Marco927

A few weeks I was standing on the Manhattan-bound platform at Hickville trying to take a train to Manhattan at around 6 pm, on a weekday. For more than half an hour, every train arriving at Hickville were east-bound trains, even the trains arriving at the north track (Manhattan bound) were east-bound trains. I couldn't comprehend that all the trains were east-bound. I felt l had gotten into a twilight zone where trains only run in one direction. When I checked the newest LIRR train schedules, I found out that after the 5:29 train, the next train is at 6:35. That is a period of 1 hour and 6 minutes without any Manhattan-bound trains at Hickville. If you want to take a LIRR train to Manhattan around 6 pm to see a Broadway show, Knicks, or Rangers game, does it mean you have to plan for lack of city-bound trains around 6 pm? I guess that is because both tracks were used by east-bound trains. Now that Third Track project is finished, when will LIRR add more Manhattan-bound trains around 6 pm? Why will east bound and west bound passengers begin to see the benefits of the third track?

It is difficult to look at a PDF schedule of a train branch on the small screen of a smart phone. When did LIRR get rid of the paper schedules? What do you recommend on how to see a train schedule on a smart phone?

On middays and late evenings, some Babylon Branch trains skip the Lynbrook Station. Why? Is the railway trying to save some time? If the railway wants to save some time, why don't the trains skip one or more stations in Suffolk County with very few passengers. Lynbrook is a relative big station. I know Manhattan-bound passengers at Lynbrook can take the Long Beach Branch trains. But what about passengers who want to travel between Lynbrook and Babylon. Long Beach Branch trains stop at a separate platform at the Lynbrook Station. So if you are standing on the Babylon Branch platform at Lynbrook waiting for a train to Manhattan, and you see a Manhattan-bound Long Beach Branch train arriving at the Lynbrook Station (at a different platform), you won't have enough time to walk downstairs to the street and then walk upstairs to the Long Beach Branch platform. I don't use the Lynbrook Station. Trains skipping Lynbrook don't affect me personally. I am just curious. A few days ago, I took a Manhattan-bound Babylon Branch train from eastern Nassau County to Manhattan, around midnight. The train skipped Lynbrook. I know some morning rush hour trains skip some stations to save time or prevent passengers boarding the trains in eastern Nassau County to take all the seats so passengers boarding in western Nassau County don't get any seats. But why would a midnight train skip Lynbrook?

When did NJ Transit conductors starting carrying the small device to scan the QR code on train ticket? Do they plan to eventually phrase out the manual ticket puncher? Do conductors either scan or punch the ticket? Or Do they need to do both? Does it actually make things more complicated for conductors? When you change trains at Secaucus, you need to scan the QR code on your ticket and walk through a gate? Why do they make you do that? When Long Island Railway passengers change trains at Jamaica, they don't need to scan their tickets and walk through a gate?

Some railroad tracks are built by bringing in large amount of ballast and then tracks are laid on top of the big pile of ballast. What do you call this type of railroad building? What was the cost of constructing this kind of railroad per mile in the 19th century and early 20th century? What materials are used in the piles?

Before #7 train was extended to Flushing in 1928, was LIRR the only way to travel between Flushing and Manhattan? How much was the fare? Did LIRR charge passengers Peak fares during rush hours? When the #7 train was extended to Flushing and charging only 5 cents, did LIRR lose a lot of business to the subway?

In the late 1980's, the N line started receiving the R68 train cars. I have not seen those R68 cars on the N line for a while. Instead, the cars used on the N line now are the older cars with the fake wood panels near the doors. What are those old cars called. Why did MTA switch the R68 cars?

I rode an MTA all electric buses on the Q24 route in Brooklyn in 2019. When I got off the bus via the rear door, the passenger floor of the bus appeared to be higher off the street than other buses. What is the name of those all electric buses? I recently saw an MTA bus that turned off the engine when it was waiting at a red traffic light. Was it a serial-hybrid bus that uses electric motors to turn the rear wheels and automatically turns the engine when the bus is stopped? what is the name of this bus? How many miles per gallon of diesel can this bus go, compared to the parallel-hybrid buses or the conventional buses?

The redbird #7 train cars were retired 20 years ago. I remember feeling the lurching of the Redbird trains cars when they accelerated from a station stop. Electric trains have been around for more than 100 years. Manufacturers of electric trains can't still solve this lurching problem? What are the train manufacturers and MTA doing to eliminate the lurching?

Sometimes when a train accelerates after stopping at a station, the train lurches forward, then stops accelerating, before it accelerates again. As a passenger, it is very uncomfortable, especially if you can't find a seat and have to stand. Why don't the train operators accelerate from a complete stop smoothly? Do you thing CBTC trains give you smoothier rides? I ride the LIRR, I don't feel the same "stop and start" accelerations on those trains.

Unless MTA buys more trains and hire more train crews, Can MTA significant increase train frequency with CBTC?

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

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?