Mysterious2train

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/avenue-subway-line-set-open-new-year-eve-article-1.2911156 Daily News seems awfully optimistic about an opening this month. BTW, here are the two presentations from this weeks' committee meeting. The independent engineer noted how the pace of testing more than doubled recently and was actually optimistic that everything could be completed in time. All testing is supposed to be done by the 23rd (next Friday).

The Launch Box has a detailed post about construction with some nice pictures for the interested.

Enjoy your poorly pasted bullets. 72 St entrance 3 (taken last week) 86 St elevator (last week) 94 St entrance (last week) 72 St entrance 2 (today)

There are two scheduled PM Rush trips 4:19 PM from Woodlawn, arrives New Lots 5:39 PM 4:33 PM from Woodlawn, arrives New Lots 5:54 PM

No. The elevators to the 3rd Av mezzanine will serve both platform levels. It would be a little silly to not do so. This picture is from the September newsletter for 63rd St, BTW. This is a photo someone posted on FaceBook of the mezzanine at 96th St. You can see the station artwork on the far right. I like the artwork... I couldn't really get good shots of it, but I tried (at one of the entrances): (I took these 2 photos several weeks ago; right now, the entrance is definitely closer to completion)

More fine work from the MTA at Lexington Av-63rd St... What's wrong with this picture? (Hint: Look at the exit signs) (Hint: Lexington Avenue and 3rd Av are at opposite ends of the station, but both signs are pointing the same way - I know the column partially blocks one of the signs...) Edit: The 3rd Av sign will have to be replaced eventually to add the , so this could actually be corrected soon... if somebody catches it.

No trains between Queensboro Plaza and Times Sq-42 St and trains provide alternate service Weekend, 5:45 AM to 6 PM, Saturday, Dec 31 service operates in two sections: 1. Between Ditmars Blvd and Queensboro Plaza 2. Between Times Sq-42 St and Stillwell Av • trains run express in both directions between 34 St-Herald Sq and Canal St Travel Alternatives For service between Queens and Manhattan, take the via transfer at Queensboro Plaza and/or Times Sq-42 St. For Lexington Av/59 St and 5 Av/59 St, take the instead. Or, use the nearby 59 St Station via the at Grand Central-42 St. For 57 St-7 Av, 49, 28, 23, 8 and Prince Sts, take the * or instead. Transfer between and trains at Times Sq-42 St or Canal St. *This detour has taken into account additional planned service changes. Note: trains board at the Manhattan-bound platform at Queensboro Plaza. ______________________________ Trains run local in both directions between 57 St-7 Av and Canal St Weekend, 6 AM to 6 PM, Saturday, Dec 31 • Please allow additional travel time. Did the MTA forget they're (supposedly) opening the Second Avenue Subway around this date? It doesn't seem like a good time for a wacky GO like this. Even if you say the SAS won't open next month, December 31 in general seems like a bad day for this, even if the GO is over by 6 PM. Also, you didn't list the 3 weekends of uptown via 53rd

Yes.

Inevitably we're going to see more weekend shutdowns when they build the SAS connections at 2 Av , 3 Av , and especially Grand St . Makes me wonder how they're gonna build the transfer at 125 St when that's such a busy station that's tight on space to boot...

Somebody already posted a video of the wallless downtown platform at 63rd St: The work is gonna continue for the next few weeks. Should have been done a long time ago, but better late than never I guess. Jamaica-bound trains are rerouted via the after 47-50 Sts to Roosevelt Av Late Nights, 11:45 PM to 5 AM, Mon to Fri, Nov 28 - Dec 2 No Jamaica-bound service at 57 St, Roosevelt Island, and 21 St-Queensbridge. No service at Lexington Av/63 St. Note: Coney Island-bound trains skip Lexington Av/63 during this time. -------------------------- Coney Island-bound trains skip Lexington Av/63 St Late Nights, 10:45 PM to 5 AM, Mon to Fri, Nov 28 - Dec 2 Use the nearby Lexington Av/59 St Station instead. • Transfer between trains at 34 St-Herald Sq. • Transfer between local, and Jamaica-bound trains at Lexington Av/53 St. Note: No Jamaica-bound service at this station after 11:45 PM, each night. --------------------------- Jamaica-bound trains are rerouted via the after 47-50 Sts to Roosevelt Av Weekends, 11:45 PM Fri to 5 AM Mon, Dec 2 - 5 • Dec 9 - 12 • Dec 16 - 19 No Jamaica-bound service at 57 St, Lexington Av/63 St, Roosevelt Island and 21 St-Queensbridge. Travel Alternatives • To 57 St, take the Jamaica-bound to the nearby 5 Av/53 St Station. Or, transfer at 34 St-Herald Sq to an uptown or for service to nearby 57 St-7 Av. • To Lexington Av/63 St, take the to Lexington Av/53 St and transfer to an uptown or to nearby 59 St. • To Roosevelt Island and 21 St-Queensbridge, take the to Roosevelt Av and transfer to a Brooklyn-bound . • From these stations, take a Brooklyn-bound to 47-50 Sts and transfer to a Jamaica-bound .

Still on Sundays according to the MTA site: http://web.mta.info/metrocard/promos/RideVintage/RideVintageSubwayBus2016.htm GET YOUR HOLIDAYS ROLLING!Take a historic ride on a vintage subway*. Pay with MetroCard®. The cost to ride is $2.75, the same as any other subway. *Vintage subway service is subject to equipment availability and favorable weather. The Shoppers Special runs begin the Sunday after Thanksgiving, running on November 27, December 4, December 11 and Dec 18. MTA New York City Transit's "Nostalgia Shoppers' Special Train" is running again!" You can catch a ride on these classic R1/9 subway cars at stations along line between Queens Plaza and 2 Av. You can board the train at these stations: • Queens Plaza • 34 St Herald Sq • 23 St-Ely Av • 23 St (6 Av) • Lexington Av/53 St • 14 St (6 Av) • 5 Av/53 St • W 4 St Wash Sq • 47-50 Sts/Rockefeller Center • 2 Av ( line) • B’way-Lafayette St •42 St Bryant Park Departure schedule: Leaves 2nd Ave. Station 10:05 a.m. 11:13 a.m. 1:03 p.m. 2:33 p.m. 4:03 p.m. Leaves Queens Plaza Station 10:44 a.m. 12:14 p.m. 1:44 p.m. 3:14 p.m. 4:44 p.m.

The MTA does install ramps where they can (42 St , Park Place on the Franklin Av , and new Arthur Kill station on the Staten Island Railway, for example) but I imagine some places they just don't have the space, or maybe they just find it impractical for deep distances between street and mezzanine, and between mezzanine and platforms. But then again, I'm no engineer. Oh yeah, something interesting: As part of the new schedule starting tomorrow, the smartphone app Transit already shows and rush hour service to 96th St: If the images aren't working, I have them on imgur: http://imgur.com/gallery/6vnCY Obviously the data didn't get the memo that SAS is not open yet Although, the data is a little wonky; it doesn't show times for 72 St, 86 St and 96 St, only Lexington Av-63 St.

I think this could be SAS related. The times given mostly line up with all the northbound trains that are scheduled run to 96th St (which arrive at 57th St at 8:32 AM, 9:13 AM, 9:52 AM, 3:55 PM, 4:28 PM, 4:40 PM and 5:36 PM - I posted pictures of the schedule in the Second Av Subway thread) and like you pointed out the G.O. is suspiciously listed until the end of December. It would make sense - with the temporarily ending at 57th St until SAS opens, obviously the trains scheduled to run to 96th St would do the same. But then again, maybe it's something else entirely. I hear this alot, but when you subtract the trains that started/ended at 42nd St/57th St during the rush hour, wasn't it the case that the frequency of service to Astoria was pretty similar to the frequency service?

The MTA did say at one point last year that the name tiles are temporary, but considering that they've been put up across all 4 tracks and the "real" tiles are nowhere to be found (and after all this time the renovation has dragged on and on) I think they're here to stay.

At Woodside-61 St, signs for the extension were put up in February 2015, some 7 months before 34 St opened. Looks like somebody thought it was going to open long before it actually did. http://www.mta.info/news-second-avenue-subway-2nd-ave-subway-63rd-street-capital-construction/2016/10/21/mtacc-completes Interesting that the press release doesn't mention the renovation at Lex-63 station being the reason the plaza was rebuilt; without that context it must seem pretty random for the MTA to work on an outdoor plaza, although the URL does indicate it at least, and with the new entrances at 63 St and 3 Av, people passing by can hopefully make the connection... Signs were also hung up recently for the new entrances inside the station, so hopefully they'll open soon (before the is extended, I mean)

The will continue to run local between Canal and 57 St during late nights. That won't change. It won't stop at 49 St during the daytime, only at night. Just ignore that fake 2019 map, it's so poorly done.

It's at least partially because one of the entrances had a design change a few years back. The 69th Street entrance was originally supposed to be inside a building (301 E 69th St) but it was moved and built out on the sidewalk (NE corner of 2 Av and 69 St) The change was iirc because the MTA and the building owners couldn't agree on a design or something like that. So having to 'redo' one of the entrances slowed progress.

Got an email from the MTA; bus lane and bike lane striping is going to begin tonight along 2 Av from 105 St to 88 St (where surface construction has finished)

From a week ago: Second Avenue Subway Construction Firm Fetes Inconvenienced Upper East Siders In case I'm not the only one who didn't know what "fetes" means, it's a "a celebration or festival" (noun) or "to honor or entertain (someone) lavishly" (verb)

Anybody know anything about the status of ADA renovations/elevator installations at 23 St and Lefferts Blvd ? Both projects were scheduled to be finished last month, but I haven't heard any news about the elevators at either station going into service (like an MTA press release), so I'm assuming they're delayed like usual.

No trains between 34 St-Herald Sq and Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr trains and free shuttle buses provide alternate service Weekend, 11:30 PM Fri to 5 AM Mon, Aug 19 - 22 service operates in two sections: 1. Between 205 St and 34 St-Herald Sq 2. Between Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr and Stillwell Av Trains run express in both directions between Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr and 36 St. buses operate between W 4 St and Grand St, stopping at B'way-Lafayette St. A outage during the same weekend as the first outage... always wonderful to see these double outages between Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Anybody else want to see the MTA expand Bowling Green? Take the abandoned shuttle track and platform, extend them to full length and connect the shuttle track to the southbound mainline track north of the station. That way, trains terminating at Bowling Green would have their own track. Every single rush hour, and trains perform abysmally (even the Wait Assessment can't hide this) and waiting behind terminating trains at Bowling Green is definitely one reason why. During an emergency/disruption you could also hypothetically turn 2 trains at the same time. Of course, the third platform would probably have to be made accessible, and I'm not sure if it would be better to have Brooklyn-bound trains open doors on both sides or have passengers getting off terminating trains schlep from platform to platform. But those can be worked out. I imagine physically an obstacle would be basements in the path of the third track, but I'm not sure. Here's a diagram of what I mean. Sure I'm no engineer, but it doesn't seem too complex, and I think it's the least that should be done to improve operations.

Here is the PDF link to the MTA's latest presentation to Manhattan Community Board 8. Includes lots of pictures, like... The MTA is optimistic as always, but the project's Independent Engineering Consultant is worried. (separate PDF link) 2 pretty different perspectives depending on who you ask.

Did you see the plaza open or hear about it? Because I swung by 3 Av & 63 St on Friday and it was still fenced off, with construction materials still strewn on the ground. Simple about the connections, the benefits would probably not justify the cost, to put it lightly. Wall St from Broad St to Water St especially would be over 1,000 feet long making it one of the if not the longest transfer passages we have, and who would use it? train riders would be backtracking south to the very end of the line just to go back north. Even if a Brooklyn-Nassau St service returns, I'm still skeptical about usage. At least for me, 9 times out of 10 to go from the to the I would add in the extra leg taking the one stop. Water St to William St would be over 700 feet, not exactly short either.

2003 MTA says: Link, on page 24