NYC Subway Time Forward Project

[Amiri the subway guy]

This is my personal blog about my own proposals

[Amiri the subway guy]

Posted this on the 2nd Avenue trend but just wanted to show this new proposal for 2nd Avenue line that expands capacity 

In Harlem a new 125th Street Crosstown Subway line would be build with transfer to the 1/2/3/4/5/6/A/C/B/D. The T train would be sent there this gives People on West Harlem easier access to the East Side of Manhattan taking pressure off the 7/L trains. 

As for the Bronx the most popular proposal is to rebuild the 3rd Avenue line so I split it up into multiple phases in order to better manage the costs phase 1 would be to build a new tunnel in the Harlem river and extending the Q train to 3rd Avenue 149th street. Phase 2 would be to extend the Q to Fordham Plaza. And phase 3 would be to extend the Q to Gun Hill Road. A optional phase 4 to Co Op City should be studied too.  This would balance out west and east side TPH. And maybe even reduce crowding on the 2 train since now people would have a another option of getting to the West side of Manhattan. The 3rd Avenue line would have three tracks to allow for a peak way express and creation of a new <Q>Express Train. The express stops would be Co Op city, Gun Hill Road, Fordham Plaza, Tremont Avenue, 3rd Avenue 149th street, and 3rd Avenue 138th street. 

 

Now usually it’s the T via Bronx and Q via Harlem y’all used to but the reasoning for it is that currently they is 50 trains during rush hours heading to east midtown the 4/5/6 trains vs 25/30 trains heading to west midtown the 2/D. The 1 is further west away from the rest of the Bronx line and only three stations so technically we could exclude it in this scenario. The B is a rush hour only extension and runs on the same route as the D so it doesn’t really count as it’s own Individual line. Add the Q train would balance the ridership access out. And Broadway is a much more attractive line to be extended to the Bronx since it stops at a bunch of major transfer points in midtown ETC (Times Square Herald Square Union Square).

And sending the T to 125th street crosstown would give the people on Harlem easier access to the east side of Manhattan reducing crowding on the 7/L trains.

And people are saying that the Q train might be too long while I agree with this at first. Realistic that argument is moot cause I believe we overestimated the length cause let’s be honest the Q train won’t be anywhere near as long as the A or F trains. It would be around the same length as the B train. In fact my proposed K train route would be longer than the Q train

My estimate on the Q train length.

Longer than the N train, Shorter than the D train.

On queens a new 4 track Northern Blvd subway line would be build two new new 2nd Avenue lines will be created these are both currently defunct services the K and V trains. 
 

The K train would start off at Springfield blvd then it will meet up with the V train at Utopia Parkway  the V train would run local while the K train would run express. The local only stations are 

164th Street

Kissena Blvd 

Main Street Elder Avenue 

College Point Blvd

108th Street

100th Street

85th Street

78th Street

Local and Express stops 

Utopia Parkway

Willets Points Blvd (transfers to flushing line)

Junction Blvd

Broadway Northern Blvd (transfers to queens blvd line)

Both trains are based out of Sunnyside Yard 

The K train would branch off Broadway stoping at 
 

31st Street (transfer to Astoria line)

21st Street 

Then a lower level at 72nd Street 2nd Avenue would be made then the K train rises up at 42nd street as the express service. 
 

The V train 

would branch using the existing 63rd street tunnel than connects to 55th Street running local with the T train.

The reasoning why I propose Northern Blvd/2nd Ave express trains using the 63rd St tunnel. Is that It would allow would allow riders coming from 6th Ave, Queens blvd, Hillside the chance to easily transfer to the 2nd Ave Subway.

2nd Avenue would be expanded to 4 tracks the K train would extend to a new Williamburg Utica Avenue  line first it would stop at Clinton Street and Bedford Avenue 

The proposed Utica Avenue line would include 8th Avenue and 2nd Avenue services

The E train would also be extended to Williamsburg using the Worth Street provisions with the stations at Worth Street Chambers Street, Chatham Square, East Broadway and finally Montgomery Street. The Benefits are that it opens up new transfer options for riders in lower Manhattan. World Trade Center terminal will continue to get service but during rush hours only. The World Trade Center would be used to terminate extra C/E train during rush hours if their isn’t capacity on the Brooklyn routes when CBTC is Installed on the 8th Avenue, Fulton street, and the proposed Williamsburg lines. So a total of 8-10 rush hour trains would terminate there 4-5 rush hour C/E trains each would be sent there. But that might limit capacity on the Fulton street and the proposed Williamsburg lines. At all other times WTC is closed so you have to take the E to canal street for an A or C train I mean the Chambers street and World Trade Center are literally the same station complex so shutting it down shouldn’t be too much of a problem, however it does have a ridership count so some people might not like the sound of being forced to transfer at Canal Street for a A/C train. The World Trade Center would still be used for emergencies or G.O work.

 

The E train will also make one stop at Bedford Avenue before meeting up with the K train at Havemeyer street 

 

This route would run south 3rd street and Utica Avenue it would be a 4 track line the E train is the local and the K train is the express. 

 

Local exclusive stops 

Flushing Avenue

Lafayette Avenue 

Halsey Street 

Prospect Place

Empire Blvd

Church Avenue 

Avenue D

Flatlands Avenue 

Avenue N

 

All local and express stops

Havemeyer Street 

Broadway South 4th street

Myrtle Avenue 

Utica Avenue Fulton Street

Crown Heights Utica Avenue 

Kings Highway 

Kings Plaza Utica Avenue 

 

This proposed south 3rd street and Utica Avenue line would help balance the load of new commuters from Williamsburg, Bushwick and Bed-Stuy which currently use the L or M to get to Midtown or take the J to get to Lower Manhattan. The J train and the BMT Centre St Subway in general suffer from being built when everyone from northern Brooklyn were headed to lower Manhattan and the Financial District. Today commuting patterns have changed that now both lower Manhattan and midtown are popular designations but the high cost of new infrastructure has hampered the ability to make needed service changes. The new Williamburg line that would be served by the E and K trains would give communters more alternatives for folks in Williamburg other than having to use the congested J/Z M and L trains. And it’s would be very attractive as it offers both west side and east side access to Manhattan. 
 

Phase 4 would be build too
Hanover Square would be expanded to 4 tracks the inner tracks used for terminating trains the outer tracks used for Brooklyn service. Both the T and V trains would be extend to Fulton street local using the Court Street transit museum link. T/V meets up with the A/C at Hoyt Street the C train would be moved to the Express tracks with the A train on Broadway junction the T train would branch off to recapture the Atlantic Avenue branch and run up to Jamaica Center. The V train would continue to Euclid Avenue. The C train would be extended to Lefferts Blvd. All A trains can than be diverted to Far Rockway and Rockway Park. During Evenings/Weekends the V train would only run up to Hanover Square the C train runs local only up to Euclid Avenue. The A train also goes to Lefferts Blvd during these hours. Rockway shuttle also operates weekends and late nights. During late nights V train won’t operate at all the K train operates local in its place. Lefferts shuttle still operates during late nights.

I gotta admit this will cost FAR MORE than the current proposed second ave subway but what I trying to say is that the current plan only helps people in the east side of Manhattan travel a bit better. It does practically NOTHING for riders from The Bronx Queens or Brooklyn. I mean the biggest flaw is that there no express tracks HECK they isn’t even a third track that could be used for emergencies. Meaning that if something goes wrong at one station THE ENTIRE LINE is screwed up. I mean at least make room for the express for when ridership increases they can be build easily. The current transfers to 2nd Av require riders to use multiple stairs long corridors and transfer to multiple train routes all because planners are either too scared or don’t want to even bother design their projects to full potential. If the 2nd Ave Subway is not designed properly then it will be one of if not the most expensive mistake the MTA makes. The NYC Subway has a long history of poor planning mistakes which have limited service ever since; 2nd ave subway is the PERFECT  opportunity to redeem ourselves. 

 I’m concerned about the cost of course. But government please fund the mta. The government really needs to invest more money to the MTA.

The 2nd Ave subway is a subway line needed to not just relieve congestion along the east side of Manhattan Lexington Ave subway but also many other subways that service the entire city. My main concern about the 2nd ave proposal is that MTA will try and build the cheapest subway it can which the MTA will regret DEARLY when the population grows. The ideal for some 2nd Ave subway proposal is that it adds capacity ( 2nd ave line should be incorporated into existing lines so that existing trains could be used for improved service elsewhere)

The community and the MTA should also work together to find a solution that works out best. Costs must be brought under control cost should not be an excuse to build a less effective subway line. Transit should be built where it’s most effective not where it’s cheapest to build. 

I’ll make a map on this plan later please give feedback 

 

 

PS routings 

T train Broadway 125th street - Jamaica Center (2nd Avenue Local Fulton street Local Atlantic Avenue Local)

K train Springfield Blvd - Kings Plaza Utica Avenue ( Northern Blvd Express 2nd Avenue Express Williamsburg Utica Avenue Express)

V train Utopia Parkway - Euclid Avenue (Northern Blvd Local 2nd Avenue Local Fulton Street local)

[Vulturious]

My guy, you made like 3 different threads with like 2 of them explained in 2 pinned threads. This doesn't need to be a thing in my opinion.

[Amiri the subway guy]

31 minutes ago, Vulturious said:

My guy, you made like 3 different threads with like 2 of them explained in 2 pinned threads. This doesn't need to be a thing in my opinion.

I intended to make a full series based off my own expansion proposals. No one gave me feedback. I always wanted to make my own page like NYTIP. 

[Amiri the subway guy]

Proposed capacity improvements part 1: Deinterlining IND/BMT

Central Park West

CPW runs along the west side of Central Park for most of its length. It serves the west side of Manhattan from 145th Street to 59th Street – Columbus Circle. Two 8th Avenue services from Inwood and Washington Heights express and local and two 6th Avenue services from The Bronx local and express serve the trunk. Under the current setup, the and run express, and the and run local. This setup induces merging conflicts for both local and express services at two points – south of 145th Street and south of 59th Street.        

This can be solved by do this

 unchanged 

 local to 168th Street

 express to Norwood 205th Street

 local to Bedford Park Blvd 

Both and trains would serve The Bronx all day, every day, to encourage ridership. The runs with full-length (600-foot) trains as opposed to 480-foot trains, though it does not run overnight – the   replaces the overnight.      
 

Broadway

The Broadway trunk line runs from 57th Street and 7th Avenue to Canal Street in Manhattan. The run express and cross the Manhattan Bridge, while the trains run local via Lower Manhattan. Conflicts occur north of 34th Street – Herald Square station when the joins the on the local tracks; the three services run together until reaching Queens

This problem could solved by sending both the  to 96th Street via 2nd Avenue. The  would be rerouted to Astoria to replace the  in queens. In the  place in Queens blvd the  would be sent to Forest Hills 

Queens Blvd

The Queens Boulevard (QB) trunk line serves three distinct Manhattan trunk lines and connects to many other lines, making it one of the busiest corridors outside of Manhattan. It serves 8th Avenue  6th Avenue and Broadway . trains run express in Queens, with entering Manhattan via 53rd Street and entering Manhattan via 63rd Street. run local, with entering Manhattan via 53rd Street and entering Manhattan via 60th Street. This pattern poses several conflicts:             

The express and local merge near Queens Plaza.  

The express diverges west of 36th Street station to serve the 63rd Street line; this switch induces delays on the QB express. 

Forest Hills – 71st Avenue, due to its nature as a relay terminal for the induces delays on the QB local.  

Queens blvd would be changed to have it 

 the same 

 rerouted to 53rd Street 

 rerouted to 63rd Street 

 to Forest Hills

Swapping the  would greatly improve capacity on the 6th Avenue and Queens Blvd  

The would still run to 63rd street on weekends/overnight hours to replace the Either the or would be expand to daytime weekend hours to continue providing queens blvd with local service. Preferably the since that 10 cars and Broadway needs two locals as shown on historical Broadway maps.  

The  would run more frequently to make up for the  being move to the express. Both Fulton and Culver would remain the same .

Dekalb Avenue 

cross the Manhattan Bridge on the north side. The B serves the Brighton line and the D serves the 4th Avenue trunk line.  

cross the Manhattan Bridge on the south side. The N serves the 4th Avenue trunk line and the Q serves the Brighton line.   

enters Brooklyn via the Montague Street tunnel and serves the 4th Avenue trunk line.  

The Manhattan Bridge has the worst interlining here, which causes a lot of problems. The key is eliminating merging conflicts at the Gold Street interlocking.

Dekalb Avenue is pretty easy. All you have to do is either swap either or  I go with swapping since Brighton prefers Broadway service on 2:1 ratio so at least this would work in their favor but for west end and sea beach my defense is 6th Ave and Broadway trains only run a block from one another most of the time so how bad would it really be? In order to have the to Astoria the would go to via West End to Coney Island by building a new switch in order to have access to Coney Island yard. The would be sent to Bay Ridge 95th street cause at least it still has Grand Concourse Yard. Using new switches at 36th street since there’s already provisions. But the things is that more modifications would need to make. The would be the local on Brighton with the (Q) being the weekday express . Reason: The (N)was always a full time route and historical the (Q) only operated during Weekdays after all N comes before Q. The (B)seeing how it’s a weekday route will likely have to be a shuttle on sea beach during Weekends and late nights since Central Park west ridership is not high enough to justify four services during Weekends.      
 

The (W) would be expanded to operate during Daytime Weekends hours in order to provide local service to Queens Blvd. The (E)stills run local late night. 
 

In conclusion 

This is part 1 of improving capacity the IRT and BMT Eastern Division requires different measures in order to improve capacity. Part 2 IRT part 3 BMT Eastern Division. 

[mrsman]

There is a lot to like about the above.  A good simplification without cutting off too many of the existing travel patterns.

Let me see if I can regurgitate it for simplicity:

Inwood-207 St to Rockaways/Lefferts Blvd [CPW/8 Av Express, via Cranberry St, Fulton St Express]  

168th St to Coney Island [CPW Local, 6 Av Express, via Manhattan Bridge, 4 Av Express, Sea Beach Local]  

Norwood-205 St to Euclid Av [Concourse Express, CPW/8 Av Express, via Cranberry St, Fulton St Local]  

Bedford Park Blvd to Bay Ridge-95 St [Concourse Local, CPW Local, 6 Av Express, via Manhattan Bridge, 4 Av Express/Local]  

Jamaica Center to WTC [QBL Express, via 53 St, 8Av Local to WTC]  

Jamaica 179 St to Coney Island [QBL Express, via 53 St, 6 Av Local, via Rutgers St, Culver Local]   

 Forest Hills-71 Av to Metropolitan Av [QBL local, via 63 St, 6 Av local, Brooklyn-Broadway Local, Myrtle Ave Local] 

96St- 2 Av to Coney Island [2 Av Local, Broadway Express, via Manhattan Bridge, Brighton Local]  

96 St - 2 Av to Brighton Beach [2 Av Local, Broadway Express, via Manhattan Bridge, Brighton Express]  

Forest Hills-71 Av to Whitehall [QBL Local, via 60 St, Broadway Local]  

Astoria-Ditmars Blvd to Coney Island [Astoria Local, via 60 St, Broadway Local, via Montague St, 4 Av Local, West End Local]

 

I could see this working quite well, albeit we still would have some merging delays due to the R/W merger and the E/F/M merges in the area of 53/6.  It is certainly better than existing patterns, though.   shold probably be extended during rush hours to at least 9 Av or Bay Parkway to provide more service on the 4th Ave local and avoid bottlenecks due to the movements around Whitehall.