SUBWAY - Random Thoughts Topic

[RailRunRob]

3 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

Has anyone checked out the DC Metro repair program being done this month ? Check out the Washington Post site or Google it. How would you compare it to how the NYCT does it here in NYC ? Just curious. Carry on.

Wasnt there a major flaw also found in the New 7000 series cars something with the wiring? WAMTA can't catch a break.. Kawasaki.. 😩🤭Got some explaining to do!

Edited August 12, 2018 by RailRunRob

[Calvin]

Q: On the NTT's, were there two handles to open the rear doors before?

[mine248]

2 minutes ago, Calvin said:

Q: On the NTT's, were there two handles to open the rear doors before?

Yeah there were. But the no key handle was redundant, hence the handle being stripped from that side. Plus, more part stockpiles!

[bobtehpanda]

5 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

Has anyone checked out the DC Metro repair program being done this month ? Check out the Washington Post site or Google it. How would you compare it to how the NYCT does it here in NYC ? Just curious. Carry on.

Their program is much more disruptive than anything you would see here, but that's because they don't really have parallel subway lines, and because they're starting off from a much worse place.

DC Metro's dysfunction makes the subway in New York look downright Japanese.

Quote

Things got even stranger when the new hires started on-the-job training and found a workplace that, according to five recent ROCC trainees, was inhospitable to newcomers. The ROCC’s employees were mostly WMATA lifers who almost never left the Landover facility. (Even when the Silver Line opened, controllers watched a DVD about the extension instead of touring it.) Many veterans hardly spoke to the new hires, who felt as if they were being iced out. “They wanted us to fail,” Colvin says.

...

To some veterans, the new hires were a threat to their paydays. “The trainers warned us about that,” says Colvin. “They were like, ‘Look, [controllers are] going to be hostile toward you because you’re cutting into their overtime.’ ”

...

In a post-smoke-incident review, the FTA discovered that although regulations require controllers to be recertified annually, none had been since 2012. And up-to-date rule books weren’t always available, because of problems with the printer and three-hole puncher. Not that current manuals would have mattered. Controllers saw little need for written procedures or checklists. “Most veteran [controllers],” FTA investigators said in their report, “prefer to run the Metrorail system largely based on their past experiences and the information ‘in their heads.’ ”

...

Riders have experienced the consequences of this paperless approach. During the smoke incident, ROCC employees bungled the emergency by activating the wrong tunnel fans, according to the NTSB. To prevent a future problem, the NTSB urged WMATA to develop what the controllers have resisted: written procedures.

...

The trainees were equally disturbed by the poor safety practices they witnessed. The ROCC was noisy and chaotic; controllers yelled across the room and were distracted by their cell phones. Radio communication with trains was often impossible because dead spots exist throughout the system. Alarms sounded constantly, triggered by everything from power surges to water in tunnels—although many were false warnings. “It’s well over a thousand alarms a day,” Watkins says. “But they ignore pretty much all of them.”

...

The hostilities extended to other parts of the agency. Controllers and train operators were constantly at one another’s throats because, according to the trainees, controllers belittled operators. “They treat operators as if they aren’t capable of doing anything,” Watkins says. “And [the veterans] told us that. They said, ‘Don’t trust operators.’ ”

The men say operators would occasionally get so mad that they would “break the train” by dumping the air out of brake lines. The maneuver temporarily disables the train and requires ROCC staff to go through a lengthy troubleshooting protocol. “[Operators] will do something like this because they think, ‘Well, you screwed me, I screw you,’ ” Colvin says. But riders feel the brunt of it, too—they have to sit and wait (or offload) until the situation is resolved.

Don't get me wrong. New York's subway has been going down the shitter, and relations between management and workers (and between departments) is not good. But the problems at the MTA have never resulted in the death of a person, or become so bad that the federal government had to come up with a hostile takeover plan in case things didn't improve.

Edited August 12, 2018 by bobtehpanda

[Lance]

22 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

The to 96th St program is horrendous. They have gotten lazy with these new programs, I.E to 179th St via Broadway.

Whatever happened to putting "This is a 96th St-2nd Av bound train, via the line." And "This is a 96th St-2nd Av bound train via the line." Its better to be clear as to where a route is going then just putting "(M) train".

Also, for you announcement buffs, the current to 96th St announcement is spliced from the and the original Brooklyn-bound announcements.

I think that because it will be normal service starting in April, they did not include the "via X line" portion that's usually found on rerouted trains into the recordings.

21 hours ago, MysteriousBtrain said:

At least the voice is the same. Also you really expect the MTA to record announcements for every new reroute popping up now?

They really need to redo the entire system and make it into a modular setup where the crew can pick any route letter/number, routing and destination and have it available. The millennium design that came with the 110s worked well for its time, but as more routes are needed and transfers constantly change, it might be time for a different approach.

[Lawrence St]

5 hours ago, Lance said:

I think that because it will be normal service starting in April, they did not include the "via X line" portion that's usually found on rerouted trains into the recordings.

They really need to redo the entire system and make it into a modular setup where the crew can pick any route letter/number, routing and destination and have it available. The millennium design that came with the 110s worked well for its time, but as more routes are needed and transfers constantly change, it might be time for a different approach.

But the via Broadway, at least in one direction, just has the regular "This is a Queens bound local train."

[AJ of JGD]

On 8/10/2018 at 9:38 PM, Lawrence St said:

This is why I avoid the . Everytime I get into Woodlawn to go take the W20, a herd of passengers wait for the bus and fill the sidewalk to the point where you forget your even standing on the sidewalk.

As a person who lives in the Norwood section of the Bronx, take my advice. Get off the  at Bedford Park Boulevard - Lehman College and take a W20 or W21. You'll get one of the first seats.

[Lance]

14 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

But the via Broadway, at least in one direction, just has the regular "This is a Queens bound local train."

Yeah, that one's pretty inconsistent with the usual standard. Then again, they have been doing that with the and reroutes via Lexington Ave and 7th Avenue respectively for a while now, so they're consistently inconsistent. Par for the course.

[Far rockaway]

How long would you have to wait for the  train to rockaway park beach 116th st 

[TheNewYorkElevated]

1 hour ago, Far rockaway said:

How long would you have to wait for the  train to rockaway park beach 116th st 

5-8 minutes at best. 

 

[Calvin]

2 hours ago, Far rockaway said:

How long would you have to wait for the  train to rockaway park beach 116th st 

Between Rockaway Blvd-Broad Channel, each train is 15-20 minute headways with 5-10 during the rush hour

Edited August 13, 2018 by Calvin

[Mtatransit]

Can someone explain whats the purpose of station agents anymore? There is a service disruption on the 60 St tube today and I was told to "receive a free courtesy pass" to get out and take another train at another station. I asked the station agent for one and denied, he told me to take the downtown train, which supposedly is running based on the "countdown clock". I told him that the downtown train had been sitting at the station for 15 minutes and this guy just ignored me for the rest of the time I was there. If I had a Pay-Per- Ride I'll just hop the turnstiles at the alternative station. 

I think its time for MTA to replace its turnstiles so people don't have to use the gate, and eliminate most of those station agents position. It is apparent that most of them hate their jobs anyways

[danielhg121]

11 hours ago, Mtatransit said:

Can someone explain whats the purpose of station agents anymore? There is a service disruption on the 60 St tube today and I was told to "receive a free courtesy pass" to get out and take another train at another station. I asked the station agent for one and denied, he told me to take the downtown train, which supposedly is running based on the "countdown clock". I told him that the downtown train had been sitting at the station for 15 minutes and this guy just ignored me for the rest of the time I was there. If I had a Pay-Per- Ride I'll just hop the turnstiles at the alternative station. 

I think its time for MTA to replace its turnstiles so people don't have to use the gate, and eliminate most of those station agents position. It is apparent that most of them hate their jobs anyways

Was the alternative Lex Ave-63rd St? Cuz then u could’ve just swiped in again.

[Mtatransit]

I was actually thinking 5 Av- 53rd St, where I could catch the E.

When MTA introduces its new fare payment method there NEEDS to be a grace period like WMATA of around 15 minutes to exit the station and board at another station without penalty. (Maybe some sort of tap machines by the turnstile or platform)

[bobtehpanda]

4 minutes ago, Mtatransit said:

I was actually thinking 5 Av- 53rd St, where I could catch the E.

When MTA introduces its new fare payment method there NEEDS to be a grace period like WMATA of around 15 minutes to exit the station and board at another station without penalty. (Maybe some sort of tap machines by the turnstile or platform)

You would need a tap out mechanism for that, which would never happen because that opens the door for a zoned fare.

As it stands the unlimiteds have a 18 minute lockout to prevent double dipping.

[Mtatransit]

3 hours ago, bobtehpanda said:

You would need a tap out mechanism for that, which would never happen because that opens the door for a zoned fare.

As it stands the unlimiteds have a 18 minute lockout to prevent double dipping.

I mean we could just place two poles by the platforms and people could tap out and tap in at another station without deducting a new fare.  To counter abuse, just lock that card for that particular station for 30 minutes. 

The alternate is having people wait for the disruption to clear itself which could take up to an hour. 

[transitfan111]

On 8/11/2018 at 3:47 PM, Lawrence St said:

The to 96th St program is horrendous. They have gotten lazy with these new programs, I.E to 179th St via Broadway.

Whatever happened to putting "This is a 96th St-2nd Av bound train, via the line." And "This is a 96th St-2nd Av bound train via the line." Its better to be clear as to where a route is going then just putting "(M) train".

Also, for you announcement buffs, the current to 96th St announcement is spliced from the and the original Brooklyn-bound announcements.

I hate long announcements, it increases dwell times.

[Around the Horn]

Another day, another dispatching snafu on 4th Avenue:

This time I was on the  and we got passed by an  at Prospect. I figured that ok they'll send it in front... But no! We passed them at 25th and then stopped again in between 25th and 36th. Then the  passed us and came to a stop at the interlocking and then they sent us into 36th first, wasting a good two/three minutes for no reason.

[VIP]

No one noticed Jamaica’s R160’s getting red paint on their door steps? 

 

[Calvin]

http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/transit/2018/08/14/some-nyc-subway-workers-to-be-equipped-with-body-cameras-in-effort-to-stem-violence

 

Soon, subway cab  cars will receive cameras for protection

[TheNewYorkElevated]

Most of us know of the abandoned Chambers Street platforms of the  and  as well as the plan to connect the Nassau Street subway to the el lines of the Brooklyn Bridge that was never completed. Turns out the BRT was serious about building the connection. Saw this while looking through the book The Routes Not Taken a few months ago. 

[LGA Link N Train]

18 hours ago, TheNewYorkElevated said:

Most of us know of the abandoned Chambers Street platforms of the  and  as well as the plan to connect the Nassau Street subway to the el lines of the Brooklyn Bridge that was never completed. Turns out the BRT was serious about building the connection. Saw this while looking through the book The Routes Not Taken a few months ago. 

I have the book at home. And every time I look at this picture, I wonder where this picture was taken and how Chambers Street Station could've been different

[Around the Horn]

I have to give credit where credit is due: they did not hold my  5000 times outside 36th Street today. We didn't even stop, just went straight through the switch. The  came about 5 minutes after.

[Coney Island Av]

Well today was the first time I actually saw an R179 signed up/testing on the ...

 

[trainfan22]

Nothing sucks more than when the is running on 24 minute headways and you JUST miss the train... thus having to wait damn near an half hour for the shuttle train to come back to Rockaway Parkway.

Edited August 18, 2018 by trainfan22