Bay Ridge R train often leaving 59th St (Bklyn) as N express arriving

[RtrainBlues]

Tonight was another terrible commute to Bay Ridge. Standing-room only Coney-Island bound N train pulls into 59th St Bklyn at 9:45pm, as the R train is pulling out. People were incredulous and screaming that it happened again. Next Bay Ridge R train did not arrive until 10:03pm, which is an 18 minute wait.

 

Who was the dispatcher who allowed this to happen? This unfortunately is a regular occurrence. I can't understand why the R wasn't held for 10 seconds when the next R train was a full 18 minutes away. This is total incompetence.

[Abba]

Tonight was another terrible commute to Bay Ridge. Standing-room only Coney-Island bound N train pulls into 59th St Bklyn at 9:45pm, as the R train is pulling out. People were incredulous and screaming that it happened again. Next Bay Ridge R train did not arrive until 10:03pm, which is an 18 minute wait.

 

Who was the dispatcher who allowed this to happen? This unfortunately is a regular occurrence. I can't understand why the R wasn't held for 10 seconds when the next R train was a full 18 minutes away. This is total incompetence.

 

 

Totally agree.

[Dan05979]

At 59 street there are holding lights for R trains to make connections with N trains. Someone at the Tower who controls that station wasn't paying attention. But there are other things going on besides watching what trains make connections. It happens, nothing personal.

[checkmatechamp13]

Well, that's the MTA for ya.

 

In any case, it especially sucks that not only was the next train missing (the next one should've come around 9:54 or so), but the other options you have (staying on the until you hit the B70 or B16) don't run frequently at that time of the night.

[4P3607]

I think its completly stupid when the MTA does that... about a year ago they did that at Continental Avenue for the , the express would pull in the station and as soon as the Express stops the doors close on the . I could understand if Service was frequent, but 18 Minutes? thats ridicolous.

[FriedChikkin]

This is understandably upsetting. Dan05979's post is probably most succinct. There are a lot of things at play that could have been involved but holding lights help better than anything else to make sure that connection is made.

[Quill Depot]

Yeah, It wouldn't be too hard. It happens a lot in Manhattan wherever you are.

[Guest MTA Bus]

They do that a lot at certain stations. At Roosevelt Av, the local will come right as the express comes in. I don't understand why the dispatcher can't hold the train for a smooth transfer between local and express and vice versa.

[Broadway Local]

Tonight was another terrible commute to Bay Ridge. Standing-room only Coney-Island bound N train pulls into 59th St Bklyn at 9:45pm, as the R train is pulling out. People were incredulous and screaming that it happened again. Next Bay Ridge R train did not arrive until 10:03pm, which is an 18 minute wait.

 

Who was the dispatcher who allowed this to happen? This unfortunately is a regular occurrence. I can't understand why the R wasn't held for 10 seconds when the next R train was a full 18 minutes away. This is total incompetence.

 

 

That same thing happened to me too, but different time though!

 

That had me frustrated for wasting my railfanning time. The dispatcher should really pay attention to trains at that station.

[TwoTimer]

thats the issue with master towers as compared to satellites. too much going on in the towers to monitor every train as it goes thru their interlockings. the tower in this case controls the all the way to 62nd, all of 4av south of atlantic, and 38st yard at a time work trains r going out

[RTOMan]

Yet Dans posts seems to fall on deaf ears....

[LTA1992]

Why are people blaming the for ONE persons mistake? Geez...

[Urbanfortitude]

Nobody who doesn't work for the TA really sees what goes on in the towers to begin with. Hence why the OP is even asking. I'm not thinking about what else is going on in the dispatcher's office when I miss my connection to/from work by 5 seconds from the I wanna switch from. My first natural reaction is to go wtf and that's the same whether i'm in a rush or not.. Yes it happens and its probably not personal but it's still just one of those annoying things.

[Dan05979]

I think its completly stupid when the MTA does that... about a year ago they did that at Continental Avenue for the , the express would pull in the station and as soon as the Express stops the doors close on the . I could understand if Service was frequent, but 18 Minutes? thats ridicolous.

 

 

Blame the Conductor on that one. If the E or F came in the station while the doors were still open on the R and then they closed down as soon as that train stopped then that was just plain stupid. During rush hours I still try to make a connection only of both trains are almost fully in the station, but when your on a schedule and you know theres a train behind you...keep it moving.

[azspeedbullet]

fyi, this happens all over. I noticed this with the 4/5 train and the 6 train as well as the a/c

[Via Garibaldi 8]

This is exactly why folks in Bay Ridge pushed so hard to get the X27 back full time. The situation with the train is a daily problem and I can't count how many times that very thing has happened to me. Extremely annoying, particularly because of the crappy headways of the .

[AndrewJC]

Tonight was another terrible commute to Bay Ridge. Standing-room only Coney-Island bound N train pulls into 59th St Bklyn at 9:45pm, as the R train is pulling out. People were incredulous and screaming that it happened again. Next Bay Ridge R train did not arrive until 10:03pm, which is an 18 minute wait.

 

Who was the dispatcher who allowed this to happen? This unfortunately is a regular occurrence. I can't understand why the R wasn't held for 10 seconds when the next R train was a full 18 minutes away. This is total incompetence.

 

 

There isn't a dispatcher assigned to each and every transfer point, so the dispatcher wasn't necessarily explicitly watching whether trains were connecting at 59th Street.

 

Since this was off-peak, if the R conductor saw the N start to pull in, he should have kept his doors open, unless he was running late. However, an R train is scheduled at 9:45, so chances are he wasn't running late. The following R train is scheduled at 9:55, and if the dispatcher was aware that the 9:55 train was running late (or was canceled), then he should have made it his business to hold the 9:45 train for the connection. However, it's possible that the dispatcher didn't know, either because the information hadn't been passed down yet from the dispatcher at DeKalb or because the delay on the late R hadn't yet occurred (it might have been due to an incident one or two stops back).

 

So it's not clear exactly who, if anyone, is at fault, but if you email the MTA they'll look into it (I've sent emails on occasion about issues like this).

 

This is exactly why folks in Bay Ridge pushed so hard to get the X27 back full time. The situation with the train is a daily problem and I can't count how many times that very thing has happened to me. Extremely annoying, particularly because of the crappy headways of the .

 

 

Only a small minority of Bay Ridge residents ride the X27.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Only a small minority of Bay Ridge residents ride the X27.

 

And your point is? Just because a minority of people use a service doesn't mean it isn't needed. I'm getting rather sick of you talking about this. By your logic we could cut quite a few local bus lines that are lightly used or even better cut subway service when it is lightly used because only a small minority of people use it. If that isn't your point, then no need to keep bringing it up. The service makes the commute faster than the subway and the service is well used, so give it a rest already. You and Amtrak must be related. He has the same sort of thinking when it comes to "a small amount of riders" who need service and axing the service.

 

For your information there are plenty of bus lines out there (including express bus lines) that carry millions of passengers a year. Of course when compared to the subway it is small, but buses are extremely handy when subway service isn't available or as we saw the other day, gets knocked out.

 

I'd like to know what transportation services you use and when so that I can advocate cutting them since you have such a problem serving the needs of all passengers.

[AndrewJC]

And your point is?

 

 

That most Bay Ridge residents don't care when the X27 runs, or even that it runs at all.

 

Just because a minority of people use a service doesn't mean it isn't needed. I'm getting rather sick of you talking about this. By your logic we could cut quite a few local bus lines that are lightly used or even better cut subway service when it is lightly used because only a small minority of people use it. If that isn't your point, then no need to keep bringing it up.

 

 

Lightly used local bus lines generally exist to provide coverage - without them, parts of the city would have no transit service at all. While there are some exceptions in Staten Island, almost all of the express buses serve areas that also have local bus service that connects with the subway (or, in the case of Staten Island, the ferry). Express buses are certainly convenient, but they're generally not essential to the transit network.

 

The service makes the commute faster than the subway and the service is well used, so give it a rest already.

 

 

A full express bus holds 57 riders. A full R train holds 1400 people. Almost 25 busloads would fit onto a single train. What seems like a large number of riders to a frequent express bus rider is in fact a tiny number of riders at a systemwide level.

 

When the weekend X27 was cut, it carried 1080 riders per day (on weekends) - that's 77% of one trainload, over the course of the entire day. (The X28 carried 760, or 54% of a trainload.) The 86th Street station alone - one of several subway stations in Bay Ridge - had 5716 riders per day on weekends in 2011.

 

You and Amtrak must be related. He has the same sort of thinking when it comes to "a small amount of riders" who need service and axing the service.

 

 

Sorry, I've never met the guy (or gal), and I never said that the service should be axed. I do think the farebox recovery ratio is absurdly low and that something needs to be done to correct that.

 

For your information there are plenty of bus lines out there (including express bus lines) that carry millions of passengers a year. Of course when compared to the subway it is small, but buses are extremely handy when subway service isn't available or as we saw the other day, gets knocked out.

 

 

Express buses are great when subway service is knocked out - for the handful of subway riders who can fit on the bus. The overwhelming majority will not.

 

I'd like to know what transportation services you use and when so that I can advocate cutting them since you have such a problem serving the needs of all passengers.

 

 

Because my transportation services carry as many people on one train as yours do in one day.

[CDTA]

This is exactly why folks in Bay Ridge pushed so hard to get the X27 back full time. The situation with the train is a daily problem and I can't count how many times that very thing has happened to me. Extremely annoying, particularly because of the crappy headways of the .

 

 

No. We are not starting this again.

 

 

A full express bus holds 57 riders. A full R train holds 1400 people. Almost 25 busloads would fit onto a single train. What seems like a large number of riders to a frequent express bus rider is in fact a tiny number of riders at a systemwide level.

When the weekend X27 was cut, it carried 1080 riders per day (on weekends) - that's 77% of one trainload, over the course of the entire day. (The X28 carried 760, or 54% of a trainload.) The 86th Street station alone - one of several subway stations in Bay Ridge - had 5716 riders per day on weekends in 2011.

Because my transportation services carry as many people on one train as yours do in one day.

 

 

That's some bad logic. Buses aren't made to carry as many people as trains, that's the point of them.

[CenSin]

I seem to get the opposite problem: my train being held for a while for connecting passengers.

 

Before you folks start slinging words like "selfish" and "impatient" let me ask if this even makes sense:

1. The meets an at Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center.
   
2. The encounters some delays along the way and meets the same at 36 Street.
   
3. The leaves, but the is held to make a connection to a second pulling into 36 Street.
   
4. The reaches 59 Street to make the same connection with the first .
   

 

It has been even worse before, but this is just a recent example.

[AndrewJC]

That's some bad logic. Buses aren't made to carry as many people as trains, that's the point of them.

 

 

Of course. But if somebody tries to claim that subway riders are flocking to express buses en masse, I'm going to correct them.

[B35 via Church]

Tonight was another terrible commute to Bay Ridge. Standing-room only Coney-Island bound N train pulls into 59th St Bklyn at 9:45pm, as the R train is pulling out. People were incredulous and screaming that it happened again. Next Bay Ridge R train did not arrive until 10:03pm, which is an 18 minute wait.

 

Who was the dispatcher who allowed this to happen? This unfortunately is a regular occurrence. I can't understand why the R wasn't held for 10 seconds when the next R train was a full 18 minutes away. This is total incompetence.

I feel for you man.... I do not like waiting for the [well, period], but especially coming back from SI heading on up to 36th st [for the walk to the B35].... It's one reason I don't head out to SI as much as I'd like..... I mean, you stand at 86th st around 9-9:30pm for a manhattan bound train.... you see the train w/ the (white) lights on like it's about to pull out.... you think the train is "just coming", but you stand there well over 15 minutes before the train leaves 95th, approaching 86th..... It's almost like they're doing it on purpose (teasing passengers) on the 4th av line..... I've experienced that far too many times, and I'm not even a daily rider.....

 

Although I'd be on the R's approaching 59th st manhattan bound, around that time a night 9-10pm it's the same deal...

R's are already at the station... they stall for like 1-2 minutes... then the N pulls in.... then the doors close on the R & pull out the station before the N train even comes to a halt.... I never understood that.

 

 

fyi, this happens all over. I noticed this with the 4/5 train and the 6 train as well as the a/c

 

True, but I have to say the problem is more apparent @ 59th b/w the N & the R lines.... it happens in both directions too.

 

Furthermore, 6 is way more frequent/reliable than the R.

[tvega961]

Ok, I would like my two cents here...

 

I commute to school on the everyday, I get on at Dekalb and go on my way to Bay Ridge. Today however, and just like other days of the month, there was a work train on the EXP track and all , and , And one apparently went over the bridge, probably late, stopped at DeKalb. The pulls in, and also an . The gets the line up first then leaves. After the left a comes in. The also gets the lineup and leaves, then yes, another N. We were held up at DeKalb for about 10 minutes, then left.

 

But when I go home, I pass an R for a N, and as soon as the R leaves 59, an N comes. Every day i notice people waiting for the N take the R, then when we bypass them they get really pissed. I usually miss the R anyway because we have to let a D in front of us every day . But Overall, Yes the R gets screwed, and the Express, but you have other train lines you can use. Not just one.

[checkmatechamp13]

Lightly used local bus lines generally exist to provide coverage - without them, parts of the city would have no transit service at all. While there are some exceptions in Staten Island, almost all of the express buses serve areas that also have local bus service that connects with the subway (or, in the case of Staten Island, the ferry). Express buses are certainly convenient, but they're generally not essential to the transit network.

 

Well, as I've said before Staten Island is the exception. Here, they actually are a necessity because people's travel times would be significantly increased without them. For example, from the Fingerboard Road stop to Lower Manhattan takes 20 minutes on the express bus, compared to close to an hour on the local bus (S52 to the ferry), and that's not even including the stress of worrying about whether you'll make the connection. The same thing from further out neighborhoods. From my area, you're talking a good 30-40 minutes just to reach the ferry, plus the time on the ferry itself, whereas the X17 can get you to Lower Manhattan in 30-40 minutes alone.

 

When the weekend X27 was cut, it carried 1080 riders per day (on weekends) - that's 77% of one trainload, over the course of the entire day. (The X28 carried 760, or 54% of a trainload.) The 86th Street station alone - one of several subway stations in Bay Ridge - had 5716 riders per day on weekends in 2011.

 

Actually, it was 1,080 riders total (Saturday & Sunday combined). But......

 

Sorry, I've never met the guy (or gal), and I never said that the service should be axed. I do think the farebox recovery ratio is absurdly low and that something needs to be done to correct that.

 

I don't think the farebox recovery ratio was "absurdly" low on the X27. On the weekends, it was a little under 50%, and maybe with the reduced frequencies, it'll be a little higher. I mean, it's a 15 minute walk to the unless you want to deal with an infrequent crosstown route, and then you have to worry about the making the connection to the (if you're going to Lower Manhattan, it doesn't make much of a difference if you catch the , but then the X27 has an advantage because it gets right on the Gowanus.