GojiMet86 Posted May 26, 2012 Share #1 Posted May 26, 2012 Saw this posted on SubChat: Second Track Coming to LIRR’s Main Line By Alyssa Melillo on May 25th, 2012 Local lawmakers and transit officials hold a map of a second track that is to be built on the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line (Anna Dinger) A long-awaited $138-million project to build a second track on the Long Island Rail Road’s the Main Line—the LIRR’s busiest branch—from Farmingdale to Ronkonkoma will begin in July and eventually ease congestion, officials said Thursday. State lawmakers had urged the MTA to accelerate the project during state budget negotiations earlier this year to improve LIRR service and stir economic development. They also said the double track will pave the way for redevelopment of the Republic Train Station, although that part of the project will not be completed until 2018. “That’s why we fought so hard to make sure work starts now, not in 2015,” said New York State Sen. Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (R-Merrick), chairman of the Senate’s Transportation Committee. Fuschillo said the project will create more than 300 jobs and add benefits to transit-oriented-developments such as the Republic/Route 110 Corridor project and the Ronkonkoma Hub. Cuts to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 2010 left the LIRR with only $30 million for the project and delayed it until 2015. But this spring the State Legislature included the funds in the MTA’s five-year capital plan to start the work sooner. “I view this as a game-changer for this region of Long Island,” said LIRR President Helena Williams. The double track will also offer further intra-Island commuting opportunities, she said. Other officials said they are optimistic about the benefits this project will provide for LI’s economy. “The impact of this important return on our investment will boost our region’s strength, and specifically our economy,” state Sen. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) said. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, who was also involved in coordinating the project, called the development “a homerun.” Environmental assessment and the design stage of the track work are set to start July 1. Williams said the project will consist of two phases. The first phase will add track from Central Islip to Ronkonkoma and is expected to be completed by September 2016. Phase two will focus on Central Islip to Farmingdale and will begin immediately after the completion of phase one. Construction is not expected to cause major delays for commuters once it begins next year. Joe Calderone, an LIRR spokesman, said construction will work around the train schedule and occur primarily at off-peak traveling times. The Main Line between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma spans 17.9 miles and currently has only 5.3 miles of double track territory. This project will cover the remaining 12.6 miles of single track. “Double track is a very important project for the LIRR and for Long Island,” Williams said. “It will provide real benefits for decades to come.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VWM Posted May 26, 2012 Share #2 Posted May 26, 2012 That mike make my Dad's commute much easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilbluefoxie Posted May 27, 2012 Share #3 Posted May 27, 2012 Its a great start, they can do it with minimal oppositon because the ROW has space for two tracks, and most stations on that line are relatively new as they were put in during the electrification in the mid 80s, so they were built with space in mind to add in a whole new platform. The only thing im not sure how they are going to do is add more trains in the other direction during peak times, where many trains use the opposite side track to go either towards or away from the city. Or how are they going to add half hourly service to the ronkonkoma branch, which has to work around the local huntington trains that stop at westbury, merillon ave, etc, as well as the oyster bay and montauk trains that use that line as well between floral park and hicksville Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amtrak7 Posted May 28, 2012 Share #4 Posted May 28, 2012 They'll probably reroute a couple Huntington trains to Ronkonkoma. Or just make the gap smaller. For example, the PM reverse peak is currently a 3 hour gap. The true Main Line unidirectional running is less than an hour (as evidenced by the reverse peak trains to/from Huntington and Farmingdale). So they could simply add trains to fill in that 3 hour gap and just leave 1 hour. The AM is harder, as the Main Line reverse peak gap appears to be for around 1.75 hours and the Ronkonkoma reverse peak gap is about the same. Another definite benefit of the double track though will be half hourly weekend service. Plus more express rush hour peak direction service with crossovers. KO currently has the highest average passengers per train of any branch, AM, PM, and weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qjtransitmaster Posted May 28, 2012 Share #5 Posted May 28, 2012 ronkonkoma has the highest ridership of all of the lines?? interesting this should allow reverse commute trips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VWM Posted June 16, 2012 Share #6 Posted June 16, 2012 ronkonkoma has the highest ridership of all of the lines?? interesting this should allow reverse commute trips. It looked like Babylon had the highest ridership to me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amtrak7 Posted June 16, 2012 Share #7 Posted June 16, 2012 It looked like Babylon had the highest ridership to me... That's true, but Ronkonkoma has the highest average customers per train. Babylon has so much more service than KO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilbluefoxie Posted June 16, 2012 Share #8 Posted June 16, 2012 those trains are quite packed, probably because its only hourly. Babylon branch gets two an hour, and some like Freeport and Babylon itself get more, so the ridership is spread out onto more trains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Up Front Posted June 16, 2012 Share #9 Posted June 16, 2012 It'll still get bad the closer to the middle of the county you get. The CAVEmen and women in NHP and Garden City would never tolerate any sort of rail project in their towns, even one that would, I don't know, actually improve service.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilbluefoxie Posted June 16, 2012 Share #10 Posted June 16, 2012 It'll still get bad the closer to the middle of the county you get. The CAVEmen and women in NHP and Garden City would never tolerate any sort of rail project in their towns, even one that would, I don't know, actually improve service.... A third track, and to elevate the tracks through New Hyde Park station would be a win win for everyone. Trains move better then, buses move better since they arent stuck at grade crossings, and even the cars move better for that reason. They can add more parking underneath the structure like they do at Floral Park and Bellmore stations. Pedestrians and Bikes would also benefit from increased safety, no more tracks to cross. Its one of those transit improvements that would benefit everyone, even the people who dont use the train, or the Nassau buses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VWM Posted June 17, 2012 Share #11 Posted June 17, 2012 What foxie just stated is exactly why Babylon is Elevated. Grade crossings on Sunrise Highway? Forget about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilbluefoxie Posted June 17, 2012 Share #12 Posted June 17, 2012 What foxie just stated is exactly why Babylon is Elevated. Grade crossings on Sunrise Highway? Forget about it. The traffic on the south shore mustve been awful back in the day before they did that. Even hicksville at one point was ground level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Up Front Posted June 26, 2012 Share #13 Posted June 26, 2012 A third track, and to elevate the tracks through New Hyde Park station would be a win win for everyone. Trains move better then, buses move better since they arent stuck at grade crossings, and even the cars move better for that reason. They can add more parking underneath the structure like they do at Floral Park and Bellmore stations. Pedestrians and Bikes would also benefit from increased safety, no more tracks to cross. Its one of those transit improvements that would benefit everyone, even the people who dont use the train, or the Nassau buses. This is exactly why they're well beyond the NIMBY realm and have reached the level of Citizens Against Virtually Everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lance Posted June 26, 2012 Share #14 Posted June 26, 2012 Except they don't CAVE in to those who'd benefit obviously. Sorry, had to; low hanging fruit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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