Prospect

12 hours ago, Marco927 said:

CBTC are supposed to make the 7 trains more reliable. But on more several occasions recently, the 7 trains I was riding were stuck in stations 10 minutes for longer, because of signal problems. Why?

Are 7 trains running at faster speed now with CBTC? Can the 7 trains now make those sharp turns without slowing down too much? Can local trains and express trains go faster between stations? I am not sure it is that useful for 7 trains to go at a faster speed between stations, especially express trains. When the Flushing-bound express7 trains arrive early at Mets-Willets Point, do they need to wait to get into Main Street station? What is the point to go faster on route, only to stop and wait at Mets-Willets? Point

CBTC is designed to run trains closer to one another, but unfortunately that doesn't mean you're going to get a faster ride per se. Trains being held at Mets-Willets Point Blvd are usually caused by other trains being present in the Main Street terminal that haven't departed yet, where all tracks might already be occupied at the moment. Like I mentioned before, CBTC isn't going to magically speed up your trip, it will however help with increasing frequency.

6 hours ago, Marco927 said:

I get off work late evenings and take t he E train from Jamaica Center to Jackson Heights. I usually arrive at Jamaica Center after 11:30 pm. The Manhatttan-bound E trains are running local at those times.

The wait is usually quite long for a train, 15 minutes or longer is not unusual.  I expect MTA to run the late evening and overnight E train at a higher frequency, because so many people take the E train to and from JFK, via the AirTrain at Sutphin Ave. The closure of several stations on the J line also increase the passengers on the E Line.

On late evenings, Manhattan-bound E trains run on local track. It moves at a very slow speed between 67 Ave and Grand Ave. I think this is caused by construction on the express tracks or on station platforms. But I couldn't see any. Why the low speed on E trains in Rego Park and Elmhurst?

It's due to the flagging rules that are in place to protect track workers on the trackbed from trains passing through their work zones. To save time, once you get out of work, I'd consider walking 5 blocks to Parsons Blvd/Archer Ave, catch the Q60 there (~11:40 PM) and then transfer in front of the Queens Center Mall to the Q53-SBS that will drop you off by the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue station. It'll save you the headache of sitting in a train crawling the whole length of Queens Boulevard. It was like that back when I was in college nearly 10 years ago and it's the same crap every night. I stopped taking trains along Queens Blvd overnight several years ago for the same reason. Try taking the bus instead.

Unpopular opinion, but my favorite: the M9. Goes through several neighborhoods with bustling scenes and is a quick shot when timed right.

On 8/18/2022 at 1:57 AM, R32 3838 said:

I'm used to it, This is why it's better to take the Q60 at night. But nothing is worse than missing the train at 9pm at night and waiting between 15 to 30 mins.

Or when the E/F succumb to flagging just before 75th Avenue, causing people to miss the connecting Q37 at Kew Gardens by just seconds... And the kicker is that runs go missing on that line quite often...

1 hour ago, Krocyoin said:

But in general I find that Queens bus map proposal to be horrendous, most routes are fine as they are currently, I do agree with rerouting some routes like the Q31 and Q76 but the Q31 should still serve the Jamaica LIRR Station, also routes like the Q30, Q34, Q40, and Q114 shouldn't be eliminated. Q34 should be kept and be extended to Willets Point/Francis Lewis Boulevards and the Q34 should operate on the Weekends between Bayside-Francis Lewis Blvd and Flushing-Main Street, Q48/Q50 merger makes sense, and the Q32 extension to 108th Street also makes sense, this would make the Q32 closer to Casey Stengel Depot making it better for bus operators in that depot. Q26 should be extended to College Point via 14th Avenue and Parsons Boulevard which would make this route more useful.

What need is there to extend the Q34 a few blocks to Francis Lewis Boulevard? I've been on that bus plenty of times in the AM rush hour and was almost always the last person on the bus getting off at the last stop there... However, the idea of running the Q34 between Flushing and Whitestone on weekends might work though. They run the Q26 to primarily supplement and alleviate the Q27; it serves it's function when necessary. How would the Q26 benefit by being extended to College Point using Parsons Boulevard and 14th Avenue? It would be redundant to the Q20A, Q20B, and Q44-SBS if it ran using the streets you're proposing. Not only that, but there would be no connection to the subway at all under that configuration. Respectfully, I want to see the insight here.

11 hours ago, BreeddekalbL said:

Well you can only be hyper aware of your surroundings and it is legal to carry "self defense spray"

With this being New York, I'm sure many people are hyper aware, it's just doing so in such a way without attracting the wrong kind of attention. Yeah, carrying pepper spray is also a good idea, I have a canister too, as there's too many troubled souls roaming the trains who are comfortable getting up close and personal in your space. Also, people could benefit by waiting near the wall and not at the platform edge, as several deaths have been caused by EDP's shoving passengers into the path of incoming trains.

I wanted to talk about personal safety in the New York City Subway system, as I personally have been taking trains less because of this reason. There have been countless incidents of people being robbed, stabbed, and even shot while taking trains. From my experience, I've seen people exhibit such antisocial behavior in Lower Manhattan, specifically in groups of homeless individuals who need help with their state of mental health. There are the homeless that are down on their luck, and then the others who present significant dangers to themselves and others. The former I have personally helped, but I feel the latter need to be addressed, desperately. Some have lengthy rap sheets of violent, repeat offenses who seek asylum in the subway and surrounding areas. Now, I understand that the bail structure here is f***ed up, which is more or less one of the reasons such people aren't stopped until they kill, but what can people who take the subway do to protect themselves? Not everyone here can afford to take the express bus, or can have their shift changed at their jobs. Since the city isn't eager to address the chronic mental illness crisis here, incidents will continue to occur...

2 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

You do realize that trains go through an automatic car wash. I don’t remember any individuals cleaning the equipment by hand. Perhaps you can clarify what you mean?

Sure, I was saying that the 62A's on the 1 Line appear filthy, much more so than the ones that run on the #6. That's interesting, I didn't know that they go through an automatic car wash. Is that at the 207th Street Yard? 

On 7/31/2022 at 7:07 PM, Calvin said:

To be honest, yes. When the  had 7211-7670, they were falling apart with the screeching brakes and buckings on those cars. 

Comparatively, the 62A's assigned to the 1 Line look absolutely filthy. Some of those cars look so brown covered in that heavy layer of thick dust... It's the crews at the yards that are partly due to the problem, many of them couldn't care less...

2 hours ago, Calvin said:

First 10 cars out of the R142 order. On the , 7th Av Express :

Nice, those cars look good for their age!

17 hours ago, subwaycommuter1983 said:

Check out this article:

https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/transit/2022/07/21/mta-faces-decades-of-debt-as-ridership-remains-low?cid=share_clip

The MTA executives need to stop talking so much nonsense and take some basic Math and Financial Literacy.

There is no way that ridership is low when trains are packed during rush hours and they are packed on Saturdays. I ride the trains every day, so I'm not talking nonsense.

There is no way that the MTA is in debt when they got billions of dollars from the federal government.

These executives DON'T know how to manage money.

I just hope they don't screw things up with the r211's and CBTC.

Fewer people on the payroll means fewer trains, which means more packed trains... As a result, you need the available workforce to coordinate the implementation of CBTC and the R211's, which again, is also subject to delay for the reason stated above.

2 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

That’s not happening. It will take years for ridership to get back to the way it was, which is why all these unnecessary projects such as CBTC, R211’s, etc etc are not a priority.

No, those projects are absolutely necessary! The signaling system is ancient that's very expensive to repair as they have to customize their own parts in-house and has limited ability to space out trains, and prone to daily malfunctions that delay the commutes of thousands of passengers every single day. The R46's are also approaching the precambrian period in age and with all those decades of wear and tear that have already more than worn them out at this point, it will be worth it in the long term to replace them with newer, more efficient technology. Repairing them is too unnecessarily timely and costly when they're beyond retirement age already. When ridership increases, these changes will allow the system to accommodate that extra demand, because doing nothing in your case will crash hard when demand elevates. 

On 7/13/2022 at 8:02 PM, IAlam said:

 

The Q25's problem is simply the fact that it operates out of CP, I haven't seen a single CP route that actually runs efficiently. Routes like the Q17/27 have alwasy run better than the Q25/65 with more consist headways and less bunching. IMO the ability for the proposed Q25 to succeed will probably depend a lot more on who operates the line than the route itself. Additionally it seems like the route proposal is designed to be able to accommodate artic buses so I wouldn't be surprised if it would be slated for artic conversion after the redesign is complete.

I wouldn't defend the proposed Q25 but I there seems to be more going on here than what the proposal alone shows. 

Yeah, but I feel that the civil service process pretty much kills the incentive to hire employees of quality in general, which, believe it or not, creates a bitter experience for some passengers. I'll never forget the time I got on the Q28 (Dispatched out of CS?) and there were 2 buses on layer. When I asked the B/O which bus would be leaving first he barked, "Which one do you think, huh?!" in a flustered tone. I got on his bus, paid the fare, and the guy proceeded to mouth off to me saying "how stupid of a question it was." Another night I had got on the Q12 on Northern/Springfield with some irate driver at the wheel. It was me and another guy waiting at the bus stop, I got on first, but the guy behind me took an extra 5 seconds to take his MetroCard out of his wallet and the B/O yelled, "you going to get on or not!" and slammed the door in his face and pulled off. I understand that working with the public isn't easy, and I've seen the livelihood sucked out of some newcomers, but you shouldn't be employed in a role in which you're incapable of adapting too. Never let a job change you. If you're optimistic and positive, resist the urge to become withdrawn and moody like so many of the bus drivers are. Some drivers do care. It brings me joy when I get them, but too many are few and far between. Flipping off customers, mouthing off to someone who never meant to cause you trouble, blatantly driving past people waiting at bus stops, I've encountered it.

On 7/10/2022 at 11:48 PM, Cait Sith said:

That Q10, not only am I against the idea the line going to Fresh Meadows, but the southbound routing would be a disaster, as it would actually have to go to 78th AVenue and then loop around, which is counterintuitive for that kind of route along. It's not a straight shot as you've designed it.

Shortening the Q56 at the hospital, not a fan either. The Q55 maybe, but the Q56 should continue going to Jamaica. Ridership isn't low enough to warrant it to be removed from Jamaica(unless that part of the map is still being developed).

I just hope the Q110 isn't the sole line along Jamaica Avenue, because.....oof

I don't like that sleight of hand idea of theirs in conjoining the Q36, Q110, and Q112... There's boatloads of traffic on Liberty and Jamaica Avenues that would make me want to get off and walk if I were on that thing sitting like a duck...especially if it's the sole option on Jamaica Av, no thanks!

1 hour ago, Theli11 said:

I just don't see how a College functions as a better name for a subway station. 149 St - Grand Concourse makes sense because the station is on.. 149 St and Grand Concourse. Hostos isn't a landmark, doesn't tell you where you are and it's not really an attraction or popular destination. It's not like City College or Columbia both of which are big campus' that are known in NYC. Hostos, in my opinion, isn't a college that warrants renaming a station after it. If it is, then where does the renaming/adding on names end? Chambers St - BMCC? DeKalb Av - LIU? Van Cortlandt Park - Manhattan College?  

So, basically, any college that isn't well-known doesn't deserve addition in navigation within the subway system is what you said and mean. What you said actually contradicts your sentiment that including a college/university in a station name doesn't clearly define where you are by including that tidbit about City College and Columbia University... This move on the MTA's part, (with adding The Bronx Zoo to the list if they do) could possibly help stimulate some activity and change in The Bronx.

12 hours ago, Wallyhorse said:

Can't they program these trains to ONLY open the cars that can be opened at 145 or do they REALLY think C/Rs are THAT incompetent they will open the wrong cars at 145 and people really are not paying attention?  I would be requiring ALL C/Rs to know to only open certain doors at 145 so people there are not screwed. 

Mistakes happen, sometimes even when you're paying attention. I'm sure those conductors that work the 2 line know how 145th/Lennox is set up when they have to work those G.O.'s, it's just being prepared and responding at the correct moment that can trip some people up. Shifts can be long, it's not always easy to keep it 100 on 4 hours of sleep working 12+ hours that day, even though they expect that.

Let's not use that man's (BillfromMaspeth) words against him, he was referring to yard space, nothing less, nothing more.

2 hours ago, subwaycommuter1983 said:

In that case, they should do (which they already are-QBL/8th Avenue)  CBTC on sections that have high ridership first, like 6th Avenue and Lexington.

The MTA tends to cater to high income neighborhoods. If the MTA scraps 6th Avenue CBTC in favor of Astoria CBTC, then their being biased. 

Objectively, the regions chosen to get CBTC first are the ones where the TPH value is highest and/or which will benefit the system before other areas are brought online. I highly doubt the Astoria Line will ever see CBTC before 6th Avenue does...

On 6/29/2022 at 2:16 PM, Trainmaster5 said:

Although I see your point about the  train the cynic in me leads me to the unmentioned conclusion. How many stations above this B53 are ADA compliant ? It’s always about the money. My take.

The fact that these redesigns space bus stops such a far distance apart reflects that ADA compliance was never a priority to the MTA in the first place. I don't see their vision having anything to do with ADA compliance unfortunately. For a handicapped individual who doesn't live near a major intersection/designated stop, they're ultimately stranded under those conditions. It excludes certain groups, and is not a correct way to go about this. It's a prominent flaw that has to be addressed.

It would be useful if the MTA added "Bronx Zoo" to either the West Farms Square–East Tremont Avenue or East 180th Street Station names so people unfamiliar with The Bronx would know where it's located.