AndrewJC

This is a modification to the CBTC system on cars currently equipped with CBTC, not an expansion of CBTC to cars that don't have CBTC. There's no need to install CBTC on more cars than are needed on the L. Once CBTC comes to QBL, some more of ENY's R160's will need CBTC installed for use on the M, but that will be a different CBTC system entirely.

I think you mean B1 to B3. There used to be a diamond crossover south of Broadway-Lafayette between B1 and B3 (matching the one north of Broadway-Lafayette between B2 and B4), but it had to be removed in the 1960's to make way for the Chrystie Street connection. It would be nice to have one north of the station, but there's a steady row of columns between the two tracks, and creating an opening would be an expensive structural task.

Bingo. SMS is the Scheduled Maintenance System - a program that replaces components on a scheduled basis, before they fail. You don't get to an MDBF of 591,001 miles with poor maintenance.

I don't. Why does the 2 need "help" in Manhattan? The 1/2/3 doesn't pick up any additional riders in Manhattan (aside from a very few Dyre riders who are indifferent between West Side and East Side) due to this GO. Running 5 trains on the West Side (especially to South Ferry!) is confusing to riders, and to create "slots" for these 5 trains, there would probably need to be supplement schedules for the 1, 2, and 3.

That must mean a lot for you to first post "Key word. AFTER." - and then edit it out once you realized that you were making my very point. The date was never set in stone. Any large-scale project is scheduled, with target dates assigned to milestones based on assumptions of how quickly the previous steps progress. Nobody seriously expects each milestone to precisely meet its target date, since there's usually a lot of uncertainty in the timing of some of the previous steps. The start of revenue testing is one milestone. Its target date (as of October 2012) was not met because the steps leading up to revenue testing have been taking longer than anticipated.

But typically for capital jobs, not for MOW work. (Granted, that isn't a distinction that the typical rider cares about.)

I get the distinct feeling that I spend a lot less time on this site than many other posters. As I said back then, May 13, 2013 was a target date. You disputed that, and insisted that there'd be enough time after May 13 for testing. Bingo.

A lot of the problems were probably caused by the weather. The southern terminal was Essex. I got caught in that on my way to Brooklyn.

The dates are in here: http://www.mta.info/mta/news/books/docs/FasTrack2012Results%20_2013%20Plans.pdf So: July 15-19 is Concourse, Aug. 12-16 is QBL, Aug. 26-30 is Washington Heights, Sept. 9-13 is Lex local, Sept. 16-20 is CPW, Oct. 5-6 is Coney Island Creek, Oct. 14-18 is QBL, Oct. 28-Nov. 1 is Lex express, Nov. 4-8 is Concourse, Nov. 18-22 is Washington Heights, Nov. 23-24 is Coney Island Creek, and Dec. 2-6 is Rutgers. Ridership is lower in the summer than the rest of the year. A weekend shutdown in the Coney Island area would be a bad idea, but the other FASTRACK corridors are all fine in the summer.

I suspect that the primary reason that the testing process is taking longer than anticipated is that the testing schedule did not anticipate the Rockaway test track being washed out in a hurricane.

Well? Have you been riding that first train of R188's in revenue service for the past week? Or, as I suggested back in October, was May 13, 2013 merely a target date?

The Rockaway Park shuttle to/from Broad Channel usually runs full length trains on summer weekends because the crowds at those times transferring to/from the through A trains are too large to be accommodated by the regular half length trains on the line. The H doesn't run between Rockaway Park and Broad Channel, nor does it connect to the A train. If there is a slight uptick in ridership over Memorial Day weekend, there is plenty of room on the present four car trains to accommodate them. Everybody who travels from outside the Rockaways and rides the H has already paid a fare to ride the A train or perhaps a bus. The only people getting free rides on the H are people traveling within the Rockaways.

I hadn't seen that. Thanks. (I wonder if it's running the full route or if it's turning at 74th/Broadway.) I doubt there will be loading problems after 2:30.

No. The R32 has been through many SMS cycles by now.

SMS is Scheduled Maintenance System. The point is to replace components before they fail. And I believe some of the components are replaced on a 7-year cycle (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong on the exact cycle timing).

Why? The Q already runs to Astoria until about a half hour before the R stops running in Manhattan/Queens. After 11:30, Q riders can transfer to the 7 at Times Square to reach Queens. In my experience, outside of rush hours, E trains are pretty empty south of 34th. North of 34th, the E and A/C serve entirely different markets. I doubt the A will be noticeably more crowded on these nights than it is any other night. Will 7 service be increased? I'm not sure it's necessary, but the 7 seems more likely to be overburdened than anything else.

At 10pm the C is still running in addition to the A.

Which are designed primarily to allow single-tracking through the river tube. Typically, when trains terminate at Jay, they relay south of Bergen on the lower level.

The 7 is an alternative for through riders. Local riders will have a shuttle bus. (Remember, the subway will be running between Roosevelt and the two Jamaica terminals.)

The lighting on the staircase to the (indoor) mezzanine was out. If the only exit from a station is not safe to use, trains don't stop there.

Why would they realize it is running in place of the Q? Regular Brighton riders know the B is part-time, but they don't necessarily know the exact time of the last train. Especially in the early part of the GO, going northbound, they may see the B and decide to wait for the Q so they can get to Broadway. And going southbound, riders going to local stops might insist on waiting for the Q, since the B never makes local stops. The B also doesn't run to 57th and 6th. Labeling it Q solves those problems.

Presumably because both southbound tracks were out of service for the investigation. Power was probably cut to both tracks. http://parkslope.patch.com/articles/man-in-critical-condition-after-jumping-in-front-of-4th-ave-r-train

No, they also wrote that "Southbound and trains are running on the line from DeKalb Avenue Station to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station."

This is primarily a signal project, not a car project. But CBTC needs equipment installed on the cars, and R142A's are better suited for the CBTC equipment, and retrofitting newer cars is more cost-effective as the cost of the retrofit can be amortized over a longer period of time. The majority of R188's are simply converted R142A's. There will be some new cars as well, because the line is being extended and because service will be a bit more frequent. But the R188's are not replacing any existing cars. As far as I know, no yard space is being added. The existing Corona Yard, plus the tail tracks south of 34th Street, should be enough.

My experience is just the opposite.