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Metro-North Public Hearing On Fares For New Station

Posted by
on October 16th, 2008 at 4:32 pm

The Metro-North issued a press release earlier to announce a public hearing to discuss a fare proposal. The proposal calls for the new station, that will serve Yankee Stadium, to be included in the same fare zone as all other Bronx stations. Here is the entire release:

MTA Metro-North Railroad is proposing that its new station serving Yankee Stadium and the adjacent community be in the same fare zone as all other Metro-North stations in the Bronx. A public hearing on the proposal will be held on Monday, November 17, at 6 p.m. in the Office of the Bronx District Attorney at 198 East 161 Street in the Bronx.

Metro-North will begin service to this new station in the second quarter of 2009 and a public hearing is required to establish fares to and from the new station, which is located on the Hudson Line south of the Morris Heights Station.

Fares from Grand Central and Harlem-125th Street and from suburban Hudson Line stations would be the same as existing fares to and from all other Hudson Line Bronx stations.

Metro-North also will introduce new “via” fares for travel to the new station for Harlem and New Haven Line stations. These via fares will consist of the already established one-way fare to Manhattan plus a small additional amount for the portion of the trip between Manhattan and the new station. Metro-North is proposing an additional $1.00 for all peak one-way fares and 75 cents for all one-way off-peak fares.

The new station will be open year round serving both the neighborhood and baseball fans attending the ball games. Metro-North also proposes to honor CityTickets for weekend travel between the new station and both Grand Central and Harlem-125th Street. CityTicket is a special, $3.25, weekend-only fare for travel on Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road within New York City limits.

The hearing can be reached by the 4, B and D subways to 161st Street –Yankee Stadium stop, or via the Bx1 or Bx6 buses. Registration to speak will be open until 8 p.m. Nov. 17.

To register in advance or comment in writing, please contact Doug Sussman, MTA Director of Community Affairs, 347 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017, or call 212-878-7483. In addition, customers may also comment on the proposed new fare on the MTA website www.mta.info. The proposal will be voted on by the full board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in December.

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0

MTA & TWU Local 100 Hit A Roadblock During Contract Talks

Posted by
on October 16th, 2008 at 12:18 pm

Three days ago I wrote about the MTA & TWU Local 100 potentially being near a new deal for bus drivers & mechanics who work for MTA Bus Company. The news of a potential deal which was broke by Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News might have been a bit premature. It seems the two sides have hit a roadblock during contract talks & as one would expect, the roadblock is money. Pete Donohue has the latest:

Hopes of a contract deal between the MTA and the Transport Workers Union being reached months ahead of schedule have hit a familiar roadblock – money.

Sources said the two sides are not close to agreeing on a schedule of pay increases for bus and subway workers, who shut the city down with a three-day strike in December 2005.

“We’re not near a deal yet, but we remain committed to the process and optimistic that we’ll reach the right resolution,” said Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Jeremy Soffin, describing talks with TWU Local 100 as “productive.”

The union has sought pay raises in line with those granted to police sergeants and officers, who obtained annual increases averaging more than 4% a year.

The city’s firefighters union yesterday announced a contract with the city granting 8% raises over the next two years, which prompted a transit union spokesman to gripe about “disparate treatment.”

Click here for the complete report.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Buses To Replace Some Trains On The Port Jefferson Branch

Posted by
on October 16th, 2008 at 1:29 am

I received a press release from the Long Island Rail Road to announced buses were replacing some trains on the Port Jefferson branch due to Sperry Rail Testing. I am not sure why I received this press release yesterday when their site says it went up on the 10th. I’m assuming that was a typo but either way in case you didn’t read it, the press release stated:

The MTA Long Island Rail Road will provide bus service in place of trains, following the morning rush between Greenlawn and Port Jefferson on Thursday, October 23 and Friday, October 24 in order to use the Sperry Rail Car to conduct special rail tests. Three eastbound and three westbound trains will be affected on October 23rd. Two eastbound and two westbound trains will be affected on October 24th. Customers should allow up to 25 minutes additional travel time.

The Sperry Rail Car, a bright yellow vehicle fitted with ultrasonic and induction test equipment, is designed to detect internal rail defects not readily visible to the eye. Defects that are found will be corrected immediately by a crew of LIRR track maintenance workers. The Sperry Rail Car is used twice a year to inspect approximately 500 miles of LIRR track.

October 23, 2008:

Eastbound

Customers on the 10:05 AM, 12:05 PM and 2:05 PM trains from Hicksville to Port Jefferson will transfer to buses at Huntington to complete their trips.

Westbound

Customers on the 10:31 AM, 12:31 PM and 2:31 PM trains from Port Jefferson will board buses at their stations to Hicksville. At Hicksville, customers will transfer for train service west. Passengers should anticipate additional travel time of 44 minutes.

October 24, 2008:

Eastbound

Customers on the 10:05 AM and 12:05 PM trains from Hicksville to Port Jefferson will transfer to buses at Huntington to complete their trips.

Westbound

Buses will replace the 10:31 AM and the 12:31 PM trains from Port Jefferson. At Hicksville, customers will transfer for train service west. Passengers should anticipate additional travel time of 29 minutes.

Customers should pick up a copy of the special track work timetable at Port Jefferson Branch stations or at western LIRR terminal. For additional information, customers can contact the LIRR’s Travel Information Center, 24-hours a day, in Nassau County at 516-822-LIRR, in Suffolk County at 631-231-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 website at www.mta.info.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

Filthy LIRR Restrooms Are Unacceptable!

Posted by
on October 15th, 2008 at 1:58 pm

As a commuter on the Long Island Rail Road, I know what it is to pay a premium on commuter costs due to living in the suburbs. One of the things that irk me about the premium costs as compared to the subway are the conditions we are forced to put up with. I have lost count of how many dirty railroad cars I’ve been in or how many newspapers & coffee cups/stains I see all over. However the biggest complaint I notice inside the cars or on any LIRR property are the sad condition of the restrooms. So I was disgusted while not being surprised when I spoke with one of my best friend’s yesterday about this.

When I was on the phone with Dawn, she mentioned how horrible her commute was more so due to the rude people on the subway & on the elevator towards the LIRR platform in Woodside. However even with all of that, she was most disgusted by two recent occurrences while inside restrooms at two different LIRR stations. The first occurrence was at the Jamaica Station where the locks were broken on the stall doors. So she had to hold it in place while her fellow passenger had to use the restroom. The second occurrence was at the Hicksville station the next day where human feces was spotted all over the floor.

I am sorry but these kind of conditions are unacceptable for the premium price we have to pay to use the LIRR. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that subway riders deserve to put up with these conditions (which they already do). I’m just saying that for the money we are forced to pay for inadequate service, we should have better facilities at our disposal. The first step would be to have people clean up after themselves but I can’t ignore the lack of regular cleaning of these facilities. I applauded the fact that she was going to call the LIRR to complain. These conditions are unacceptable & should be taken care of immediately.

So if anyone comes across conditions like this, please don’t just complain about it to your friends, co-workers, etc…, file a complaint with the respective agency & lets hope they follow up & rectify the situations.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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LIRR To Part Ways With The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board

Posted by
on October 15th, 2008 at 12:32 pm

If the writer of this editorial had their way, the Long Island Rail Road would part ways with the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board. The call for such an action stems from the ongoing scandal which has led investigations into how over 90% of retired LIRR employees qualified for disability benefits from the board. Here is the editorial which appeared in Newsday yesterday:

New York’s federal representatives are moving swiftly to remove the rubber stamp from the hands of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, which for years has approved disability benefits for nearly everyone who applied – including more than 90 percent of Long Island Rail Road retirees. The reforms announced last week are a good start.

Officials must now turn their attention to the much more difficult task of removing the LIRR from the federal system altogether. As a commuter rail line, the LIRR is a bad fit in a federal system set up for freight transportation. Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton), who sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has said that he will discuss such a move with others on the committee.

Click here for the complete editorial.

While I can understand the author’s frustration with such a corrupt system, I don’t see this relationship ending anytime soon. The chances of the federal government moving the largest railroad agency in the country to Social Security is slim to none. This would open the floodgates for every other agency to attempt to do the same & too many people have a vested interest in things staying status quo. Put it this way, you will see pigs fly or hell freeze over before such a move takes place.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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