MTA Launches Phase 2 Of Track Sweeping
Just a short time ago the MTA announced the launch of Phase 2 of Operation Track Sweep. Here are the details via the official press release:
The MTA today announced that it has begun Phase 2 of Operation Track Sweep, its multi-pronged plan to dramatically reduce the amount of trash on subway tracks, and in the process improve the station environment, and reduce track fires and train delays.
This second phase of Track Sweep focuses on an intensive two-week, system-wide cleaning during which more than 500 workers will remove trash and debris from the tracks at all of the system’s 469 stations – more than 10 miles of subway station track. The clean-up work on underground stations will be done at night, when ridership is at its lightest. During the day, workers will clean tracks at outdoor and elevated stations. During this phase of Operation Track Sweep, signs will be posted at each station noting the date and time that the tracks were cleaned.
“This multi-part track-cleaning initiative will have a real effect on service — by getting rid of trash on the tracks we can reduce the number of track fires, and limit delays,” MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast said.
“Our two-week intensive clean-up is just one part of a larger initiative,” said Veronique (Ronnie) Hakim, President of NYC Transit. “We’re also increasing the frequency of track cleaning over the long haul, developing new track cleaning technologies, and acquiring three new vacuum trains that can remove up to 14 cubic yards of trash every day. Finally, we’re asking everyone to help out by disposing of trash properly – a cleaner subway benefits everyone.”
Operation Track Sweep includes four complementary phases:
Phase 1
In June, the MTA implemented a new, more aggressive, cleaning schedule that re-prioritizes stations based on the amounts of trash usually removed, and increases the frequency of station track cleaning from 34 station tracks every two weeks, to 94 station tracks every two weeks.
Phase 2
Starting today, Monday, September 12th, the MTA has launched an intensive two-week, system-wide cleaning during which more than 500 workers will remove trash and debris from the tracks at all of the system’s 469 stations – more than 10 miles of subway station track. The clean-up work on underground stations will be done at night, when ridership is at its lightest. During the day workers will clean tracks at outdoor and elevated stations. During this phase of Operation Track Sweep, signs will be posted at each station noting the date and time that the tracks were cleaned.
Phase 3
The MTA is also working with two manufacturers on the development of a powerful – but portable — track vacuum system that can be quickly deployed, operated from platforms, and moved easily from one station to the next. Prototypes of the new vacuums are slated to arrive in the November/December time frame.
Phase 4
In addition, the MTA has ordered a trio of powerful new track vacuum trains, with the first two trains arriving in 2017, and a third in 2018. Vacuum trains can remove up to 14 cubic yards of trash every day. The MTA is also purchasing 27 new refuse cars to move debris out of the system more quickly and support the new expanded cleaning effort. The cars are equipped with special railings to secure and transport wheeled garbage containers that are collected at subway stations.
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Service Diversions 09-06-16
I have just updated the Service Diversions for the week.
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NYC Transit Labor Day 2016 Service Plan
Here is the Labor Day 2016 service plan for NYC Transit:
MTA New York City Transit subways and buses and MTA Bus Company buses will operate on a Sunday schedule on Labor Day, Monday, September 5.
Because of the J’Ouvert Parade on Monday, September 5, from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. in Brooklyn, the Church Av 2 station will be closed and bypassed from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Monday, September 5. Buses in the area will be rerouted.
Because of the West Indian-American Day Parade on Monday, September 5, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, certain subway entrances in the parade area may be affected and buses in the area will be rerouted. The Eastern Pakwy- Brooklyn Museum 234 station will be closed and bypassed from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, September 5.
At Crown Hts-Utica Av 34 station, certain staircases will be designated entrance/exit only. 4 trains will make local stops in Brooklyn.
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LIRR Labor Day 2016 Service Plan
Here is the Labor Day 2016 service plan for the Long Island Rail Road:
MTA Long Island Rail Road will provide additional early afternoon trains from Penn Station on Friday, September 2 for customers planning an early getaway for the Labor Day Weekend. The additional trains will depart from Penn Station between 1:49 p.m. and 3:48 p.m. and will operate to Babylon, Far
Rockaway, Great Neck, Huntington and Ronkonkoma. Montauk Branch customers should look for a special Montauk Branch September 2 Timetable that includes some new changes that start on Friday.Extra Afternoon Service from Penn Station on Friday, September 2
Babylon Branch
2:19 p.m. train from Penn Station, express to Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon.
2:32 p.m. train from Penn Station, express to Lynbrook, then all stops to Babylon.
3 p.m. train from Penn stopping at Jamaica, Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon.
3:31 p.m. train from Penn Station express to Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon.
Port Jefferson Branch (to Hicksville and Huntington)
2:08 p.m. from Penn Station stopping at Jamaica, Mineola, then all stops to Huntington.
2:29 p.m. from Penn Station stopping at Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Jamaica, New Hyde Park, then all stops to Huntington.
3:24 p.m. from Penn Station stopping at Jamaica, Mineola, Westbury and Hicksville.
Ronkonkoma Branch
1:49 p.m. from Penn Station stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville and all stops to Ronkonkoma excluding Pinelawn.
Port Washington Branch (to Great Neck)
3:40 p.m. from Penn Station stopping at Woodside, Flushing‐Main Street, and then all stops to Great Neck.
Far Rockaway Branch
3:48 p.m. express from Penn Station to Locust Manor, then all local stops to Far Rockaway
Service for Saturday & Sunday, September 3 & 4
On Saturday, September 3 and Sunday, September 4, the Long Island Rail Road will be operating on a regular Weekend Schedule.
Service for Labor Day, Monday, September 5
On Labor Day, Monday, September 5, the LIRR will operate on a regular Holiday Schedule.
Montauk and Port Jefferson Branch Service Advisories for Friday, September 2
The LIRR is running its extra Friday summer eastbound trains on the Friday before Labor Day.
The 1:47 p.m. from Hunterspoint Ave. Station, stopping at Jamaica (connecting from the 1:42 p.m. train from Penn Station), Westhampton through Montauk. *Note: There will be an extra afternoon train to relieve congestion on this train, departing Jamaica at 3:18 p.m., and will run
express from Jamaica, making stops Westhampton through Montauk.The 4:06 p.m. Cannonball from Penn Station stopping at Westhampton, Southampton, Bridgehampton, East Hampton and Montauk.
The 5:09 p.m. from Penn Station stopping at Woodside, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville, Babylon and all stops to Montauk.
The 7:38 p.m. from Jamaica (connecting from the 7:11 p.m. train from Penn Station), stopping at Patchogue, Mastic‐Shirley, and making all stops from Westhampton to Montauk.
*In order to provide sufficient capacity for customers traveling to the Hamptons and Montauk on Friday, the following schedule adjustments will be in effect:
The 8:52 a.m. train from Babylon to Montauk (connecting from the 7:49 a.m. from Penn Station) will not stop at Bay Shore, Sayville or Patchogue. Customers for these stations will have alternate service 10 minutes earlier on a special train departing Jamaica at 8:04 a.m. (connecting from the 7:39 a.m. train from Penn Station).
The 11:30 a.m. train from Jamaica to Montauk (connecting from the 11:05 a.m. train from Penn Station) will not stop at Bay Shore, Sayville or Patchogue. Customers these stations will have alternate service six minutes earlier on a special train departing Penn Station at 10:59 a.m., stopping at Jamaica, and running express to Babylon, where customers will connect with a train to Bay Shore, Sayville or Patchogue departing Babylon at 12:02 p.m.
The 6:08 p.m. train from Hunterspoint Avenue to Port Jefferson will be canceled on Friday, September 2. Alternate service to Port Jefferson is available on the 5:47 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. trains from Hunterspoint Avenue.
Saturday, September 3
Montauk Branch trains will run on a regular Weekend schedule.
Sunday, September 4
Montauk Branch trains will run on a regular Weekend Schedule.
Westbound afternoon Montauk trains that usually operate on summer Sundays will run instead on Monday, Labor Day, September 5.
Labor Day, Monday, September 5
Westbound afternoon Montauk trains that usually operate on summer Sundays will instead run on Monday only. Those trains are: The 1:31 p.m. from Montauk, 3:08 p.m. from Bridgehampton, 4 p.m. from Montauk, 6:37 p.m. (Cannonball West) from Montauk, 8:36 p.m. from Montauk.
The regular Monday only westbound train leaving Montauk at 7:01 a.m. will instead operate on Tuesday morning, September 6.
Tuesday, September 6
The 7:01 a.m. from Montauk, which usually runs on Monday, will instead operate Tuesday, September 6.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Metro North Labor Day 2016 Service Plan
Here is the Metro-North Labor Day 2016 service plan:
MTA Metro‐North Railroad doesn’t want you to work hard to celebrate Labor Day! Metro‐North has plenty of train service to get you where you need to go for the entire holiday weekend starting Friday, September 2, and continuing through Labor Day, Monday, September 5.
On Friday, September 2, Metro‐North will offer 17 early‐afternoon “getaway” trains departing Grand Central Terminal between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., and one extra departure from Hoboken on the Port Jervis Line, with connecting service from Penn Station‐NY.
To allow the railroad to operate this service, 11 trains that usually depart Grand Central between 5:27 p.m. and 7:28 p.m. will not operate, and three pairs of New Haven Line trains will be combined. To accommodate additional service on the west of Hudson Service, the 6:15 p.m. departure from Hoboken on the Port Jervis Line will not operate, and the 7:20 p.m. departure from Hoboken to Spring Valley on the Pascack Valley Line will not operate.
On Saturday, September 3, and Sunday, September 4, Metro‐North will operate on regular weekend schedules.
On Labor Day, Monday, September 5, Sunday service will be in effect on the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Lines, and weekend service will be in effect on the Port Jervis Line and Pascack Valley Line. On the Port Jervis Line, Metro‐North will add an extra inbound train departing Port
Jervis at 4:09 p.m. for those heading back to Hoboken or Manhattan.Getaway Service on Friday, September 2
New Haven Line
Nine extra “getaway” trains will depart from Grand Central at:
• 12:58 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, Westport, and all stations between Fairfield and New Haven.
• 2:01 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, Westport, and all stations between Fairfield and New Haven.
• 2:28 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, Westport, and all stations between Fairfield and New Haven.
• 2:31 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, New Rochelle, Larchmont, Mamaroneck and Harrison.
• 2:56 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, Stamford then all stations between Noroton Heights and South Norwalk.
• 2:59 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, New Rochelle, Larchmont, Mamaroneck and Harrison.
• 3:26 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, New Rochelle, Larchmont Mamaroneck and Harrison.
• 3:29 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, Westport and all stations between Fairfield and New Haven.
• 4:00 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, Stamford, and all stations between Bridgeport and New Haven.
The following trains usually departing Grand Central will not operate or are combined:
• The 5:18 p.m. train to Harrison and the 5:21 p.m. train to New Rochelle are combined, departing Grand Central at 5:21 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street and all stations between Mount Vernon East and Harrison.
• The 5:41 p.m. train to New Haven will not operate.
• The 5:57 p.m. train to Harrison and the 6:02 p.m. train to New Rochelle are combined, departing Grand Central at 6:02 p.m., making all stops between Mount Vernon East and Harrison.
• The 6:07 p.m. train to New Haven and the 6:13 p.m. train to Bridgeport are combined, departing Grand Central at 6:13 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street and all stations between South Norwalk and New Haven.
• The 6:49 p.m. train to New Haven will not operate.
• The 7:09 p.m. train to Harrison will not operate.
Harlem Line
Three extra “getaway” trains will depart from Grand Central at:
• 2:18 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, then all stations between Scarsdale and North White Plains.
• 3:13 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, then White Plains and North White Plains only.
• 3:34 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, White Plains, North White Plains, then all stations between Goldens Bridge through Southeast.
The following trains usually departing Grand Central will not operate:
• The 5:27 p.m. train to Southeast
• The 5:38 p.m. train to Crestwood
• The 5:58 p.m. train to Crestwood
• The 7:03 p.m. train to North White Plains
• The 7:28 p.m. train to North White Plains
Hudson Line
Five extra “getaway” trains will depart from Grand Central at:
• 1:38 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, Peekskill, Beacon, New Hamburg and Poughkeepsie.
• 2:38 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, Peekskill, Beacon, New Hamburg and Poughkeepsie.
• 3:11 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, then all stops between Tarrytown and Croton‐ Harmon.
• 3:45 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, Peekskill, Beacon, New Hamburg and Poughkeepsie.
• 4:11 p.m., stopping at Harlem‐125th Street, Peekskill, Beacon, New Hamburg and Poughkeepsie.
The following trains usually departing Grand Central will not operate:
• The 5:29 p.m. train to Poughkeepsie
• The 5:57 p.m. train to Croton‐Harmon
• The 6:12 p.m. train to Poughkeepsie
Hudson Line Connecting Services
The Hudson Rail Link will begin a peak level of buses at Spuyten Duyvil starting with the 2:20 p.m. train from Grand Central and at Riverdale starting with the 3:21 p.m. train from Grand Central.
The Haverstraw‐Ossining Ferry will have an early ferry trip that will meet the 3:11 p.m. train from Grand Central, which arrives in Ossining at 3:56 p.m. Since the 5:57 p.m. train will not operate, a 6:00 p.m. train from Grand Central, which arrives in Ossining at 6:53 p.m., will be
met by the ferry. To accommodate this trip, the ferry will not meet the regular 6:22 p.m. train from Grand Central.The Newburgh‐Beacon Ferry will have three early trips meeting the 2:43 p.m., 3:18 p.m. and 3:48 p.m. trains from Grand Central.
Port Jervis Line
The Port Jervis Line train departing Hoboken at 2:41 p.m., stopping at Secaucus Junction, and all stops between Suffern and Middletown/Town of Wallkill, will be extended to stop at Otisville and Port Jervis as well. Customers from Manhattan wishing to connect to this train should be on the 2:29 p.m. departure from Penn Station‐NY to connect at Secaucus Junction. To accommodate the early getaway train, the 6:15 p.m. departure from Hoboken to Port Jervis will not operate.
Pascack Valley Line
The regularly scheduled Pascack Valley Friday‐only train will depart Hoboken at 2:58 p.m., and stop at Secaucus Junction, select stations in New Jersey, and Pearl River, Nanuet and Spring Valley. Customers from Manhattan who are wishing to connect to this train should be on the 2:51 p.m. departure from Penn Station‐NY to connect at Secaucus Junction. To accommodate this train, the 7:20 p.m. departure from Hoboken to Spring Valley will not operate.
Saturday, Sept. 3, to Monday, Sept. 5 (Labor Day):
On Saturday and Sunday, September 3‐4, a regular weekend schedule will be in effect.
On Monday, Sept. 5, Labor Day, a weekend schedule will be in effect on the Port Jervis and Pascack Valley Lines. An extra afternoon inbound train will depart Port Jervis at 4:09 p.m., making all stops through Suffern, then run express to Secaucus Junction and Hoboken.
Customers wishing to travel to Penn Station‐NY should transfer at Secaucus Junction.Most connecting services will not operate on Memorial Day. However, the Tappan Zee Express will operate, on a Saturday schedule.
See our schedules page for train times or visit www.njtransit.com
Have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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