cl94

Metro-North parking is free on holidays, right? I'm heading down to the city tomorrow to check out SAS and I'll park further south if parking is free.

Google has it in there based on the message they're showing if you click on Lex/63rd. Looks like it'll automatically show up either at midnight or sometime before service begins.

125th Street is a major crosstown bus corridor. Theoretically, it could also allow them to truncate the M60 SBS to Park Avenue and increase frequencies by having a shorter route.

Last plan I saw for Hanover Square had it as 2 tracks. 125th only needs 3 tracks if the doesn't go straight to the Bronx because 2 lines would be using it. Every line running at capacity with all trains turning at the same two track station has terminal backups. We don't want that on Second Avenue right when it opens.

Crowding in the Bronx is comparable with other parts of the system. The Lex in Manhattan isn't. For a Bronx extension to do any good without a station at 125th/Lex, you'd need to have connections to at least the and probably the as well. That's 2 more stations, minimum, plus an underwater tunnel. We're probably talking 2-3 times the total cost for the phase. A station at 125th would also make it easy to construct a crosstown extension to connect to the , which would greatly improve mobility and allow customers to get around issues.

You see, the idea behind SAS isn't only to get people on the Upper East Side to take the new line. The idea, Phase 2 and beyond, is to get people going to destinations along the (and eventually the ) to transfer at 125th Street, north of the most-crowded section of the Lex. If there is a station at 2nd and 125th, there won't be an easy transfer to the Lex, so Bronx traffic wouldn't use SAS.

My money is on the 125 St terminal being 2 tracks for some easy cost savings. There would be tail tracks west of the 125 St terminal, plus 2nd Ave tracks north of the curve for the future Bronx provision, that would store the trains.

Who knows? Easy cost savings, yes, but if/when the starts running, they'll need 3 tracks for decent terminal capacity.

Where will the r68's from the go, and won't there also be some 32s on the ?

The R68s from the will likely go to the , as additional trains will be needed for Second Avenue service. With the R179 order running so late, the car shortage will be even worse, as the original intent was to have the 179s in for Second Avenue.

I don't foresee any R32s ending up on the as long as there are 300' trains. If needed, they might throw them on when the is shuttered.

I think Phase 2 will happen within the next couple decades. They're already talking to the feds about it and the tunnels between stations are generally built. As for Phase 3? I have doubts that will open during my lifetime, but who knows at this point?

I wouldn't put it past the MTA jacking prices up through corruption. A lot of contracts in this state are purposely written so only one or two companies actually qualify, thus reducing competition and allowing them to send prices through the roof.

125th Street is a clusterf**k as it is. That being said, it would give them a starting point for a crosstown line up that way to connect everything.

There isn't a good reason other than politics to just keep the damn thing closed for another couple days to finish everything up. That being said, it would theoretically allow us to see immediate benefits in the form of reduced congestion on the . 

At this point, I'd be shocked if they got the damn thing open on time. Hell, they couldn't even get the holiday train moving smoothly today. Let's see...we sat at 5th Avenue for almost 10 minutes waiting for a lineup only to sit in the tunnel while they let an go through, they almost sent it to the Rutgers tunnel instead of the 2nd Avenue pocket tracks...

Wasn't the tunnel section from 110th-120th streets built to a three-track spec? 

I think so. Would certainly make a logical spot for a future layup.

Meh. I don't imagine the MTA is going to go and change the 179th trains to trains via 8th Av, or the Utica Av trains to trains via White Plains Road.... so doing this just seems awfully weird. 

Different scenario here. The (E)s run express all the way to 179th, making it a different service from the , plus it runs a mere 5 blocks away. The (5)s essentially short-turn. An to 96th would skip 10 normal stops and end up in a different borough with no easy way to get to the other.

Why would they be signed as Qs?

Less confusing than having 2 northern termini for the .

What's 96th at?

48.78 feet.

Source: http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/SAS_March_2014_Public_Workshop_Follow-Up_Report.pdf#page=23

Still, 86th should have 10 of 13 escalators working on time. Surely they can open with "only" 10 escalators, right?

Depends on which 10 escalators they are. I don't know how the station is set up or which escalators would be working.

Don't forget about Hudson Yards, that's somewhere near the neighborhood 100 feet deep.

I did forget. That one is 125. Either way, you won't be able to open Second Avenue without working escalators or enough elevator capacity for everyone (which wasn't built).

86th didn't seem to deep from the video 72nd on the other hand. Anyone know the Platform depth?

72nd: 98.88 feet

86th: 93.43 feet

Both will be among the deepest stations in the system when they open and, other than Roosevelt Island, which is about the same depth as 72nd Street, the deepest outside of Washington Heights.

NBC is reporting that a pressure cooker bomb was found nearby. NYPD believes it is intentional.

A bunch of pipe bombs were found near a 5K run in Jersey this morning.

I wouldn't be shocked if it's just someone being stupid. Nail polish remover could cause an explosion like that, for example.

Lard o' Lakes had nothing to do with it. It's a DOT rule

That's the best nickname I've heard for Krispy Kreme Christie

Concerning express tracks. If there was enough money to provide for express tracks, which aren't as crucial as they were when the subway was first constructed, then it would probably be put to better use for a line along Utica Avenue, the Queens Bypass, or a combination of extensions into the outer boroughs.

This. Second Avenue already has an alternate line 2 blocks away. The reduction in congestion due to adding express tracks would be less than any potential improvement that could be caused by an equal mileage of track in an unserved area of Brooklyn or Queens.

TBH not really that hype for these cars they are exactly like the 160s except a different propulsion. I will be looking forward to riding them. Hopefully they will go into service on Thursday.

They are not going into service on Thursday. That's impossible.

Highly doubt that, they'll need to train people how to operate and perform maintenance on these. I wouldn't expect them to go immediately into service any time soon.

They also won't have a full 8/10 car set at 207th.

Ridership at Hudson Yards was actually decent when I was there a couple weeks ago. I expect it to tick up quite a bit when all of those new buildings open up and are occupied.

The stations will be spaced far enough apart where express service would be useless.

Basically true. Stations are spaced twice as far as locals on the Lex. That and a 4 track subway would have cost a hell of a lot more than the insane amount it already is costing.