Oct
19
At Grand Central, one extra minute
ByFor those commuters destined for Metro-North and running a few seconds later, worry not. As The Times reported this weekend, those MTA train schedules are a minute off. It is, according to Metro-North, the railroad’s policy to hold trains at Grand Central Terminal for one minute beyond the scheduled departure time so that late-running passengers have a chance to catch their trains. Michael Grynbaum tested this claim and found that, on average, trains leave 58 seconds late with some trains staying for more than 80 seconds beyond their scheduled departure time. This extra minute of “gate time” has been in place for decades, and the trains quickly meet their timetables at subsequent stops where the scheduled departure time always applies. How’s that for customer service?
Doesn’t it defeat the purpose of a “secret” extra minute if train riders now know they have it? Watch people start missing trains because they will be adding that minute to the subconscious timetables and relying on it as the departure time.
And watch them complain if the train leaves less than a minute late by their watches.
I think the people who get there late probably aren’t the same people who would remember the extra minute.
When I am late, Metro-North leaves right on time! No minute, secret or not, for me.
The MTA: even when it can stick to schedule, it doesn’t.
U@&&###!!!
It’s irresponsible reporting such as this that’s going to lead to a bunch of frustrated commuters. In this instance, ignorance was bliss.