Comments on: Glass walls for Second Ave. subway could keep passengers, air, trash in

By: Transit exploring glass doors for platform edges :: Second Ave. Sagas

Transit exploring glass doors for platform edges :: Second Ave. Sagas — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 16:47:06 +0000

[...] revenue-sharing plans with the chosen vendor. Otherwise, this project, as previous MTA officials have warned, will be too expensive. Still, any excitement over this project may be a bit premature. “We [...]

By: Bobo

Bobo — Tue, 05 May 2009 17:55:34 +0000

You’ve gotten yourself good and confused. There are three sizes of cars on the subway. “A” division cars come in one size, 51′ long by 8’10″ wide. “B” division cars come in two sizes. 60′ long by 10′ wide (what you refer to as “60 foot cars”) and 75′ by 10′ wide (what you refer to as “75 foot cars”). 60′ and 75′ cars CAN OPERATE TOGETHER ON A LINE. The 51′ foot cars can’t BECAUSE THEY’RE OF A DIFFERENT WIDTH.

By: Let's Revisit the Subway Air Conditioning Question : SUBWAYblogger.com: Blog from the New York Subway

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 03:14:25 +0000

[...] April, SUBWAYblogger laughed at the idea of having glass doors as a barrier to the subway tracks on the new Second Avenue line. The doors would work just like the AirTran stations. I think the monorail at Disney World [...]

By: Louis

Louis — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 14:34:24 +0000

I should clarify, I didn’t know about the 51-foot cars even though I ride them almost exclusively every day.

By: Louis

Louis — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 02:14:45 +0000

Thanks Mike,

You are quite right. I just re-visited the comments here to admit that myself. I had it way wrong.

It turns out, for anyone who is interested, that BMT Eastern Division (JMZ & L) cannot use the 75-foot trains. Also, this means that the “Chrystie Cut,” which connects the Christie Street B/D (read: 2nd Avenue Subway) with the JMZ will not be able to use the 75-foot trains. Just food for thought.

Thanks again for the info, Mike. I didn’t know about the 51-foot cars.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:34:11 +0000

Louis, I’m a fraid you have it wrong. The cars on the numbered (IRT) lines are 51 feet long and roughly a foot narrower than those on the letered (IND-BMT) lines. The lettered lines run both 60- and 75-foot cars. Both are the same width. If the put platform-edge doors on the Second Avenue line, they could solve the door problem easily enough by shifting around the fleet so that only one size of car runs on Second Avenue.

By: Louis

Louis — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 23:28:10 +0000

The cars will all be of the 75 foot, lettered-line variety. It is impossible for lines to operate passenger service with 60 foot and 75 foot cars, because the 60 foot cars are narrower, and so would not reach the platforms.

For this reason, 60-foot cars can run on lettered lines for maintenance, i.e. to run to Coney Island Shops for servicing, but 75-foot cars cannot run on numbered lines because they cannot fit into the stations.

On another note, Paris uses this system on the 14-Meteor line with great success. Having two doors not only improves air in the station; it also greatly reduces loading times. Why? Nobody wants to be between 2 closing doors. Which is not to say they are unsafe, in fact, it has shown to be quite the contrary.

By: Tuck

Tuck — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 00:05:29 +0000

I’m gonna miss watching the little rats scurry when the train comes. Maybe the MTA can install tiny rat trampolines so they can jump up and down and peek their little noses at us through the panel doors.

By: Julia

Julia — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 16:41:19 +0000

P.S. Likewise, if the platform is enclosed in glass and packed full of sweaty, stinky people in the summertime, there had BETTER be working AC, because … yuck.

By: Julia

Julia — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 16:37:30 +0000

If they’re planning to put AC in the stations, it seems like they’d have to do something like this as well. Otherwise, it will be a huge waste of money and fuel to keep the AC going full blast as the cool air is sucked down to the tracks and into the tunnels.

But yikes, that glass is going to get real gross real fast.