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7 Train Outage Details

Posted by
on October 12th, 2007 at 10:17 am

I’m sure many have not forgotten the nightmare from this past Wednesday when the 7 line was shutdown completely in both directions. As I posted during my coverage of the event, an A/C power failure was to blame for bring the entire line to a screeching halt. Now more details have surfaced as to what exactly happened.

The stem of the problem was a complete failure in a circuit breaker house in Corona. The failure caused all signals to go down & stop arms to go up. The failure caused delays for over 2 hours. Thankfully service was restored just as the afternoon rush hour started. However most had to deal with the loss of Flushing express service for the majority of the rush hour.

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Transit Failures
0

MTA Hybrid Bus Goes On Its Maiden Voyage

Posted by
on October 12th, 2007 at 9:26 am

History was made yesterday as the MTA sent out its first hybrid bus to serve passengers. The 35 foot long bus debuted during yesterday’s rush hour on the M42. Yesterday’s debut is the start of a 60 day trial run. If the trial is considered a success, the MTA will purchase many more of its kind.

The hybrid bus is smaller in width compared to other buses in the fleet. This bus only has a width of 98 inches. The bus unlike the city’s other hybrid buses runs exclusively on battery power. The windows are tinted making it hard to see outside. The back windows are completely covered with the logo of the New Zealand manufacture that manufactured the bus. One supreme advantage of this bus compared to others is how quiet it is. The bus is allegedly so quiet that any cell phone conversation is amplified or any sort of music being played through headphones.

The MTA has hired Gene Vilarelle to ride the bus back & forth every day for the next couple of weeks. His job is simple, gauge the rider’s reaction to the new bus. So far the bus has scored mixed reactions according to an AMNY article. One man who was boarding with his wife stated “Oh, it feels like I’m going to the airport.” 84 year old Joan Cuomo had a question about the bus as she stated “There’s no room to put your legs. A lot of tourists take the bus. Where are they supposed to put their bags?” Another woman was not impressed as she yelled “How am I supposed to get off? There’s no buzzer back here. What we supposed to do, just yell at the driver? But I need to get off on now! Where’s Fifth Avenue?” Mr. Vilarelle explained that “this is just a prototype. If we decide we want to buy more of them they will come fully outfitted.”

This begs the question, who in their right mind would order a prototype bus without some sort of stop request notification? How asinine must the MTA be to not make sure that feature was available in the prototype. Does the MTA expect their drivers to know when passengers want to depart? I did not know that being a mind reader was apart of the job description!  Leave it to the MTA to take a good idea & find a way to fumble its execution.

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Transit News
0

1, 2, & 3 Service Alert (Updated)

Posted by
on October 11th, 2007 at 5:04 pm

 Updated @ 6:30

Service has been restored with only residual delays.

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Updated at 5:57 p.m.

According to News 12 Traffic & Weather, a passenger was struck at the 72nd Street station on the 1, 2, & 3. I am trying to find out more details.

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Updated @ 5:11 p.m.

The MTA has now posted a change to the service alert listed below. Due to the same investigation, the Wakefield bound 2 train is now running on the 5 train between Nevins Street Station to the 149th Street-Grand Concourse Station.

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Hot off the presses, the MTA has issued a service alert regarding the 1, 2, & 3 trains. The service alert states:

In addition, due to a police investigation at the 72nd Street Station, Van Cortlandt Park-bound 1 train train, Wakefield-bound 2 train train and the Harlem 148th Street-bound 3 train trains are running express from the 42nd Street-Times Square Station to the 96th Street Station.

The funny thing about this notice is that the 2 & 3 run express through that stretch to begin with. Why even mention that the 2 & 3 are running their normal pattern? I would only mention that one could experience delays on the 2 & 3 do to the addition of 1 trains sharing the same track.

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Service Alerts
0

7 Train Service Alert

Posted by
on October 11th, 2007 at 4:47 pm

The MTA has posted a service alert regarding the 7 train. The service alert states:

Due to signal problems at the Queensboro Plaza Station, Times Square-bound 7 train trains are running with delays.

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Service Alerts
2

So That’s Where You Have Been Hiding

Posted by
on October 11th, 2007 at 11:07 am

Six days ago, I posted about the J & Z earning an overall grade of a C- for its 2007 rider report card. In that entry, I had commented that “the full results will most likely be released later today”. However I never saw a link to the full results on the MTA’s homepage. They always had a link to an individual line’s overall grade chart. I checked every day since October 5th & found nothing. I even noticed that the homepage link to the 7 & L train’s results was not working. However I am happy to report that the full report for the J & Z has been posted. Here is the breakdown of the J & Z’s 2007 rider report card:

J & Z Riders’ Top 10 Priorities:

    1. Reasonable wait times for trains
    2. Minimal delays during trips
    3. Sense of security on trains
    4. Adequate room on board at rush hour
    5. Train announcements that are easy to hear
    6. Station announcements that are easy to hear
    7. Sense of security in stations
    8. Cleanliness of subway cars
    9. Cleanliness of stations
    10.Working elevators and escalators in stations

Now here is the entire order of J & Z riders’ priorities:

    1. Reasonable wait times for trains
    2. Minimal delays during trips
    3. Sense of security on trains
    4. Adequate room on board at rush hou
    5. Train announcements that are easy to hear
    6. Station announcements that are easy to hear
    7. Sense of security in stations
    8. Cleanliness of subway cars
    9. Cleanliness of stations
    10. Working elevators and escalators in stations
    11. Station announcements that are informative
    12. Comfortable temperature in subway cars
    13. Train announcements that are informative
    14. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel
    15. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars
    16. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines
    17. Ease of use of subway turnstiles
    18. Signs in stations that help riders find their way
    19. Lack of graffiti in subway cars
    20. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way
    21. Lack of graffiti in stations

Finally here is the individual grade breakdown for all 21 categories:

    Minimal delays during trips C
    Reasonable wait times for trains C-
    Adequate room on board at rush hour C-
    Sense of security in stations C-
    Sense of security on trains C-
    Working elevators and escalators in stations D+
    Signs in stations that help riders find their way C+
    Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way C
    Cleanliness of stations D+
    Cleanliness of subway cars D+
    Station announcements that are easy to hear D
    Station announcements that are informative D+
    Train announcements that are easy to hear D+
    Train announcements that are informative D+
    Lack of graffiti in stations C
    Lack of graffiti in subway cars C
    Lack of scratchitti in subway cars D+
    Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel C
    Comfortable temperature in subway cars C+
    Ease of use of subway turnstiles C+
    Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines B-

I have expressed my feelings on the J & Z which can be read in this entry!

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Rider Report Cards