Metro-North: Bill requires safety messages on trains
Metro-North Railroad would have to make announcements about what to do in an emergency aboard all of its trains every 20 minutes under a proposed bill in Albany.
The messages would cover evacuation procedures, how to open emergency exits and the location of survival equipment.
State Sen. Terrence Murphy, who drafted the bill, said knowing what to do in advance of an emergency could save lives and the best way to do that was to speak directly to riders. He came up with the idea after a Harlem Line train on Feb. 3 struck a sport utility vehicle stopped on the tracks at Commerce Street in Valhalla. The SUV's driver and five passengers on the train were killed in the worst accident in Metro-North history, which happened 14 months after a Hudson Line train derailed in the Bronx, killing four riders and injuring dozens.
"If we can take steps and implement any type of safety (measures) for the passengers, it's our obligation to do so," said Murphy, R-Yorktown, whose district includes Valhalla.
MTA Officials Consider Elevated Tracks At LIRR Crossings
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is considering several measures to improve safety at Long Island Rail Road crossings, including elevating tracks.
The issue is receiving more attention after two LIRR trains struck vehicles this week.
“If they were elevated, that would be a better alternative,” one rider told WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs. “Now you’re not going to have any cars crossing through the crossings.”
The option would cost an esimated $100 million for each crossing. That has some riders worried about rising fares.
Clarkstown is studying the idea of relocating the Nanuet train station closer to the hamlet's business district and new shopping mall.
At the very least, officials say the station — currently little more than a platform and heated shelter — needs to be overhauled, such as adding a coffee shop or eatery, to take full advantage of its prime location while helping to transform Nanuet into a quaint transit village.
"The train station is a tremendous opportunity to really make Nanuet not just a better walkable community but also a destination," said Clarkstown Town Board member Stephanie Hausner, who cited Metro-North Railroad's station in Rye and NJ Transit's station in Park Ridge, New Jersey, as success stories.
Bound Brook to renovate train station platform, waiting room, report says
By Dave Hutchinson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on March 13, 2015 at 11:15 AM, updated March 13, 2015 at 3:30 PM
BOUND BROOK — In January, nighttime one-seat rides to New York started on the Raritan Valley Line.
As a result, many municipalities with train stations are looking to use the one-seat ride as a catalyst for downtown redevelopment plans, including Bound Brook, which is looking to upgrade the eastbound platform of its train station, according to a report on mycentraljersey.
The project would also include reopening the historic 100-by-50-foot brick building as a waiting room -- train passengers currently must wait outside -- and the restoration of a staircase from South Main Street by the rotary.
NJ Transit commuters pay the highest fares in the country, analysis finds
By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on March 27, 2015 at 1:50 PM, updated March 27, 2015 at 5:38 PM
NJ Transit commuters who travel 48 miles between New York and Princeton Junction, pay $414 for a monthly pass, higher than the $377 monthly fare that a Long Island Rail Road rider pays to travel 49 miles between New York and Smithtown. Metro North commuters would pay $407 a month for a 52-mile trip between New York and Brewster, Conn., the study found
Top Speed : 100 mph (161 km/h) (Design) & 80 mph (129 km/h) (Service)
Electrification systems : 750 V DC
Power Supply : 3rd Rail Top Contact (LIRR M7) & 3rd Rail Bottom Contact (MNRR M7A)
Entered Service : October 30, 2002 (LIRR M7) & April 2004 (MNRR M7A)
Number Built : 1,172 cars
Top Speed : 100 mph (161 km/h)
Electrification systems : 12 kV 25 Hz AC Catenary & 12 kV 60 Hz AC Catenary or 25 kV 60 Hz AC Catenary
Entered Service : 1977
Number Built : 230 cars
LIRR to get improvements in Brooklyn, part of Barclays deal
By ALFONSO A. CASTILLO March 22, 2015
The $100 million real estate deal that led to the Barclays Center being built over a century-old rail yard is beginning to pay dividends for the Long Island Rail Road and its Brooklyn commuters, officials said.
Seven years into the construction of a state-of-the-art new storage facility to replace the original Vanderbilt Yards, workers will soon punch through a 171-year-old rail tunnel to provide trains, for the first time, a direct path between the yard and Atlantic Terminal.
Unfortunately for passengers, once East Side Access opens, there will no longer be any one-seat rides between Atlantic Terminal and suburban Long Island.
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