 6th, 2008 at 8:36 pm

Late last month, I shared a press release that the Long Island Rail Road sent to me in regards to Port Washington branch service being effected due to East Side Access related track work. Service was to be effected for the first two weekends in November. While I was out, they sent a reminder about this construction in the form of a press release:

The MTA Long Island Rail Road is completing the work to install a new switch and track configuration (called Wood Interlocking) just east of the East River Tunnels in Sunnyside, Queens, during the weekend of November 8-9. The construction work is an important part of the East Side Access Project that will eventually bring MTA Long Island Rail Road service to Grand Central Terminal.

“In order to meet our future service needs, especially those linked to our East Side Access Project, the Wood Interlocking work is vital to the railroad’s successful operations,” said LIRR President Helena Williams.

Weekend of November 8-9:

Both tracks between Harold Interlocking (just east of the East River Tunnels) and Shea Stadium on the Port Washington Branch will be taken out of service this weekend. Most Port Washington Branch customers will take the NYCT # 7 Subway train to complete their trips as follows:

Eastbound:

Customers may take LIRR service from Penn Station to Woodside where they will have a free transfer to the NYCT # 7 Line for service to Willets Point/Shea Stadium and then transfer back to LIRR Port Washington Branch service to points east. Or customers can choose to take the NYCT # 7 Line directly to Willets Point/Shea Stadium from Manhattan where they can transfer back to LIRR Port Washington Branch service to points east. Customers should anticipate increased travel time of up to 41 minutes.

Westbound:

Customers boarding at stations Port Washington through Flushing-Main Street will board their regularly scheduled trains at their stations and then transfer at Shea Stadium to NYC Transit’s # 7 Line for service to Grand Central Terminal. Or customers can choose to transfer back to the LIRR at Woodside Station for service to Penn Station. Customers should anticipate increased travel time of up to 58 minutes.

Affected customers should obtain a copy of the special November 8-9 Port Washington Branch timetable at their station or at Penn Station. Customers can also contact the LIRR’s 24-hour Travel Information Center in New York City at 718-217-LIRR, in Nassau County at 516-822-LIRR or in Suffolk County at 631-231-LIRR. The Travel Information Center’s TDD telephone number for the hearing impaired is 718-558-3022. Customers can also consult the LIRR website at www.mta.info.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

New LIRR Timetables In Effect As Of November 10th

Posted by
on November 5th, 2008 at 3:33 pm

The LIRR has just issued another press release via e-mail. This release is to announce that new LIRR timetables will be in effect as of November 10th. The new timetables include new midday & weekend service revisions due to construction & completion of projects. Here are the complete details:

New MTA Long Island Rail Road timetables go into effect on Monday, November 10. The new schedules include some service revisions due to on-going or new construction programs while other changes restore service that had been affected by work programs. Service changes are as follows:

Far Rockaway Branch:

In response to customer requests, the LIRR is adding a new Friday-only train that will operate between mid-November and early March, when the sun sets early, in order to provide additional before-sundown service. The train will originate at Jamaica at 3:04 PM with a Penn Station connection leaving New York at 2:39 PM and Brooklyn connection departing Flatbush Avenue at 2:35 PM.

Port Jefferson Branch:

Midday trains will resume operating every 90 minutes between Huntington and Port Jefferson, replacing the two-hour service intervals in effect during track work that has been completed.

Responding to requests from emergency responders and from local residents, there will be weekend service adjustments on the Port Jefferson Branch in order to avoid using the LIRR siding at Indian Head Road in Kings Park, located next to a firehouse. The siding located in Smithtown will be used instead since roadway traffic is not affected. Westbound Port Jefferson Branch trains will depart nine to 15 minutes earlier. Eastbound Port Jefferson Branch trains will depart up to three minutes later.

Service changes due to track work and construction are as follows:

Port Jefferson Branch:

Due to midday third rail replacement work between Hicksville and Syosset on weekdays, the eastbound trains from Penn Station to Huntington will depart seven minutes earlier at 12:41 PM and the westbound train to Penn Station will depart Huntington 14 minutes earlier at 1:10 PM. Following completion of midday tie replacement work between Hicksville and Carle Place, the 11:48 AM train from Huntington to Port Jefferson and the 11:37 AM train from Port Jefferson to Hicksville, have been restored to the schedule.

Port Washington Branch:

Half-hourly midday weekday service to and from Port Washington, Plandome and Manhasset has been restored following completion of drainage improvement work east of Great Neck.

Oyster Bay Branch:

Following completion of grade crossing renewal work at Glen Head the 12:10 PM train from Jamaica to Oyster Bay and the 1:28 PM train from Oyster Bay to Jamaica have been restored to the schedule.

Customers should pick up a copy of the new November 10-March 1 timetables at their stations or at all terminals. Customers can also contact the LIRR’s 24-hour Travel Information Center 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 can also consult the LIRR’s web site at www.mta.info.

I was in Jamaica Station on Saturday morning & only noticed new timetables for the Babylon line. Hopefully the rest of the lines are available now when I go through there.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

Buses Replace Trains On Oyster Bay Branch This Weekend

Posted by
on November 5th, 2008 at 2:19 pm

The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) has just sent out a press release to announce that buses will replace trains on the Oyster Bay Branch this weekend. The buses will be in place over a 30 hour period as the result of a track switch in the Mineola area & the replacement of the Larrabee Avenue grade crossing in Oyster Bay. Here are the complete details:

Train service on the MTA Long Island Rail Road’s Oyster Bay Branch will be replaced by buses and vans for approximately 30 hours this weekend, November 8 and
November 9. From 12:01 AM, Saturday, November 8 through 6:00 AM, Sunday, November 9, a track switch in the Mineola area and the Larrabee Avenue grade crossing in Oyster Bay will be replaced. The service impacts are as follows:

Eastbound
Customers will board Huntington-bound trains at Jamaica up to 27 minutes later than usual then transfer to buses or vans at Mineola to complete their trips. Customers should anticipate up to 23 minutes additional travel time from Mineola. Buses and vans to Oyster Bay will depart from the south side platform near the Mineola Intermodal Center.

Westbound
Customers will board buses or vans from their stations (Oyster Bay through East Williston) then transfer to westbound trains at Mineola to complete their trips. Westbound buses will depart between 22 and 48 minutes later than usual train departure times.

Customers should obtain a copy of the special November 8-9 Oyster Bay Branch timetable at their station or at all terminals. Customers can also contact the LIRR’s
24-hour Travel Information Center in Nassau County at 516-822-LIRR, in Suffolk County at 631-231-LIRR or in New York City at 718-718-217-LIRR. The Travel Information Center’s TDD telephone number for the hearing impaired is 718-558-3022. Customers can also consult the LIRR website at www.mta.info.

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