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7 Train Service Disruption

Posted by
on August 28th, 2008 at 12:52 pm

I received an e-mail from my sister this morning alerting me to a 7 train service disruption. I was not around to post an entry about it but I’ll bring it up anyhow. The service disruption was the result of two trains bumping into each other as they were leaving Corona Yard on their way to Flushing-Main Street to go into passenger service. 1010 Wins had a brief report:

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Service on the 7 train line was disrupted after two trains bumped early Thursday.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says two trains were headed from the Corona Yard into the Main Street station bumped to be put in to passenger service when they bumped. The train operators were not injured and there were no passengers on the train at the time of the incident.

Service between Main Street and Willets Point was suspended for nearly an hour as the trains involved in the incident were cleared. Service resumed around 8 a.m. with residual delays.

The incident is under investigation.

I’m going to poke around & see if I can find out exactly what happened.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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New LIRR Timetables Take Effect September 2nd

Posted by
on August 28th, 2008 at 12:46 pm

Just a few minutes ago, I received a press release from the LIRR announcing new timetables that will take effect September 2nd. The new timetables will feature additional service due to the completion of the Queens Interlocking Project as well as time changes due to scheduled construction. The press release which should be on their site later today states:

New MTA Long Island Rail Road timetables go into effect Tuesday, September 2. The new schedules reflect the return of normal peak train schedules on the Main Line and Hempstead Branch following completion of the summer-long Queens Interlocking Renovation Project. In addition, service has been added at several stations in response to customer requests. New construction work will begin on several branches affecting mid-day service.

Additional Service:

St. Albans: Additional westbound service at 7:37 AM and 8:50 AM during the morning peak and new eastbound service at 4:02 PM, 7:02 PM, 7:14 PM and 7:35 PM during the evening peak.

Kew Gardens and Forest Hills: The 5:25 PM train from Penn Station will stop at Forest Hills at 5:38 PM and at Kew Gardens at 5:40 PM.

Hempstead Branch: A new reverse peak train departs Penn Station at 6:47AM stopping at Jamaica, Queens Village, Bellerose, Floral Park, Stewart Manor, Nassau Blvd., Garden City and Hempstead (arriving at 7:33 AM).

Construction Work:

Huntington/Port Jefferson Branch, Ronkonkoma Branch & Montauk Branch:

Track tie installation work between Mineola and Hicksville will take one track out of service affecting some midday weekday trains. Eastbound Huntington trains will depart between 7 and 14 minutes later, westbound Huntington trains will depart 20 minutes later. Due to the track work, there will be two-hour service intervals east of Huntington midday with one less eastbound train and one less westbound train.

Eastbound Ronkonkoma Branch trains will depart 30 minutes later and westbound Ronkonkoma Branch trains will depart 30 minutes earlier.

The 11:12 AM eastbound train to Montauk will depart 14 minutes earlier and the
11:14 AM westbound train from Montauk will depart 9 minutes earlier.

Port Washington Branch:

Drainage and track work between Bayside and Great Neck will affect midday weekday service. Manhasset, Plandome and Port Washington service is reduced from two trains to one train per hour. From September 8 through September 19, service from Great Neck through Flushing-Main St. will be reduced from two trains to one train per hour as switch renewal work is completed at the Great Neck Interlocking.

Oyster Bay Branch:

Grade crossing work at Glen Head Road and Elm Street in Glen Head will result in a single track in service between Mineola and Locust Valley. Due to the work, there will be two-hour service intervals midday with one less eastbound train and one less westbound train.

So don’t forget to pick up your new timetables at a station near you.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Bay Ridge Stations May Be Too Damaged To Paint

Posted by
on August 28th, 2008 at 3:15 am

If you have ever traveled on the R train train through Bay Ridge, you will notice the decrepit conditions of the stations in the neighborhood. Many residents & riders would tell you that all the stations could use a paint job. However the MTA does not agree as they felt painting some would be putting a small band aid over a huge wound. Ben Muessig of The Brooklyn Paper has more in his report:

They are the stations where paint isn’t enough.

While the peeling and flaking 77th Street R train station is about to get a new paint job, The Brooklyn Paper has learned that Bay Ridge’s other grimy stations may not get one because they suffer from such serious infrastructure problems that a paint job would offer only an inconsequential uplift.

The MTA says it’s including 77th Street in a $52-million project that will put a fresh coat of paint on stairways, platforms and mezzanines throughout the city — but the gritty Bay Ridge Avenue, 86th Street and 95th Street stations will not be included in the job.

In choosing which stations to repaint, the MTA did not consider stops that suffered from larger problems — like water leaks, transit spokeswoman Deidre Parker said.

Click here to read Ben’s complete report.

Personally I feel the MTA should not waste money painting over stations that have other severe issues. What good would it do to paint a station with water damage among other structural issues? The answer is it would not do one ounce of good & wasting money is the last thing the agency needs to be doing.

However the bigger picture is what kind of damage has taken place at these stations & when will the MTA have the money to fix them? Of course they can’t just wave a wand to come up with the money & that is where it goes back to our government’s responsibility to help fund our transit system. Lets hope that the politicians spend less time waving the anti-fare hike pom poms to look good for their constituents & focus on how they will fight for the money our system deserves. So to our elected officials, the ball is in your court, are you going to turn it over or score some points for the riders!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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LIRR To Offer Extra Service For The Start Of Labor Day Weekend

Posted by
on August 27th, 2008 at 1:53 pm

Just a few minutes ago I received a press release from the LIRR regarding extra service for the start of the Labor Day weekend. Here are the complete details:

The MTA Long Island Rail Road will be providing additional service for customers getting an early start on the Labor Day Weekend this Friday, August 29. There will be eight additional eastbound trains from Penn Station between 1:47 PM and 3:48 PM. The extra service will include: three trains on the Babylon Branch, three on the Port Jefferson Branch, one on the Port Washington Branch and one on the Far Rockaway Branch.
*See special note below on Montauk Branch service for Sunday and Monday.
The extra trains from Penn Station on Friday, August 29 are as follows:

Port Jefferson Branch to Hicksville and Huntington:

• 1:47 PM stopping at Jamaica, Carle Place and all stops to Huntington

• 2:25 PM stopping at Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Jamaica, New Hyde Park, then all stops to Huntington

• 3:18 PM stopping at Jamaica, Mineola, Westbury and Hicksville

Babylon Branch:

• 2:22 PM express to Lynbrook, then all stops to Babylon

• 2:58 PM stopping at Jamaica, Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon

• 3:31 PM express to Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon

Port Washington Branch to Great Neck:

• 3:40 PM stopping Woodside, Flushing Main St., then all stops to Great Neck

Far Rockaway Branch:

• 3:48 PM stopping at Locust Manor, Laurelton, Rosedale, Valley Stream, then all stops to Far Rockaway

Cars will also be added to selected regularly scheduled trains.

Labor Day, Monday, September 1:

On Monday, September 1, the LIRR will operate on a weekend schedule.

*SPECIAL NOTE: The following three westbound Montauk Branch trains will operate both this Sunday (August 31) and Monday (September 1). Because of an error in the printed LIRR timetables, these trains are listed as operating only on Sunday.

• 1:25 PM train from Montauk making all stops to Patchogue then Jamaica
(4:31 PM), arrive NY (5:01 PM) will operate on both Sunday (August 31) and Monday (September 1)

• 6:37 PM train from Montauk making stops at Amagansett, East Hampton, Bridgehampton, Southampton and Westhampton, then Jamaica (9:31 PM), arrive
NY (10:01 PM) will operate on both Sunday (August 31) and Monday (September 1)

• 8:40 PM train from Montauk making all stops to Westhampton, then Jamaica
(11:31 PM), arrive NY (12:01 AM) will operate on both Sunday (August 31) and Monday (September 1)

You have got to love how the Ronkonkoma Branch gets no extra service considering its high ridership #’s. As usual those riders get the short end of the stick.

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Feeling The Heat

Posted by
on August 27th, 2008 at 4:05 am

Over the weekend I went to Atlantic City to unwind & enjoy some good drinking & gambling. When it was finally time to go back home Sunday night, I could not wait to crash in my bed. I knew the journey coming back would be a tough one as I had to take the bus to Port Authority, hop on the E train to Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike, & then hop a Q46 to where the car was parked at.

The bus trip to Port Authority was fine until the very end when it took almost an hour to get in & out of the Lincoln Tunnel. The wait for the E was annoying as surprisingly 2 uptown A’s arrived before the E. However the worst part was clearly riding the E which confirmed the accuracy of the subway car air condition report.

The air conditioning was none existent in the car I was in. It honestly felt like the fan was blowing warm air which made an already humid situation even worse. If it wasn’t for the fact I was exhausted & had no energy to move, I would have moved to another car. However looking at the faces of other riders, I don’t know how much difference that would have made.

In case you were wondering, I did not win anything over the weekend. Oh well…..

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