SUBWAY - Random Thoughts Topic

[R32 3838]

1 hour ago, Lawrence St said:

Anyone know what the story is with the R32 that got sent to Florida?

Its for the Department of Defense

[Lawrence St]

@Trainmaster5 or anyone else who’s a T/O, I got a question about the 42nd St Shuttle.

Ive been watching a few RFW videos and noticed that going S/B from Grand Central to the merge with Lexington Ave, how there’s only space for two tracks (one is the still standing Shuttle Track and the other the former express track), but wasn’t this alignment four tracks right next to each other after the curve? Or were the NB local and express tracks filled in & walled off?

[Calvin]

Not sure how long this was changed but recently when riding the  or  on Queens Blvd, the trains doesn't slow down when it comes close to 63rd Dr up to 67th Av. That's Jamaica bound for the two said trains. 

Edited January 12, 2023 by Calvin

[Lawrence St]

Anyone know if they left the former platforms at 42nd St  intact?

[Kamen Rider]

On 1/12/2023 at 7:02 AM, Lawrence St said:

@Trainmaster5 or anyone else who’s a T/O, I got a question about the 42nd St Shuttle.

Ive been watching a few RFW videos and noticed that going S/B from Grand Central to the merge with Lexington Ave, how there’s only space for two tracks (one is the still standing Shuttle Track and the other the former express track), but wasn’t this alignment four tracks right next to each other after the curve? Or were the NB local and express tracks filled in & walled off?

the NB trackways swung further away, but the northbound tunnel is not only still there, it's how one gets to Grand Central Tower.

I linked to the timestamp. This is the point where the Northbound track leaves the original tunnel. The current NB local ramp was dug out beneath the original NB local. behind that white door is the remaining northbound tunnel. that wall is actually relatively new, like, late 90s-ish. When I first started going on transit museum tours with my grandfather in the mid 90s, that wall wasn't there and the NB 6 would just be barreling at us until it dove down and to the side. 

[darkstar8983]

Am I the only one or have others noticed that if you come from upper manhattan, taking the  train takes just around the same amount of time to get to Penn Station as the  train? (Even though the  is express).

I’ve come down from work on the  if I leave after 6:30PM (then the  to Times Square) and it is much faster than the  in terms of running time. The Broadway Express trains literally blast thru from 96 St to 42 St. Which brings to me the question - are there faster express zones in the Subway than the ?

[darkstar8983]

Another weekend of  train shutdowns and the MTA again thinks they can pull off a 12-minute headway  train and think it will be a sufficient replacement…NO WAY. At each stop from 47-50 Sts-Rockefeller Center, the train was jammed butt to gut and train held an extra 20-30 seconds for the conductor to attempt closing the door. The MTA should go back to 8-minute headways on the weekend , utilizing the extra extra crew members. Crowding conditions at some of these stations were unreal and appeared unsafe.

[Calvin]

Funny moment when 6 teens jumped the turnstile in front of two NYPD officers, they immediately blocked them from going south and north and asked them to leave. They left but heard a train going south and decided to run to the turnstile and hop again to the stairs. But with them hopping on board the train, the officers had them to leave again and not enter the system. This was all at Avenue U on the  and they asked what was the point doing it in front of them. They answered that they have Saturday school. 

[VIP]

3 hours ago, darkstar8983 said:

Another weekend of  train shutdowns and the MTA again thinks they can pull off a 12-minute headway  train and think it will be a sufficient replacement…NO WAY. At each stop from 47-50 Sts-Rockefeller Center, the train was jammed butt to gut and train held an extra 20-30 seconds for the conductor to attempt closing the door. The MTA should go back to 8-minute headways on the weekend , utilizing the extra extra crew members. Crowding conditions at some of these stations were unreal and appeared unsafe.

They have to run the  every 12 Minutes so it doesn’t interfere with the  at 96th so aggressively. 

[darkstar8983]

37 minutes ago, VIP said:

They have to run the  every 12 Minutes so it doesn’t interfere with the  at 96th so aggressively. 

Oh. I’ve always thought that the issue with merging is when you have two lines sharing a track with uneven headways (similar to the  merges with the  and , the  merges with the , the  merges with the  and the  merges with the ). And remember that the  and  did the merge just fine every weekend from April 2019 To March 2020 during the  weekend closures. I think an exception should be made in this case due to the ridership on the weekend s during this GO. 
 

another GO that has a “tight merge” is the nightly  via 4 Av Local during evenings after 6:30PM merging with the  at DeKalb Av, and the upcoming  GO where the  and  will share the downtown local from 57 St-7 Av to 34 St Herald Square (5 + 7.5 + 5 + 3 = 20.5 TPH on a single track)

Edited January 15, 2023 by darkstar8983

[Chris89292]

On 1/11/2023 at 10:32 AM, T to Dyre Avenue said:

It can still be called the  train if it’s light rail. My preference would have have been for modified subway trains too, a la SIR, but they eliminated that option back in the earlier feasibility study (from last January). I honestly don’t think the choice of light rail is bad (I’m sure glad they didn’t choose BRT!)

SIR is light rail? Since when? I’ve always considered its modified R44s to be heavy rail same as their NYC Transit counterparts. Same with the R211 cars which will be replacing them and the R46s.

I don’t think so, it wouldn’t be part of the subway system, it’s just going to be called IBX

[Kamen Rider]

5 hours ago, darkstar8983 said:

Another weekend of  train shutdowns and the MTA again thinks they can pull off a 12-minute headway  train and think it will be a sufficient replacement…NO WAY. At each stop from 47-50 Sts-Rockefeller Center, the train was jammed butt to gut and train held an extra 20-30 seconds for the conductor to attempt closing the door. The MTA should go back to 8-minute headways on the weekend , utilizing the extra extra crew members. Crowding conditions at some of these stations were unreal and appeared unsafe.

The Q is timetabled to run roughly 8 times an hour. Add in the 5 Ms and you have 13 trains per hour. That's a train roughly every 5 mintues on a saturday coming and going from 96th street. 

 

Think about that.

 

 

1 hour ago, Chris89292 said:

I don’t think so, it wouldn’t be part of the subway system, it’s just going to be called IBX

and you know that because?

[darkstar8983]

8 hours ago, Kamen Rider said:

The Q is timetabled to run roughly 8 times an hour. Add in the 5 Ms and you have 13 trains per hour. That's a train roughly every 5 mintues on a saturday coming and going from 96th street. 

 

Think about that.

 

 

and you know that because?

For the Sandy related repairs to the  96 St turned around 15 TPH just fine with the  and , I don’t know why they can’t now. Maybe there’s something im missing. I’m just stating that the  didn’t do a good job handling crowds during the early afternoon hours on an “12 minute” headway along the line; and the trains were crowded, as were the platforms

[Lawrence St]

What’s these brown stains on the doors of R142A’s assigned to Jerome? I’ve been noticing them a lot but not on the R142’s.

[Lawrence St]

These “the NYPD is available at this station” announcements are annoying. It unnecessarily adds to the dwell times when the conductors are doing it and adds more time to already long transfer announcements.

[Siemenslover]

Weekend service is trash. and trains more crowded than a lot of rush hour trains. The weekend was probably crowded because the   is already infrequent and carrying people to queens/Bronx. I avoid travel on the weekend living on local qbl. Going into Manhattan often means waiting 12-20+ Mins for slow, packed trains. If the  was brought back to 71 I’d do more intra-borough travel. Otherwise, have  go to QBL all times or make the  local or something. I think the  could’ve handled 2 av alone like it usually does. Whenever they give those measly 3  per hour on weekends (which is supposed to take people off 15  ), it tends to bunch and the countdown clock looks like:   17 mins  20 mins  38 Mins. 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Siemenslover

[Vulturious]

1 hour ago, Siemenslover said:

Weekend service is trash. and trains more crowded than a lot of rush hour trains. The weekend was probably crowded because the   is already infrequent and carrying people to queens/Bronx. I avoid travel on the weekend living on local qbl. Going into Manhattan often means waiting 12-20+ Mins for slow, packed trains. If the  was brought back to 71 I’d do more intra-borough travel. Otherwise, have  go to QBL all times or make the  local or something. I think the  could’ve handled 2 av alone like it usually does. Whenever they give those measly 3  per hour on weekends (which is supposed to take people off 15  ), it tends to bunch and the countdown clock looks like:   17 mins  20 mins  38 Mins. 

Probably be better if the  was sent local along QBL all other times outside of weekdays, the  can't run along Forest Hills without extra crews along with having extra trains to cover. It's better off running to 96 St instead for extra 6 Av service. 

[Siemenslover]

29 minutes ago, Vulturious said:

Probably be better if the  was sent local along QBL all other times outside of weekdays, the  can't run along Forest Hills without extra crews along with having extra trains to cover. It's better off running to 96 St instead for extra 6 Av service. 

I’m personally not a huge fan of  to 96 because it’s mainly just used for the 6 av stretch that the M5 covers and to pick up the slack of the . The 2 av stretch itself has frequent service. I think   to 71 would have more utility since it’d hit 53rd, qbl and 6th or send it via 63rd and qbl lcl and one can just transfer to the frequent  at 63 for 6av<->96 while still serving intra-queens and Queens<-> 6av. Local  could at least hit intra-queens and qbl local stops to 8th/53

Edited January 17, 2023 by Siemenslover

[Vulturious]

52 minutes ago, Siemenslover said:

I’m personally not a huge fan of  to 96 because it’s mainly just used for the 6 av stretch that the M5 covers and to pick up the slack of the . The 2 av stretch itself has frequent service. I think   to 71 would have more utility since it’d hit 53rd, qbl and 6th or send it via 63rd and qbl lcl and one can just transfer to the frequent  at 63 for 6av<->96 while still serving intra-queens and Queens<-> 6av. Local  could at least hit intra-queens and qbl local stops to 8th/53

The  to 96 St isn't meant to give extra service for 2 Av, it's meant to be an alternative since the  wasn't running to Manhattan. But it's also meant to provide extra service along 6 Av, which if you wanted to take the bus because of lacking  service, by all means go and take it. However, running it to Forest Hills can't work since like I already said, there aren't enough crews to be able to cover that line during weekends, not to mention, you'd spread an already limited  service even thinner. Just run the  local since it's already a short line and QBL needs help.

Edited January 17, 2023 by Vulturious

[R32 3838]

4 hours ago, Vulturious said:

Probably be better if the  was sent local along QBL all other times outside of weekdays, the  can't run along Forest Hills without extra crews along with having extra trains to cover. It's better off running to 96 St instead for extra 6 Av service. 

 

That won't be easy making the local on weekends (normal weekend service). The riders would bitch and rightfully so. The needs to comeback to Queens Blvd Nights and Weekends, Most people would get off at Roosevelt or Queens Plaza to transfer for an express train anyway. It sucks just having the running on weekends without a 2nd option.

[Lawrence St]

5 hours ago, Vulturious said:

The  to 96 St isn't meant to give extra service for 2 Av, it's meant to be an alternative since the  wasn't running to Manhattan. But it's also meant to provide extra service along 6 Av, which if you wanted to take the bus because of lacking  service, by all means go and take it. However, running it to Forest Hills can't work since like I already said, there aren't enough crews to be able to cover that line during weekends, not to mention, you'd spread an already limited  service even thinner. Just run the  local since it's already a short line and QBL needs help.

The ? Local? On weekends?

We would never hear the end of it from complaints!

[Siemenslover]

The early PM (2:50-4:15 or so) rush should be reconsidered. They often are just below fully seated while the  is packed with all the high schoolers (33, 40) and the transfers from 74th the skips while both are running every 8-10 mins. They should either run more  or scrap it until later on when they both run often. Way more people are negatively affected by this pattern than those it helps ( is already slower now anyway). If you get on at queensboro or west, you would not catch up to a local until Junction Blvd. There is a huge change in crowding between 2:30 and 3:00 at local stops with half the trains going to the <7>. I think they can just run the  every 5 mins like at 2:30 or 4 if they’re generous for the early PM rush. 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Siemenslover

[Calvin]

25 minutes ago, Siemenslover said:

The early PM (2:50-4:15 or so) rush should be reconsidered. They often are just below fully seated while the  is packed with all the high schoolers (33, 40) and the transfers from 74th the skips while both are running every 8-10 mins. They should either run more  or scrap it until later on when they both run often. Way more people are negatively affected by this pattern than those it helps ( is already slower now anyway). If you get on at queensboro or west, you would not catch up to a local until Junction Blvd. There is a huge change in crowding between 2:30 and 3:00 at local stops with half the trains going to the <7>. I think they can just run the  every 5 mins like at 2:30 or 4 if they’re generous for the early PM rush. 

IMO, they should consider having the Yard put-in a little earlier (like around 2-2:50 PM) so that they can have more local service at the 3 PM hour. Usually, there will be 10 minute gaps bc of the 5 minute spacing between 34 St and Queensboro Plaza (local or express). The MTA did adjust the  train to leave the yard early at 1:30 PM to have a put-in at that time with the last AM pull-in at 11:30 AM. That same train that goes to the yard comes back out in the afternoon. 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Calvin

[JustTheSIR]

1 hour ago, Siemenslover said:

The early PM (2:50-4:15 or so) rush should be reconsidered. They often are just below fully seated while the  is packed with all the high schoolers (33, 40) and the transfers from 74th the skips while both are running every 8-10 mins. They should either run more  or scrap it until later on when they both run often. Way more people are negatively affected by this pattern than those it helps ( is already slower now anyway). If you get on at queensboro or west, you would not catch up to a local until Junction Blvd. There is a huge change in crowding between 2:30 and 3:00 at local stops with half the trains going to the <7>. I think they can just run the  every 5 mins like at 2:30 or 4 if they’re generous for the early PM rush. 

Speaking of the 7, I took the PM rush yesterday and it seemed like there were a lot more express 7s than locals at 61st. Is that just because they’re express?

[darkstar8983]

1 hour ago, JustTheSIR said:

Speaking of the 7, I took the PM rush yesterday and it seemed like there were a lot more express 7s than locals at 61st. Is that just because they’re express?

Likely the crowding on the  Local that delays it at the Sunnyside Stations (33, 40, 46, 52 Sts), allowing the express  to pass them. in the 5:30-6:30PM, the  comes like clockwork and the express overtakes the local by 40 St or 46 St, and would make sense why a second express would pass thee local by 74 St (high dwell times) and then the third would be passed at Mets Willets Point.