Proposal #1: A that starts somewhere between Utica/Clarkson Aves and Kings Plaza...
...goes up Utica to Fulton St, heads west on Fulton via the IND Fulton local tracks (the merge would be just east of Utica Ave station there; might have to be a jug turn because I want the to stop on the same tracks as the at Utica-Fulton)...
...branches off the IND Fulton local tracks either b/w Clinton-Washington Aves and LaFayette Ave stations or just west of LaFayette Ave station...
...merges with the and comes into DeKalb Ave station...
...then branches off before Whitehall St station and then gets up to 2nd Ave to connect with the Second Ave Subway.
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Proposal #2: A that starts somewhere between Utica/Clarkson Aves and Kings Plaza...
...goes up Utica to Fulton St, heads west on Fulton via the IND Fulton local tracks (the merge would be just east of Utica Ave station there; might have to be a jug turn because I want the to stop on the same tracks as the at Utica-Fulton)...
...runs via the IND Fulton local tracks to Hoyt-Schermerhorn and stops on the outermost tracks there (gotta fix up those outer platforms and allow passenger access again)...
...branches off the IND Fulton local tracks and runs via a short new tunnel from there to merge with the and come into Court St station...
...and then branches off before Whitehall St station and then gets up to 2nd Ave to connect with the Second Ave Subway.
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I know some problems were mentioned before, but I wanted to discuss them in a dedicated thread here. I am curious as to how/why any parts of either proposal might be physically impossible to build and whether they would involve disruptions to existing subway service and digging in dense neighborhoods to an extent greater than that of other proposals. I am also curious about the extent to which this line's capacity would be constrained by sharing tracks with the and . Which of the two proposals, if any, is better? It seems to me that proposal #2 is better. It seems less expensive and more feasible since it does not involve tunneling under the IND Fulton, IND Crosstown, or BMT Brighton tracks in Downtown Brooklyn, unlike proposal #1.
Assuming adequate turnaround facilities at the (T)'s terminals and given the current service levels of the and within Brooklyn (and/r service levels of the within BK prior to the Montague tunnel closure, which I do not think were that different from current service levels), I am sure this could run up to 15 TPH. Should it?
One of the reasons I came up with these proposals was that I thought making use of much existing infrastructure (and mostly building the brand new infrastructure just along Utica, where the B46 gets slammed with passengers, and along the far East Side of Manhattan and Second Ave, close to the not-as-far East Side where the Lex subway obviously gets slammed with passengers) would result in lower construction costs overall.
I mentioned proposal #1 in another thread, where I was told that it (or parts of it?) would be physically impossible and difficult to build. Again, proposal #1 involves tunneling under IND Fulton, IND Crosstown, and BMT Brighton tracks in Downtown Brooklyn while proposal #2 does not involve tunneling under any of these in Downtown Brooklyn.
But alas, I realize that a [rather interesting] problem with proposal #2 is that we would have through trains stopping on all six tracks, which would mean having to figure out which side the doors on the trains should open, unless there is a viable way to quickly open and close the doors on both sides. Or, MTA could just hire assistant conductors for that, I suppose. I hope there is a viable way to quickly open and close the doors on both sides to facilitate transfers from the to the and and vice-versa.
I have an idea of what the entire procedure for quickly opening and closing the doors on both sides of the train (ideally, a train making automated announcements) would be like, but do not want to post it now for purposes of post brevity. Also I am thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of having the assistant conductor posted in the cab (they do not have to be there for the entire trip on whatever train they have to operate at Hoyt-Schermerhorn) vs. having the assistant conductor posted on the outer platform at Hoyt-Schermerhorn and will try to talk about this later. Maybe in a new thread.
Significant edits in burgundy.