As the end of the month — and a looming vacation nears — I haven’t had as much time to post lately as I usually do. Thanks for bearing with me these past few weeks. I have news on which we must catch up, and I’ll try to follow up with longer posts next week. Eric and I will be recording a new podcast this weekend, and we’ll touch on a few of these topics. The news is picking up.
First up, MTA Board appointments. As Albany wrapped up its legislative calendar with a flurry of activity this week, a variety of new MTA Board appointees made it through the approval process. NYC DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg will join the Board. She’s not the first city DOT chief to join the MTA Board, per Times editor Dean Change. She’ll be joined by Iris Weinshall, a former DOT commission who is my neighbor, the wife of Senator Chuck Schumer and a notorious opponent of the Prospect Park West bike lane.
In operations news, the A and C trains are getting a full line review. Transit will conduct a top to bottom review of service along the 8th Ave. and Fulton St. lines as the Riders Alliance continues to win reviews for some of the city’s least reliable lines. I joked on Twitter that more frequent evening rush service to Brooklyn and newer rolling stock should do the trick, but we’ll see what the MTA uncovers in a few months.
Finally, I have some news on the 7 line extension and East Side Access. According to the latest MTA Board committee meeting materials, the 7 line may not open until early 2015, but the MTA is working hard to begin revenue service prior to the end of 2014. More on that on Monday, but clearly this is a mess. Meanwhile, the MTA has determined that they expect East Side Access to cost around $10.7 billion and be ready for passenger service before the end of 2022. I also expect flying cars and hover boards around then. Still no word on the definitive ribbon cutting for the Fulton St. Transit Center.
That’s lot of catch-up. Now the weekend service changes.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, June 20, to 5:00 a.m. Monday, June 23, South Ferry-bound 1 trains run express from 34 St-Penn Station to Chambers St due to track tie renewal at 34 St-Penn Station.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, June 20, to 5:00 a.m. Monday, June 23, Wakefield-241 St-bound 2 trains run express between E180 St and Gun Hill Rd due to CPM signal modernization on the Dyre Avenue Line.
From 11:45 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., Friday, June 20 to Sunday, June 22, and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, June 22, to 5:00 a.m. Monday, June 23, Flatbush Av-Brooklyn College-bound 2 trains run express from 34 St-Penn Station to Chambers St due to track tie renewal at 34 St-Penn Station.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, June 20, to 5:00 a.m. Monday, June 23, Woodlawn-bound 4 trains skip Fulton St due to work for Fulton Center.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, June 20, to 5:00 a.m. Monday, June 23, 5 trains are suspended in both directions between Eastchester-Dyre Av and E180 St due to CPM signal modernization on the Dyre Avenue Line.
From 5:45 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Saturday, June 21, and from 7:45 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sunday, June 22, E180 St-bound 5 trains skip Fulton St due to work for Fulton Center.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, June 20, to 4:00 a.m. Monday, June 23, Pelham Bay Park-bound 6 trains run express between Parkchester and Pelham Bay Park due to station rehabilitation preparation at Buhre Av and Zerega Av.
From 2:00 a.m. Saturday, June 21, to 4:30 a.m. Monday, June 23, 7 trains are suspended between Times Square-42 St and Queensboro Plaza in both directions due to CBTC related work and track panel installation south of Queensboro Plaza. EFNQS and free shuttle buses provide alternate service. Q service is extended to Astoria Ditmars Blvd on Saturday, June 21, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and on Sunday, June 22, from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Shuttle buses operate between Vernon Blvd-Jackson Av and Queensboro Plaza making station stops at Queensboro Plaza, Queens Plaza, Court Square, Hunters Point Av and Vernon Blvd-Jackson Av.
From 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Saturday, June 21, and Sunday, June 22, the last stop on some 7 trains headed toward Queensboro Plaza will be 74 St-Broadway due to CBTC related work and track panel installation south of Queensboro Plaza.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, June 20 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, June 23, A trains are suspended between Ozone Park-Lefferts Blvd and Rockaway Blvd due to station rehabilitations at 88 St and 104 St. Free shuttle buses provide alternate service via 80 St. Far Rockaway Mott Av-bound A trains skip 88 St and Rockaway Blvd. Free shuttle buses operate between 80 St and Ozone Park Lefferts Blvd, stopping at 88 St, Rockaway Blvd, 104 St, and 111 St. Transfer between shuttle buses and the A at 80 St.
From 11:45 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. Friday, June 20 to Sunday, June 22, and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, June 22, to 5:00 a.m. Monday, June 23, Brooklyn-bound A trains run express from 59 St Columbus Circle to Canal St due to track plate renewal on switches south of Canal St.
From 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, June 21, and Sunday, June 22, Brooklyn-bound C trains run express from 59 St Columbus Circle to Canal St due to track plate renewal on switches south of Canal St.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, June 20 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, June 23, E trains are suspended in both directions between World Trade Center and W 4 St-Wash Sq due to track plate renewal on switches south of Canal St.
From 11:15 p.m. Friday, June 20 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, June 23, Coney Island Stillwell Av-bound F trains are rerouted via the E line from Jackson Hts-Roosevelt Av to 5 Av/53 St due to Second Avenue Subway construction work.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, June 20 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, June 23, Coney Island Stillwell Av-bound F trains skip Sutphin Blvd, Briarwood-Van Wyck Blvd and 75 Av due to rail work south of Parsons Blvd.
From 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Saturday, June 21, and from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Sunday, June 22, Q trains are extended to Astoria Ditmars Blvd due to CBTC related work and track panel installation south of Queensboro Plaza on the 7 line.
(42 St Shuttle)
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, June 21, to 6:00 a.m. Monday, June 23, the 42 St Shuttle operates overnight due to CBTC related work and track panel installation south of Queensboro Plaza on the 7 line.
(Franklin Av Shuttle)
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, June 21, to 9:00 p.m. Sunday, June 22, the Franklin Av Shuttle operates every 24 minutes due to CPM circuit breaker house work north of Prospect Pk.
8 comments
A recommendation for 600-foot C trains could solve two problems sometime in the future, if it allowed the new eight-car trains destined for the C to be transferred over to the G, extending those train lengths from 300 to 480 feet. But to do that would probably require bumping up the future order of R-211 trains (which are due to be 75-foot cars, but that wouldn’t matter with swapping the eight-car 60-foot trains on the IND — you just couldn’t use them in place of the eight-car trains on the BMT’s Eastern Division).
Nothing wrong with the A/C that 1 additional 1-2 tph on the C during peak periods couldn’t fix. You can’t fix the long intervals past Rockaway Blvd without wholesale changes that are unlikely.
However, even at current service levels, Brooklyn-bound trains are backed up to W4 waiting to go through the interlocking at Canal. It’s slightly better coming into Hoyt-Schermerhorn Manhattan-bound, but not by much. Without streamlining that, I’m not sure what can be done in terms of adding service. I suppose perhaps they could add some off-peak CPW service, turning at WTC or 2nd Av, but that’s just adding confusion.
Perhaps a better question is how we saw after the F train derailment that the A/C line is the worst in the entire system in terms of broken rail incidents. From a reliability perspective, replacing with welded rail could be a good fix.
New rolling stock always helps, but that’s already on the way, and can’t really speed it up any.
There are a few long-shuttered entrances north of 59th Street that I’d like to see re-opened, simply because the rationale for closing them no longer applies.
I suspect we’ll see a few trips added to improve loading guidelines, which is usually what comes out of such reviews. There is nothing they can do about the line’s fundamental design limitations. Ideas that require massive capital outlays will have to wait their turn.
The A train to Far Rockaway only (with rush hour service to Beach 116th Street). The C train to Lefferts Boulevard (Night service from Euclid Avenue). 600 foot C trains and C Service till 1:00 am weeknights.
Also A Express on Central Park West (local D) and 8th Avenue (local E).
I’m no expert on the A / C, but I’ve taken it more often during the past year, with the Montague tunnel closed. My ride is typically Jay Street to Fulton. Even for such a short ride, i find it nasty and overcrowded, not just in the rush hour either.
Which of the two do you usually take? If it’s the A, don’t expect that to let up anytime soon; if it’s the C, don’t expect that to last.
Re: the work at Penn Station, it’s awful the way they idle the diesel locomotives in the station, suffocating everyone on the platform. They also sometimes use power equipment with 2-cycle engines that are even worse. Has the MTA given any thought to the associated health hazards?