The D train, the most reliable subway line in NYC.

[BronxBombers]

 

Maybe the “D” should stand for “dependable.”

The D train, which runs from Norwood in The Bronx all the way to Coney Island in Brooklyn, is the most reliable subway line on weekdays — with trains punctual 82 percent of the time, according to wait-time data analyzed by The Post.

It was nearly tied with the J and Z trains, which run through some of Brooklyn’s hippest neighborhoods — Williamsburg and Bushwick. Those met the MTA’s wait standards 81.7 percent of the time.

Those were followed closely by the N and L trains, which clocked in at 81.5 and 81.3 percent, respectively. Meanwhile the biggest losers for reliable subway travel on weekdays were the 5 and 6 lines, which left straphangers in a lurch after meeting wait-time standards 67.8 and 70.1 percent, respectively.

The R line was excluded, since it ran in two segments during most of last year, as well as the shuttles.

The MTA gives trains a little leeway when calculating whether they make timely arrivals.

For example, if a train is scheduled to arrive every 10 minutes — then it’s given a 2.5-minute window, or 25 percent of the scheduled time between trains.

On weekends, the J and Z topped the list for reliable trains, followed by the 1 and 3 trains.

The F train was the worst weekend train line in terms of reliability, meeting the MTA’s wait standards 76.9 percent of the time.

It was followed closely by the 4, A and C lines, all under 80 percent.

Overall, lettered lines performed better than numbers over the last year , with the N train showing the most improvement.

A spokesman said the MTA is creating new guidelines to make track work less disruptive and improve service– as well as relying on programs like FASTRACK, which shut down large stretches of track for overnight repair work.

 

Source: http://nypost.com/2015/01/05/the-d-train-the-most-reliable-subway-line-in-nyc/

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Maybe it's the most dependable, but the wait times during the rush are ridiculous.  They could certainly add more service.  Don't miss one because if you do, you could be waiting for another 20 minutes.

[itmaybeokay]

Maybe it's the most dependable, but the wait times during the rush are ridiculous.  They could certainly add more service.  Don't miss one because if you do, you could be waiting for another 20 minutes.

 

The D train runs at 6-8 minute intervals during the rush. 

 

It does run at 20 minute intervals between about 12:20 am and 5 am - but so does pretty much every line in the system. 

 

I'm not saying the ol' Delta couldn't use more service - just sayin' the supposition of a 20 minute wait is assuredly an exaggeration. Also, I don't know if more service could easily even be added what with DeKalb interlocking being what it is. 

 

I must say though - whenever I take the D down to 36 st to go to Micro Center, I have noticed it is almost always on time. 

[BronxBombers]

Maybe it's the most dependable, but the wait times during the rush are ridiculous.  They could certainly add more service.  Don't miss one because if you do, you could be waiting for another 20 minutes.

 

The runs every 10 minutes outside of Rush Hours. But I have to say whenever I wait for the it is usually on time.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

The D train runs at 6-8 minute intervals during the rush. 

 

It does run at 20 minute intervals between about 12:20 am and 5 am - but so does pretty much every line in the system. 

 

I'm not saying the ol' Delta couldn't use more service - just sayin' the supposition of a 20 minute wait is assuredly an exaggeration. Also, I don't know if more service could easily even be added what with DeKalb interlocking being what it is. 

 

I must say though - whenever I take the D down to 36 st to go to Micro Center, I have noticed it is almost always on time. 

I don't care what frequencies it has.  That has NOTHING to do with wait times, and I have waited 20 minutes (not about 15 minutes or around 20 minutes, but 20 minutes) for A train during the rush, be it a or a right in Midtown.  I know what I'm talking about because I use the train weekly during the rush and have been for the last few years now.  For whatever reason, I have found that Northbound service can be absolutely crappy at times during the rush.  Trains that are scheduled don't show up for whatever reason, and in fact it became so bad that I actually started keeping the schedule on my cell phone in hopes of not having to just miss a train and having to wait for extended periods of time.  For what it's worth the has older trains (not the oldest but not the newest either, so those delays may be from breakdowns or something else going on - inclement weather perhaps since it runs outdoors in Brooklyn for just about all of its trip).  I also HATE the way the and are spaced.  The usually comes followed immediately by a or vice versa and then NOTHING.  Meanwhile the trains run like water.  It was particularly bad from 18:00 - 19:00 last year.

 

 

The   runs every 10 minutes outside of Rush Hours. But I have to say whenever I wait for the   it is usually on time.

Yes I'm aware of the headways.  It was because of the that I actually started checking the schedule.  It certainly doesn't follow the schedule that's for sure.  Of late it's been better, but last year during the cold months in particular was a mess.

[Quill Depot]

May be dependable, but it never wants to come so I never get to see its dependability. See this video if you want to see what I'm talking about:

 

 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

May be dependable, but it never wants to come so I never get to see its dependability. See this video if you want to see what I'm talking about:

 

 

LMAO! That's exactly what I'm talking about. I have the worst luck with that damn train.  Either it's pulling out just I'm coming down the stairs and then there is NOTHING or you get a few trains and THEN a .  The problem is everyone wants the damn so the platform becomes backed up.  I've resorted to just taking the and going local.  They seem more frequent than the and I don't have to deal with those show time idiots.

[ttcsubwayfan]

May be dependable, but it never wants to come so I never get to see its dependability. See this video if you want to see what I'm talking about:

 

 

 

This is still my favorite transit video on Youtube.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

This is still my favorite transit video on Youtube.

I died of laughter in my office.  Thank God no one else is here.  They've would come to my office wondering what I was at so hard.

[BronxBombers]

Well I have great luck with the whenever I use it.

[MysteriousBtrain]

Well if the is dependable, only very few see it because I also have problems with that line. When I try to catch a and miss it, I have to wait 10-15 min for the next one.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Well if the is dependable, only very few see it because I also have problems with that line. When I try to catch a and miss it, I have to wait 10-15 min for the next one.

Imagine that... I guess we're all imagining things especially with the wonderful headways it has on paper.

[MTA Dude]

May be dependable, but it never wants to come so I never get to see its dependability. See this video if you want to see what I'm talking about:

 

 

 

How was that video made?! LMFAO!

 

The sucks, period. I have terrible luck when it comes to the . It is always dirty and crowded, and trains get delayed to come every 20 minutes. Whenever I travel on 6 Av Exp, I always hope for the . When it comes, inside me I let out a yelp of joy. is my least favorite train. The least it can do is get NTTs.

[RollOver]

The is part of the reason why the gets delayed at times, because the 's headways are a bit more than the , and the almost always gets priority over the at DeKalb.

[MTA Dude]

The is part of the reason why the gets delayed at times, because the 's headways are a bit more than the , and the almost always gets priority over the at DeKalb.

 

Well, why can't they schedule the and to not arrive at the same time? I've gone over the bridge by the , and one time by because it went to Sea Beach, at least 5 times to visit my cousin. Every time, I would see the across the bridge.

[MysteriousBtrain]

The sucks, period. I have terrible luck when it comes to the . It is always dirty and crowded, and trains get delayed to come every 20 minutes. Whenever I travel on 6 Av Exp, I always hope for the . When it comes, inside me I let out a yelp of joy. is my least favorite train. The least it can do is get NTTs.

An old proposal of mine, why not extend the to Bedford whenever it operates to support the . And if the comes back, extend it to Bay Parkway.

Obviously this could not happen right now, but with the frequency of the , are two routes weekdays worth it.

[RtrainBlues]

I've learned to ride in the last car (downtown) at 34th St, so if a B approaches first, I look to see if I see the headlights of a D train immediately behind it. Downtown weekday D trains sometimes don't show up in the 8pm-10pm hour, with 20+ minutes gaps in service.  Saturday 9pm-11pm during "cold weather plans" is often the worst - 20 to 30 minute waits for the D are commonplace, and there are no F trains either in that timeframe at West 4th.  The D is certainly not the best train line.

[LTA1992]

Complaints about missing trains.

 

Another will come.

 

Overexxagerations of wait times.

 

Every now and then, but not often. Though I have noticed more on the the 20 minute gap at the end of the rush hour. Never witnessed it on the .

 

Personally, all of the routes run as expected for me. That's why their flaws aren't a problem for me. If there are problems, I can usually decipher the possible reasons. The issues on routes and I expect, because those routes operate the most congested li e i the city. The issue, I believe, stems more from people not planning for things to go wrong. If you assume something can go wrong, thenyou can have an alternate route or two prepared. Known Unknowns and Unknown Unknowns.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Complaints about missing trains.

 

Another will come.

 

Overexxagerations of wait times.

 

Every now and then, but not often. Though I have noticed more on the the 20 minute gap at the end of the rush hour. Never witnessed it on the .

 

Personally, all of the routes run as expected for me. That's why their flaws aren't a problem for me. If there are problems, I can usually decipher the possible reasons. The issues on routes and I expect, because those routes operate the most congested li e i the city. The issue, I believe, stems more from people not planning for things to go wrong. If you assume something can go wrong, thenyou can have an alternate route or two prepared. Known Unknowns and Unknown Unknowns.

Please don't sit here with this holier-than-thou attitude and talk down to us like we're idiots.  How can you call it an "over exaggeration" when you aren't there with us on the platform?  There's a clock at this particular station, and I usually stand near it when waiting for the train in addition to having my cell phone.  I highly doubt that the clock and my cell phone are wrong.  No one is talking about having alternatives, and no one ever brought that up, so please leave that at the door and stop trying to chastise us about service issues that have nothing to do with us.  It's the 's job to provide the service that it has listed, simple as that.  We pay for the service and we expect the trains to arrive according to the schedule.  It isn't "impossible" for some trains to be missing, as if the can't do any wrong.  They do it with some bus lines too.    

[Eric B]

It must be a matter of perception, compared to other lines. Perhaps because the line is so on time, and comes at the scheduled 10 minutes, and not as bunched up like other lines, which makes them look more frequent. (Like with the and together on the local, it will seem the and together will seem to have a larger headway as if it was only one line, between both. But part of this, is as acknowledged, that one comes right behind the other, so it's like two trains in the interval of one. It really should be a train showing up every five minutes, but never works like that.

 

I always noticed this in comparing the to the years ago, where I had to wait for the , and several (F)'s would come by. But I also knew, there were huge gaps in the at other times. So what was happening was the trains were bunching (aside from the usually having tighter headways anyway, because it serves the high priority Queens corridor, which is one of a few sparsely spaced lines in the whole big borough, and so garners so much more service than another given line like the by itself).

The is such a long winding route (local everywhere except Queens), and it's easy to get hung up in areas, and then different crews can be faster or slower as well.

 

If you have to wait 20 minutes (outside of midnights), then that's likely an ABD. (completely dropped trip). I once asked why the old Brighton always seemed so slow decades ago, especially on weekends (which I remembered as about 20 min. and then I started taking the Command Bus) and was told they used to have a lot of dropped trips. Now, the trains are in much better condition, and they really try to avoid ABD's, but maybe they are still more likely to do it on the because it is not as high priority as Queens (when I worked over there; I don't quite remember it happening all that much, though). I wonder about this for the as well; another really long uptown-downtown IND line. 

 

I wonder if dropped trips figure in on time performance. If you drop it, then everything else is still "on time". This is what I wonder with the , which is always the first to be cut (suspended in part, and the other half shortturned) whenever anything happens on the other lines, yet it is never at the bottom of these performance lists.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I've learned to ride in the last car (downtown) at 34th St, so if a B approaches first, I look to see if I see the headlights of a D train immediately behind it. Downtown weekday D trains sometimes don't show up in the 8pm-10pm hour, with 20+ minutes gaps in service.  Saturday 9pm-11pm during "cold weather plans" is often the worst - 20 to 30 minute waits for the D are commonplace, and there are no F trains either in that timeframe at West 4th.  The D is certainly not the best train line.

Without the on weekends, the waits for the can be especially long.  I know exactly what you're talking about.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

But part of this, is as acknowledged, that one comes right behind the other, so it's like two trains in the interval of one. It really should be a train showing up every five minutes, but never works like that.

 

I always noticed this in comparing the to the years ago, where I had to wait for the , and several (F)'s would come by. But I also knew, there were huge gaps in the at other times. So what was happening was the trains were bunching (aside from the usually having tighter headways anyway, because it serves the high priority Queens corridor, which is one of a few sparsely spaced lines in the whole big borough, and so garners so much more service than another given line like the by itself).

The is such a long winding route (local everywhere except Queens), and it's easy to get hung up in areas, and then different crews can be faster or slower as well.

 

If you have to wait 20 minutes (outside of midnights), then that's likely an ABD. (completely dropped trip). I once asked why the old Brighton always seemed so slow decades ago, especially on weekends (which I remembered as about 20 min. and then I started taking the Command Bus) and was told they used to have a lot of dropped trips. Now, the trains are in much better condition, and they really try to avoid ABD's, but maybe they are still more likely to do it on the because it is not as high priority as Queens (when I worked over there; I don't quite remember it happening all that much, though). I wonder about this for the as well; another really long uptown-downtown IND line. 

 

I wonder if dropped trips figure in on time performance. If you drop it, then everything else is still "on time". This is what I wonder with the , which is always the first to be cut (suspended in part, and the other half shortturned) whenever anything happens on the other lines, yet it is never at the bottom of these performance lists.

I doubt that would ever publicly come out and say that they drop trips unless they were questioned about it.  They've been doing it with certain bus lines for years now.  It was their way of cutting back on expenses.  When a B/O called out sick, they simply wouldn't replace that driver and there would be no bus.  If they're going to cut so many trips on the , why not just make the cuts official and adjust the schedule so that people know?  I find that when there's inclement weather, the and can be especially bad, and they will immediately reduce or suspend service.  I've also noticed the sparseness of the trains in comparison to the and what you describe with the and is exactly what happens.   trains backed up like crazy, but they're so frequent that even with the backups, you don't usually wait too long unless it's the weekend.  

[itmaybeokay]

I don't care what frequencies it has.  That has NOTHING to do with wait times, and I have waited 20 minutes (not about 15 minutes or around 20 minutes, but 20 minutes) for A train during the rush, be it a or a right in Midtown.  I know what I'm talking about because I use the train weekly during the rush and have been for the last few years now.  For whatever reason, I have found that Northbound service can be absolutely crappy at times during the rush.  Trains that are scheduled don't show up for whatever reason, and in fact it became so bad that I actually started keeping the schedule on my cell phone in hopes of not having to just miss a train and having to wait for extended periods of time.  For what it's worth the has older trains (not the oldest but not the newest either, so those delays may be from breakdowns or something else going on - inclement weather perhaps since it runs outdoors in Brooklyn for just about all of its trip).  I also HATE the way the and are spaced.  The usually comes followed immediately by a or vice versa and then NOTHING.  Meanwhile the trains run like water.  It was particularly bad from 18:00 - 19:00 last year.

Imagine that... I guess we're all imagining things especially with the wonderful headways it has on paper.

 

Oh, now now. I wasn't trying to start a thing. I mean the banter to be friendly. Anywho: 

 

I didn't say it's headways are wonderful, and I don't doubt that you've waited 20 minutes for a train on occasion. After all, if the line is 82 percent on time, that means that roughly 47 D trains are delayed, on average, every day. In my experience it's come on-schedule with almost disturbing accuracy, however I'm usually not riding it during the rush. 

 

The frequencies are fully half the picture of wait times, with the other half being delays. Headway+Delay=WaitTime. Increased frequencies can exacerbate delays, so it can be a balancing act. I say all this rationally yet I'm the one fuming when I have to wait 20 minutes for an R. It is what it is. 

 

With regard to the spacing of the B and the D it's one of those "borrowing from peter to pay paul" sort of things - the B/D share tracks with each other in manhattan, but in BK they share tracks with the N and the Q, so you'd need to tweak the timing of those, which means tweaking the timing of the R, which means tweaking the timing of the M, which means tweaking the timing of the E and the F, which means tweaking the timing of the C, which would require you to again tweak the timing of the B. Oops. Maybe that's a drastic scnenario, but when there's two lines on a track spaced out at irregualr intervals, it's usually because of something like this. The M/R gets like that in queens. 

 

Incidentally, I don't know if I'd describe the F flowing like water. Northbound at Rock Center around 6pm, I usually notice more express trains than local in general, with the M's of course being rare little clovers. Maybe it's just "the grass is always greener" and it always seems the line we're not riding is the one running better. 

 

I find that when there's inclement weather, the and can be especially bad, and they will immediately reduce or suspend service.  I've also noticed the sparseness of the trains in comparison to the and what you describe with the and is exactly what happens.   trains backed up like crazy, but they're so frequent that even with the backups, you don't usually wait too long unless it's the weekend.

 

Well, yeah.

 

The lines run outside, so yes, they are affected by weather.

 

The B shares trackage for it's entire route, so from a logistics perspective, it's the easiest to cut since the alternate service already exists. That's why the line can not run at all on weekends.

 

And yes, it's inconvenient for me that the is sparse compared to the - but look at the reality - other than a stretch in brooklyn the M also shares trackage it's whole route, whereas the F feeds all of northeast queens basically on it's lonesome. (I gather you'll suggest that people should be taking express buses or the railroad, but there are plenty of people who can't afford that.)

 

Also, the M shares trackage with four lines, - of those four, the E and the F are exceptionally busy and eventually merge with each other, so by simple arithmetic, the M is gonna get stuck behind at least ONE of them.

 

 

 

Speaking of service frequencies, I know what you mean. Miss an express bus and you could end up waiting 21 hours for one. BOOM.

 

[Lance]

Well, on the M, that's to be expected. The M runs half as much service as the F. For every M train, there will be two F trains. That's how it's scheduled and that's how it's been since 2010. In fact, it was like that when the V was running as well. Both the M and V were/are secondary lines to the much busier and well-used E and F lines.

 

On the subject of inclement weather and its effects on the B and D, that's also to be expected, especially on the B. The Brighton can be a real PITA when it comes to snow and since the B is a secondary line to the A, C, D and Q, it's usually the first casualty when the weather turns especially bad.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Oh, now now. I wasn't trying to start a thing. I mean the banter to be friendly. Anywho: 

 

I didn't say it's headways are wonderful, and I don't doubt that you've waited 20 minutes for a train on occasion. After all, if the line is 82 percent on time, that means that roughly 47 D trains are delayed, on average, every day. In my experience it's come on-schedule with almost disturbing accuracy, however I'm usually not riding it during the rush. 

 

The frequencies are fully half the picture of wait times, with the other half being delays. Headway+Delay=WaitTime. Increased frequencies can exacerbate delays, so it can be a balancing act. I say all this rationally yet I'm the one fuming when I have to wait 20 minutes for an R. It is what it is. 

 

With regard to the spacing of the B and the D it's one of those "borrowing from peter to pay paul" sort of things - the B/D share tracks with each other in manhattan, but in BK they share tracks with the N and the Q, so you'd need to tweak the timing of those, which means tweaking the timing of the R, which means tweaking the timing of the M, which means tweaking the timing of the E and the F, which means tweaking the timing of the C, which would require you to again tweak the timing of the B. Oops. Maybe that's a drastic scnenario, but when there's two lines on a track spaced out at irregualr intervals, it's usually because of something like this. The M/R gets like that in queens. 

 

Incidentally, I don't know if I'd describe the F flowing like water. Northbound at Rock Center around 6pm, I usually notice more express trains than local in general, with the M's of course being rare little clovers. Maybe it's just "the grass is always greener" and it always seems the line we're not riding is the one running better. 

 

 

Well, yeah.

 

The lines run outside, so yes, they are affected by weather.

 

The B shares trackage for it's entire route, so from a logistics perspective, it's the easiest to cut since the alternate service already exists. That's why the line can not run at all on weekends.

 

And yes, it's inconvenient for me that the is sparse compared to the - but look at the reality - other than a stretch in brooklyn the M also shares trackage it's whole route, whereas the F feeds all of northeast queens basically on it's lonesome. (I gather you'll suggest that people should be taking express buses or the railroad, but there are plenty of people who can't afford that.)

 

Also, the M shares trackage with four lines, - of those four, the E and the F are exceptionally busy and eventually merge with each other, so by simple arithmetic, the M is gonna get stuck behind at least ONE of them.

 

 

 

Speaking of service frequencies, I know what you mean. Miss an express bus and you could end up waiting 21 hours for one. BOOM.

 

lol... That's only true if I'm not in Riverdale where I have three express buses to choose from during the week, and two during off-peak hours. BOOM. 

 

As for the serving Northeast Queens, that's not quite accurate.  Most of Northeast Queens doesn't really have a subway, but yes I agree that if they aren't going to improve subway service on the lines where it already exists, then improvements to LIRR and the express bus should be made for Northeast Queens, but that's a different issue.  The whole sharing of tracks IMO needs to be addressed because the other issue that is going to become worse is overcrowding, which will lead to more delays.