Why Your Subway Train Might Start Moving Faster

[Union Tpke]

Just now, RR503 said:

Yes, understood, I'm saying the first I heard of the QB GT mods was one on the southbound side. 

Just making sure. I though the GT55 mod was northbound. If it is, what did they change southbound?

[RR503]

Just now, Union Tpke said:

Just making sure. I though the GT55 mod was northbound. If it is, what did they change southbound?

Yes, as reported here it seemed to be a NB mod. I had heard they were looking at doing a similar mod to the 35s southbound between FH and JH.

[Union Tpke]

2 minutes ago, RR503 said:

Yes, as reported here it seemed to be a NB mod. I had heard they were looking at doing a similar mod to the 35s southbound between FH and JH.

Would this be to all of the 35s between FH and JH? If so, trains will really be flying! That could cut a minute off travel times.

[RR503]

1 minute ago, Union Tpke said:

Would this be to all of the 35s between FH and JH? If so, trains will really be flying! That could cut a minute off travel times.

Not sure. I'd heard the set by 63, but again this is all just rumor. Ingest salt while reading 

[Union Tpke]

3 minutes ago, RR503 said:

Not sure. I'd heard the set by 63, but again this is all just rumor. Ingest salt while reading 

The GTs at 63rd Drive drive me insane. This would be amazing! Give me many more changes like this over Bus wi-fi.

[LGA Link N Train]

3 hours ago, Union Tpke said:

The GTs at 63rd Drive drive me insane. This would be amazing! Give me many more changes like this over Bus wi-fi.

There were GT’s at my home stop this entire time!?!?! If so, which direction and what’s this “Bus Wi-Fi” that you speak of?

[m7zanr160s]

What's the point of these 50 mph signs when our trains can't do any more than 45 on a flat? 😕

[RestrictOnTheHanger]

On 7/29/2019 at 7:56 AM, Union Tpke said:

I saw the sign for 43 this morning and noticed the increase. I didn't notice anything at Roosevelt Island and did not see a sign.

I could have sworn there was previously a GT (30?) sign before the Roosevelt Island 2 shot. It feels like the timer was repaired to allow the posted or increased speed. 

Switching lines, the s/b 1 has a new speed sign just south of chambers with an odd number (24 or 29 i think) that would indicate a speed increase there. I cant remember if that was on the list. 

[Dave2836]

On 12/11/2018 at 5:06 AM, Axis said:

There are a few places that come to mind when thinking of where can trains possibly go faster [safely] than they currently are.

CPW Express -- for instance, a n/b  can sometimes go painfully slow north of 135th, regardless of which track it'll stop at 145th on. Also, I never quite understood why a s/b  ever needed to slow down or stop just before 145th Street station (even if there's an  crossing in front, which I'm pretty sure is SOUTH of 145th).

4th Avenue Express -- Infamously slow section on the  between Grand Street & Atlantic-Barclays. Forget all the merging & diverging. How about the speed limits, signals, and timers??? scattered about? (althrough iirc the limited line of sight between DeKalb & Atlantic-Barclays is something else to consider)

N/B on the leaving 135 is a switch, and if it remains going into the center track, you are essentially going on. Bidirectional track against the normal direction of traffic into a timer, which is there for safety reasons.  Sometimes people on the platforms are leaning over looking in the opposite direction of where we are coming from (out of a blind curve mind you), so with our vision obstructed of course we will slow down.

S/B going into 145st we be careful depending on the scenario. Sometimes a is leaving 145st middle and will cross in front of the  so the signals dictate the safe speed to enter the station.

The entire Dekalb section is a complex series of switches and timers with constant workers coming out of no where.  There are signs posted leaving Dekalb, Canal St, and the Manhattan Bridge to approach the signals with restricted speed and extreme caution for this very reason. 

These speeds and signals are designed and written with spilt blood and we have to respect the safety measures taken to prevent any future tragedies.

[LTA1992]

On 7/29/2019 at 11:14 PM, m7zanr160s said:

What's the point of these 50 mph signs when our trains can't do any more than 45 on a flat? 😕

Umm, what?

[m7zanr160s]

23 hours ago, LTA1992 said:

Umm, what?

I'm saying what's the point of having a limit that our trains can't reach, unless it's grade aided? A 50 sign on a flat makes no sense to me if trains can barely do 44, period. If a train does 50 on the Rockaway Flats it was probably wind aided. 😃

[Lex]

41 minutes ago, m7zanr160s said:

I'm saying what's the point of having a limit that our trains can't reach, unless it's grade aided? A 50 sign on a flat makes no sense to me if trains can barely do 44, period. If a train does 50 on the Rockaway Flats it was probably wind aided. 😃

Most trains can't do more than 55 on a flat.

[RR503]

52 minutes ago, m7zanr160s said:

I'm saying what's the point of having a limit that our trains can't reach, unless it's grade aided? A 50 sign on a flat makes no sense to me if trains can barely do 44, period. If a train does 50 on the Rockaway Flats it was probably wind aided. 😃

On the cold (non-CBTC) acceleration curve, all trains theoretically can get to 50 after a good while, but on non-NTTs that rarely happens (CBTC's hot curve allows max speed of 55, and reaches 55 much faster than fixed block trains get to 50). 

Re: Queens Boulevard, that stretch is a fairly steep and long downhill, so trains operating on the fixed block accel. curve have little trouble getting to the high 40s. Regardless, the presence of a 50 mph sign is an indication that NYCT believes that a train operating at maximum speed for an area would be able to get above 50mph and thus needs to be limited to 50. 

[Union Tpke]

@RR503

Screen Shot 2019-08-01 at 9.58.52 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

[Union Tpke]

Here are some older ones some people might not have seen:

Screen Shot 2019-08-01 at 10.06.53 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2019-08-01 at 10.06.05 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

 

 

Screen Shot 2019-08-01 at 10.01.32 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2019-08-01 at 10.01.39 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

Edited August 2, 2019 by Union Tpke

[R68OnBroadway]

Have they done anything around the Bergen St junction? Trains crawl so slow there (even the  which goes straight and has a gentle curve).

[RR503]

11 minutes ago, Union Tpke said:

@RR503

Screen Shot 2019-08-01 at 9.58.52 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

Not mentioned in this but also good is that they added ST signs at a bunch of locations on Crosstown that previously didn’t have them. Obviously unimportant at today’s service levels, but if we want to increase the ...

Edited August 2, 2019 by RR503

[Union Tpke]

Just now, RR503 said:

Not mentioned in this but also important is that they added ST signs at a bunch of locations on Crosstown that previously didn’t have them. Obviously unimportant at today’s service levels, but if we want to increase the ...

Again, why weren't there ST signs in place at STs across the system? Also, in many places, such as south of 14th on the  there are signs that are about to fall off, that are angles, or are behind other things.

[RR503]

Just now, Union Tpke said:

Again, why weren't there ST signs in place at STs across the system? Also, in many places, such as south of 14th on the  there are signs that are about to fall off, that are angles, or are behind other things.

...or just illegible. I’m not sure why they weren’t there previously. 

6 minutes ago, R68OnBroadway said:

Have they done anything around the Bergen St junction? Trains crawl so slow there (even the  which goes straight and has a gentle curve).

Nb Bergen slowness is timers from Carroll. Southbound on the  is either you getting cut by an  or your TO anticipating that you will be and slowing accordingly (IINM the yellow indicating you don’t have a lineup is hidden somewhere in that curve so ops don’t like to take it at speed). 

[Union Tpke]

1 minute ago, RR503 said:

...or just illegible. I’m not sure why they weren’t there previously. 

Nb Bergen slowness is timers from Carroll. Southbound on the  is either you getting cut by an  or your TO anticipating that you will be and slowing accordingly (IINM the yellow indicating you don’t have a lineup is hidden somewhere in that curve so ops don’t like to take it at speed). 

Wouldn't there be a repeater so T/Os could know in time?

[RR503]

Just now, Union Tpke said:

Wouldn't there be a repeater so T/Os could know in time?

No need for a repeater, curve is to the left. This is much more people not wanting to come flying into a ST timing section. 

Edited August 2, 2019 by RR503

[Union Tpke]

1 minute ago, RR503 said:

That’ll give you a few more seconds, but still people take it slow. 

So there is a repeater?

[RR503]

1 minute ago, Union Tpke said:

So there is a repeater?

See edited version — you got me too fast lol. 

[Union Tpke]

Just now, RR503 said:

See edited version — you got me too fast lol. 

Thanks. Are there any places in the system that could use repeaters but don't have them?

[Union Tpke]

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-subway-speed-limit-increases-cuomo-byford-save-safe-seconds-20190805-45xheuhchvevbgk23yoan7lcvq-story.html

By CLAYTON GUSE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
AUG 05, 2019 | 12:01 AM
  
Subway service to get speed boost in key areas as MTA brass ready major signal fixes
Trains across the New York City subway system run at slower speeds than they did 25 years ago. That’s about to change, at least in a handful of areas.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials will in the next two weeks announce that straphangers can expect much faster rides in a few busy stretches of the subway, multiple sources said.

They will include the A and C lines between the Lafayette Ave. and Liberty Ave. stations; the Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 lines between the Nevins St. and Utica Ave. stops; and trains running on the B, D, N and Q lines over the Manhattan Bridge, the sources said.

The speedier service on those lines is the result of MTA crews and consultants fixing faulty signal grade timers, which trip emergency brakes when a train is moving too fast or gets too close to a train ahead. For years many of those timers have unnecessarily stopped trains.

Sources said the announcement will be made by the MTA’s new “Train Speed and Safety Task Force,” a group organized last month at the request of Gov. Cuomo with the goal of reviewing “efficient and safe operating speeds in an effort to optimize both speed and capacity” in both the subway and the agency’s commuter rails.

The work done under the task force builds off “Save Safe Seconds,” an initiative launched last fall by NYC Transit President Andy Byford to re-calibrate buggy signal timers.

The campaign has increased speed limits at more than 100 locations across the subway system. Several train operators and union officials believe some subway speed limits were reduced too much in 1995 after a train crash on the Williamsburg Bridge killed a motorman and injured dozens of passengers.

Last week, memos by officials working on Save Safe Seconds noted that speed limits had been jacked up on the G line between the Fulton St. and Nassau St. stations; the No. 1 line between Chambers St. and Rector St. and on the A line between the Broad Channel and Howard Beach stops.

Faster subway service won’t happen overnight. MTA sources said train operators still need to become accustomed to the faster speeds and signal timers that function as designed.

As MTA brass have approved higher operating speeds for subway trains over the last year, transit workers have been hesitant to actually meet them, according to union officials. Many train operators fear being disciplined by supervisors for tripping a faulty signal timer, the union officials said.

MTA officials sent out a memo in June ordering subway supervisors to ease up on formal complaints against train crews that accidentally boost the speed limit or trip a faulty signal.

Several Transport Workers Union Local 100 officials praised the memo as a victory, yet two days after it was put out Local 100 President Tony Utano sent a letter to Cuomo saying the signal re-calibration work was not being done fast enough.

Cuomo’s budget director and MTA board member Robert Mujica proceeded to announce plans to form the task force, arguing there was “no record of a comprehensive speed limit review.”

“As the TWU has said, they are having the operators drive slower than the posted speed limit, which is understandable but highly counterproductive for the operators and especially the commuters,” Mujica told the Daily News. “This is a major issue and there are no incremental solutions that are effective — we have to re-calibrate the entire system.”

A top Cuomo administration official added that the MTA’s memo directing supervisors to stop disciplining train operators troubled safety experts, who believed the change in policy could encourage crews to run trains at dangerous speeds.

A high-ranking Local 100 official disagreed with that assessment, stating that safety experts have been on board with Byford’s signal work and speed limit changes from the start. He called the task force “completely political,” and saw it as a way for Cuomo to take credit for the work done by Save Safe Seconds.

The task force met last week to plan the announcement of the speed increases. Byford, who was on vacation, was absent from the meeting.

MTA officials were confident the signal work will have a positive effect on the lives of riders regardless of who gets credit for faster service,

“We’re laser focused on making our trains safely run faster, so that our customers spend less time in transit and more time with friends, family or at work,” said MTA managing director Ronnie Hakim. "We are upgrading old infrastructure, and making sure that we are squeezing every drop of performance out of our system.”