danielhg121

No idea this existed. Thanks for sharing! Lots of information on projects we're all curious about.

When was the Q50 slated for artics?

There's a chance that the Q26 could get sent over to CP tbh. Q65 could be sent to CS. Q14 could also be at CP, it is just the Q38 half and Q23 northern portion.

I don’t really understand what the Q62 does mainly with the portion serving 20th Avenue. I don’t think it’s fair for Powells Beach riders to sit through that whole 20th Avenue portion. If you’re designating it a rush route, it should theoretically take the fastest way to/from the hub after the pickup portion. It may as well parallel the Q50 to Flushing once it gets on the Whitestone Expwy. I don’t think having it serve 20th Avenue is a smart use of resources especially since that mall isn’t much of a ridership generator and certainly not in the mornings when people are trying to get to work so why bother serving it? There aren’t many residential buildings over there and the 25 runs closer to serve College Point proper.

Nice. Yea if you reschedule, its hard to really determine when the next S&D overview is.

Interesting, I doubt Waterbury has enough ridership to justify the cost for them to electrify the line but who knows there might be some savings associated with not having to maintain a separate fleet of diesel locomotives and coach cars. Speaking of which, where are they going to use those new coach cars if this electrification plan goes through? I guess Metro-North or another agency can end up buying it off them but it wouldn’t make sense to purchase cars and not use them.

There definitely seems to be some inconsistency with how they are labeling routes. Some say Q66 Limited when you click on their tab and refer to it as Q66 Limited, then the route profile pdf says it's Q66 Rush. The Q66 Rush is barely a rush but I digress. Same thing happens with Q49 Limited when in fact it's just a local. Q45 Rush on the webpage but Q45 Limited on the route profile pdf.

The 20-30 minute headway is going to be a headache for those living along Willets Point Blvd and further northeast but they've never gotten a local bus route especially between 149th Street and Francis Lewis Blvd so it should be interesting how this plays out. I agree that it shouldn't stop at Bayside and 35th Ave as the Q16 and Q44 (which is significantly more frequent) can handle those loads. If it picked at both of those stops, everybody gunning for Flushing would hop on any of which come first, there would be no point in having a Rush route.

If it is a possible workaround, they usually let you go by around 12PM if not earlier for the overview. All they do at the overview is read it aloud and elaborate on some tips to help memorize signals and definitions. If you still want to reschedule, try calling the phone numbers on the bottom of the email where the email signature is located during standard HR business hours (usually M-F 9-5).

Damn. Heard about this during class. My condolences. Sorry to hear that.

Yes you can! There is no visitors entrance, just head up the overpass and walk towards the facility. Usually, the security guard is informed there is a S&D overview and he/she will be waiting by the entrance to let you in. Remember to bring your driver's license. Good luck! Make those flashcards.

Yes. They need bodies! You’ll have a lot of time to study within the 5 weeks they give you. If you start studying now, you’ll feel burnt out and won’t hit the books as hard.

I would imagine that the track circuit has to be shunted aka a train sitting on the rail.

Not a former T/O. Just currently in the LE program. A contract just failed to ratify as it was voted down so it’ll be at least another year until another contract pops up for a general body vote. We don’t rly refer to them as AM/PM tours just jobs. Grand Central Terminal is kinda senior for the most part, the really late night jobs are junior. The terminal doesn’t rly open up till 5:30AM and they pay you for 8 hours whenever you’re called even if you work less than that so you know most runs are 8 hours or a little over, expect to get out around 2-3PM if not later, depends how much swing time is built into the job. Some have a really long swing, some have very little, some have meal periods, some have no meals (which you get paid a penalty for).

Damn. The scheme looks really nice on the XE40. Seems like the bus can really takeoff too.

Just had a thought but wouldn’t it be easier to fold the Hudson Riverlink buses that Metro-North contracts outside to an in-house NYCT operation? I know the funding sources would prob be different but wouldn’t this be an easier solution? They could use older buses that are about to be retired instead of high-floor buses.

Well, maybe it's because you checked more than a month after I had responded. Regardless, here's the link: https://careers.mta.org/search/long-island-rail-road-metro-north-railroad/jobs. Just keep checking on it every 3-4 weeks. LIRR I believe is hiring Assistant Conductors if you're interested.

I know my stance earlier was extending it to Fordham was a bit much but in the last few weeks, having to make the schlep up there before the AM rush, it fills a hole created in the lack of Bx9 service. The Bx9 departures out of West Farms Sq at those hours are: 1:49, 2:34, 3:19, 4:02, 4:45, 5:27 then 5:42 and getting better and better so roughly every 45 mins overnight. I would support the Q44 being extended to Fordham during the overnight hours (12AM - 6AM) to help bridge the gap. You could increase the Bx9 frequencies but I think there's a reason why the MTA chooses to spam the Marble Hill to Riverdale trips. Less deadhead time, less cost. The Q44 also taps into a good chunk of the Bx9 market with the proposed routing and for those that live along Southern Blvd, they could take the Bx17 instead.

You pretty much need your license for the position. You may be required to report out to Speonk with a 4 hr call window, Port Jefferson with a 3 hr call window. Access to a reliable vehicle is also needed. I think they’ll give you some leeway but you pretty much need it by the signals and definitions exam. The conductors federal license is more or less tied to your drivers license.

From what I recall, I think LIRR has always stationed extra conductors at station platforms for special events/concerts at Forest Hills Stadium, Mets-Willets and now UBS Arena. As to how effective those are, not sure considering it’s probably a stampede to get to the platform or exit the station. Not sure if MNR does the same for Yankees games. As for providing extra service to meet the demand, it might just break even calling another crew to work, fuel costs, etc.

MNR P32 Genesis #211 sporting a new scheme. 👀 Good luck hunting!

Having gone through the process myself and ultimately ended up declining the offer. I can say this: the LIRR has a higher standard than Metro-North, if you feel you didn't study enough for Metro-North, it will be WAY harder at the LIRR. For the open house, you will be sat down for around 4 hours and sit through a series of IQ tests, vocabulary, and a math test consisting of addition, subtraction and multiplication. You cannot really study for this. If you fail any of these sections, they will thank you for your time and show you the door. If you successfully pass these tests, you will go on to a small interview with either a Transportation Manager or someone from HR and it's just a small interview to ask you what kind of experience you have for this role, nobody really fails this part and the interviewer helps you through. Once you pass this portion, you will be invited to the Signals and Definitions overview at Hillside Complex and be given a packet consisting of you guessed it, Signals and Definitions. If I remember correctly, they'll give you 5 weeks to memorize the signal names and indications, the signal names have to be 100% correct. There will be a separate section which consists of railroad terminology and their definition, these along with the signal indication, you must net an 80% on to pass. On the day you pass, they will measure you for your uniform and conduct another interview to judge your character (but nobody really fails this part either), HR helps ya out. They give you a horn, signal and buzzer packet and tell you to study this in preparation for the next class. Between this time and the start of class, you will have to clear a background check, driver's license check and a medical hold. Good luck if you make it through!

Are these the double deckers?

The leaf peepers have been in effect since October. The regular runs have been seeing a lot more people as well. Conductors have been saying they can't really collect tickets on some of the cars because there's no place to get through and people are crowding in the vestibule area.

Is there an issue with the LIRR C3 cab cars lately? There are 2 double-ended DM's trains out right now and a couple days back they ran a DE-DM mix with 4-5 cars. I'd imagine they'd like to avoid putting more mileage on the engines than necessary but for the needs of service, I guess they really no have no choice.