RR503

Get back to me when you’re on a set that breaks down. Because they do. Much more frequently than the rest of the fleet (esp. the 32s). After 50 years, I think it’s time.

Yes correct. ESA will be able to handle around 20tph at peak so Atlantic Terminal trains + new trains will head there. It's a shame -- they're screwing BK and Lower Manhattan. It'd be one thing if the Jamaica xfer was well designed but only one overpass will connect to the new platform. Classic LIRR.

I’ve always wondered — why do those extra tracks exist by 72nd st on CPW?

The Brooklyn trains are being nixed ostensibly so that the LIRR can streamline the interlocking (in reality, they're too stingy to spend on a couple flyovers that would allow seamless integration of BK and PS/GCT flows). Once that is done, capacity is said to increase by about 40%. The only way thru-running would work would be to do actual thru running. Babylon-Trenton, Huntington-Morristown, Ronkonkoma-Long Branch etc. Even then, the commute markets will still be hub/spoke -- the gains will be in equipment utilization and capacity.

Da hell? Its less reputable populace? The issue with sports games is not class mixing, it’s crowding spikes and drunk idiots...

I'm sure this has been asked/answered before, but why do the 142As have such a low MDBF?

Well would you look at that. Thanks Lance! Do any of you know if they're depicting reroutes in this fashion also?

No to both. If you assign 32s en masse to the , there’s a good chance you’ll get a set of them on the next train too. So, instead of a simple, quick and dirty reroute, you’re left with horrendous service gaps and platform crowding. What’s more, by putting 32s on a relatively long route with steep grades, you’re virtually asking for such a situation to take place. Better to leave them on peripheral/non 24/7 services. Same logic applies to the and . Those two services interline with at least one line from every B division trunk, so a stalled train (basically an eventuality given the 32s MDBF) has the capability to cascade over everything. Plus, the especially is an extremely high intensity service, featuring crushloads and express runs, hardly the place for a creaky old set of cars. Let the poor R32s die in peace, wearing themselves out on the or .

And, pray, what would sea beach riders do in this hypothetical? Sorry, I don’t follow, are you saying we should put the 32s on the or ?

Hell hath frozen over

Any pics by any chance? I’d love to see.

I haven’t seen these new posters — are they finally doing maps of the service changes?

I doubt that. The 211s will go where their CBTC capabilities and wider doors (and gangways) are needed, so expect another swap between CI and Jamaica when they arrive...

That would be spectacular if it is at all possible!! Not only will I use them, but I'll show them to my bosses at the MTA who have been searching for years for this kind of thing. Thank you so much!!

Yeah I am more worried about the underpinning etc that will have to happen than anything else. Also remember the at that point is in a cast iron tube -- I'm not an engineer but wouldn't that be much more difficult to modify/add a connection to than a cut-and-cover stretch? BTW nice diagram -- where did you get it?

Yup. AFAIK no 62s are being CBTCed.

Because why do anything properly when you can spend 98 cents on a dollar and provide the minimum. On a separate note, it’s really time to increase late night service to 4tph.

That’ll be one hell of a grade. Remember that the northbound track will have to split while over the , dive under the , go further down (as you say) to clear the tunnels, and then pop up to merge by Court St — whose platform ends under its eponymous street. I’d love the rollercoaster, but T/Os will hate it, and itll be one hell of a construction job. I really like the idea in theory, just got some practical concerns.

If you look out the front and see if there actually are new timers, I can look into it for you.

MTA feeds google data about the system via GTFS, GIS data, etc so not google’s fault. I’m sure someone else could explain in more detail.

I have a feeling he means use the provisions off of 8th ave. local at Worth st, but I agree this is v. extra. As for Utica, the there and send the to New Lots -- there are provisions for that and capacity to do so. Fulton has very little capacity -- all trains have to merge at Hoyt, and if you must do something with the , it's better off splitting into a branch that goes down the Bay Ridge Branch as far as there is space for both it and freight tracks.

While I agree the rollsign thing isn’t the end of the world, neither the B nor 6 are comparable. Both have dedicated fleets/terminals.

This can also be done temporally, but that’s impossible in this case — freight and subway both need 24 hr access. Much much easier to use FRA compliant vehicles.

Absolutely -- and if you're using FRA compliant vehicles there's no need for more than 2 tracks in those narrower areas. The only potential problem would be with the PANYNJ. Their cross harbor program (as pie in the sky-y as it is) would funnel a lot more freight traffic to those aforementioned tracks, including double stacks. Those well cars can't clear the third rail, so either you'd have to string catenary (which costs a lot, is more of a disturbance, and makes LIRR interoperability more difficult (you'd need loads of M8s)), or get into a very complex interstate commerce lawsuit, one which the port authority would probably win. Even once beyond that, you have the congestion around Fresh Pond, where the NYA uses main tracks of both the LMB and Bay Ridge branch as yard space, another complex issue given our regional aversion to more railyard space. None of these issues are in any way irresolvable, but they are food for thought. I for one am a big supporter of an overground type network -- maybe using Freedom Ticket to begin with -- on the Bay Ridge and Lower Montauk branches (RBB should be subway given available connections at both ends).

It does in certain places, but there are long stretches of 2 track wide cuts, for example in midwood and Jackson heights.