Harry Posted August 23, 2010 Share #1 Posted August 23, 2010 Brace for commuting chaos. A fire in a switching tower Monday knocked out service on all but one branch of the Long Island Rail Road, leaving thousands of riders stranded on trains and at the stations. With rain adding to the misery, railroad officials were scrambling to come up with a plan to get back on track in time for the evening rush when about 100,000 daily LIRR riders will try to get home. Currently, only the Port Washington Branch is operating. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/08/23/2010-08-23_long_island_railroad_fire_snarls_all_but_one_line_as_rush_hour_nears.html#ixzz0xSeOthBl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadway Local Posted August 23, 2010 Share #2 Posted August 23, 2010 Lucky for the Port Washington branch. I heard the news that in Penn Station, there are a lot of people waiting for the other branches except Port Washington. http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=resources/traffic&id=7624605 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted August 23, 2010 Share #3 Posted August 23, 2010 It's about time people get reminded of who actually runs the railroad...and it's not the guys who sit in that building on the corner of Sutphin & Archer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadway Local Posted August 23, 2010 Share #4 Posted August 23, 2010 Fire destroys everything. If the fire is gone in the switch tower east of Jamaica, will the switch work or what the MTA is gonna go. Are there injuries? I hope not. MTA Service Notice Hempstead Branch Customers: The LIRR is offering limited service for the PM rush hour today. Hempstead Branch customers must pick up their train at Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn. No Hempstead trains will leave from Penn. Shortly before 11 AM today, Long Island Rail Road service was suspended on all branches, with the exception of the Port Washington Branch, as a result of a fire in the LIRR’s switching tower located on the east side of Jamaica. This is what happens 8/23/2010 4:10pm. I used Hempstead as an example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NX Express Posted August 23, 2010 Share #5 Posted August 23, 2010 I wonder how the subway is cross-honoring fares...turnstiles don't accept LIRR tickets! BTW, a very similar thread already exists: http://nyctransitforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22979 They could be merged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregorygrice Posted August 23, 2010 Share #6 Posted August 23, 2010 I've been following this since 11 a.m and posting updates on Facebook! LIRR has been a mess since the past week. They have been having Switch and Equipment problems prior to this since last week. My phone has been blowing up with text alerts. The West Hempsted Branch will be run by buses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadway Local Posted August 23, 2010 Share #7 Posted August 23, 2010 The West Hempsted Branch will be run by buses. The service is running the very limited. West Hempstead only runs for a few trains. Not many people ride the West Hempstead than Hempstead. Are you sure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NX Express Posted August 23, 2010 Share #8 Posted August 23, 2010 The LIRR is offering limited service for the PM rush hour today due to an earlier fire at a switching station east of Jamaica. West Hempstead Branch customers must get a train to Valley Stream where buses will operate on the West Hempstead Branch. From MTA site, West Hempstead Branch section under Rail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoSpectacular Posted August 23, 2010 Share #9 Posted August 23, 2010 Holy shit some people are screwed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KNIGHTRIDER3:16 Posted August 23, 2010 Share #10 Posted August 23, 2010 is gonna Honor all LIRR passes to get on buses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoSpectacular Posted August 23, 2010 Share #11 Posted August 23, 2010 is gonna Honor all LIRR passes to get on buses That's great news! :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infamous85 Posted August 23, 2010 Share #12 Posted August 23, 2010 Yeah I just heard about it from someone who's stuck, sucks big time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadway Local Posted August 23, 2010 Share #13 Posted August 23, 2010 There is an Huntington train that is held in Hillside (Which is the East of Jamaica.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nova RTS 9147 Posted August 24, 2010 Share #14 Posted August 24, 2010 According to CBS news, tomorrow's commute won't be nice either. http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/08/23/technical-issues-disrupt-lirr-service-monday/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1447 Posted August 24, 2010 Share #15 Posted August 24, 2010 Yep the has also published this: http://mta.info/supplemental/lirr/TuesdayRush.htm Must be hell for LIRR customers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shortline Bus Posted August 24, 2010 Share #16 Posted August 24, 2010 So please can someone can explain how can the very heavy rains can cause a fire that screwed up the wires and basically the entire LIRR network?:eek: It's in the press statement that Mark mentioned as a probable cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Louis Car 09 Posted August 24, 2010 Share #17 Posted August 24, 2010 Jamaica out of all place for a fire to start.LIRR FTF.(For The Fail) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metsfan Posted August 24, 2010 Share #18 Posted August 24, 2010 Teh LIFR strikes again. Maybe people will see fit to prod their elected officials to give LIRR more money when they need it vs making it worse. - A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenEleven Posted August 24, 2010 Share #19 Posted August 24, 2010 Yep the has also published this: http://mta.info/supplemental/lirr/TuesdayRush.htm Must be hell for LIRR customers. Don't forget that the rest of the systems will be stressed as well. The derated service will cause more crowding on the regular buses and subways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shortline Bus Posted August 24, 2010 Share #20 Posted August 24, 2010 Don't forget that the rest of the systems will be stressed as well. The derated service will cause more crowding on the regular buses and subways. It might to point that displaced LIRR riders will ride the train in which people may have to sit on the roof of trains.(joking of course)but making point.:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m7zanr160s Posted August 25, 2010 Share #21 Posted August 25, 2010 One thing that's cool about this is I'm witnessing near train races on the stretch between Jamaica and Locust Manor during peak time, period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRG Posted August 25, 2010 Share #22 Posted August 25, 2010 I feel bad for LIRR riders. Now I'm hearing that service could be FUBARed for days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
engineerboy6561 Posted August 25, 2010 Share #23 Posted August 25, 2010 So please can someone explain how can the very heavy rains can cause a fire that screwed up the wires and basically the entire LIRR network?:eek: It's in the press statement that Mark mentioned as a probable cause. The only explanation I can think up for how the rain started the fire is this: Water from the rain must have somehow gotten into the electrical system of the control tower at a point where insulation/rain protection was faulty. Once that happens you have an almost guaranteed electrical fire. As to how this managed to FUBAR everything except for Port Washington, that is pretty straightforward. If you look at the LIRR route map and check out the station area you will see that there is a maze of interlockings on each side of the station and every LIRR line except the Port Washington Branch goes through those interlockings. Jamaica Station also houses the control tower that, unless I am wrong, sets the switches and clears the signals for each individual train entering and leaving the station as well as (i believe) acting as the primary control tower for much of the LIRR east of Jamaica. If that goes down, then trains are unable to move beyond the next unset interlock because there is no way to set it for them. What blows me away is that Jamaica doesn't have a secondary or tertiary control tower capable of taking over if something like this happened. I agree with the others on this forum, it is about time LIRR got some major infrastructure upgrades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted August 25, 2010 Share #24 Posted August 25, 2010 it is about time LIRR got some major infrastructure upgrades. Do tell me how a solid state computerized interlocking is going to make anything "better"? The current Model 14 machine in HALL is a damn good piece of equipment. You put a high-current 750V conductor into any device designed to handle much less voltage and the shit is going to hit the fan. The only thing that is "better" about a video game interlocking machine is the fact that the railroad can then try to abolish the towerman position in that tower. Do you really want trains routed by computer? Would you rather have levers physically interlocked by relay or would you rather have a few -unknown- pieces of software ensuring a switch doesn't get thrown under a train? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
engineerboy6561 Posted August 25, 2010 Share #25 Posted August 25, 2010 Do tell me how a solid state computerized interlocking is going to make anything "better"? The current Model 14 machine in HALL is a damn good piece of equipment. You put a high-current 750V conductor into any device designed to handle much less voltage and the shit is going to hit the fan. The only thing that is "better" about a video game interlocking machine is the fact that the railroad can then try to abolish the towerman position in that tower. Do you really want trains routed by computer? Would you rather have levers physically interlocked by relay or would you rather have a few -unknown- pieces of software ensuring a switch doesn't get thrown under a train? I'm not impugning the integrity of physical relays, nor do I want a computer routing trains unsupervised because our favorite transit agency decides to cut payrolls. I do not particularly care which system is used so long as it is well maintained and the people operating it are well-trained. When I spoke of major infrastructure upgrades I was not specifically talking about installing a solid-state system. Rather, I was talking about having some form of redundancy, i.e. a second or third Model 14 in a separate building at Jamaica and smaller systems for individual branches as well as better electrical and environmental protection for the existing machines so that 750V high-amperage current does not wind up in the interlocking machine. Had that been available and maintained, the incident might have caused a short suspension of service in the area around Jamaica while the second machine was brought online while regional control towers maintained relatively consistent service farther out on the branch lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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