40MntVrn

Zero wrong with his presentation skills he delivered all the information necessary--they wouldn't put him in front of camera if they thought otherwise. He's just VERY New York in a VERY uncompromising manner. I respect it.

I literally cannot get enough of this guy.

not this again

On 6/24/2020 at 7:52 PM, trainfan22 said:

Today I finally did an railfan trip I've been wanting to do for an while now, railfan one of the Babylon Branch express runs. 

 

I've ridden the Babylon Branch quite a few times in the past but it was always local runs, etc. Finally rode it today and man did it live up to hype! Hit MAS (80 MPH) and stayed in the 70s for a good duration of the express run. Second best commuter rail express run in the Tri State, only the 3900 NEC express runs on NJT is better IMO.

 

Coming back to the City the train I got was also an super express run, great day of fanning. Always nice to ride an commuter rail route from end to end.

 

 

Also, I saw four sets of M9s running in service, NO M3 were seen in service. Read on RR.net that the M3s have only ran in service once in the entire month of June so far. LIRR service is pretty close to an regular schedule from what I saw today, once a few more sets of M9s are in service the LIRR M3s might be done for good sooner rather than later.

Considering the health crisis, what was the passenger load on the super express? I'm surprised that a trip with such a narrow passenger demographic is running during this phase.

So this is clearly the same person....touting the same no child left behind "reading classes" phrase. 

Incase this update was missing:

https://nypost.com/2020/06/16/lirr-traintime-app-can-now-tell-you-how-crowded-each-train-car-is/

Quote

The Long Island Rail Road’s TrainTime app now provides real-time information on how crowded each train car is before you board, officials announced Tuesday.

The tech works on 90 percent of the LIRR’s trains — on the M7 model, crowding data is based on the train’s weight. The M9 model uses infrared sensors above the train doors.

IMO this is most intelligent response the MTA has put forward so far.

12 minutes ago, Bluebird 123 said:

People on this site are allowed to have different Facts, Opinions and Ideas. You all get mad just because you don't agree with other comments. Open Discussions Right or Wrong Answers. You should not even have this Website because many of you cannot handle other people's comments.

What the hell is a "different fact?"

46 minutes ago, Kamen Rider said:

We’re supposedly at 52%, and at the very least, QBP is online.

 

 

This guy couldn't be more NY.

Incremental service returning to MNRR & LIRR starting tomorrow, May 27th:

Quote

Effective Wednesday, May 27, Metro-North is increasing service on the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Lines as the Mid-Hudson region is expected to begin Phase 1 of reopening.

http://web.mta.info/mnr/html/May_27_Schedule_Change.htm

https://wcbs880.radio.com/articles/news/metro-north-lirr-increasing-service-during-reopenings

On 5/5/2020 at 9:42 PM, Jsunflyguy said:

M9s are back to being exercised now that Kawasaki is working. No revenue runs thusfar.

great news.

3 minutes ago, Calvin said:

Service on Staten Island but less from the rush

I may have overlooked but does anyone know the sick leave %'s the MTA is currently experiencing?

Also--its time for the MTA to get really creative, really quickly...this video proves the service cuts are having a negative impact and continuing this will only further deplete their workforce. Maybe force new travel patterns in Manhattan instead of trying to adhere to the current ones.

Is it me or does this modified schedule appear more problematic than before it was implemented? The reduction of services seems to be putting folks into a catch-22, more and more packed trains are appearing. For the sake of my argument, let's assume that all these travelers are conducting 'essential' travel. The reduced service seems to contributing to loaded trains.

3 hours ago, LaGuardia Link N Tra said:

So I read a little bit about TFL and I’m a bit confused with it. Is it a rail service that happens to be a mix between Subway and Commuter rail services?

Definitely in the right direction. Id describe it as a Subway service that happens to have scattered Rail services. National Rail (a consortium of operators) handle most commuter rail services.

The Essential Service Plan will reduce subway service ~35% daily. Halving LIRR/MNR Service. 

15 hours ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

This is what I was saying the LIRR should replace the M7s with...

 

 

3 doors and 3 stairwells? These things probably have equal or less seats than the present single-floor M7's.

18 hours ago, Around the Horn said:

One can be against fare evasion and can be against how said fare evasion is dealt with...

This.

3 hours ago, Bill from Maspeth said:

These 2 issues are handled by different departments.  Fare evasion is a police matter and enforced by them, whereas anything having to do with defects of subway cars is handled by the division of car equipment.

Furthermore, the faulty indication light was found after further investigation.  At the time the incident happened, the crew had no way of knowing if the problem was a faulty indication light or that a door on the train flew open by itself.  It takes time for the crew to investigate all 8 cars, especially when it's jammed packed. 

Putting money into a police force instead of towards system reliability is the point I'm getting at.

Moreover, I'm sure the crew did everything to the letter, however, it's strange to me a single faulty light can cause hours-long delays. I get the light could have went out at any other time, but I'm kind of over the 'things happen' response while they earmark money for additional police and while folks struggle with delays like this on daily basis. Different stroke for different folks I guess. 

3 hours ago, Bill from Maspeth said:

Your post has nothing to do with the new president of NYCT.  That light bulb would have went out even if Byford was still in charge.  The light bulb doesn't know!

"Feinberg consistently claimed that the hiring spree would not amount to a fare beating crackdown, despite the agency's own internal statements indicating otherwise. She frequently sparred with opponents of the plan, saying anyone doubting the need to spend $249 million on new subway cops needed a "reality check."

Here is where I made the connection.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around how "cracking down on fare evasion" is a priority, meanwhile a faulty indicator light can lead to a complete meltdown of the L. Bizarro-land.

On 2/11/2020 at 11:43 AM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Interesting:

http://web.mta.info/lirr/MyLIRR/?fbclid=IwAR0wfoZu3fPyk0klfZMnZlPp4dJS1Uz_YBkjmT6-NCyfb-EaYdcxUOdxL2I#onboard

This is a trash bag of a policy and the type of knee jerk reaction that gets people riled up over $15. To tell a passenger that some blind system can deem their ticket invalid and that they need to purchase another ticket is absurd--especially if this process is done with a random selection of passengers. I honestly feel bad for the conductors who have deal with brunt of hostility this change will create.

Stuff like this makes me want to leave NY.

Hopefully all went well!

Quote

“For over 20 years, New York City has housed its MTA bus lot, tax free, on our pristine waterfront without any benefit to our city and without any effort to work with us. For the great reasons the NYPD tow pound should be moved off Manhattan’s shoreline, so should the MTA bus garage be moved from the Yonkers shoreline. I am asking Gov. Cuomo to support our efforts in our discussions with New York City. It’s time to give Yonkers back its waterfront,” Spano said.

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/yonkers/2020/01/10/yonkers-mta-bus-garage-waterfront/4424568002/

I wonder if there are lots large enough and near enough to the Bronx/Yonkers border that can house this depot

8 minutes ago, bobtehpanda said:

If you can literally dot tappers anywhere in the station, how is that going to cause bottlenecks? Unlike a gate line, you can put an optional tapper pretty much anywhere you can run wire to an electrical outlet. Put two in front of where every train door opens up and you can call it a day.

This is part of the reason why I said implementing such a gross change like this will need a cultural shift.

In cities that have tap stations as opposed to fare gates usually utilize full-fare fines. The TfL is a good example of this, if you miss a tap, you're charged the full fare from your entry point. Our fare structure doesn't completely support that model, additionally people will need time to adjust to something like that.

Speaking of, MNRR put gate collection into effect New Year's morning for outbound trains (I personally hated that experience; they literally denied entry to any trains 3 minutes before departure) and it caused the same bottle necks we're discussing, even with 4 conductors validating tickets.

On 12/27/2019 at 6:38 PM, RestrictOnTheHanger said:

I wonder why a screen was chosen as opposed to a dot matrix like we have now, especially considering the screen only shows reader status and a go no go tap result. Its just another point of failure to account for

 

 

...or....the technology is cheap enough to warrant the LCD's, especially if you want to ever want to upgrade the displays to read beyond "GO". sounds like a solid move from my perspective.

I'd be very surprised if they were to bring a tap on/off system to the commuter rails. In my personal opinion it would take a huge cultural shift. 

Additionally, considering the amalgam that is Penn Station, a tap system would need to cooperate with the other operators as a handful of tracks/platforms are shared.

One of the reasons I see this system is successful in the UK is because:

1.-All the National Rail services are private operated. We all know how rail services are treated when it's handled by our government.

2.- There aren't just two commuter rail stations in where people work, so there aren't massive dump-outs like at GC/Penn. A tap-out system at Penn or GC @ peak times would easily add ~10 minutes to a commute.

But...strangers things have happened.

A decent read on the 'trial-and-error' testing for the new screens. Hoping they eventually introduce dynamics maps-but they are dealing with complaints regarding the freaking font so I'm not holding my breath.

https://medium.com/@jgee/relearning-the-value-of-testing-at-the-mta-7bdaa4dfb4ce