Unplanned Subway Service Changes

[BreeddekalbL]

Service Change  Posted: 01/06/2014  8:45AM 
 

Due to FDNY activity at Parsons Blvd, northbound  trains are running express from Union Tpke to 179 St.

Allow additional travel time

 

Delays  Posted: 01/06/2014  8:05AM 

Due to weather related conditions, ,  &  trains are running with delays.

Allow additional travel time. 

 

Delays  Posted: 01/06/2014  8:57AM 

Following an earlier incident at 59 St,  and  train service has resumed with residual delays. 

Delays  Posted: 01/06/2014  8:05AM 
 

Due to signal problems at Bedford Park Blvd, northbound  trains are running with delays.

Allow additional travel time.

Delays  Posted: 01/06/2014  8:05AM 
 

Due to weather related conditions, ,  and  train service is running with delays.

Allow additional travel time.

 

Delays  Posted: 01/06/2014  8:05AM 

Due to weather related conditions,  trains are running with delays in both directions.

Allow additional travel time.

[CenSin]

This morning I was on a train that had to dwell at 9 Avenue for about 15 minutes because of a stalled train up ahead. The moron train conductor didn't close the door for the first 7 minutes or so and then discharged the train and closed the door only to announce that the train was back in service after 5 minutes. At least 1 ran express from Bay Parkway to 9 Avenue per platform announcements, but it never caught up before the traffic jam was cleared.

[N6 Limited]

Why are so many underground trains going local because of "weather related conditions" are the switches getting stuck?

[RollOver]

Delays  Posted: 01/07/2014  7:13PM 
 

Due to switch problems at 241 St-Wakefield,  train service is running with delays in both directions.

Allow additional travel time.

 

Delays  Posted: 01/07/2014  4:03PM 

Due to signal problems at Junction Blvd, Main St-bnd  train service is delayed.

Allow additional travel time.

 

Service Change  Posted: 01/07/2014  7:19PM 
 

Due to weather related conditions,  and  trains run local from 59 St (Bklyn) to Atlantic Av-Barclays.

Allow additional travel time.

Service Change  Posted: 01/07/2014  7:01PM 
 

Due to weather related conditions, northbound  trains are running local from 145 St to Bedford Park Blvd.

Allow additional travel time.

 

Service Change  Posted: 01/07/2014  7:20PM 
 

Due to weather related conditions, southbound  train service is running local from 34 S-Herald Square to Canal St.

Allow additional travel time.

[pjbr40]

N6limited i think to add more service to customers on local so they won't freeze to long. it called courstey service.

Edited January 8, 2014 by pjbr40

[RollOver]

I almost forgot, today heading downtown from 207th, the ran on the local track from 168th to 145th, stopping at Amsterdam and 155th. There were about two stalled downtown bound trains sitting outside of 145th. Apparently a breakdown or something. I don't know.

[Lance]

Just like everything else, these trains, switches and signals cannot handle this extreme cold. As for the extended local service, trains are being stored on the express tracks, out of the frigid elements. At least during the evening and late night hours that is.

[Amtrak7]

is singletracking from 121 to Jamaica Center due to weather related conditions. I wonder if this is switch failure or snowbirds.

[itmaybeokay]

1/9/2014 11:30:43 AM - Subway - MANH, & Trains, - Earlier Incident -

Due to an earlier incident at 63 St-Lexington Av, R & F train service has resumed with residual delays.

 

This was a whole thing this morning, moreso than this inauspicious "residual delays" alert could possibly convey. I was on the (1028 Romeo Continental) - at 36 St we get held and eventually diverted to the (F)ox line due to an injured passenger at Queens Plaza. 

 

Once we were sitting there for a minute I turned on my scanner to see what's going on. (For the legally inclined amongst you, I'm not divulging anything I heard that wasn't eventually said over the PA) 

 

Pretty routine diversion via 63rd street - for a bit. Once we took the lineup for G3 after Lex and 63rd to connect back over to the Broadway line things got interesting. About two trainlengths into the tunnel we grind to a halt. Apparently this was the first train to go through there since all the crazy winter weather, and ice had built up on the roadbed, over the running rails, halfway up the third rail. I had a peek out the front when the T/O came out and - yep, there was a hell of a lot of ice. 

 

(My boss had a hard time beleiving that a train was stranded by ice on a clear day...)

 

After a long bit of coordination between the crew and control we had to wrong-rail back into 63rd/Lex. I think the T/O had to get out and manually drive a stop arm down too. The looks on peoples faces on the platform were pretty priceless. There was some back and forth over whether the train would wrong rail back to the interlocking south of Roosevelt Island and continue queensbound, or if it would go southbound via the F - eventually went Via F to 2nd ave, delayed about 45 minutes. 

 

I'd have been upset but that was a hell of an interesting thing to listen to on the radio. 

Edited January 9, 2014 by itmaybeokay

[N6 Limited]

itmaybeokay 

What radio do i need to be able to listen to that stuff? It's so irritating when trains are delayed and the conductor says NOTHING.

[itmaybeokay]

itmaybeokay

What radio do i need to be able to listen to that stuff? It's so irritating when trains are delayed and the conductor says NOTHING.

 

 

You should be able to use just about any scanner. I'm using an ancient radioshack scanner I got for christmas when I was in 7th grade. The subway doesn't use digital radios yet so it doesn't matter that it's 1997 Technology 

 

The battery pack for it has long since disappeared, and worse, the power input jack is broken. I wound up taking it apart and wiring in a lead so that it can run off a regular 9V battery. The batteries don't last very long at all used this way, but I don't use it often. The radio stays in my bag with a pair of iphone headphones attached, and is locked to scan NYCT frequencies. If a train is stopped, or late, or I'm just curious I'll turn it on and put in the earphone and have a clue what's going on. 

 

Most of the time there's not much interesting to listen to, so I usually only fire it up if stuck or rerouted - If everything is going as planned, there's not much to hear other than an occasional request for a train's call letters. I used to also have the Transit Police frequencies on there, but there's a lot more activity on those and I'd often miss transmissions of the dispatchers or crew. 

 

Anyway, all you need is a basic scanner that will receive in the 160mhz railroad band. I just looked and you can get a Uniden BC75XLT on amazon for under 100 bucks and that will work fine. A top of the line unit can cost a few hundred dollars but will offer a lot more, such as digital reception and more channels to store frequencies. If you want to listen to more than the subway it's worth looking into. 

 

I guess a final disclaimer to remember: while listening on a scanner is legal, it's against the law to tell other people what you hear, and if you use a scanner to aid in committing another crime it's an automatic felony, not that your'e planning to. Just be on your best behavior while listening, don't interfere with the train crew, etc etc etc.

 

PM me if you have questions I used to listen to anything and everything on there in my younger days and it was often an amusing pastime.  

[MHV9218]

Just overheard "Call control right away -- we need a rescue" on an op's radio on the . Doesn't sound too great.

 

^ Lol, just saw the convo above. Hey, this was his radio, not mine!

Edited January 10, 2014 by MHV9218

[RollOver]

Service Change  Posted: 01/10/2014  5:08PM 
 

Due to FDNY activity at New Lots Av:

There is no  train service in both directions between Pennsylvania Av and New Lots Av.

Customers are advised to take B15 bus making nearby station stops.

Some southbound  trains terminate at Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall.

Allow additional travel time.

[RollOver]

Earlier, however, they also said that the power was out between Utica and New Lots. The was originating/terminating at Utica at the same time.

[N6 Limited]

 

 

I guess a final disclaimer to remember: while listening on a scanner is legal, it's against the law to tell other people what you hear, and if you use a scanner to aid in committing another crime it's an automatic felony, not that your'e planning to. Just be on your best behavior while listening, don't interfere with the train crew, etc etc etc.

 

PM me if you have questions I used to listen to anything and everything on there in my younger days and it was often an amusing pastime.  

Thanks! So If I hear "there's a train with door problems at the next station" i cant tell anyone on the train about that?

[itmaybeokay]

Thanks! So If I hear "there's a train with door problems at the next station" i cant tell anyone on the train about that?

There's a federal FCC law on the books which makes it illegal to "divulge the content" of an "intercepted radio transmission", but there's also a Supreme Court decision somewhat overturning this - I'm not your lawyer and can't give you legal advice, but I believe it is technically illegal.

 

On a personal note, I'd advise against telling strangers what you hear on a scanner for reasons other than legality. First, a great many people don't understand the concept of something that looks like a walkie talkie but does not transmit, and they'll think you have some kind of power to change the situation and start asking you to do so. Second, and furthermore, merely knowing information that other people don't know has a tendency to make people think you have some kind of authority to do something in the situation, and once someone gets that in their head good luck to you.

 

While legally questionable, I wouldn't worry much about telling your friends - but based on personal experience I'd avoid declaring the situation to the whole car.

[trainfan22]

When Chris Dorner got found in the woods and the Boston bomber was found, people openly talked about what they heard on the police scanner on forums, in the Boston Bombers case, a cop even acknowledged the people listening to the scanner

 

If there is some kind of law that you're not allowed to post what you hear on scanners, its not enforced. Scanner streams for various NYPD precincts and the IRT is posted online.

 

http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/

[Trainmaster5]

I've always had mixed feelings on scanner usage, even when I owned one. I'm old school so it reminds me of eavesdropping on private conversations which was always a no-no where I come from. As far as broadcasting what one has overheard on a scanner to a train car full of people I think there's a greater chance of making the situation worse rather than informing strangers about what you think you've heard. That's why terms like "bomb", "gun", "shooting" are never heard on official radio transmissions. BTW, while someone is listening to conversations on a scanner how does that person feel about the NSA,DHS, NYPD or some other entity listening to their conversations ? Just asking. Carry on.

[CenSin]

BTW, while someone is listening to conversations on a scanner how does that person feel about the NSA,DHS, NYPD or some other entity listening to their conversations ? Just asking. Carry on.

One is clearly private/personal communication. Professional commmunications between personnel within a public organization is something else.

[Trainmaster5]

One is clearly private/personal communication. Professional commmunications between personnel within a public organization is something else.

Both methods use public airwaves, no? I'm just taking the position that nowadays there are no guarantees of privacy. I happen to side with you but........secret courts may see it another way.

[Jsunflyguy]

As an Aviator, I have to wonder what is being said over the radio that would warrant prosecuting someone listening in.

[N6 Limited]

So whats the protocol for Conductors to make announcements of service changes or delays? Sometimes trains are delayed and they say nothing, or they say "train traffic ahead of us".

 

I mean it would be more helpful to us if they gave us more information, at least travel-wise. For example, If there are extreme delays on the express tracks it would be nice if they let us know BEFORE we leave a station so we're not stuck watching local trains zoom buy every few minutes. Courtesy to passengers is really what most of us desire.

 

There are times where I'm on the subway and there is crazy mess going on, and when I'm able to check MTA's website it says "Good Service", yeah ok..  a couple of months ago I was on a Jamaica bount train stuck crawling to Forest Hills on the Local tracks, and trains were using the Local and Express Tracks simultaneously. At Roosevelt my was on the Express and the was on the local, they sent the first then they sent my behind it to go express on the local, we get stuck while 3 express trains zoom by! But when I checked their site "Good Service" ., their twitter mentioned nothing about it either. 

[MHV9218]

When Chris Dorner got found in the woods and the Boston bomber was found

 

Still one of the most disgusting police actions I've ever watched. They ban PUBLIC scanner usage and throw out all journalists and recorders so they can do the best to burn a man alive. I don't care what he did: the United States does not burn people to death; this is not the Middle Ages. And yet the cops got away with it by basically blacking out any coverage. 

[CenSin]

Both methods use public airwaves, no?

All communications are public unless measures are taken to protect the communication. In the case of cellphone communications, the protections are sophisticated so that signals can't just be pulled from the air and listened to casually. It takes equal sophistication to "hack" into these airwaves to screw with it—something a patient detective with the right tools could do.

 

Basically, it's the difference between having a conversation on a line in McDonald's (where anyone can hear you) and having one behind a door marked "private." The expectation of privacy is completely different.

[itmaybeokay]

Both methods use public airwaves, no? I'm just taking the position that nowadays there are no guarantees of privacy. I happen to side with you but........secret courts may see it another way.

 

That's true, they do use public airwaves, but Telephone conversations have an additional expectation and legal right to privacy. Even before digital cell phones, scanners were not allowed to be sold that could intercept cellular frequencies. Nowdays, digital encryption makes it difficult, if not impossible, to evesdrop on a cellphone with a scanner. 

 

As an Aviator, I have to wonder what is being said over the radio that would warrant prosecuting someone listening in.

 

I think the law is basically in place to discourage people from eavesdropping for ill intentions. One example I've heard is a rival cab company listening to his competitors dispatches over radio and trying to send his cars to the locations to get fares before his rival. The law in place makes this illegal - but I think you have to really go out of your way to warrant prosecution on this. 

 

So whats the protocol for Conductors to make announcements of service changes or delays? Sometimes trains are delayed and they say nothing, or they say "train traffic ahead of us".

 

I mean it would be more helpful to us if they gave us more information, at least travel-wise. For example, If there are extreme delays on the express tracks it would be nice if they let us know BEFORE we leave a station so we're not stuck watching local trains zoom buy every few minutes. Courtesy to passengers is really what most of us desire.

 

Even listening to a scanner, there's only so much you can know. If there's a train with door problems ahead of you, is it just a matter of the C/R cutting out the offending door? or is it something so bad that the train has to be taken out of service. In a situation like that by the time an alert can be sent the situation might be cleared up. It's really up to the DISPATCHER to make a radio announcement to the other trains saying something to the effect of "ATTENTION ALL TRAIN CREWS..." followed by an update. If the problem is with the train you are on, the crew might be able to announce more information, but if there's a red signal and a train stopped ahead, the crew might not have more information to give out other than "train traffic ahead" 

 

In the case where my train got stopped by ice, the crews behind us probably didn't have much to tell their passengers other than "we're being held by the dispatcher due to a stalled train ahead of us" It was unclear how long the wrong-rail move would take so they didn't have an ETA, and really only 2 trains were affected because the ones north of 558 ball at 36 st were rerouted over the Echo. 

 

By the time an alert could be issued, it would say "Manhattan bound F trains via E", and it wouldn't help the passengers stuck at Queensbridge and Roosevelt island. 

 

Anyway, I hear what you're saying and I think there is room for improvement, but I think they've gotten better and aren't that bad. 

 

BTW: twitter doesn't carry all updates. a full archive of the alerts is here: http://archive.mymtaalerts.com/messagearchive.aspx