46Dover Posted November 19, 2014 Share #1 Posted November 19, 2014 Agree or disagree....Is winter weather getting worse in the Tri State area? Used to be if you had a major snowstorm or any significant weather phenomenon, the trains kept running. For example, in February 1994, seemingly all commuter operations came to a halt during a major winter snowstorm except Metro North, which ran 496 of 550 trains on that one day (1996 Trains Magazine's Metro-North: Gotham Giant) Now it just seems that railroads, to include Metro North stop whenever anything hits, and most equipment fails out in the rails (LIRR is a given). But to me seems like the equipment railroads use today is getting more unsuitable for winter travel. Am I wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted November 19, 2014 Share #2 Posted November 19, 2014 I would have to agree. It's a combination of the being over precautious and weather that has been becoming increasingly worse. I'm actually getting annoyed with the situation. Last year I was literally stranded with no express bus service and the put NO announcements on the damn website. A bunch of us waited for over an hour trying to get to the city. We saw one express bus heading North, but nothing came down. I eventually gave up and walked back home only to find that they had basically pulled the service claiming that the express buses couldn't make it up the hills because of the snow. While the snow was bad, if all of us could walk around in it, surely those express buses could've made it. It would've helped if the damn city came and shoveled as well, but that was the other problem, so I waited a few hours until the roads were cleaned up and then they started running the buses, but my main issue was the lack of communication by the . If they would've posted something, I could've went home and relaxed, rather than standing out there in the snow and getting all wet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainfan22 Posted November 19, 2014 Share #3 Posted November 19, 2014 Those Metro North trains took a huge beating during that 94 storm, afterwards a lot of the was cars OOS needing repairs due to running though that storm. Trains that run on 3rd rail period have trouble with snow after a certain amount, also how would railroad employees get to work to operate these trains? NJT suspended service on the CL one year during a storm cause the employees couldn't get to the yard, if they was there the trains could have ran. I have heard from older people in his hobby that trains ALWAYS got stuck in the snow.. If employees getting to the yards wasn't an issue, they could run service though snow storms if they only used the Diesel trains I'd imagine, it would be bare bones hourly service but it would be better than nothing... never heard of the diesels having trouble in the snow, only the electric trains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobtehpanda Posted November 19, 2014 Share #4 Posted November 19, 2014 The issue is that during (was it 09 or '10), we had buses that had to be ditched in the street and trains full of people stranded out in the Rockaways and such. For liability purposes the MTA must make sure that is literally impossible, and I would say better safe than sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
46Dover Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share #5 Posted November 19, 2014 The issue is that during (was it 09 or '10), we had buses that had to be ditched in the street and trains full of people stranded out in the Rockaways and such. For liability purposes the MTA must make sure that is literally impossible, and I would say better safe than sorry. Bloomberg took a major pounding for that, not to mention the for that fiasco on the train. I think IIRC, Sanitation Trucks only cleared a section near Gracie Mansion, which also resulted in a shakeup there too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracamonte Posted November 19, 2014 Share #6 Posted November 19, 2014 Ah yes, I remember it was during the infamous post-christmas blizzard of '10. Cars, buses, and trucks were stuck in snow-clogged streets and many trains weren't running. Not to mention the first two months of 2011, we had snow nearly every week, and Metro North's New Haven Line was hit the hardest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIRR 154 Posted November 19, 2014 Share #7 Posted November 19, 2014 More of a liability issue then anything. The diesels handle snow effectively. When service is cut , the diesels still run up and down the system as equipment trains to keep the tracks clear. Also some MU's do become alcohol trains on some small electric branches as well. It's all about the MTA playing it safe then sorry. The process started not in thr commuter rails but in the airline industry with people being able to sue for being stranded too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted November 19, 2014 Share #8 Posted November 19, 2014 More of a liability issue then anything. The diesels handle snow effectively. When service is cut , the diesels still run up and down the system as equipment trains to keep the tracks clear. Also some MU's do become alcohol trains on some small electric branches as well. It's all about the MTA playing it safe then sorry. The process started not in thr commuter rails but in the airline industry with people being able to sue for being stranded too long. So in other words they think playing it safe is stopping service but not putting any announcements on their website? I don't know how that's "playing it safe" if you have people waiting for service that was already pulled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIRR 154 Posted November 19, 2014 Share #9 Posted November 19, 2014 The no announcements thing I have no idea on. I've seen on national media about service being suspended. I'm not sure how people are missing information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckie Posted November 19, 2014 Share #10 Posted November 19, 2014 Anytime service is altered or suspended it's advertised on the MTA website. I always check so I know how I am getting to work. Anytime service is altered or suspended it's advertised on the MTA website. I always check so I know how I am getting to work. They also email service alerts to those who suscribe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted November 20, 2014 Share #11 Posted November 20, 2014 Anytime service is altered or suspended it's advertised on the MTA website. I always check so I know how I am getting to work. Anytime service is altered or suspended it's advertised on the MTA website. I always check so I know how I am getting to work. They also email service alerts to those who suscribe. For the commuter trains they are usually good about doing that, but that's not always the case for commuter buses... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
46Dover Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share #12 Posted November 20, 2014 For the commuter trains they are usually good about doing that, but that's not always the case for commuter buses... Well it's a safe bet that when it comes to treacherous weather conditions, snow especially, you might as well throw surface transit travel out the window. Does the TA chain their bus tires for snow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted November 20, 2014 Share #13 Posted November 20, 2014 Well it's a safe bet that when it comes to treacherous weather conditions, snow especially, you might as well throw surface transit travel out the window. Does the TA chain their bus tires for snow? The local buses yes, but not the express buses since they use the expressways, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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