R179 Discussion Thread

[R10 2952]

Trumping the hand that feeds him

 

Did I hear the topic calling?

Actually, I'm more of a Sanders guy, FYI.  Trump is awful, and so is Clinton honestly. Truly this country is fxcked if those two are what pass for sensible options in this election...

 

Aaanyway, back to the topic at hand- what's the current plan for when the R179s displace the R42s? Is the scrapping going to commence this year, or are some going to remain? Any word on sending them to different lines? 

Edited September 23, 2016 by R10 2952

[Lance]

The auto lobby spent about 1.6 billion dollars so far this year to keep their pie under the noses of Congress. In 18 years it's 40 billion. That's a significant pie factory. The Public Transportation Lobby has outspent them by about 5 billion in that same period but that includes manufacturers like American Motorcyclists Assn, Uber Tech, Recreation Vehicle Assn, American Bureau of Shipping, National Limo Assn, Taxi & Paratransit, etc.

 

Passenger rail is subsidized almost wholly by the Government and much of that goes to AmTrak at just under 2.5 billion. Look at what The Center For Public Integrity has to say about the Transportation Lobby: "America’s transportation policy is dysfunctional. It’s also nearly bankrupt. Now, as debate reaches a crescendo over a new $500 billion transportation bill, can the national interest trump hundreds of special interests? Don’t bet on it."

 

What Marla Briggs, Sr Director of External Affairs for MARTA has to say is too long to quote here but the gist of her point is the system is the middle-aged woman in needs of repairs while also needing an expanded network, which creates a unique situation in balancing capital needs and getting funding to meet those needs.

 

This basically what most mass transit agencies seem to be going through. Mass transit doesn't have its own lobby in Washington. Instead we rely on what's available in state coffers and government money for capital programs since fare collection alone just isn't enough. Some in Congress believe even those outlays are too generous and want to cut back on that!

 

What it boils down to IMO is that the Auto Lobbyists have a stadium sized sound system to drone their message while public transportation might as well hand out a pair of ear buds to members of congress who want to hear what really needs to be heard.

 

The quote from your post above in italics is basically true. I absolutely agree.

That is true and unfortunately, that isn't going to change any time soon. Rail would have to become just as, if not more important and vital to the nation as a whole and not just relatively small sections like here in the northeast.

 

Aaanyway, back to the topic at hand- what's the current plan for when the R179s displace the R42s? Is the scrapping going to commence this year, or are some going to remain? Any word on sending them to different lines? 

I believe the current plan is for the 179s to retire the remaining 42s, though that may not happen as fast as the new cars come in and are put into service.

[TeeLow]

That is true and unfortunately, that isn't going to change any time soon. Rail would have to become just as, if not more important and vital to the nation as a whole and not just relatively small sections like here in the northeast.

I read a story in Thursday's Daily News (9-22) suggesting that the use of driver-less taxis would help ease the pain during the impending L Train outage. I couldn't put into words what I thought of that. My mind is still stuttering

[Fan Railer]

I read a story in Thursday's Daily News (9-22) suggesting that the use of driver-less taxis would help ease the pain during the impending L Train outage. I couldn't put into words what I thought of that. My mind is still stuttering

LMAO at that rate, they might as well build a giant sling shot and launch people across the East River.

[RailRunRob]

I read a story in Thursday's Daily News (9-22) suggesting that the use of driver-less taxis would help ease the pain during the impending L Train outage. I couldn't put into words what I thought of that. My mind is still stuttering

It's happening already look at Pittsburg. Uber started an autonomous pilot this month. I think LADAR and supporting technology needs to a lot more flushed for hitting the streets of NewYork. The future is here folks.    

[bobtehpanda]

I read a story in Thursday's Daily News (9-22) suggesting that the use of driver-less taxis would help ease the pain during the impending L Train outage. I couldn't put into words what I thought of that. My mind is still stuttering

 

Lets just wait til we can build a Hyperloop, right?

[TheNewYorkElevated]

Lets just wait til we can build a Hyperloop, right?

Getting across the East River in just seconds... ._. 

[Javier]

Or just a slingshot like in Angry Birds and launch them to the other side

[rbrome]

I read a story in Thursday's Daily News (9-22) suggesting that the use of driver-less taxis would help ease the pain during the impending L Train outage. I couldn't put into words what I thought of that. My mind is still stuttering

 

 

Ha! Yeah, right. Replacing a subway line with more low-occupancy cars on the road (with or without drivers) shows a complete ignorance of infrastructure capacity.

 

With that said, driverless taxis and autonomous cars are coming. It's really not too far off, and it will charge the transit scene dramatically. It just won't help with the L train. 

[RailRunRob]

Ha! Yeah, right. Replacing a subway line with more low-occupancy cars on the road (with or without drivers) shows a complete ignorance of infrastructure capacity.

 

With that said, driverless taxis and autonomous cars are coming. It's really not too far off, and it will charge the transit scene dramatically. It just won't help with the L train. 

Your right this might honestly take some of the weight of the subway in the long run. The Feds as we speak are setting rules for the autonomous industry they had some major movement over the last week with the Feds ruling in favour of the technology . Autonomous will come in stages with Limited access roadways (Free,Express, and Highway) and CBD's being the 1st online. Envision an autonomous zone from  57th street south. Manual drivers can drive to the zone just north of 57th and hail an Autonomous pod. Maybe the area could be a bit smaller to start maybe just Midtown but this tech isn't too far off. Imagine having a steady stream of autonomous buses or pods running maybe feet apart. We can start moving subway route numbers now. If I automate Second Ave what's the need for a Subway I can run cars on the surface and the rails are now the automated path!. The second version of the tech is Drivers have manual control outside of a zone with auto drive in certain areas where the network takes over. It's going to ramp up over the next 15-20 years. 

Edited September 24, 2016 by RailRunRob

[Javier]

So I guess the guys over at PIKTIN are poking and fiddling with 3010-3015?

[Fan Railer]

It's been there for a week now; presumably its at least been inspected. The cars DO have to be wired up with instrumentation for testing out in the Rockaways.

[Around the Horn]

So would they test the 5 car set by its self or wait for the other 5 first?

[Rick44]

Wait for the other 5 car set.

[trainfan22]

IDK if the other half of the 160 plot train had arrived when this photo was taken, but here's a photo of only the 5 car set testing..

 

http://nycsubway.org/perl/show?42857

 

 

Another 5 car 160 set testing in the Rockaways..

 

http://nycsubway.org/perl/show?111762

Edited September 25, 2016 by trainfan22

[Metro CSW]

So would they test the 5 car set by its self or wait for the other 5 first?

Wait for the other 5 car set.

Revenue test: Yes, the full train is needed.

 

Pre-service testing (on the field; Broad Channel): No, not always needed.

 

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[Tonyboy515]

So... What is the status of the R179's in New York City right now?

 

 

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[Lance]

The same as it's been prior to this post. No other cars have been brought onto Transit property as of yet.

[trainfan22]

It really takes them two weeks to train a few employees as to how this train works? I thought it would be testing on the Rockaway flats by now..

[rgrant3746]

Basically you have to train everyone (from the dispatchers, tsses to the T/Os and C/rs) as this is considered a new train with different types of systems (TOD screens, powertrain/braking) and with Pitkin this is considered the first NTT training (besides the 160s). So it will take time for them to get the stuff together and to the next phase of testing.

[Around the Horn]

The same as it's been prior to this post. No other cars have been brought onto Transit property as of yet.

To be fair, when East New York promises updates, everybody gets jumpy.

[N6 Limited]

How do trains  get from the trucks to the tracks?

[trainfan22]

Basically you have to train everyone (from the dispatchers, tsses to the T/Os and C/rs) as this is considered a new train with different types of systems (TOD screens, powertrain/braking) and with Pitkin this is considered the first NTT training (besides the 160s). So it will take time for them to get the stuff together and to the next phase of testing.

I always thought this early in the testing process only a handful of T/O's are trained, and rest are trained right before the train runs in revenue service. Same for the employees in other job titles that need to trained on the cars.

[Around the Horn]

I always thought this early in the testing process only a handful of T/O's are trained, and rest are trained right before the train runs in revenue service. Same for the employees in other job titles that need to trained on the cars.

Since the cars themselves will be residing at Pitkin after the tests (which except for part of the 30 day test wasn't the case for the R160), I would assume that the process is different.

[Fresh Pond]

How do trains get from the trucks to the tracks?

The trucks have rails on them.

 

Once they leave the factory, the cars are pushed onto the trucks (its has to be lined up with the rails perfectly, or youll have a very expemsive derail lol) and tied down with heavy-duty chains. They travel by truck to 207 St, and the process is reversed. They get pulled off by diesels onto the tracks