MTA's 6-point plan to combat delays

[Deucey]

Gothamist

 

"Phase one, starting "immediately" according to the MTA, will focus on the 8th Avenue corridor from 125th Street to Fulton Street in Manhattan (nineteen stations on the A, C and E lines) as well as 149th Street-Grand Concourse and 3rd Avenue-138th Street in the South Bronx. Improvements should take about six months...

 

"To prevent car equipment breakdowns, which occur 25 times per month on 8th Avenue, the MTA is bringing on more inspectors to make sure each car gets looked over before leaving the rail yard. The MTA will also work to "regularly" replace doors, heating and air conditioning, among other components."

 

So the plan is to do what they should've done anyway?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Gothamist

 

"Phase one, starting "immediately" according to the MTA, will focus on the 8th Avenue corridor from 125th Street to Fulton Street in Manhattan (nineteen stations on the A, C and E lines) as well as 149th Street-Grand Concourse and 3rd Avenue-138th Street in the South Bronx. Improvements should take about six months...

 

"To prevent car equipment breakdowns, which occur 25 times per month on 8th Avenue, the MTA is bringing on more inspectors to make sure each car gets looked over before leaving the rail yard. The MTA will also work to "regularly" replace doors, heating and air conditioning, among other components."

 

So the plan is to do what they should've done anyway?

They need $20 million for that??!? 

[paulrivera]

So the plan is to do what they should've done anyway?

And then they'll forget about it in 2 years. Typical MTA.

[Around the Horn]

They need $20 million for that??!? 

 

For the entire system, I can believe that.

[RR503]

And then they'll forget about it in 2 years. Typical MTA.

I don't think they will. Politics are involved now. 

 

Here's the MTA article

 

http://www.mta.info/news/2017/05/15/mta-announces-6-point-plan-restructure-management-mta-improve-system-reliability-and 

 

On the whole, I'd say a positive development. I'm the first one to be cynical, but if actually implemented, these could do good. 

[Around the Horn]

Building on the recent restructuring of management at the agency, including the appointments of Lieber and Eng, the MTA will work seek to advance legislation this session to separate the Chairman and CEO positions.

 

 

Well then...

 

I think this development is going to get overshadowed by the 6-point plan though

[danielhg121]

Woah. Just reading the article looks pretty serious. People are uniting against the crappy subway service provided. Everyday it's 12 min(scheduled, sometimes longer) for a uptown during the AM rush. trains run empty most of the time because they're stuck behind a who has it's own trunk line, thus more dwell time. I would love it if dispatchers were a little smarter too. Like if you see a train pulling into the terminal, perhaps send the train out earlier so the incoming train doesn't have to wait outside for up to 5 min. Once I had to wait up to 10 min for the train to come out and I was on the and the local caught up by the time we rolled in. I just hope they are actually serious and not sugar coating it.

 

 

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[Jemorie]

trains run empty most of the time because they're stuck behind a

 

i beg to differ.

[paulrivera]

Well then...

 

I think this development is going to get overshadowed by the 6-point plan though

We had a variant of this during Governor Spitzer's brief time in office with Sander as CEO and Hemmerdinger as chairman, and that was IMO the best the MTA ever got to being pro-customer.

 

Technically we have this now also with Ronnie Hakim as interim executive director and Fernando Ferrer as acting chairman. Why do we need legislation to separate the chairman and CEO roles permanent when the split chairman/CEO route has been done before?

[LongLiveRock]

Why do we need legislation to separate the chairman and CEO roles permanent when the split chairman/CEO route has been done before?

 

 

Presumably to make it more permanent and official?

[danielhg121]

i beg to differ.

Honestly, it's whatever train comes first on the Lex Ave line. But the manages to retain a lot of its ridership unlike the because it has its own trunk line. The is easily seatees only when it reaches 125th street. The will almost be crushloaded heading up north till around burnside avenue. By sending the first at Rogers, it can manage to disperse all the Lex Ave line customers first and whoever actually needs the can wait a min or two. Therefore, service can be sped up. People are literally pushing each other to get out of the train on the which increases dwell time and we leave so many people behind at stops because people only need to ride it one stop (e.g. 59th to 86th). It's delaying fellow commuters' by doing this.

 

 

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[Deucey]

Honestly, it's whatever train comes first on the Lex Ave line. But the manages to retain a lot of its ridership unlike the because it has its own trunk line. The is easily seatees only when it reaches 125th street. The will almost be crushloaded heading up north till around burnside avenue. By sending the first at Rogers, it can manage to disperse all the Lex Ave line customers first and whoever actually needs the can wait a min or two. Therefore, service can be sped up. People are literally pushing each other to get out of the train on the which increases dwell time and we leave so many people behind at stops because people only need to ride it one stop (e.g. 59th to 86th). It's delaying fellow commuters' by doing this.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using NYC Transit Forums mobile app

Isn't the Lex service pattern something like 4-4-5-4-4-5-4-4 ad nauseum?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

For the entire system, I can believe that.

That's what I mean. Still ridiculous. I need to see the full six steps.

[MysteriousBtrain]

Regarding crowding on lex, it depends on the time of day. Rush hours, just about every line is nearly packed, but off peak, it's mainly the , with maybe a few 's at decent capacity.

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

Regarding crowding on lex, it depends on the time of day. Rush hours, just about every line is nearly packed, but off peak, it's mainly the , with maybe a few 's at decent capacity.

There's quite a few trains that are at overcapacity. Back when I regularly took the express bus on weekends, I would sometimes take the to the because the bus was very delayed. Every single time, I had an overcrowded train, and every single time, there would be people that would not fit.  

[Around the Horn]

That's what I mean. Still ridiculous. I need to see the full six steps.

From the MTA press release:

"

MTA IMPROVEMENT PLAN

1. Reorganizing MTA Leadership Structure

Building on the recent restructuring of management at the agency, including the appointments of Lieber and Eng, the MTA will work seek to advance legislation this session to separate the Chairman and CEO positions. Splitting the positions allows for strengthening the overall leadership team in order to effectively implement the MTA’s Capital Plan and achieve needed operational improvements.

2. New Subway Cars and Improved Car Maintenance Procedures

• New Cars: The MTA is expediting the delivery of 300 new R179 subway cars with the first arriving this fall and all being delivered by September 2018. Additionally, New York City Transit will accelerate the delivery of 450 new R211 cars. This will involve both an acceleration and expansion of the pending portion of the order for the “standard configuration” R211 cars.

• Improvements in Maintenance: On the 8th Avenue line car equipment breakdowns occur 25 times per month, last 19 minutes on average, and cause delay not only to the affected train but to trains all along the line. The MTA will do a top-to-bottom revamp of its car maintenance procedures and the MTA will seek the direct involvement of the original manufacturers in this new maintenance regime. This new initiative will add additional inspectors and redeploy resources to ensure every car receives pre-service inspection before a car ever leaves the rail yard to reduce the likelihood of a mid-trip failure. In addition, key components will be proactively replaced on a regular schedule before they fail. This new component replacement initiative will initially focus on doors, heating and air conditioning, and master controllers, which historically have been the source of the most frequent failures.

3. Improving Tracks and Signals

The MTA has 837 track miles, over 1,600 mainline switches, and 13,000 signals. The system is built to be fail-safe, which means that when a sensor is tripped, all lights go red and everything stops. It keeps people safe, but it also causes delays. In order to limit switch failures, signal failures, and rail defects that cause outages, the MTA is taking four steps: a new and intense preventive maintenance program that aggressively targets components that are most prone to failure, a new initiative to decrease response time when problems do occur; an accelerated move to the use of longer rails with fewer joints that therefore have fewer points of potential failure; and more effective track clearing to reduce track fires.

• Enhanced Subway Infrastructure Component Inspections and Ultrasonic Testing: The MTA is immediately initiating a new and comprehensive system for inspection of the track, signal and station infrastructure in the first phase corridor, including doubling its ultrasonic testing from once a month to twice monthly in order to more efficiently detect track defects. Defects identified in any of the components that might lead to a failure will now be addressed more comprehensively not only to repair the immediate problem but to prevent recurrence. This initiative will begin immediately.

• Rapid Response Teams: The MTA is also expanding its rapid response teams, creating and deploying additional, well-trained, and fully equipped personnel near busiest stations to address track and signal issues. The MTA will add additional emergency dispatched repair vehicles and trained staff to get repair crews where they need to be faster. These will be expanded to include additional specialists with access to more parts and resources to enable more rapid repairs of all aspects of the subway’s tracks and signal systems. The MTA is focused on reducing average response time of its emergency crews to 15 minutes or less, which will get service restored faster and riders moving on their way.

• Track Design Enhancements - Continuous Welded Rail (CWR): The MTA is using new construction technology to increase the pace of installation of the most up-to-date type of train rail, known as continuously welded rail to replace old rails. On traditional rails most breaks occur at or near the welding point, but this new type of rail is joined together to form one uninterrupted rail, which means fewer stress points, and, not incidentally, a smoother and quieter ride. The MTA will employ a self-propelled machine called the Critter, a new technology that operates significantly faster than the older method of having workers carry the rail down the tracks. The goal is to lay 3,000 feet of track to cover the entire corridor by September 2017.

• Technology-Based Track Cleaning to Remove Trash on the Tracks: Trash on the tracks causes fires; fires cause delays. The MTA has developed portable vacuums that are the first of their kind for transit systems. Initial tests reduced fires associated with trash on the tracks by 51% in the test area. Two portable vacuums will be immediately focused full-time on the 8th Avenue corridor. The MTA has ordered more units to enable a system-wide expansion.

4. Mitigating Delays Associated with Sick Passengers and Law Enforcement Activity

• Faster Access to EMTs: When passengers become ill on subway trains, the needed response can cause major delays. It can take a significant amount of time for Emergency Service Technicians (EMTs) to find customers who need their help. Along the 8th Avenue corridor alone sick customer incidents occur on average 28 times per month with the average incident lasting at least 12 minutes, delaying multiple trains. In the initial phase, MTA will hire or train new EMTs, placing EMTs at five key stations to speed up response times and reduce delays. EMTs will be deployed at:

• 125th St
• 59th St-Columbus Circle
• 14th St
• West 4th St-Washington Square
• Fulton St

The MTA is also launching a public awareness campaign, including on-train and in-station announcements and posters to encourage use of EMTs in stations so passengers can get the help they need, as fast as possible without disrupting train service. This element of the program is slated to launch in the fall.

• Quicker Access to Police Assistance: In collaboration with the NYPD, the MTA will work to increase the availability of law enforcement at key corridor stations so that they are available to respond more rapidly to address and deter unruly behavior. The MTA is also exploring ways to connect platform controllers on the same NYPD radio frequency to improve rapid response to emergency situations.

5. Streamlining Passenger Loading and Unloading in Stations

Allowing customers to board and unload trains in a streamlined manner is key to reducing “dwell” time (the amount of time a train needs to stay in a station). The MTA is testing a number of different strategies that will allow staff to better communicate to passengers the location of less crowded areas within stations and on arriving trains. The MTA will improve wayfinding on the platform and train cars themselves to distribute passengers more evenly. The MTA is also introducing new training procedures and protocols for platform controllers. Platform controllers will be more visible to customers, provided with new technology, and be trained to better inform passengers about station conditions.

6. Targeting System Bottlenecks

The subway system has numerous points where lines merge and diverge, making the system remarkably flexible and providing customers with many options to get to their destinations. However, as ridership has grown and the MTA has increased the number of trains in the system, these merge points can present bottlenecks, delaying trains and slowing trip times. This program includes more active management of these merge points, utilizing experienced, dedicated service managers and better technology to ensure trains move quickly through hub merge points to avoid delays."

http://www.mta.info/news/2017/05/15/mta-announces-6-point-plan-restructure-management-mta-improve-system-reliability-and

[Abba]

Honestly, it's whatever train comes first on the Lex Ave line. But the manages to retain a lot of its ridership unlike the because it has its own trunk line. The is easily seatees only when it reaches 125th street. The will almost be crushloaded heading up north till around burnside avenue. By sending the first at Rogers, it can manage to disperse all the Lex Ave line customers first and whoever actually needs the can wait a min or two. Therefore, service can be sped up. People are literally pushing each other to get out of the train on the which increases dwell time and we leave so many people behind at stops because people only need to ride it one stop (e.g. 59th to 86th). It's delaying fellow commuters' by doing this.

Sent from my iPhone using NYC Transit Forums mobile app

It's very hard to send a first at Rogers because the needs to entire junction to be clear meaning no (3)s or (4)s going.Not an easy task.

[N6 Limited]

 

6. Targeting System Bottlenecks

The subway system has numerous points where lines merge and diverge, making the system remarkably flexible and providing customers with many options to get to their destinations. However, as ridership has grown and the MTA has increased the number of trains in the system, these merge points can present bottlenecks, delaying trains and slowing trip times. This program includes more active management of these merge points, utilizing experienced, dedicated service managers and better technology to ensure trains move quickly through hub merge points to avoid delays."

http://www.mta.info/news/2017/05/15/mta-announces-6-point-plan-restructure-management-mta-improve-system-reliability-and

They should have been doing this already. (Is there any way they can speed up Dekalb, it's like trains fight to see who can go the slowest)

 

But since this is focused on 8th Ave at first:

1) The southbound should get priority at 50th street since it does not cross after Canal St. (Unless there's back up at WTC)

2) The northbound should get priority at Canal St since it will leave the to those who need it, and it will not block the . You can argue that the should get priority since it does not have to cross over to get to Canal st. 

3) Get the countdown clocks running, northbound, north of 125th street you never know when the is going to finally arrive. (They have already started to send the local at 145th when there is a gap in service)

4) Between 59th and 125th, local service can be lacking. 

5) Can they do something with the timers by 135th st?

 

As for other lines, when there are delays on the express track they should send some trains express on the local to mitigate the delays. and send them before the next local so they're not held up. You can get more throughput that way. (Sidenote, doesn't Japan have express service on 2 tracked lines by sending the express first, then the local immediately after?)

[P3F]

(Sidenote, doesn't Japan have express service on 2 tracked lines by sending the express first, then the local immediately after?)

You don't have to go to Japan. This is done on the Staten Island Railway.

[N6 Limited]

They should send the to Astoria and the to Forest Hills. (Yes I know about the 'yard' argument)

You don't have to go to Japan. This is done on the Staten Island Railway.

Really? rush hours only? What are the express stops?

[P3F]

Really? rush hours only? What are the express stops?

From Wikipedia:

 

 

On weekdays, express service to St. George is provided between 6:15 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. and to Tottenville from 7:01 a.m. to 8:01 a.m. and 4:01 p.m. to 7:51 p.m. Morning express trains run non-stop in both directions between New Dorp and St. George; afternoon express trains run non-stop from St. George to Great Kills southbound only.

[biGC323232]

It's very hard to send a first at Rogers because the needs to entire junction to be clear meaning no (3)s or (4)s going.Not an easy task.

No its not...They stay stopping the  just before nostrand to let a   go first... At least most of the time im on the  when im going to manhattan....

[QM1to6Ave]

I like the plan to place EMTs at crowded stations. And I hope the NYPD response plan works, as well. I've seen cops standing on one side of a platform take 10-15 mins to mosy on over to the other platform after being called to an incident. Ridiculous. 

[RailRunRob]

From the MTA press release:

"

MTA IMPROVEMENT PLAN

1. Reorganizing MTA Leadership Structure

Building on the recent restructuring of management at the agency, including the appointments of Lieber and Eng, the MTA will work seek to advance legislation this session to separate the Chairman and CEO positions. Splitting the positions allows for strengthening the overall leadership team in order to effectively implement the MTA’s Capital Plan and achieve needed operational improvements.

2. New Subway Cars and Improved Car Maintenance Procedures

• New Cars: The MTA is expediting the delivery of 300 new R179 subway cars with the first arriving this fall and all being delivered by September 2018. Additionally, New York City Transit will accelerate the delivery of 450 new R211 cars. This will involve both an acceleration and expansion of the pending portion of the order for the “standard configuration” R211 cars.

• Improvements in Maintenance: On the 8th Avenue line car equipment breakdowns occur 25 times per month, last 19 minutes on average, and cause delay not only to the affected train but to trains all along the line. The MTA will do a top-to-bottom revamp of its car maintenance procedures and the MTA will seek the direct involvement of the original manufacturers in this new maintenance regime. This new initiative will add additional inspectors and redeploy resources to ensure every car receives pre-service inspection before a car ever leaves the rail yard to reduce the likelihood of a mid-trip failure. In addition, key components will be proactively replaced on a regular schedule before they fail. This new component replacement initiative will initially focus on doors, heating and air conditioning, and master controllers, which historically have been the source of the most frequent failures.

3. Improving Tracks and Signals

The MTA has 837 track miles, over 1,600 mainline switches, and 13,000 signals. The system is built to be fail-safe, which means that when a sensor is tripped, all lights go red and everything stops. It keeps people safe, but it also causes delays. In order to limit switch failures, signal failures, and rail defects that cause outages, the MTA is taking four steps: a new and intense preventive maintenance program that aggressively targets components that are most prone to failure, a new initiative to decrease response time when problems do occur; an accelerated move to the use of longer rails with fewer joints that therefore have fewer points of potential failure; and more effective track clearing to reduce track fires.

• Enhanced Subway Infrastructure Component Inspections and Ultrasonic Testing: The MTA is immediately initiating a new and comprehensive system for inspection of the track, signal and station infrastructure in the first phase corridor, including doubling its ultrasonic testing from once a month to twice monthly in order to more efficiently detect track defects. Defects identified in any of the components that might lead to a failure will now be addressed more comprehensively not only to repair the immediate problem but to prevent recurrence. This initiative will begin immediately.

• Rapid Response Teams: The MTA is also expanding its rapid response teams, creating and deploying additional, well-trained, and fully equipped personnel near busiest stations to address track and signal issues. The MTA will add additional emergency dispatched repair vehicles and trained staff to get repair crews where they need to be faster. These will be expanded to include additional specialists with access to more parts and resources to enable more rapid repairs of all aspects of the subway’s tracks and signal systems. The MTA is focused on reducing average response time of its emergency crews to 15 minutes or less, which will get service restored faster and riders moving on their way.

• Track Design Enhancements - Continuous Welded Rail (CWR): The MTA is using new construction technology to increase the pace of installation of the most up-to-date type of train rail, known as continuously welded rail to replace old rails. On traditional rails most breaks occur at or near the welding point, but this new type of rail is joined together to form one uninterrupted rail, which means fewer stress points, and, not incidentally, a smoother and quieter ride. The MTA will employ a self-propelled machine called the Critter, a new technology that operates significantly faster than the older method of having workers carry the rail down the tracks. The goal is to lay 3,000 feet of track to cover the entire corridor by September 2017.

• Technology-Based Track Cleaning to Remove Trash on the Tracks: Trash on the tracks causes fires; fires cause delays. The MTA has developed portable vacuums that are the first of their kind for transit systems. Initial tests reduced fires associated with trash on the tracks by 51% in the test area. Two portable vacuums will be immediately focused full-time on the 8th Avenue corridor. The MTA has ordered more units to enable a system-wide expansion.

4. Mitigating Delays Associated with Sick Passengers and Law Enforcement Activity

• Faster Access to EMTs: When passengers become ill on subway trains, the needed response can cause major delays. It can take a significant amount of time for Emergency Service Technicians (EMTs) to find customers who need their help. Along the 8th Avenue corridor alone sick customer incidents occur on average 28 times per month with the average incident lasting at least 12 minutes, delaying multiple trains. In the initial phase, MTA will hire or train new EMTs, placing EMTs at five key stations to speed up response times and reduce delays. EMTs will be deployed at:

• 125th St
• 59th St-Columbus Circle
• 14th St
• West 4th St-Washington Square
• Fulton St

The MTA is also launching a public awareness campaign, including on-train and in-station announcements and posters to encourage use of EMTs in stations so passengers can get the help they need, as fast as possible without disrupting train service. This element of the program is slated to launch in the fall.

• Quicker Access to Police Assistance: In collaboration with the NYPD, the MTA will work to increase the availability of law enforcement at key corridor stations so that they are available to respond more rapidly to address and deter unruly behavior. The MTA is also exploring ways to connect platform controllers on the same NYPD radio frequency to improve rapid response to emergency situations.

5. Streamlining Passenger Loading and Unloading in Stations

Allowing customers to board and unload trains in a streamlined manner is key to reducing “dwell” time (the amount of time a train needs to stay in a station). The MTA is testing a number of different strategies that will allow staff to better communicate to passengers the location of less crowded areas within stations and on arriving trains. The MTA will improve wayfinding on the platform and train cars themselves to distribute passengers more evenly. The MTA is also introducing new training procedures and protocols for platform controllers. Platform controllers will be more visible to customers, provided with new technology, and be trained to better inform passengers about station conditions.

6. Targeting System Bottlenecks

The subway system has numerous points where lines merge and diverge, making the system remarkably flexible and providing customers with many options to get to their destinations. However, as ridership has grown and the MTA has increased the number of trains in the system, these merge points can present bottlenecks, delaying trains and slowing trip times. This program includes more active management of these merge points, utilizing experienced, dedicated service managers and better technology to ensure trains move quickly through hub merge points to avoid delays."

http://www.mta.info/news/2017/05/15/mta-announces-6-point-plan-restructure-management-mta-improve-system-reliability-and

. Okay there optimizing performance within the same constraints. When are they going to get some shovels into the ground?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using NYC Transit Forums mobile app

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Now that I've seen the complete plan, I'm curious as to where this $20 million came from? This is not a small chunk of change.  We should be getting more info about how long it will take for this to get rolling out and when we'll start seeing results.  We're paying a fortune in taxes (despite how low some folks claim that the subway fares are), and we're not seeing the sort of service that we should be.  I for one want to see the countdown clocks expedited on the lines that seem to have trains showing up whenever they feel like running them (I'm specifically talking about that damn train) and less pulling of trains from rush hour service that the deems as "supplemental".  The Riders' Alliance needs to keep the pressure on.  Apparently they're so inundated with complaints that now when you file one, they can't even give a canned response, so I'm going to follow up on my train request when they recommend it, which is roughly 30 days from the original complaint.  This $20 million should also include service increases.