New York City - Transit News - Page 38

Nexis4Jersey · #**741** Posted **Apr 11, 2013, 9:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by k1052

Because it was massively overbuilt as a transfer station and all the NJT comes through there. It also has room for a bus terminal to relive some of the stress on the PA Bus Terminal in midtown.

There should be at least one stop on any 7 extension that connects directly with the HBLR, which in itself would be FAR more valuable to NJ than simply extending HBLR.

So we should not expand our LRT lines becuz they have no benefit to the NJ Economy , but we should continue to invest into NY? I have no problem with the Gateway Project , but does the 7 Project come with the replacement the NEC from Newark to Sunnyside , it does not....that will fix just about all the issues between the states... As it stands now not building the Gateway , and building the 7 train instead means the Regional , High Speed & Intercity Networks cannot be expanded. The Section of track from Newark to Sunnyside is endanger of collapse , there have already been a few derailments and numerous issues like broken catenary , falling concrete , and bad tracks why post pone replacement of that critical section of the NEC?

k1052 · #**742** Posted **Apr 11, 2013, 9:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

So we should not expand our LRT lines becuz they have no benefit to the NJ Economy , but we should continue to invest into NY? I have no problem with the Gateway Project , but does the 7 Project come with the replacement the NEC from Newark to Sunnyside , it does not....that will fix just about all the issues between the states... As it stands now not building the Gateway , and building the 7 train instead means the Regional , High Speed & Intercity Networks cannot be expanded. The Section of track from Newark to Sunnyside is endanger of collapse , there have already been a few derailments and numerous issues like broken catenary , falling concrete , and bad tracks why post pone replacement of that critical section of the NEC?

I support most of Gateway but it's going to be on a signifigantly longer timescale than a 7 extension would be, particularly considering the Penn station morass and the involvement of even more agencies with a stake. Basically they're are too many moving pieces to that to pin all your hopes on it for near term relief.

Connecting with NYCT would realize the full capability of HBLR along with creating massive development all along it's route.

Nexis4Jersey · #**743** Posted **Apr 11, 2013, 10:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by k1052

I support most of Gateway but it's going to be on a signifigantly longer timescale than a 7 extension would be, particularly considering the Penn station morass and the involvement of even more agencies with a stake. Basically they're are too many moving pieces to that to pin all your hopes on it for near term relief.

Connecting with NYCT would realize the full capability of HBLR along with creating massive development all along it's route.

The 7 Extension is at least 15 years out while the Gateway could be started within a few years.... How would the Gateway be longer then the 7? That really makes no sense....the NJ side is all cleared and bought up , the Tunnels are being prepped , the Portal Bridge is in the design and Engineering stage along with Kearny JCT upgrade , Penn Station is a mess....but the other more critical upgrades are easy and some just need funding.... NJT , Amtrak , Metro North all back to the Gateway Project.... You can't run a subway along the HBLR it runs at grade for most of its route or next to Freight tracks that will be expanded.....your that guy who keeps pushing those wacky ideas on SAS....

k1052 · #**744** Posted **Apr 11, 2013, 10:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

The 7 Extension is at least 15 years out while the Gateway could be started within a few years.... How would the Gateway be longer then the 7? That really makes no sense....the NJ side is all cleared and bought up , the Tunnels are being prepped , the Portal Bridge is in the design and Engineering stage along with Kearny JCT upgrade , Penn Station is a mess....but the other more critical upgrades are easy and some just need funding.... NJT , Amtrak , Metro North all back to the Gateway Project.... You can't run a subway along the HBLR it runs at grade for most of its route or next to Freight tracks that will be expanded.....your that guy who keeps pushing those wacky ideas on SAS....

The guy who repeatedly posts huge elaborate fantasy schemes for rail expansion is calling me "wacky". Yea, Gateway is totally in the bag except for the minor considerations of design, funding, and property acquisition for the ludicrous Penn South part of the project. More likely it will be broken up into several pieces over decades with the quickest being those which can have a positive impact on current NEC service (like the Portal Bridge) and other sundry projects west of the palisades.

I'm not talking about running a subway along the HBLR. I'm talking about a transfer station that will connect HBLR to the 7 extension.

mrnyc · #**745** Posted **Apr 14, 2013, 8:39 AM**

i was up at the renovated e180th st station the other day. unfortunately it was a freezing rainy day so i could not poke around as much as i would have liked to, but $ well spent on the renovations it looks great!

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_...ains_Road_Line)

more:
http://gothamist.com/2013/03/15/mta_...18.php#photo-1

Busy Bee · #**746** Posted **Apr 14, 2013, 3:05 PM**

Awesome indeed!

NYC4Life · #**747** Posted **Apr 14, 2013, 10:27 PM**

The best looking subway station in the Bronx, by far.

NYC4Life · #**748** Posted **Apr 14, 2013, 10:30 PM**

WNBC-TV NEW YORK

Midtown Water Main Break Sends Water into East Side Access Project
Sunday, Apr 14, 2013 | Updated 6:13 PM EDT

[IMG]http://media.nbcnewyork.com/images/654*368/midtown+water+main+break.jpg[/IMG]
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local...FlowFB_NYBrand

Quote:

A water main break in Midtown Manhattan caused a torrent of water to rush down city streets and spill into the MTA's East Side Access construction project.

The FDNY says the break occurred when a Con Edison contractor struck a three inch pipe at Madison Avenue and 50th Street.

Water flooded a several basements and knocked out power to one building. It also rushed into a vent that's part of the East Side Access, an MTA construction project that will connect the Long Island Railroad to Grand Central Terminal.

Fire officials said they were determining the extent of the flooding.

No train service was effected. Crews had to temporarily shut off water to repair the break.

NYC4Life · #**749** Posted **Apr 20, 2013, 6:49 PM**

UPDATED 11:32 AM
Transit Between Boston, NYC Returning To Normal Saturday After Capture Of Second Boston Marathon Suspect
By: NY1 News

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stori...rathon-suspect

Quote:

Transit in Amtrak's Northeast Corridor was expected to return to normal Saturday after being shut down for hours Friday following a manhunt for the second alleged suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings.

Amtrak said Friday night that it expected regular service between New York and Boston Saturday.

Limited service resumed Saturday night after almost a full day of suspensions during the manhunt in Boston.

Penn Station was crowded all day with stranded passengers when the Acela Express and Northeast Regional service were suspended.

Amtrak said that travelers should still check online before heading to their trains.

Anyone who already paid but can't travel now can get a refund or voucher for future travel.

There will also be additional security in place for races being held in the city this weekend.

The National Guard is sending an additional 150 guardsmen to the city, and sources tell NY1 that the State Police will also provide extra hands.

ardecila · #**750** Posted **Apr 20, 2013, 7:12 PM**

Quote:

Transit in Amtrak's Northeast Corridor was expected to return to normal Saturday after being shut down for hours Friday following a manhunt for the second alleged suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings.

Amtrak said Friday night that it expected regular service between New York and Boston Saturday.

Limited service resumed Saturday night after almost a full day of suspensions during the manhunt in Boston.

Isn't this a double standard? Logan Airport remained open the whole damn time.

Maybe not, though. Air travel already made its own deal with the devil to ensure security. I'm glad rail travelers don't have to suffer the TSA even if they do get stranded by events like the Marathon bombing.

NYC4Life · #**751** Posted **Apr 22, 2013, 5:06 PM**

UPDATED 9:29 AM
Electric Taxi Cab Fleet Expanding On City Streets
By: NY1 News

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stori...n-city-streets

Quote:

The city's yellow cabs are getting greener.

The city is rolling out six all-electric Nissan Leaf taxis as part of a pilot program set to last up to a year.

Nissan donated the vehicles, which will be added to New York's 13,000 medallion cabs.

The city's Taxi and Limousine Commission wants to see how the Leaf's charging times fit into a typical 24/7 business day.

The goal is to make one-third of the city's fleet electric by 2020, as a way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, as well as cutting gas and maintenance costs.

This new roll-out is separate from the planned launch of the "Taxi of Tomorrow", a program meant to replace all current yellow cabs with more fuel-efficient ones.

NYC4Life · #**752** Posted **Apr 25, 2013, 11:13 PM**

UPDATED 5:45 PM
Cell Service Comes To 30 More Subway Stations Today
By: Vivian Lee

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stori...stations-today

Quote:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Thursday rolled out cell phone and Wi-Fi service in 30 more Manhattan subway stations.

The service has been added to stations on the West Side of Manhattan, from Times Square to 96th Street.

Several stations along 14th Street got cell service in 2011.
Straphangers who use those stations will now be able to make calls, send emails and text while underground.

Transit officials eventually want all 277 stations to offer the service but note that it will take time. They say the 36 stations now wired were a challenge because the system is 110 years old, and not designed to add new technology easily.

The MTA contracted Transit Wireless to set up the network.

"It's a system that required very creative ways to install the equipment without disrupting the millions of passengers that use this network on a 24 by 7 basis," said Bill Bayne of Transit Wireless.

Some commuters who spoke with NY1 had mixed reactions about the service.

"I think people will be less attentive to what's around them," said one straphanger.

"Say if somebody falls on the tracks, you don't have the service, we can't call the cops or call the ambulances in case something happens like that," said another straphanger.

For now, only AT&T and T-Mobile customers will get a cell signal at the wired stations; Verizon and Sprint users will be able to later this year.

For a full list of the cell phone ready stations, visit mta.info.

NYC4Life · #**753** Posted **Apr 26, 2013, 8:23 PM**

UPDATED 3:11 PM
Brooklyn's Smith-9th Street Station Reopens To Riders
By: Roger Clark

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stori...pens-to-riders

Quote:

After renovations that went on far longer than expected, the key Smith-9th Street Station, which is on the F and G subway lines in Brooklyn, finally reopened Friday morning.

The station, which serves residents of Red Hook, Gowanus, and Carroll Gardens, recently underwent a two-year, $32 million renovation.

Originally scheduled to take nine months to complete, it wound up taking two years due to issues with the contractor and the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

"Now it's no secret that we all think this work should have been done sooner. And we're really grateful for the community's patience. But here we are. Better late than, you know," said Acting MTA Chairman Fernando Ferrer.

Many residents had no other mass transit options and said they were frustrated with the delays.

"It's saving me having to walk all the way to Carroll Street. This is the easiest way. Just hop on right here. I'm so excited for this train station right now," said one subway rider.

"Finally. Wow! The nightmare is over. We need to go in and enjoy the train station," said another subway rider.

Improvements to the 79-year-old station -- the highest elevated subway station in the world -- include new lighting, rehabilitated stairs and platforms and a new public address system.

It's part of a $389 million project to rehabilitate the entire line known as the Culver Viaduct which runs from Carroll Street to 4th Avenue over the Gowanus Canal.

"A structure that will support four tracks, two subway lines and two stations. And by the end of the year, the black netting that you see outside this station will finally be gone," said Acting NYC Transit President Carmen Bianco.

The station re-opening is also good news to merchants downstairs at street level. They say business has been down while the station was closed.

Line Bagels Manager Victor Carino says the project took too long, but he's glad it's finally done.

"You can't fix something like that in nine months, no way, it wasn't possible, I get it. But no point in complaining now," Carino said.

NYC4Life · #**754** Posted **Apr 29, 2013, 12:35 AM**

A quick favor: Can a mod please add the smiley that's used for the NY threads on this one? TY

mrnyc · #**755** Posted **May 7, 2013, 9:12 AM**

another kind of transit comes online -- and takes out 100s of parking spaces along with it:

Time to roll! Memorial Day bike-share debut

By DAVID SEIFMAN, City Hall Bureau Chief
Last Updated: 2:15 AM, May 7, 2013

The secret is out — the city’s long-awaited bike- share program is going to start on Memorial Day weekend.

The Department of Transportation has been cagey about the Citi Bike launch date ever since plans for two earlier starts fell through, once because of software problems and another when Hurricane Sandy flooded the Brooklyn Navy Yard warehouse where the bikes and docking stations were being stored.

This time, it looks like the go signal is for real.

“That’s the date they’ve been shooting for,” said one source.

The rollout is being timed for the long holiday weekend because, with so many cars out of town, reduced traffic will let new bikers get used to city streets.

The city is expecting thousands of two-wheelers to hit the road. In the first two days after the program began accepting members last month, more than 5,000 signed up. The enrollment now tops 7,000.

Annual members, who fork over the $95 fee, plus tax, will get first crack at the 6,000-bike fleet parked at 330 locations.

In the first phase, bikes will be available in Manhattan below 59th Street and in the Brooklyn neighborhoods closest to Manhattan.

A second phase will bring the number of bikes to 10,000 at 600 stations, including areas north of 59th Street in Manhattan and in Queens.

But the bike stations installed so far have created a flood of complaints from irate residents and business owners who have found the rent-a-bike racks on their doorsteps.
Lawsuits to block the bike stations have been springing up in the Brooklyn and Manhattan neighborhoods where the project is launching.

The Post reported yesterday that at least three more suits will be filed against the program this week.

A lawsuit was filed last month that demands officials remove the Citi Bike station in front of 99 Bank St. in the West Village.

Another six challenges are in the works, said attorneys of clients who found out about the plans only once the racks were installed.

About 200 cities have bike-share programs. But New York’s will instantly become one of the largest in the world once it expands to its final size.

New York’s program also is off-limits to the obese. On registration forms, new members are told they can’t participate if they weigh more than 260 pounds — although there is no plan to enforce that rule.

Unlike several other big city bike-share programs, New York won’t require riders to wear helmets.

ardecila · #**756** Posted **May 8, 2013, 10:59 PM**

I don't see how these can be challenged. The city controls use of streets. Full stop. Businesses and residents are not entitled to the parking spots directly in front of their front doors. Nor is the loading zone a god given right.

I eagerly await the dismissal of these lawsuits.

NYC4Life · #**757** Posted **May 9, 2013, 9:07 PM**

NY1

Updated 05/08/2013 01:14 PM
MTA Subway Fleet Gets Its Start In Yonkers
By: Jose Martinez

http://www.ny1.com/content/transit/1...art-in-yonkers

Quote:

A Yonkers factory where new MTA subway cars are assembled carries on a tradition that goes back more than two decades. NY1 transit reporter Jose Martinez filed the following report.

Before a Number Seven train can rumble down the tracks at rush hour, it first has to get out of town, in Yonkers.

At the Kawasaki Rail Car factory in Downtown Yonkers, hundreds of subway cars that will be part of the Seven line are being assembled and tested before they can run from Times Square to Flushing.

"Twenty minutes from Grand Central, people don't realize that the cars that they're sitting in are put together here in Yonkers," said Kawasaki Spokeswoman Laura Alemzadeh.

Kawasaki is building or modernizing more than 500 subway cars in Yonkers. The price tag is $613 million.

"I ride the trains. I live in Riverdale and I ride our our product. The bottom line is I'm satisfied with the quality level and the workmanship that comes out of this plant," said Kawasaki Rail Car Plant GM Steve Vangellow.

On Thursday, Kawasaki will mark a quarter century of building subway cars for the MTA and other rail lines. Close to 400 workers create parts for the cars, outfitting the 38,000 pound shells with light, heat and air conditioning and attaching the wheels.

The handlebars are already in place and even the clocks are ticking inside one future No. 7 train at the factory. But it still has to undergo a lot of testing and get some seats before it hits the tracks.

Once they're fully outfitted, the cars weigh close to 60,000 pounds. Then they're moved to rails next to the factory where they can be tested at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour.

If the cars make the grade, the MTA puts them to the ultimate test on actual subway tracks in the city.

"It's for the ridership, to get the people going where they need to go in a much timelier fashion," Vangellow said.

Some of the new cars that will be part of the 7 line are already being tested on tracks in the Bronx.

All are expected to be in service within the next three years.

NYC4Life · #**758** Posted **May 9, 2013, 9:11 PM**

WABC-TV NEW YORK

Some MTA inspections are badly lacking, report finds
Updated at 03:49 PM today

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?se...fic&id=9096567

A train arrives to the Astor Place station early Friday, Dec. 16, 2005 in New York. (AP Photo/ Dima Gavrysh)

Quote:

Eyewitness News
Elevated track and bridges connect key parts of the 240 mile subway system, but inspection of these critical components is haphazard according to this new report.

The Inspector General bluntly states that in some cases the MTA ''has not inspected certain critical structures for decades& (and therefore) increases the risk of serious structural failure."

"I don't think any of the riders want a system where they are riding over elevated structures that haven't been inspected in decades," William Henderson of Citizens MTA Advisory Committee said.

The Inspector General calls out the MTA for failure to do required annual inspections of elevated stations and found serious defects in some of their steel girders. We also found deterioration of steel beams on parts of the elevated 7-line in Queens.

One of the most startling findings, however, involves the A-line's concrete viaduct that crosses Jamaica Bay. The report found no unit within the New York City Transit is assigned to regularly inspect this key connector.

"These structures are over salt water, things that get constant salt air and mist, if anything you'd want to inspect them more frequently than structures on land," Henderson said.

Three years ago in response to a partial subway ceiling collapse, the Inspector General blamed inspection weaknesses. The MTA formed a task force and promised big improvements.

So the lack of any real changes might account for the Inspector General's tough warning this time saying "transit can no longer tolerate the continued risk."

"There's the risk of catastrophic failure - a relatively small risk, but the stakes are very high," Henderson said.

NYC4Life · #**759** Posted **May 12, 2013, 8:11 PM**

One of the new Siemens built locomotives unveiled by Amtrak to replace the current fleet:

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/v...e-aging-fleet-

NYC4Life · #**760** Posted **May 27, 2013, 6:38 PM**

WPIX-TV NEW YORK

NYC kicks off much-anticipated bike share program
by PIX11 Web Desk

http://pix11.com/2013/05/27/nyc-kick...#axzz2UWFIkT4D

Quote:

NEW YORK (PIX11) – After non-stop hype, the Citi Bike-share program finally launched in New York City on Monday.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYC Department of Transportation Commissioner Jeanette Sadik-Khan were on hand for the official launch at a docking station in Lower Manhattan.

The much-anticipated program was kicked off with 6,000 bikes at 330 docking stations throughout Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. The program will eventually expand to the other boroughs in the coming months.

Several docking stations have surfaced throughout the city in recent weeks, replacing various parking locations and giving commuters another reason to leave the car at home

A reported 15,000 people have already signed up for the program which boasts an annual membership of $95 and a daily pass for $9.95.