Cabanamaner

4 hours ago, Kamen Rider said:

So this went from a legitimate question to “Fantasy thread 4602”...

Agreed. Some of these “proposals” are tinkering more on being fantasy reroutes over practical solutions. If the worst of these cuts come to fruition, we’ll probably see reductions in service systemwide with peak-express and rush hour variants eliminated. I don’t think any line will flat out be discontinued or rerouted except for the B, W, or Z.

13 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

This is getting out of hand. Just this month someone slapped a conductor as the train was leaving. Have people lost their minds?

 

In regards to the conductors being hit and and insulted, I’d attribute that to the ignorance the average NYer has about their own subway system. In almost every video of a conductor or operator gritting soulmates, it’s usually an irate straphanger that’s upset at the train being late, slow, or skipping their stop. They believe that trains operate like cars do, with the motormen/women simply able to move the train wherever and however they want. 

10 hours ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

I wonder when 68th Street-Hunter College on  is going to get renovated. That station for the longest has been neglected compared to most other stations on the Lexington Ave line. 59th street and 77th street look way better than 68th street does, so it just makes me wonder why was that stop slipped? 

Blame the people that live in the area surrounding the station. They’ve repeatedly protested any change to the station bc it would involve the construction of a new entrance at 69th street, which they’re opposed to. Given that this station is heavily trafficked due to Hunter College and nearby hospitals, it’s long overdue for a renovation.

11 hours ago, paulrivera said:

Fordham has a somewhat essential NYCT department on the premises (It's not RTO; I think it involves money but don't quote me on that), so it has to be more secure by default since there are more TA employee movements there than at a typical subway station.

I’ve always wondered what that facility was. It takes up the southern end of what’s already a massive mezzanine at that station. You can see evidence of stairs that once led to this area from either platform. Even at its peak, I can’t imagine this station ever needed that much mezzanine space. Typical IND.

8 hours ago, paulrivera said:

I don’t know what the heck’s gonna happen when they activate OMNY in the Bronx.

Those swipers on the  line are really getting out of hand. Fordham especially.

I feel you. The moment you take one step into a station, they swarm and harass you to buy a swipe from them and won’t take no for an answer. I remember telling this one guy I wasn’t interested, only for him to tell him that the station was “gang territory” and something could happen to me if I denied him. I avoided the Jerome Line for a while after that.

It looks like the long closed entrances to the Broad Street  station are finally being sealed. If I’m not mistaken, these were closed after 9/11 since they’re directly next to the NYSE. 
 

I recall reading an article a few years ago about elevators that were planned for this station, but residents of the neighborhood opposed it due to fears of terrorism. It’s as ridiculous as it sounds.

Was able to just catch this bad boy before it pulled to head to (presumably) ENY yard. As a longtime Concourse line user, it’s my dream to finally see the  gets some new trains.

On 10/11/2019 at 10:50 AM, Wallyhorse said:

I'm sure many of them don't want rail because to them it means people "not their kind" going through some areas (many of these types likely were victims of crime in the subways in the 1960's, '70's and '80s by certain types who were "not their kind" (and in the case of those younger their parents being such).  That to me has always been the issue. 

Reminds me of the whole elevator debacle at 68th Street  where residents of that neighborhood don’t want elevators on 69th street because it would “change the character” of that street. Ridiculousness.

On 10/11/2019 at 12:05 AM, BreeddekalbL said:

The Queensway crowd already thinks this study tilts the scale towards them 🙄

The Queensway just flat out wouldn’t work, in my opinion. The High Line relies on the heavy foot traffic around the areas it runs through, in addition to being accessible by multiple heavily-trafficked arteries (34th, 23rd, 14th).  The Queensway would run through a somewhat isolated portion in Queens, and even though it bisects some prime corridors, it would pale in comparison to that of Midtown Manhattan. 

Train service to the RBB should be restored, although that price tag really needs to be re-examined. Compared to other large scale projects, it should be much less expensive than the SAS and East Side Access.

Geez, looks like my initial post about the weekend M train started a civil war here. No need for these long paragraphs fellas, let’s keep things amicable. 

9 minutes ago, EphraimB said:

Instead of waiting for an  to Jay St - MetroTech to catch the , the  would take you straight to Jay St - MetroTech.

I suppose.

On 9/25/2019 at 6:01 PM, Jova42R said:

How is the fitting on the 's platforms?

I hope you’re joking.  platforms are the standard IND length, so there’s no reason the  couldn’t stop there.

2 hours ago, EphraimB said:

Very convenient for people going to Far Rockaway.

I hope you’re being sarcastic, as that has precisely nothing to do with Far Rockaway.

The kiosks at the Second Avenue Subway station have already begun to disappear. The ones at 96th Street have been removed. By extension, the USB ports that were on them are also gone. They almost never worked but hey, a commodity is a commodity. 

Im sure this has already been posted, but here are some M signs at 96th Street - 2 Av, months after the service started running. From what I’ve heard, the M to 96th is actually pretty popular, to the point that there might be a political push to make it or something similar permanent after the L train slowdown wraps up. Thoughts?

17 minutes ago, Calvin said:

The Flushing line is starting to get the elevated structure painted into dark green and there are beams between 74 St-Broadway and Junction Blvd.

Basically just putting sprinkles on a turd. At the end of the day, it’s still a turd. What the Flushing el really needs is some serious reconstruction, not netting and paint. 

3 hours ago, Deucey said:

You know, between the express and local tracks at local stations. They used to (see those rectangular frames over some of the piping); other transit systems do (or like MARTA, use similar for the station names).

Why not now? 

I believe what you’re referring to are those old IND black-on-white signs on the columns warning people not to stand close to the platform edge. Those weren’t ads, and I don’t believe ads have ever been placed on columns in the NYC subway. Other systems have them for sure. As for the IND signs, a few still exist around the system, albeit covered under decades of grime and dust. 

8 hours ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

Why can’t the  get extended to Lefferts Blvd during that time In the evening to maintain decent headway’s for each branch. Merging shouldn’t be too much of a problem than it would be if you were to have the   running to Lefferts during rush hour. The only issue I see is the  and it’s bunching. 

I swear, there has to be a law on these forums that the C to Lefferts idea MUST be brought up every 2 weeks or so. No matter how many times it gets disproven, explained, or argued against, we always end up here. 

48 minutes ago, paulrivera said:

I have no data to back this up except the good ol' "seeing eye test", but I've noticed an uptick in homeless people along the  line in the Bronx.

What I find interesting is I haven't seen this uptick along the  line, which goes underground and serves more or less the same neighborhoods 3 blocks away.

It’s not just on the , it’s all over the system. Within a week of an brand new R179 hitting the A line a few weeks ago, one of the cars was already stunk out by some homeless people. It’s terrible.

32 minutes ago, Union Tpke said:

Just imagine how many closed subway entrances could be reopened and how many new entrances could be built with that money! This is an outrage!

Was thinking the same thing. The closed entrances at 168th, Nostrand, Franklin, 50th Street, and many others have been stuck in limbo waiting for funding for years. Only now that the system gets absurd amount of funding and it still doesn’t happen. 

On 9/13/2019 at 9:56 PM, JeremiahC99 said:

As promised, I am finally releasing my grand master plan for improving the subway system. This plan involves some new construction with service changes related to the new construction that improves subway efficiency. The new plan, modified from an old plan I posted here a while back, is called the New Program for Action, named after the original from 1968. My goal of the service is to expand service to areas that don't have convenient transit service, which will allow for service changes that will increase subway capacity. The proposals should also solve problems that were discussed on the past, namely:

• North Brooklyn-Midtown direct access
• Broadway service bottlenecks and reliability
• Queens Blvd Issues

The list goes on, but its substantial. To reduce costs, I am aiming to limit tunneling to the most possible extent, using it only where necessary, such as in Manhattan and parts of Queens. The number of extensions I am adding are also limited to further lower them, picking only those that provide the best benefits for subway operations and passengers, and what is popular.

Under my new grand plan, these new connections would be built:

• A connection between the Nassau Street Line and the 8th Avenue Line via Spring Street (underground tunnel to be built). Te connections will be two tracks and feature a new station along Spring Street between Broadway and Lafayette Streets (called Broadway/Lafayette on the map). This would create a second connection to an uptown trunk line and better serve the heart of Soho.
• A pair of East River Tunnels that connect both the Broadway Line and the planned Second Avenue Line (one tunnel) with the Fulton Street Line, using the old Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, the Court Street station (presently a museum), and the outer tracks and platforms at Hoyt-Schermerhorn.
• Concurrent with the above, a connection under Jamaica Avenue between the IND Fulton Street Line and the BMT Jamaica Line. This would permit demolition of the elevated structure over Fulton Street, with a short section connecting to the new subway for yard access. The line, which will be three tracks, will necessitate lengthening the stations on the elevated and the nearby yard to hold 10-car trains.

New extensions (unless noted, all extensions will have two tracks, with stations having one island platform):

• An extension of the Astoria Line from Ditmars Blvd to LaGuardia Airport via the Con-ed power plant and 19th Avenue. Stations would be built at Steinway Street and Hazen Street to serve the local neighborhood. A new yard would be built in the power plant area. This extension would have to be built as an elevated line, since a tunnel through here would be impractical. However, access to LGA is created and there would be in increase in the number of trains that can turn around on the Astoria Line since trains will no longer have to terminate at Astoria-Ditmars using an inefficient switch operation.
• An extension of the Archer Avenue Line upper level from Parsons/Archer to SE Queens along the LIRR Atlantic ROW. LIRR service would be rerouted through St. Albans station. This was featured in the 1968 Program for Action, but my proposal slightly differs from it because I also added a station at 108th Avenue, and while the original plan had the line end at Springfield Blvd in Laurelton, my new plan now have the line end at the current Rosedale LIRR station at Francis Lewis Blvd. Not only would this allow for an increase in the number of trains that can turn around on the line, but residents would now reach midtown quicker compared to first taking the bus to the nearest subway. The new stations would include:
  • 108th Avenue (side platforms)
  • Linden-Brewer Blvds (side platforms)
  • Foch Blvd (side platforms)
  • Baisley Blvd (side platforms)
  • Locust Manor-Farmers Blvd (unchanged from LIRR Side platform configuration)
  • Laurelton-Springfield Blvd (side platforms)
  • Rosedale-Francis Lewis Blvd (unchanged from LIRR Island platform configuration.
• An extension of the lower level Archer Line from Parsons/Archer to Hollis-Farmers Blvd via 93rd Avenue, with stops at 168th Street, 177th Street, 183rd Street, and Hollis-Farmers Blvd. This would not only serve Hollis, but allow for increase in number of trains that can turn around.
• An extension of the IND Queens Blvd Express tracks from 179th Street to Springfield Blvd. This extension would serve Queens Village. The station locations would be revised from the original proposal. Under my proposal, the line would use the D5 and D6 tracks (the D3 and D4 express tracks would be used for storage) and stop at:
  • 188th Street
  • 196th Street
  • Francis Lewis Blvd
  • 212th Street
  • Springfield Blvd in Queens Village.
• An extension of the Concourse Line from 205th Street via Burke Avenue, Gun Hill Road, and Bartow Avenue to Co-op City. Stops would be built at:
  • White Plains Road
  • Bronxwood Avenue
  • Boston Road-Laconia Avenue
  • Seymour Avenue
  • Gunther Avenue
  • Co-op City - Bartow Avenue

Not only would this allow better service to NE Bronx, but this would allow for a modern terminal for operations, ending the weird operation that forces a crew change at Bedford Pk Blvd instead of 205th Street.

• Second Avenue Subway extensions:
  • A two track tunnel branching off the main section north of 116th Street and run under Second Avenue, the Harlem River, and along the AmTrak Right of Way to Co-op City. One of my most substantial extensions, the line would be two tracks and stop at Harlem-125th Street (under Second Avenue, with a passageway to the Phase 2 Harlem-125th Station), then merge with the railroad line to stop at the following stations:
    • St. Anns Avenue
    • Port Morris-138th Street
    • 149th Street
    • Longwood-Lafayette Avenues
    • Hunts Point Avenue
    • Westchester Avenue
    • 174th Street
    • 177th Street
    • East 180th Street-East Tremont Avenue
    • Unionport-White Plains Road
    • Castle Hill-Bronxdale Avenues
    • Williamsbridge Road
    • Hutchinson Metro Center
    • Pelham Pkwy
    • Co-op City - Earhart Lane
  • A two track extension of the main alignment along 125th Street with stations at:
    • Lenox Avenue
    • St. Nicholas Avenue
    • West Harlem-Broadway/125th
• Extension of the 4th Avenue line to 101st Street to increase turning capacity.
• Reroute Canarsie Line service to neaby freight tracks, with stops at Broadway Jct, consolidating three stations that were nearby, and Sutter Avenue and Livonia Avenue.

These routes would better serve upper Manhattan and the Bronx and relieve crowding on the Lexington Avenue Line

• IRT Branch extensions:
  • Extension of the New Lots Line from New Lots Avenue to the Livonia Yard with a new station on the line within the yard at Linden Blvd. This would improve service to East NY and Spring Creek
  • Extension of the Nostrand Avenue Line from Flatbush Avenue to Kings Hwy, with a stop at Avenue L. This would provide a modern terminal for train operations and improve service to Midwood

These extensions would bring service to areas without subway service and increase capacity. My proposals involve rebuilding Rogers Avenue Junction and resignalling the IRT lines to do this.

• An extension of the Pelham Line from Pelham Bay Park to Co-op City-Bartow Avenue to bring subway service to Co-op City.
• An extension of the Flushing Line from Main Street via Northern Blvd to Little Neck. Another one of my substantial extensions, the three track line would make stops at:
  • Parsons Blvd (local)
  • 150th Street (express)
  • 162nd Street-Crocheron Avenue (local)
  • Utopia Pkwy (local)
  • Francis Lewis Blvd (local)
  • Bell Blvd (local)
  • Springfield Blvd (express)
  • Alley Pond Park (local)
  • Douglaston Pkwy (local)
  • Marathon Pkwy (local)
  • Little Neck-254th Street (Express terminal)

This extension would better serve NE Queens.

Enough of the talk about the extensions, lets talk about the service changes (using only the bullets available on the NYC Transit Forums Library):

8th Avenue, 53rd Street, and Concourse:

One of the lines most impacted by the new Program for Action is the . Under this plan, the line, which travels via 6th Avenue, would continue its normal routing, but would now do so via 8th Avenue. The service, re-designated the , would operate at 10 trains per hour, and combined with the  at 15 trains per hour (see below), service on the entire 8th Avenue-53rd Street corridor would become more frequent.

To make room for this, the  would have to move to the express tracks, and since the service would run at 10 trains per hour, combined with the  at 15 trains per hour, service becomes more frequent on the express tracks. I did modify my service patterns for north of 59th Street. Originally, I planned to install new switches south of 59th or 42nd Street to ensure the service continues running local north of 42nd Street. However, valuing frequency (in this case) over direct service, I now have the  and  service running local north of 59th Street, while the  and  go express north of 145th Street, with all service on those two lines running local north of 145th Street and up to 207th Street together, giving Washington Hts and Inwood riders more frequent service. The only drawback of this would be that Concourse riders would see slower service, but service would be more reliable and frequent. The deinterlining of both the 59th Street and 145th Street interlockings means the end of having the entire B division be scheduled around it.

On weekends, service would be the same, except for no  service (though service between 145th Street and Prospect Pk can be added if demand is available). On late nights, the  and  would continue its local operation, but service would unfortunately be supplemented by the .  service would terminate at 59th Street-Columbus Circle.

6th Avenue, 63rd Street, and Culver:

The rerouting of the  means that capacity of the 6th Avenue Line is available for more efficient service. Here, the additional capacity would be taken by a revived . During weekdays, service would operate between Jamaica-179th Street and Kings Hwy (Coney Island if switches were reconfigured to increase capacity) running the same route as the , but via Queens Blvd Local in Queens and Culver Express in Brooklyn. I decided to terminate it at Kings Hwy due to possible capacity constraints at Coney Island, and the fact that most of the express passengers who would benefit from this live north of the Kings Hwy, which is more dependent on the Culver Line compared to south of there with its plethora of nearby alternatives. However, service would be faster for the majority of customers south of Church Avenue.

On weekends, service would terminate at Second Avenue instead of Kings Hwy to provide adequate weekend service on Queens Blvd service in place of the  (See below). There would be no late night service.

As for train frequency,  service would be at 15 trains, while  and  service at 10, creating more frequent service.

Queens Blvd and Upper Level Archer:

On Queens Blvd, the  and  would replace the and  respectively on the local tracks, while the  and would continue to use the express tracks as it does today. However, the two local services would be extended to 179th Street, extending the express runs past 71st Avenue. At this point, Woodhaven Blvd would be converted to an express station. In addition, with the new extensions, the  would go to Springfield Blvd, while the would go to Rosedale, and that service will be increased to 15 trains per hour. This would allow for faster service from the outer areas of Queens that don't have subway service presently. Combined with the Lower Archer extension (See below), bus service would be rerouted from Downtown Jamaica to new locations along the new extensions, reducing congestion in Jamaica and allowing for the bus routes to serve better purposes than subway feeders.

With 20 trains per hour on the local tracks and 30 on the express, which splits into 15 for the branches, and 25 for both 53rd and 63rd Street crossings, service becomes more frequent. With this, the  would no longer be needed.

Planned weekend service will not change from planned weekday service. During late nights, the  and  would be running local.

Initially for my grand plan, I had proposed a bypass that would run on the LIRR Main Line. This was dropped due to logistics of connecting it to the Rockaway Beach Line, and the fact that I felt the connection to the QBL at 71st Avenue is contentious (SE Queens trains would first have to run local, then get on the bypass). The connection to the 63rd Street Tunnel also proved to be contentious because of concerns of capacity constraints through the tunnel. Even with the resigalling of the line and the removal of the Brooklyn reverse branch via Chrystie Street, the capacity issues would still remain, so I dropped it for now.  That can be built later once all the issues are ironed out.

I also planned a shuttle bus loop service in Long Island City during the day to replace 6th Avenue and Broadway service at Queens Plaza. However, seeing the fate of the Williamsburg Link B91 and B92 (later the B91A) service, which serves a similar function of my proposed line, I decided to drop it to avoid wasting bus resources. Instead, to garner ridership, I am proposing waiving fates on Manhattan crosstown bus lines.

Broadway, Astoria, Upper Second Avenue:

With Queens Blvd service restructured, the  would not be on QBL anymore. Instead, service would be rerouted back to Astoria full time.  service would also be moved to the Second Avenue Line with the . With the extension to LGA, both the  and  would be extended there. Without this extension, one of the lines would have to terminate at Queensboro Plaza, or both lines could serve Astoria, but service levels on each would be inadequate to accommodate the potential crowding.

This would allow for more reliable service on the whole corridor.

In addition to this, there would new service patterns on the upper Second Avenue. Under these new plans, with the new extensions, the  and  would not turn west along 125th Street. Instead, they will split off from the main line north of 116th Street and run via the Amtrak extension to Co-op City. This would allow for direct service between areas of the Bronx along the Amtrak ROW and Midtown Manhattan, something that is presently unavailable.

Meanwhile, the  would swing west on 125th Street and go crosstown to Broadway, allowing for faster crosstown travel.

During late night, the , , and  (see below) would all run local on the line.

As for headways,  service would run at 15 trains, the all other lines all at 10 trains per hour, allowing for more frequent service.

Lower Second Avenue, Fulton Street, Rockaways, Jamaica, and Lower Level Archer:

With the  on Astoria, there would be a change in service in Brooklyn. Here, the line would use the new tunnel and be rerouted to serve the IND Fulton Street Line local tracks to Euclid Avenue.  service would replace the  on 4th Avenue (see below). The  would become the express to Lefferts Blvd, allowing the  to serve Far Rockaway. Initially, I had the  go to Rockaway Pk, but this was changed due to potential scheduling concerns, even with the express . As a result of the new switch, the Rockaway Park Shuttle would now see increased service to 10 trains per hour, and would now run at all times except late nights, when service would be extended to Euclid Avenue in Brooklyn. In addition, the current shuttle to Lefferts Blvd would be replaced by an extended . To replace rush hour service to Manhattan from Rockaway Park, Q53 bus service would be enhanced.

For Lower Second Avenue, I am proposing that phases 3 and 4 be built as 4 tracks south of 63rd Street, with express stations at 55th, 42nd, Houston, Grand, and Hanover. The Express tracks would be used for train storage and reroutes in the interim. From here, the  would then use the new line to reach Brooklyn, where it would merge with  service. From here, the two lines would run together to Broadway Junction, where it would split and run on the new lines and existing Jamaica Avenue Elevated to Hollis. This would provide more frequent service on Fulton Street, and allow for faster commutes to Lower Manhattan.  service would be shortened to Broadway Junction (See below).

I had also initially proposed a reactivated Rockaway Beach Branch to speed commute to Manhattan. However, given the concerns we had about it, I scrapped it as well. This can also be added at a later time.

4th Avenue, Nassau Street, Broadway-Brooklyn and Myrtle Avenue:

To replace  service,  service would be extended to the new 101st Street Terminal.  service would also operate between Broadway Jct and 101st Street and the  would be folded (noticed how I did not say eliminated) into the , which will now run at 15 trains per hour. Combined with the  at 10 trains, service becomes more frequent between Myrtle Avenue and Bowery. To address concerns about lack of additional service on West End, additional  service would be provided.

During late nights, the all service would be local except for the  (Shortened to Broad).

Now there are concerns about the Broadway service designations on both Fulton and 4th Avenue, with some arguing that the  remain on 4th Avenue, and the  take the new Fulton routing. However, I proposed the service the way I originally did it because I wanted the Fulton-Broadway Link to run 24 hours a day to maximize viability of this connection. However, service would be using the same train crews.

Canarsie:

Reroute  service via the freight line. Simple.

Crosstown:

Only frequency changes to the  service are proposed, and nothing else.

IRT:

With extensions and the rebuild of Rogers Avenue:

•  and  to Kings Hwy
• via Utica
• via Livonia to Linden
• to Co-op City
•  and to Little Neck.

Here is a map describing all of my changes:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1SeL9tHd9_mr2gLertrqJd329ADbTJpts&usp=sharing

Feedback is welcome as well (however, due to how large and extensive this post is, I do not recommend quoting this post). If you have comments on these proposals, you are welcome to reply.

No offense, but a lot of the recommendations you’ve made have already been discussed and agreed upon ad nauseam on these forums. I can see some changes being impeded by costs, community opposition, or degree of difficulty. I’m of the opinion that efforts should be made to optimize the system in its current state first before exploring any extensions or new construction. 

3 hours ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

Glad they changed that plan up, because Kew Gardens would have faced overcrowding issues. 
My only grip about the Archer Ave extension is that the services should have been extended to 168th Street where the original  terminated. I feeling like there is a void on that side of Jamaica Ave and the bus routes have to make up for that.  

Agreed. I heard that the original plan was to send the  as far as 190th Street in Hollis while the  went on the LIRR right of way to Laurelton. 

The TA execs at the time most of been smoking some good stuff if they thought sending the  to Jamaica Center was acceptable, especially given how well-utilized the Archer Ave stations are today. 

23 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

At least from my understanding, customers along QBL who want to go to Coney Island can take the directly without transferring.

This might be unpopular with some, but the  should never run on Queens Blvd again. It would be an immense waste of capacity, as it was when it used to run to Forest Hills. Similarly to the Brown  served South Brooklyn, the  was very underutilized in Queens. It’s time to remove the nostalgia goggles, my friend.

While I appreciate you wanting the system to become more optimized (trust me, most of us here do), many of the changes you put forth either convolute or worsen each line. Some are flat out not possible due to trackage, or would severely limit capacity on multiple routes. Also, gotta love how the  just ceases to exist on this map.

On 8/25/2019 at 9:16 PM, GojiMet86 said:

Just curious, which carrier is responsible for the phone wifi/internet around the Queensboro Plaza area? That area has been a deadspot for years and it seems like they will wait for the buildings to be built, which may take decades.

Same thing at Broadway Junction, the connection always seems to jam up there. 

Just took one of the special  trains to 145th Street. The signage on the outside of the train says “Last Stop”, and the automated announcements have it as an  to Myrtle-Wyckoff Aves. I guess there’s no program for an M to 145th Street. The look on people’s faces after 59th Street has been PRICELESS, so much confusion and very little signs explaining what’s  happening. The only thing more rare than an  on CPW would probably be the  on the Grand Concourse or the  to Far Rockaway. 

Might want to include the dates it actually happened in the title of the post next time bud