LIRR And MNRR Random Thoughts Thread

[Trainmaster5]

lol... So then how are the standards different? In other words, why does MNRR have such high on time performance compared to the subways?? 

To make it as simple as I can a railroad uses 5:59+ as a measure of lateness whereas a subway is considered late if it's 5:00 late. A MNRR or LIRR train running on the Harlem ,Hudson, Mainline, or Babylon Branch also isn't interlining with other trains to the same extent as a , , , trains do. It's my opinion that the amount of interlining in the subway system, coupled with the sheer amount of subway train intervals compared to the railroads, has a lot to do with the OTP of the subways and railroads. Even comparing MNRR with LIRR is misleading because the LIRR's main destination, Penn Station, is Amtrak trackage and controlled by Amtrak, not LIRR. No matter how one looks at it it's not an apples to oranges comparison by any means. I've never used MNRR during peak hours but I have used the LIRR during peak hours and I've been impressed with the LIRR's performance considering the bottleneck at Jamaica. I'm not sure if MNRR has the same problems as the LIRR does or the BMT does at DeKalb Ave. The more choke points you have on a railroad or subway the greater the potential for lateness and MNRR doesn't appear to suffer as much.

[Truckie]

The main choke points on MNRR is CP112 (where the Harlem and New Haven Lines merge), CP5 (where the Harlem/New Haven Lines merge with the Hudson) and GCT where all the platform tracks merge to 4.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

To make it as simple as I can a railroad uses 5:59+ as a measure of lateness whereas a subway is considered late if it's 5:00 late. A MNRR or LIRR train running on the Harlem ,Hudson, Mainline, or Babylon Branch also isn't interlining with other trains to the same extent as a , , , trains do. It's my opinion that the amount of interlining in the subway system, coupled with the sheer amount of subway train intervals compared to the railroads, has a lot to do with the OTP of the subways and railroads. Even comparing MNRR with LIRR is misleading because the LIRR's main destination, Penn Station, is Amtrak trackage and controlled by Amtrak, not LIRR. No matter how one looks at it it's not an apples to oranges comparison by any means. I've never used MNRR during peak hours but I have used the LIRR during peak hours and I've been impressed with the LIRR's performance considering the bottleneck at Jamaica. I'm not sure if MNRR has the same problems as the LIRR does or the BMT does at DeKalb Ave. The more choke points you have on a railroad or subway the greater the potential for lateness and MNRR doesn't appear to suffer as much.

 

 

I'm sorry I haven't clarified the comparison. 

 

Simply put, I don't know.  I don't work for the subway and have absolutely no knowledge of their operations. 

 

I'm not quite sure what the funny part is.

I'm laughing because it seems as if MNRR takes lateness more seriously than the subway.  That's the impression that I get and I feel as if money/economic class is a factor.  Paying $8.25 vs $2.50 apparently makes passengers more important and IMO that's pretty f*cked up.  The subway should run just as efficiently as the railroads do.  The efficiency rate for the LIRR and MNRR seems to be improving each year as ridership grows while the subway efficiency rate continues to decrease as ridership grows.  Now I realize that there are some things that give the LIRR and MNRR an advantage but still.  

 

A part of me wonders if the fares were increased and more capital funds were provided to the if the subways could then be more efficient.  In any event, I have always slammed the for the way in which they run the subways and I think they need to explore more ways to make the system more efficient.  I for one would and do support shutting down the subways like they've been doing late nights and doing it so that alternatives can be used.  I've used other rail systems around the world and while I understand this one is massive, that is no excuse for it to be run as poorly as it has been.  $2.50 or not, I think riders deserve much better and right now they're being short changed. It amazes me how efficient the rail systems are in Europe.  They shut down lines, the work is done quickly and the show continues. I also didn't find the fares overly expensive either and travel is encouraged on the rail system.  Here's a serious question... What amount of money would it take to make the subways efficient?

 

Years ago, the put out some sort of study or figures talking about how massive amounts of money would be needed to make the subway as clean as it should be (some ridiculous number) but they made it seem so unrealistic.

 

Truckie is right about the merging at some stations (i.e. GCT - today's merge seemed esp. slow) but even with the merging, we're usually early as we were this morning.

Edited May 9, 2013 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Tom Meadow]

Where does the lirr mnrr store there retired trains at.

[Truckie]

Where does the lirr mnrr store there retired trains at.

MNRR mostly stores retired equipment at New Haven and Harmon Yards.

[Joel Up Front]

There are a bunch of CSX cars loaded with concrete ties just west of Hicksville... is this related to the track work they're doing in Queens?

 

And also, I ride the LIRR locally to get to school and every other day they seem to be doing track work near New Hyde Park, either my train will wait for a westbound train to pass or my train will switch tracks and use it as far east as Carle Place.

[CDTA]

LIRR Preliminary Fantasy Plan: 

Electrify the main line to River Road (Just east of Yaphank), and extend Ronkonkoma trains to Yaphank. (Signals would be added)

The Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, and Greenport branches are merged, with new stations on the un-built tracks. (Select rush hour trains run via the Huntington Branch) (Non-peak trains connect to Huntington Branch @Huntington)

West Hempstead Branch extended to Hempstead

Hempstead Branch after Country Life Press runs on new trackage to Babylon (with new stations being added in the process)

Hempstead Branch also does NOT run on the mainline, running through Central Queens, merging at Woodside (with new stops of course)

And that's all I have right now

[Joel Up Front]

Is it cheaper to get a ride extension or a "normal" ticket?

[Amtrak7]

Is it cheaper to get a ride extension or a "normal" ticket?

 

What are you extending? For a one way or round trip ticket, you pay the difference (rounded up to the nearest dollar). For an off peak ten trip, you forfeit the discount in doing so.

 

For a weekly or a monthly, you pay the price of a one way between your destination and your ticketed destination, rounded up to the nearest dollar.

[Truckie]

The cost of a ride extension is the same regardless of the ticket type as your extending the to a farther station than what is printed on the ticket. 

 

A ride extension on the train is rounded to the next whole dollar amount, example: if you have a ticket from Poughkeepsie to Marble Hill and want to go to GCT you pay $7.00 (off peak).  If you purchased the ticket at the station it would only have been $6.25.

 

Amtrak7:  the only time a discount is forfeited with a 10 trip is if refunded.

[Phantom909]

LIRR Preliminary Fantasy Plan: 

Electrify the main line to River Road (Just east of Yaphank), and extend Ronkonkoma trains to Yaphank. (Signals would be added)

The Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, and Greenport branches are merged, with new stations on the un-built tracks. (Select rush hour trains run via the Huntington Branch) (Non-peak trains connect to Huntington Branch @Huntington)

West Hempstead Branch extended to Hempstead

Hempstead Branch after Country Life Press runs on new trackage to Babylon (with new stations being added in the process)

Hempstead Branch also does NOT run on the mainline, running through Central Queens, merging at Woodside (with new stops of course)

And that's all I have right now

 

how much of the couple of billion dollars you have for this

 

joe

[CDTA]

how much of the couple of billion dollars you have for this

 

joe

And thats why its called fantasy

[Vistausss]

LIRR Preliminary Fantasy Plan: 

Electrify the main line to River Road (Just east of Yaphank), and extend Ronkonkoma trains to Yaphank. (Signals would be added)

The Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, and Greenport branches are merged, with new stations on the un-built tracks. (Select rush hour trains run via the Huntington Branch) (Non-peak trains connect to Huntington Branch @Huntington)

West Hempstead Branch extended to Hempstead

Hempstead Branch after Country Life Press runs on new trackage to Babylon (with new stations being added in the process)

Hempstead Branch also does NOT run on the mainline, running through Central Queens, merging at Woodside (with new stops of course)

And that's all I have right now

 

Those are actually quite good ideas IMHO

[Joel Up Front]

Is it cheaper to get a ride extension from a conductor or having the right ticket cheaper?

[Truckie]

Is it cheaper to get a ride extension from a conductor or having the right ticket cheaper?

 

The right ticket is cheaper.

 

In theory the ride extension is the difference in price, however, this is not always the case.  Example, if you have a ticket from Yankees E-153rd to Marble Hill, it's $3.00.  If you had a ticket from Yankees to Yonkers it's also $3.  Now the person presenting the first ticket wants to travel to Yonkers (the next zone), the ride extension is $3.  Now you just paid $6 for what you could have gotten a Yankee's to Yonkers for the same price as the original ticket.

[lirr42]

With the Belmont Stakes this weekend, I long held the idea that the LIRR could be using Belmont Park station better.  Being that the station is a six track eletric stub-termial that sits right smack next to a heavily congested parkway, I think it would be an ideal location for a park and ride of some sort for the LIRR.  Many other regional railraods have had successes with Park & Rides and the LIRR has few, if any, and I feel this would be an ideal location for them to start.
 
I've laid out my ideas and reasoning here: http://thelirrtoday.blogspot.com/2013/06/an-idea-for-better-utilization-of.html
 
There are some obstacles to overcome for a service like this to come to be, but maybe it should be something the LIRR should keep in the back of its mind going forward (i.e. when they're changing stuff up come ESA).
 
Let me know what you think.

[LIRR 154]

With the Belmont Stakes this weekend, I long held the idea that the LIRR could be using Belmont Park station better.  Being that the station is a six track eletric stub-termial that sits right smack next to a heavily congested parkway, I think it would be an ideal location for a park and ride of some sort for the LIRR.  Many other regional railraods have had successes with Park & Rides and the LIRR has few, if any, and I feel this would be an ideal location for them to start.

 

I've laid out my ideas and reasoning here: http://thelirrtoday.blogspot.com/2013/06/an-idea-for-better-utilization-of.html

 

There are some obstacles to overcome for a service like this to come to be, but maybe it should be something the LIRR should keep in the back of its mind going forward (i.e. when they're changing stuff up come ESA).

 

Let me know what you think.

It makes sense and it could be an option. It's been one of those ideas that's been floating around for a long time. But also the community has to make more noise as well. For instance the community in Elmhurst have been making some noise for the station to be reopened and the LIRR and MTA have noticed. I wouldn't be surprised if Elmhurst is reopened once we get more deeper in the ESA plans. I have read about some plans for developments for retail and entertainment mega project over there in Belmont which could be a even bigger push for the plan like yours.

[Vistausss]

But before anything, they should install high-level platforms if they're gonna make it a full-time station with the retail and entertainment mega project.

Edited June 10, 2013 by Vistausss

[LIRR 154]

But before anything, they should install high-level platforms if they're gonna make it a full-time station with the retail and entertainment mega project.

Lol do you think they are going to leave it as is if its a fulltime station and storage yard.

[Vistausss]

Lol do you think they are going to leave it as is if its a fulltime station and storage yard.

 

No, I'm just pointing out a fact

[Joel Up Front]

Sometimes when I ride trains, the doors throughout the train are all open.  Is this because the train is starting its first run and the crew had to walk through the train?

[Truckie]

Sometimes when I ride trains, the doors throughout the train are all open.  Is this because the train is starting its first run and the crew had to walk through the train?

 

It is not uncommon for crews to open the barrel end doors open during their final sweep. 

[tun]

If we pick up the equipment from the yard, they've usually all been chocked open by M of E to help them clean the trains quicker.

If we're taking a train to the yard on our last train, we chock them open to make it easier for M of E.

If we have a quick turn somewhere other than a station (e.g. Babylon wash), we chock them open to let the engineer switch ends more quickly.

[paulrivera]

Took a rare Metro-North trip tonight. Nothing too special except when we got to Fordham, the train had to do a double stop via bridge plates because of the crowds from Playland (they had the front two cars closed until Rye likely for that reason) and God-knows-where in Mamaroneck (this is where it got real crowded.)

 

All the while there was a special train starting from Rye 10 minutes behind this train, and people were still cramming on the first one.

[realizm]

So in the news, service was suspended on the MNRR on the NewHaven/Harlem lines because a train ran over a mattress causing a track fire @ Tremont.I'm seriously trying to keep my composure and not burst out in a cynical, cracked up fit of laughter. The stupidity of it. 

 

Says MTA: "police are investigating how the mattress got on the tracks and believe it may have been an act of vandalism."

 

No shit NYPD.

 

 

Service restored on Metro-North after train runs over mattress

Posted: Jul 04, 2013 5:36 PM EDTUpdated: Jul 04, 2013 7:27 PM EDT

By GLENN WILBURN, MyFoxNY.com Producer -

 

 

 

 

 

NEW YORK (MYFOXNY) -
The MTA says a Metro North train ran over a mattress on the tracks sparking a fire at the Tremont station in the Bronx Thursday morning.
Officials say the fire broke out around noon on the tracks which caused the area to be evacuated as a precaution. About 750 passengers had to be led in a single file to the first car before going on to the platform.

The fire happened underneath the sixth car of the train.
No one was hurt but the evacuation caused 30-60 minute delays. On this holiday, long lines of people waiting for trains formed rapidly.

The MTA is now reporting service is on time and back on schedule.
According to the MTA, police are investigating how the mattress got on the tracks and believe it may have been an act of vandalism.  



Read more: http://www.myfoxny.com/story/22762820/service-restored-on-metro-norths-new-haven-and-harlem-lines#ixzz2YGbdNnJR

 

Edited July 6, 2013 by realizm