New York City - Transit News

[M II A II R II K]

MTA Taps Need for Speed in Subways by Expanding Limits on Tracks¨

https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/3/15/22...a-train-tracks

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- Subway ridership plummeted during the pandemic, yet speed limits shot up last year at 64 locations across the transit system, THE CITY has learned. The velocity improvements along stretches of several subway lines came even as the MTA’s efforts to safely accelerate service were twice sidetracked for months by the COVID-19 crisis and as a growing number of people have ended up on the tracks or sought shelter in tunnels. — “There is certainly value in [raising speed limits],” said Eric Loegel, a Transport Workers Union Local 100 vice president who represents train operators and conductors. “And there is no harm in trying to make a better experience for our operators and our customers, even if the ridership is down.”

- Internal bulletins obtained by THE CITY show subway speed limits were increased at more than 40 locations in the first three months of 2020. The upgrades resumed in June, after overnight passenger service had been suspended and paused again in late November. Sarah Feinberg, the interim president of New York City Transit, said the work “will remain a priority” as more riders return to the system while the city rebounds from the pandemic. — “This was very hot before the pandemic, they were getting a lot of speed changes approved and there was a lot of signal work being done,” Loegel said. “They were really making some great strides, and then, of course, the pandemic came and knocked it off to the side.”

According to the bulletins, some of the new speed limits include:

• 45 miles per hour — up from 30 — on Manhattan-bound A/C trains between the High Street station in Downtown Brooklyn and the Fulton Street stop in Lower Manhattan

• 32 miles per hour — up from 20 — on the northbound stretch of the Sixth Avenue line between Seventh Avenue and 59th Street-Columbus Circle in Manhattan

• 23 miles per hour — up from 15 — for F trains traveling south from the underground Church Avenue station to the elevated Ditmas Avenue stop in Brooklyn

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[Busy Bee]

I feel the need...the need for speed...

[mrnyc]

lga airtrain moves forward:



Transportation
LaGuardia AirTrain project moves forward following federal review

more:
https://qns.com/2021/03/laguardia-ai...7jv5aA.twitter

[mrnyc]

cuomo is trying to open up penn around the elephant in the room that is msg:


https://www.amny.com/news/empire-sta...-penn-station/

[mrnyc]

mta ridership increases recently -- along with covid safety worries:


https://www.amny.com/news/137535234/

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

lga airtrain moves forward:



Transportation
LaGuardia AirTrain project moves forward following federal review

Two steps forward, one step back.

[mrnyc]

the continued press for open streets:


https://www.amny.com/news/open-stree...ources-needed/

[mrnyc]

opposition to the lga airtrain and process:

https://www.amny.com/news/queens-com...eview-process/

[M II A II R II K]

The Future of the 2nd Ave Subway: A Bronx Tail Track

https://www.vanshnookenraggen.com/_i...nx-tail-track/

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- Phase 2 of the 2nd Ave Subway has been in the news recently as President Biden proposed a $2 trillion infrastructure bill. Senate Majority Leader Schumer has pushed for funding Phase 2 of 2nd Ave so it’s very possible that, if funding arrives by the end of the year, construction can start soon (at least preliminary work since Covid is still slowing down the MTA.) --- Phase 2 will extend the existing subway from 96th St and 2nd Ave to 125th St and Lexington Ave. The subway will start to curve west at 120th St and will feature provisions for a future branch to the Bronx. The 125th St terminal may end up being the most expensive subway station ever built. The Lexington Ave Line is double stacked at this point meaning that the new station needs to be extra deep. In order to make construction “easier” the MTA plans on carving the station out of bedrock rather than digging up the street cut-and-cover style. Like with the cavern stations on Phase 1 and East Side Access, these deeper stations require more emergency support services to be built which drives the costs sky high.

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[Busy Bee]

LIRR investigating battery trains to run in diesel territory; proposterously claims third rail electrification would be cost prohibitive

https://champ.gothamist.com/champ/go...ommuter-trains

[mrnyc]

well what do ya know another busway that actually helps me -- yay:



New busway at 181st Street in Manhattan to begin service on Monday morning: DOT
Posted on April 25, 2021


A new half mile of busway in Washington Heights is expected to begin hastening commutes for up to 66,000 New Yorkers on Monday morning, the city Department of Transportation announced.

Despite being one of the shorter busways in the city, DOT said it forms a priority as being one of the most congested corridor’s in the borough with average bus speeds ranging at about four miles per housing, placing it as a project under the Better Buses Restart initiative announced in June.


more:
https://www.amny.com/news/new-busway...onday-morning/

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

The Future of the 2nd Ave Subway: A Bronx Tail Track

https://www.vanshnookenraggen.com/_i...nx-tail-track/
g[/IMG]

Biden is a politician which means if $10~ billion is thrown at the MTA capital projects we will see new lines/branches, not upgrades to what already exists as this writer argues. I also suspect that there will be a push by Biden to build the Bronx extension before Lower Manhattan because Bronx=Poor/Minority and Lower Manhattan=Rich/White.

[Busy Bee]

a) In reality, the country needs 6+ trillion dollars of hard transport infrastructure investment

b) The way the Republicans are gonna try to whittle this bill down to as little as possible and focused on suburban and rural auto infrastructure, which is who their constituency is, as much as I don't want to admit it leads me to believe the most likely outcome is...

c) Neither gets built


Public transit in this dilapidated outmoded country needs about 100 billion a year over 10 years to build, expand and modernize a 21st century system where transit is a desirable option for nearly every American that lives in an urban or suburban setting. I cannot even believe its starting to appear the Democrats are starting to fall for it again... that is they want bipartisan support so bad they let the already [modest] plan get diluted and diminished by these GOP monsters that won't vote for it anyway.

So just to summarize, I too would like to think that Biden is personally thinking about and rooting for a Second Ave subway accomplishment under his watch, but...

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Biden is a politician which means if $10~ billion is thrown at the MTA capital projects we will see new lines/branches, not upgrades to what already exists as this writer argues. I also suspect that there will be a push by Biden to build the Bronx extension before Lower Manhattan because Bronx=Poor/Minority and Lower Manhattan=Rich/White.

there is no plan for the bronx for second avenue. at least none that would occur in anyone's lifetime. phase two goes up to and a bit across 125st. biden will possibly help fund that first. for the far flung future, phase three goes down to 14st and phase four brings it home downtown to hanover square.

however, there are plans in motion right now to improve rail transit for the bronx and for city dwellers via the mnrr. cuomo wants four more stations in the bronx and the goal is to charge the same price as the subway for rides between stations within the city limits. this is quite doable and would effectively saturate the bx with rail transit options. so uncle joe may help fund more there too.

other than that what the bx really needs is crosstown service.

more:
https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/gov...stations-bronx

[Busy Bee]

I guess it depends on how old we are on here LOL. I'm in my 30s so I'd very much like to think that in my lifetime the SAS could wind it's way up Third to Fordham Rd or jog over to 180th and take over the Dyer Ave branch which was built for it.

Let's not try to lower the bar of expectations anymore shall we

And yes, Fordham Rd/Pelham Pkwy is begging for a A division subway, or at a minimum light rail (which would also need tunneling), from Inwood to Co-Op city.

[jmecklenborg]

I think part of the problem is that because there aren't any express tracks on the existing Second Ave. line, an extension into The Bronx would mean a relatively slow trip to Midtown and Downtown.

In theory, since nothing has been built or fully planned yet, a Bronx extension could be made to tunnel beneath what was just built and run express from 116th St. to 55th St., a distance of 3 miles. This would be similar to the long express run on the 8th Ave. line.

The express could also bypass the 34th and 23rd St. stations (or even enable one more station in that area), but it seems that they wouldn't want to skip any of the stations below that, since they all will transfer with other lines.

I think the whole Second Ave. dilemma is that building anything at all is super-expensive, but since people are shocked by that number, nobody has the guts to hold it up and wait to build something Transformative rather than merely transformative.

[mrnyc]

why would you want to suddenly build above 125st next when 2nd ave subway is planned and ready to go for phase three and four and thats where its most needed? also, given all the other priorities around town? for example, i certainly would not want that over triboro rx. as i said, the bx is already getting a lot more added rail service via another much cheaper and speedier method.

if there could be anything else added i can think of immediately it would be great to keep tunneling and extend phase two further west across 125st for much needed crosstown service. you will see when the new mnrr stations and local service options open up that taking 2nd ave up into the bx is not needed.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

if there could be anything else added i can think of immediately it would be great to keep tunneling and extend phase two further west across 125st for much needed crosstown service. you will see when the new mnrr stations and local service options open up that taking 2nd ave up into the bx is not needed.

I haven't read an official explanation as to why they are planning to end at 125th/Lexington and not continue westward toward the other north/south lines. We are told that the planned terminal station will be very expensive due to its deep construction, and it's likely the case that another station further west would be as or more expensive due to the need to go deep plus the uneven topography in that area.

[mrnyc]

^ its very puzzling. i mean the bore machine is in the ground and in action on the 125th st section, so why not keep it going west? obviously yeah terrain and money are issues. its a shame. maybe train daddy uncle joe will come through for more, we’ll see.

***

good news, the city that never sleeps is back bay bee.

24/7 subway service returns may 17:

https://www.fox5ny.com/news/new-york...ning-on-may-19

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

^ its very puzzling. i mean the bore machine is in the ground and in action on the 125th st section, so why not keep it going west? obviously yeah terrain and money are issues. its a shame. maybe train daddy uncle joe will come through for more, we’ll see.

There are three north/south lines west of the Lexington Ave. line. My hunch is that the 8th Ave. line is the busiest at 125th St., so if they only have funds to build one more station, that would be the place.