Uptown F via M and M via F, Monday morning rush hour

[Eric B]

How come this hasn't been fixed yet?

 

I'm hearing that it's a part that they don't have.

[Wallyhorse]

Never fails, does it?

 

Well, according to the site, everything's finally back to normal.

 

If that's the case, that's good.

 

And one thing I would be budgeting for is an emergency like this where I would if necessary have extended the for the night to 71-Continental (and I would make sure such potential emergencies can be covered because they are bound to happen anywhere in the system over the course of a normal year as we saw yesterday both with that and the water main break). The last thing I would want is someone winding up being fired because he got delayed getting to work due to not being aware of such an emergency and having to backtrack (which would be more costly long terms). It's a lesser of two evils.

[Guest lance25]

Whether or not someone gets fired or reprimanded at their place of business is not the (MTA)'s concern. They have their own problems to deal with. Also, they have no control over which switches will stop functioning properly or where water mains will break. Employers should be understanding that when the shit hits the fan in the subway system, it's gonna take a bit longer to get to work.

 

Besides, based on some of the comments on this forum, I doubt they really care all that much about their own employees. What makes you think they give a rat's ass about some Joe Schmoe working elsewhere?

[CenSin]

If that's the case, that's good.

 

And one thing I would be budgeting for is an emergency like this where I would if necessary have extended the for the night to 71-Continental (and I would make sure such potential emergencies can be covered because they are bound to happen anywhere in the system over the course of a normal year as we saw yesterday both with that and the water main break). The last thing I would want is someone winding up being fired because he got delayed getting to work due to not being aware of such an emergency and having to backtrack (which would be more costly long terms). It's a lesser of two evils.

The only justification for extending the is when they start heading back to Jamaica Yard or are coming out of there. The (when it was still running) had scheduled runs to Kings Highway at night and from 86 Street in the morning. If the is running that whole length between Court Square and the yard, that would be the only possibility you'll see the put into service along Queens Boulevard.

[GreatOne2k]

There actually IS a cost neutral way to extend the back on QB during an emergency, use existing crews and equipment, increase headways. N/B trains would run local to 71 Av, S/B trains would run express on QB.

 

This happened for several days with the ( train running to Bedford Park all day weekdays. Midday and evening service usually ran around 15-20 minutes N/B express from 145 to Fordham, S/B all local. The costs were the same, just the headways were extended. This would actually be a bit cheaper to the MTA than making the local.

 

Problem here is riders below Court Square get longer waits for trains. MTA did this with the so this wouldn't be the first time a 'cost neutral' extension were done. riders (and QB local N/B riders) at best would have 30-40 minute headways late nights.

 

Not good for most passengers (except QB express passengers), but good for the MTA's bottom line.

[Nova RTS 9147]

There actually IS a cost neutral way to extend the back on QB during an emergency, use existing crews and equipment, increase headways. N/B trains would run local to 71 Av, S/B trains would run express on QB.

 

This happened for several days with the ( train running to Bedford Park all day weekdays. Midday and evening service usually ran around 15-20 minutes N/B express from 145 to Fordham, S/B all local. The costs were the same, just the headways were extended. This would actually be a bit cheaper to the MTA than making the local.

 

Problem here is riders below Court Square get longer waits for trains. MTA did this with the so this wouldn't be the first time a 'cost neutral' extension were done. riders (and QB local N/B riders) at best would have 30-40 minute headways late nights.

 

Not good for most passengers (except QB express passengers), but good for the MTA's bottom line.

 

And thats why cost neutral extensions shouldn't be done....

[Guest lance25]

There actually IS a cost neutral way to extend the back on QB during an emergency, use existing crews and equipment, increase headways. N/B trains would run local to 71 Av, S/B trains would run express on QB.

 

This happened for several days with the train running to Bedford Park all day weekdays. Midday and evening service usually ran around 15-20 minutes N/B express from 145 to Fordham, S/B all local. The costs were the same, just the headways were extended. This would actually be a bit cheaper to the MTA than making the local.

 

Problem here is riders below Court Square get longer waits for trains. MTA did this with the so this wouldn't be the first time a 'cost neutral' extension were done. riders (and QB local N/B riders) at best would have 30-40 minute headways late nights.

 

Not good for most passengers (except QB express passengers), but good for the MTA's bottom line.

 

Please don't compare extending the to Bedford Park during the midday hours to extending the during the overnight hours. It's not a fair comparison. Not by a long shot.

 

It really doesn't matter if the trains ran late since there are other options for riders to use. That's the beauty of the - since it mirrors other lines on the entirety of its route, there will still be adequate enough service to meet demand for the most part. The longest riders will have to wait is just ten minutes for a connecting line. The doesn't have that luxury, especially not during the overnight hours. Already running at 20 minute intervals like the rest of the system, an extension up Queens Blvd, even on the express tracks, means at least another ten minutes for riders to wait. That's not counting how long trains take to relay back to the Manhattan-bound tracks.

 

Yes, the idea is cost efficient, but at the expense of people who unfortunately have to use the late nights. Riders are already waiting a while for trains. Don't make them wait longer just to appease a few folks on Queens Blvd.

 

 

BTW: The uptown (F)/(M) switcheroo is back in effect. Couldn't even last a day.

[RTOMan]

Still going on unless they start running extended headways the PM rush will be like yesterdays, a nightmare...

 

Queensboro Master Tower gets overwhelmed with all of those Echos and Foxes...

 

Backs up 6th and 8th Avs....

[Grand Concourse]

Obviously not a popular idea, but could they send some (F)s via QB local to ease the congestion in the 53rd St tunnel?

[Wallyhorse]

Obviously not a popular idea, but could they send some (F)s via QB local to ease the congestion in the 53rd St tunnel?

 

The problem is a broken switch, which prevents the from switching to the local track at Queens Plaza. The 63rd street run has the or (if local) joining the line at 36th, the stop AFTER Queens Plaza. That's why I said what I did above about doing either a split (transfer at Queens Plaza between trains) or extending the temporarily during overnights to 71-Continental (local to there, express from there) in order to handle those at Queens Plaza who need local service. It's something I would allow for in any budget, as any number of emergencies can happen over the course of a year.

[Roadcruiser1]

Oh great. What do I sense that foamers will sooner or later come up with an idea to make the a 24/7 subway line? Guys the isn't even crowded on the Sixth Avenue Line. The seats are only mostly taken during rush hours otherwise there is plenty of room on an . Of course the IND Queens Boulevard Line might need service which can be done if the decides on it, but it most certainly won't be an extension, or 24/7 service. It seems last weekend's GO melted some of your brains.

[8thAveExpress]

Found it interesting, yesterday during the AM rush, there was a supervisor standing at the front of the local Queens bound platform, instructing the conductors of the F line wether they were going over the M line, or F line (they were alternating). Today, they were in the tower and manually sending the trains where they were supposed to go, and controlling the switch. No "What you punch is what you get" for Queens bound F/M trains today!

[Guest lance25]

@Wallyhorse: Do you have some sort of comprehension problem? None of your "suggestions" are happening. Also, you can't allow for emergency funds when the agency keeps getting their funds siphoned by the state.

 

@RC1: Who said anything about running the 24/7 here? The majority of the "bright ideas" have centered around extending the or splitting the , neither of which are good ideas in the slightest. Please don't needlessly stir the pot.

 

@8thAveExpress: That's not surprising in the least. Sending all the uptown and trains through the 53rd Street Tunnel would overwhelm the line. That's part of the reason why the was rerouted via 63rd Street in 2001 - there are way too many trains on that line than the tracks can allow.

[Grand Concourse]

Rather than to respond to him, my point about the via local would be to keep the on the local tracks west of 71st-Continental. That way 53rd is not overloaded by both trains on the express. 63rd has more than enough space for the service overflow.

[Guest lance25]

Wallyhorse is right about that though. Running through 53rd Street, only Manhattan-bound trains can run local. The switch over from the express tracks to the local ones, Jamaica-bound, is out of service. Running via 63rd Street, there really isn't a reason for the to run local.

 

I just realized something. Situations like these really show how important certain lines are. I bet you that had this happened before the service cuts last year, the would've been suspended on Monday morning. I remember when they would cut the at the drop of a hat. The , rerouted one way, but still running.

[Caelestor]

 

I just realized something. Situations like these really show how important certain lines are. I bet you that had this happened before the service cuts last year, the would've been suspended on Monday morning. I remember when they would cut the at the drop of a hat. The , rerouted one way, but still running.

 

It helps that the has stations not served by any other line and thus must run to Midtown on weekdays. Also, there's no place to terminate it in Manhattan.

[Grand Concourse]

Worse comes worse, the could've terminated the at Essex or even Chambers. THe only reason the had to continue is because there's no way they would run the all local in Queens, nor could they have the handle all the express service by itself.

[Abba]

Just curious how much longer is this supposed to go on? And let's say this happened at a big terminal like Flatbush ave,would there be no service there for just as long?

[Amtrak7]

Just curious how much longer is this supposed to go on? And let's say this happened at a big terminal like Flatbush ave,would there be no service there for just as long?

 

This is a specialty switch that must be custom made. If there were such a switch failure in NYP and the same had to be done, there would be cancellations every day.

[CenSin]

This is a specialty switch that must be custom made. If there were such a switch failure in NYP and the same had to be done, there would be cancellations every day.

I thought they usually had spares in the vicinity of the area. At the Dekalb Avenue junction, I usually see spare switch parts stored between the active rails.

[Kamen Rider]

Please, watch the Nazi Banksters Crimes Ripple Effect at http://jforjustice.co.uk/banksters