SkyscraperPage Forum

SkyscraperPage Forum (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/index.php)
-   Transportation (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=25)
-   -   New York City - Transit News (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=154524)

mrnyc Oct 19, 2018 10:35 AM

:haha:

https://nypost.com/2018/10/19/new-yo...ee-off-subway/

mrnyc Oct 20, 2018 12:41 PM

awww!

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...outputType=amp

chris08876 Oct 20, 2018 1:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrnyc (Post 8350658)

Just another day.

.... (hears music in the background)....... (music gets louder) ..... "ladies and gentlemen, my name is ....

" O shit... the subway dancers!" :runaway:

mrnyc Oct 22, 2018 11:29 PM

well good:


During L train shutdown, MTA plans to add thousands of trains for displaced riders

The agency announced Monday it will spend $27 million to add more than 1,000 trips each week across six lettered lines.


more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/l-train...own-1.22311753

mrsmartman Oct 25, 2018 1:47 PM

Video Link

Sun Belt Oct 25, 2018 7:38 PM

^I had no idea!

chris08876 Oct 31, 2018 12:18 AM

Anger at NJ Transit overflows for second straight day as 111-year-old bridge fails again

Quote:

For the second night in a row, NJ Transit commuters faced a nightmarish commute, following another mechanical issue that caused delays of over an hour in and out of Penn Station.

This time the culprit was the infamous Portal Bridge, a swing bridge owned by Amtrak that crosses the Hackensack River and connects Kearny and Secaucus. The bane of commuter existence was unable to lock in place for over an hour Tuesday afternoon.


The bridge was opened to marine traffic at 3:24 p.m. but was not fully closed until 4:52 p.m., Amtrak Spokesman Jason Abrams said.

Even after it was locked into place, NJ Transit and Amtrak trains that cross the bridge experienced up to 90-minute delays as of 7 p.m.

NJ Transit Spokesman Nathan Rudy said system-wide cross-honoring was in effect with NJ Transit buses as well as privately-owned buses. PATH was also accepting NJ Transit rail tickets and passes at Newark, Hoboken and 33rd Street in Manhattan.

The Portal Bridge was actually unable to lock earlier Tuesday as well. It was stuck from 9:50 a.m. to 10:19 a.m., "causing some delays to three Amtrak trains an several commuter trains," Abrams said.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DqyntvwVYAAT4hA.jpg
Credit: https://twitter.com/CtNYCommuteGal


======================
https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/20...ils_again.html

Busy Bee Oct 31, 2018 12:48 AM

This is the country that put men on the moon?

BrownTown Oct 31, 2018 1:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Busy Bee (Post 8363273)
This is the country that put men on the moon?

That was before the liberals put insane regulations on building anything which makes it take decades and billions of dollars just to replace a bridge that was built 100+ years ago. Things are going to get MUCH MUCH worse before they get better.

mrnyc Oct 31, 2018 3:56 AM

^ while its true liberals put up the regulations, its not like the insane right wingers have gotten us anywhere either. yuge tax cuts for the rich, running up the deficit, putting an adhd flip flopper in charge? not working for transit either. and yeah getting worse. for one thing that might help, the mta needs to divest itself from handling capital projects.

Busy Bee Oct 31, 2018 5:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrownTown (Post 8363321)
That was before the liberals put insane regulations on building anything which makes it take decades and billions of dollars just to replace a bridge that was built 100+ years ago. Things are going to get MUCH MUCH worse before they get better.

So wait, you think the Portal Bridge hasn't been replaced because the "hand of liberals" have made replacing an old RR bridge too expensive because of "regulations" (please share what all these ominous regulations are... or are you just referring to studies and EIS's) and NOT the FACT that the national railroad carrier is chronically underfunded for years (with many trying to purposefully destroy the NPRA since day one) and transit is underfunded with pathetic investment which is almost always done at the hands of conservatives???

BrownTown Oct 31, 2018 4:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Busy Bee (Post 8363504)
So wait, you think the Portal Bridge hasn't been replaced because the "hand of liberals" have made replacing an old RR bridge too expensive because of "regulations" (please share what all these ominous regulations are... or are you just referring to studies and EIS's) and NOT the FACT that the national railroad carrier is chronically underfunded for years (with many trying to purposefully destroy the NPRA since day one) and transit is underfunded with pathetic investment which is almost always done at the hands of conservatives???

Funding is an issue in the US to be sure, but the funding we have would go a hell of a lot further if infrastructure in the US didn't cost 5x as much as other 1st world countries (and 10x as much in the NYC area). Those outrageous costs are almost entirely due to liberal regulations and labor agreements. Fix these issues and I think voters would be much more receptive to paying for infrastructure because they could see their money going to good use instead of being squandered. Hell, the way it is now where it takes a decade of environmental studies and lawsuits before construction even starts half the electorate will probably be dead or moved out of state before a project is completed.

mrnyc Oct 31, 2018 5:11 PM

^ well you got that right.

but the fact is, you both do.

its both embarrassing underfunding and lengthy regulations and costs.

that's why capital work should be broken off from the mta.

i want my running the system $ clearly separated from my building the system $.

k1052 Oct 31, 2018 5:12 PM

On the next piece of must pass legislation the NJ and NY delegations should insert language ending access for over height river traffic at Portal and order Amtrak to weld the motherfucker shut immediately.

The treatment plant upstream can rail or truck out it's sludge.

Busy Bee Oct 31, 2018 8:57 PM

There seems to be about 101 different articles in the past two years about US v. Int'l infra costs, but for the life of me I don't see a takeaway that suggests that the "greedy" labor unions themselves are the main issue here. Why don't other organized labor heavy nations (pretty much all of Europe) have these same outrageous costs? Maybe the breakdown is the accountability for efficiency/productivity and cost overruns with the private unionized contractors and the bondholders i.e. government agencies?

BrownTown Oct 31, 2018 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Busy Bee (Post 8364258)
There seems to be about 101 different articles in the past two years about US v. Int'l infra costs, but for the life of me I don't see a takeaway that suggests that the "greedy" labor unions themselves are the main issue here. Why don't other organized labor heavy nations (pretty much all of Europe) have these same outrageous costs? Maybe the breakdown is the accountability for efficiency/productivity and cost overruns with the private unionized contractors and the bondholders i.e. government agencies?

This article does a good job explaining in part how the unions are responsible for a lot of the cost overruns.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/n...ion-costs.html

Quote:

There are “nippers” to watch material being moved around and “hog house tenders” to supervise the break room. Each crane must have an “oiler,” a relic of a time when they needed frequent lubrication. Standby electricians and plumbers are to be on hand at all times, as is at least one “master mechanic.” Generators and elevators must have their own operators, even though they are automatic. An extra person is required to be present for all concrete pumping, steam fitting, sheet metal work and other tasks.

In New York, “underground construction employs approximately four times the number of personnel as in similar jobs in Asia, Australia, or Europe,” according to an internal report by Arup, a consulting firm that worked on the Second Avenue subway and many similar projects around the world.

That ratio does not include people who get lost in the sea of workers and get paid even though they have no apparent responsibility, as happened on East Side Access. The construction company running that project declined to comment.

The labor deals negotiated between the unions and construction companies also ensure that workers are well paid. The agreement for Local 147, the union for the famed “sandhogs” who dig the tunnels, includes a pay rate for most members of $111 per hour in salary and benefits. The pay doubles for overtime or Sunday work, which is common in transit construction. Weekend overtime pays quadruple — more than $400 per hour.

...

Several contractors said the unions are able to maintain the deals because everybody knows they are politically powerful. The unions working on M.T.A. projects have donated more than $1 million combined to Mr. Cuomo during his administration, records show.

...

The critics pointed to several unusual provisions in the labor agreements. One part of Local 147’s deal entitles the union to $450,000 for each tunnel-boring machine used. That is to make up for job losses from “technological advancement,” even though the equipment has been standard for decades.

...

France’s unions are powerful, but Mr. Probst said they did not control project staffing. Isabelle Brochard of RATP, a state-owned company that operates the Paris Metro and is coordinating the Line 14 project, estimated there were 200 total workers on the job, each earning $60 per hour. The Second Avenue subway project employed about 700 workers, many making double that (although that included health insurance).
However, you are right that unions aren't the only problem of course. The entire incentive structure is set up so that everyone involved makes more money the longer and more expensive they can make the project. Literally nobody is looking to reduce costs because the unions are so politically powerful that politicians are scared to try and take them on.

dropdeaded209 Nov 1, 2018 10:01 AM

why do new yorkers put up with this? isn't it supposed to be a city where everyone demands the best and that's why they pay more for almost everything? why do people who live in the city tolerate this nonsense?

i'm genuinely curious--or is the MTA back in working order now?

mrnyc Nov 1, 2018 11:02 AM

^ they dont put up with it. people in the city are fuming mad about declining service issues.

the problem is its run by the state.

people say the governor is doing it on purpose because he doesnt like the mayor. even if true, its not just that though. the subway is an old system that needs a lot of constant work.

yankeesfan1000 Nov 1, 2018 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dropdeaded209 (Post 8364773)
why do new yorkers put up with this? isn't it supposed to be a city where everyone demands the best and that's why they pay more for almost everything? why do people who live in the city tolerate this nonsense?

i'm genuinely curious--or is the MTA back in working order now?

Unfortunately, ignorance. I work with a lot of people who have had hellish commutes the past 2-3 days, and none of them had ever even heard of the Portal Bridge. When people don't know what the actual root cause is, then it's easy for politicians to promise to fix it, not do anything, and claim they fixed it or pass blame. Or because people don't know what the root cause is, they don't know where to focus their frustration.

Of course, if something is making your life significantly worse on a daily basis, it wouldn't kill them to pull their phones out while their train is delayed 2-3 hours and figure out what's going on, but that's just me.

mrnyc Nov 1, 2018 11:09 AM

^ and then when they figure it out make a few pointed phone calls to elected officials!


All times are GMT. The time now is 1:14 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.