Multiple LIRR Train Incidents
The last few days for the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) have not been good. First was the accident which happened last Friday as a Jamaica bound Montauk train hit a man shortly after leaving the Hampton Bay station. Here is the brief report about the incident by Bill Mason of Newsday:
A man sitting on the railroad tracks in Hampton Bays listening to a radio Friday afternoon was struck and critically injured by a Long Island Rail Road train, officials said.
“He was just sitting there,” said Det. Sgt. Andrew Roderick of the MTA police, who is investigating the accident. “It’s not an apparent suicide. It just appears to be an accident.”
The 2:51 p.m. train out of Montauk, scheduled to arrive in Jamaica at 5:50 p.m., was leaving the Hampton Bays station at 3:45 p.m. when it came around a curve to where the 51-year-old man was sitting, railroad officials said.
The man was sitting on a track listening to a radio and may have been attempting to get up as the train approached, said Susan McGowan, a LIRR spokeswoman. He was taken to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital in East Patchogue with internal injuries, she said. His name was being withheld pending notification of family.
The accident caused a two-hour delay for that westbound train and a 13-minute delay for one eastbound train, officials said.
The next victim was not as lucky as their meeting with a LIRR train was fatal. The unidentified man in his 60’s was struck by a Ronkonkoma bound train in Central Islip on Sunday afternoon. Marc Beja of Newsday has the brief report:
A man was killed yesterday after he was struck by a Long Island Rail Road train in Central Islip, the MTA said.
MTA police officers are still investigating how the unidentified man, in his 60s, was struck by the eastbound 12:07 p.m. Ronkonkoma train from Penn Station.
The man was hit at approximately 1:20 p.m. at Carleton Avenue and East Suffolk Avenue, MTA spokesman Sam Zambuto said. The train was scheduled to arrive at Ronkonkoma at 1:35, but was held for an hour and 45 minutes after the accident.
A westbound train was also an hour late. Suspended train service resumed at approximately 3 p.m., Zambuto said.
The last incident occurred on Monday as a Long Beach bound train hit a taxicab which tried to go around a down railroad crossing gate. Bill Mason of Newsday once again has the brief report:
A taxicab was clipped by a Long Island Rail Road passenger train in East Rockaway Monday after the taxi attempted to go around a down roadway crossing gate, railroad officials said.
No one was injured in the taxi or on the train, said Stanley Davis, a railroad spokesman. Train service in both directions on the Long Beach line was delayed into Monday evening.
The 3:55 p.m. passenger train out of Penn Station that was due in Long Beach at 4:46 p.m. struck the taxi at the Atlantic Avenue crossing near the East Rockaway Station, Davis said.
That train and the 4:15 p.m. train out of Penn Station that followed were canceled, Davis said, and passengers used the next scheduled train. That train, the 4:40 p.m. train due to arrive in Long Beach at 5:37 p.m., was also 45 minutes off its schedule as a result of the accident, Davis said. Westbound trains on the Long Beach branch also experienced delays of up to an hour, he said.
Davis said trains were running on or close to scheduled as of 7:20 p.m.
Seriously, what is it with these people being on the tracks. I’m absolutely dumbfounded by the first incident. Who the hell hangs out on the train tracks listening to the radio? I have heard of people just sitting to reflect on things. I’ve also heard of people wanting to vandalize property via graffiti or something similar. However I don’t recall ever hearing about someone just wanting to listen to the radio! I truly feel bad for train operators who always have to be on the lookout for selfish idiots who fail or choose not to realize that the train tracks are not meant to be a hangout spot.
Lets not get started on idiotic drivers putting lives in unnecessary danger. The crossing gate is clearly down for a reason yet this driver felt they were above the law. This kind of mentality seems to exist amongst many drivers who feel being in a vehicle gives them the right away over people, fellow drivers, & public transportation vehicles. The me first attitude is so strong that they put their own life & others in risk along with inconveniencing future riders for no legitimate reason. They deserve to have their license suspended for a minimum of 6 months!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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MTA Will Test Variable Speed Escalators In The Subway
Yesterday afternoon, the New York Times’ City Room Blog had a report about a new subway escalator pilot program being implemented by the MTA. The program which starts this coming Monday will feature 35 escalators that will operate at variable speeds. Sewell Chan has more in his report:
The 169 escalators throughout New York City’s subway system are not known for running smoothly — each averaged 68 breakdowns or repair calls last year — and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority now says it has a partial solution.
Starting Monday, 35 recently installed escalators at four stations will start operating at variable speeds as part of a pilot program. Using infrared motion sensors, the escalators will slow to a crawl of just 15 feet per minute when no one is on them, compared with the normal full speed of 100 feet per minute. The escalators will gradually accelerate to the full speed, over a period of a few seconds, once a rider steps on them.
Click here to read the complete report.
On paper this sounds like an interesting idea. However I am concerned about the possible safety issues that might come from such escalators. What happens if the escalator does not wait the allotted amount of time before changing speeds? This could lead to riders tripping or falling & causing a possible domino effect. While it might sound far fetched, it could happen considering this motion is electronic. I’ve seen things like this happen on treadmills which operated in a similar fashion.
Don’t get me wrong, I am all for saving energy which this would. I just don’t know if changing speeds while in motion is a good idea. I also am concerned at the costs of repairing these devices when they fail which you know they will. The MTA has problems up keeping normal escalators, imagine more hi-tech ones. I would bet that any repair would completely wash away the money saved from varying speeds depending on usage.
While reading the responses to the article, I noticed a mention of a way to shut them down when no one is using them. This line of thinking leads one to believe that they would save energy. While they bring up a point about possible savings, this would be an idea that in the end would backfire. As with the speed variation version, any sort of repair would most likely wash away any savings. Plus the main factor is such a mechanism would create a shorter lifespan for the escalator. Turning any sort of device on & off constantly is a sure fire way to fry its motor/starter,etc… before it normally would have.
I honestly think the MTA should first figure out a better way of maintaining their current crop of escalators before moving on to bigger & better things.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Senator Clinton Introduces Major Transportation Bill
Back towards the end of June, I wrote about a major transportation bill that was overwhelmingly approved by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill which is titled “Saving Energy Through Public Transportation Act of 2008” would call for a $1.7 billion financial aid package earmarked to help mass transit systems around the country lower fares & expand operations. $237 million of that aid would be earmarked for New York City.
As I stated in June’s entry, the bill had a long way to go before it successfully crossed the finish line. The bill while an overwhelming success in the House, struggled to make headway in the Senate due to lacking a Senate sponsor. However this past Friday the sponsorship issue was taken care of as New York Junior Senator Hillary Clinton (who should have been our next President) introduced “S 3380 IS” to the Senate.
Lets hope this bill can make it through the Senate & get to the President. My main concern is if the bill gets to Bush’s hands as he will most likely veto it. We know how he truly could care less about providing adequate funding for the country’s transit infrastructure. If this bill was catered to vehicles, He’d approve it in a second. Pathetic…..
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Bloomberg Talking Butts With The King
A few days ago I wrote about Mayor Bloomberg’s idea of starving off at least one potential fare hike by collecting on the taxes of cigarettes sold on Indian reservations. The entry revolved around a brief article in the New York Post. Now Mayor Bloomberg has teamed with Long Island Republican Congressman Peter King to write an article in the New York Post about the taxation idea. Here is a brief sample of their article:
The MTA says it’s broke and needs to raise fares. Not so fast.
In the private sector, the answer to every cash flow challenge isn’t to raise prices. That’s usually the last resort – companies facing budget deficits start by trimming their own spending. So should government agencies.
Ten months ago, with the economy showing signs of weakening, city agencies were directed to trim their budgets by 5 percent. They did – producing $1.1 billion in savings in city funds. The MTA should find similar efficiencies.
In a $10 billion budget, any good manager should be able to find cost efficiencies and other savings without diminishing services. You can always do more with less, as New York City government has proven.
Yes, the MTA says it has already cut its budget as far as it can. We know they can do more.
Click here to read the complete article.
As I stated in the original entry, I have my doubts about this plan. I am taking a wait & see approach before putting any stock in it.
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Congestion Pricing Plan Just Won’t Go Away
Readers of Transit Blogger know how I feel about congestion pricing. If you are new to the site, here is a sentence to describe my feelings on the plan. Congestion pricing is nothing but a modernized version of “Robbing Peter to Pay Paul.” So when I was browsing the New York Times site & saw congestion pricing continuing to be in the news, I was annoyed. However putting my feelings aside, I felt it was responsible to bring the report to my readers. Here is a brief sample of the two page report by Ray Rivera of the New York Times:
The financial crisis at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is breathing new life into an idea the Legislature rejected just months ago: congestion pricing.
Facing a projected $900 million budget shortfall next year, the authority has proposed increasing transit fares twice in the coming three years, and has asked the city and state governments to provide hundreds of millions in additional aid.
But city and state officials, struggling with their own multibillion-dollar deficits, have urged the authority to cut its spending and find alternative sources of revenue. They have said they are counting on a commission led by Richard Ravitch, a former transportation authority chairman, to devise a plan to rescue the agency from its deepening financial hole.
Enter congestion pricing. Asked in a recent interview how seriously the commission was considering elements of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s traffic revenue plan to provide money that could bail out the authority, Mr. Ravitch replied, “Very.”
Click here to read the complete report.
Personally while I am not a big fan of Sheldon Silver, I do support his belief of how ridiculous the congestion pricing plan really was. A brief report on his feelings can be seen in an article by the New York Daily News’ Elizabeth Benjamin. Click here to read her article.
I sincerely hope the Ravitch Commission comes up with legitimate ways to help fund our transit infrastructure. While it is not solely the commission’s responsibility to come up with all the ways, it is important they come up with good ideas. Congestion pricing in any form is & never will be a good idea.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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