According to Metro-North’s own surveys, a whopping 83 percent of passengers said they support the quiet cars. “Quiet cars are a hit,” Metro-North President Howard Permut said to LoHud.com. “With very few exceptions, people have quickly adapted to the new etiquette.”

While the quiet car is a concept that won’t see the light of day in the subway, I am particularly enamored with one aspect of the program. Among the things commuters in the quiet cars must do are: (1) disabling the sound features on electronic devices; and (2) using headphones at a volume that cannot be heard by fellow passengers. These are basic concepts in mass transit etiquette that are, more frequently than not, forgotten by the straphanging public in the subways.

©2012 Second Ave. Sagas. All Rights Reserved.

Penn Station access for Metro-North will not be a grievous insult to Long Islanders.

There must be something in the water out on Long Island that makes its politicians put forth some crazy ideas. A few days after one group of Long Island State Senators proposed a further repeal of the MTA payroll tax, another is protesting what is, in essence, better commuter rail service for New Yorkers from both the Island and Westchester.

The story goes a little something like this: On and off for the last decade or so, the MTA has toyed with a Penn Station Access Study that discusses how best to bring Metro-North trains into Penn Station. In November, thanks to a push from Bronx politicians, the authority announced that it is engaged in a Federal Environmental Assessment that is exploring the impact such a routing would have. The assessment will be finished by the end of 2013, and at that point, the MTA will determine how best to proceed with this project.

Meanwhile, a group of Long Island Senators is having what can charitably be described as a freak-out. They are already calling upon the MTA to reject Metro-North service to Penn Station, and their complaints seem utterly short-sighted. “To make room for the new Metro-North Trains, the LIRR could be forced to cut the number of trains it runs into Penn Station,” Kemp Hannon, a Republican from Nassau County, said. “The LIRR is already sharing ingress into Penn Station, and any reduction of service could have a devastating impact on commuters and other travelers. With only seven of Penn Station’s existing 21 tracks being allotted to the LIRR, any reductions would seriously impair LIRR operations and affect all LIRR riders.”

The Senators, as Newsday reports, sent a letter to MTA Chairman Joe Lhota expressing their displeasure with the move. They don’t want to see a reduction in LIRR service to Penn Station, but they seem to be ignoring both common sense and commuting patterns.

Right now, as we know, the MTA is building out the East Side Access project that will, by 2016 or 2018 or some point this decade, bring LIRR service to Grand Central. The MTA studies show that tens of thousands of people from Long Island want and need direct service to the East Side. These folks currently travel via LIRR to Penn Station and then make their ways to the East Side. It’s circuitous and inconvenient.

Based on the current MTA funding proposals and the speed of construction, any Metro-North service into Penn Station is unlikely to see the light of day before the East Side Access project is completed. By then, the LIRR won’t need to run as many trains into Penn Station becomes some of its ridership will choose instead to go to the East Side. The Long Island Senators claim that, even after ESA is in service, LIRR must operate the same service into Penn Station. They want it all at the expense of better commutes for New Yorkers from Westchester. It simply defies transportation reason.

©2012 Second Ave. Sagas. All Rights Reserved.

The MTA is once again examining the possibility of bringin Metro North trains to Penn Station. Above, a map from a 2000 study.

When the Long Island Rail Road’s long-awaiting East Side Access project wraps up sometime later this decade, the MTA will shift numerous trains from Penn Station to Grand Central, and Metro-North riders bound for the West Side could stand to benefit from the move. With space available at Penn Station in a few years, the MTA is exploring a way to bring Metro-North westward, and the Bronx could gain a few more commuter rail stations if all goes according to plan.

“Metro-North is currently performing a Federal Environmental Assessment for the introduction of its rail service from the Hudson and New Haven Lines to Penn Station,” Aaron Donovan, authority spokesman, said to me in an email. “The review includes potential stations along Amtrak’s Hell Gate Line in the vicinity of Co-op City, Morris Park, Parkchester and Hunts Point. We anticipate completing this assessment in 2013.”

Earlier this week, MTA officials met with various stakeholders in the Bronx to discuss progress on the Federal Environmental Assessment. The Bronx Times was on hand to report on the meeting, and all involved spoke highly of the plan. “This is an idea that has been around for decades, and the meeting was just a preliminary step where the MTA wanted to gauge the reaction of elected officials and stakeholders, with the reaction being very positive,” John DeSio, a spokesman out of the Bronx Borough President office, said.

Patrick Rocchio had more:

The final plan could include the creation of new stations along Metro North’s New Haven line that would service Co-op City near Erskine Place, Morris Park near Einstein Medical Center and the Hutchinson Metro Center, Parkchester in the vicinity of Unionport Road and E. Tremont Avenue, and Hunts Point near Southern Boulevard, said Assemblyman Michael Benedetto.

Space for the extra trains coming into Penn Station from the new stations should be available in 2016, after Long Island Rail Road’s East Side Access Plan re-routes many of the trains currently terminating at Penn Station to Grand Central Terminal, Benedetto said. “They do expect this to happen, and therefore they want to start planning now so things are ready when space is freed up in Penn Station,” Benedetto said.

The public should not expect new Metro North stations in the Bronx in the next couple of years, even though construction theoretically could begin on the four new Bronx stations before space becomes available at Penn Station, Benedetto said.

In the Bronx, residents and property owners were thrilled with the idea of a direct line to Penn Station. “A new train station in Co-op City would enable commuters to get to Penn Station within 25 minutes, which is very welcome news to many residents of this great community,” Vernon Cooper, the general manager of Riverbay Corporation, said.

Meanwhile, early reports indicate that costs could be fairly reasonable. The Bronx Times reports that the project would come in at $350 million — $250 million from New York State and $100 million from Connecticut — a figure in line with the $91 million it cost to build one new Metro-North stop near Yankee Stadium.

Long-time MTA watchers may know this project, in vague terms, as the Penn Station Access Study. I’ve been told that the scoping documents and project plans for the early 2000s are now out of date, and the MTA plans to release more information later this year or early next. Still, this could be a relatively low-cost way to improve access from the Bronx and points north to the West Side, and I’ll keep an eye on it.

©2012 Second Ave. Sagas. All Rights Reserved.

MTA officials have been supportive of the ban. “The new law is a benefit to our customers, helping us in our efforts to provide a healthier and cleaner environment on our platforms and in our ticketing and boarding area,” Metro-North President Howard Permut said. “We appreciate the action taken by Governor Cuomo and the Legislature to protect New Yorkers and improve public health.”

Meanwhile, to spread the word, a variety of famous New Yorkers including Tommy John, Joe Namath, James Lipton, Mike Lupica and Countess LuAnn de Lesseps will record public address announcements for the commuter rail. Although the ban is effective Nov. 13, MTA police will issue warnings rather than summonses during a grace period while the educational campaign is under way. The authority could not say how long that grace period would last however.

©2012 Second Ave. Sagas. All Rights Reserved.

“Since Irene, Metro-North’s top priority has been the restoration of train service on the Port Jervis Line and thanks to the tireless work of the railroad’s own employees, we are very pleased to announce that full, through train service will be restored a month earlier than expected,” Metro-North President Howard Permut said. “We invite our customers to come back to Metro-North and thank them for their patience during this crisis.”

On November 28, the MTA will restore the schedule of 26 daily trains and 14 weekend trains. The alternate bus service will cease then as well. Metro-North officials credited the expedited repairs process to the declaration of emergency issued by then-Chairman and CEO Jay Walder as well as increased cooperation from landowners and municipalities along the washed-out right-of-way. Although the MTA will continue to work throughout the winter and into the spring to repair the line, the authority now projects a completion date in June 2012, and the work will cost between $30-$40 million, significantly less than the original $60 million estimate.

©2012 Second Ave. Sagas. All Rights Reserved.

Twisted rails and eroded track beds mark the Port Jervis line. Photo by Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Hilary Ring.

The restoration of the MTA’s little-used Port Jervis Line in the aftermath of damage inflicted upon it by Hurricane Irene will cost the cash-strapped agency $50 million, Metro-North said earlier this week. Furthermore, the railroad does not anticipate returning to a full timetable until the Fall of 2012, over a year after the storm.

“We are committed to restoring the Port Jervis Line as quickly as possible. It is an important part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s regional network,” MRN President Howard Permut said earlier this week. “In the meantime, Metro-North has marshaled the resources of MTA Bus to provide alternative service during reconstruction and Metro-North forces are building access roads to the tracks to literally lay the groundwork for the outside contractor.”

According to initial engineering assessments, approximately 90 percent of the repair work will involve replacing stones and trackbed washed away over a 14-mile stretch from Suffern to Harriman. In the aftermath of the flooding, over 50 washouts destroyed over two miles of the MTA’s right-of-way. The remainder of the work will involved repairs to the signal system.

As Metro-North said, “Water infiltration and erosion of the right-of-way have undermined circuit houses, signal cases and associated battery wells. In many areas, signal and fiber optic cables have been exposed and must be reburied and tested.” All told, the MTA is trying to restore service between Harriman and Suffern first before implementing repairs that will usher a return to the old timetable.

With a lofty pricetag and low ridership — only 2800 people per day use the Port Jervis line — many have wondered if this expenditure is a good use of MTA funds. Between the busing service and repairs, the total bill will top $60 million, and while the authority believes FEMA and insurance will cover some of the costs, they’ll have to foot part of the bill out of their dwindling cash reserves. As I said a few weeks ago, will the MTA take advantage of an opportunity or just throw money at a lesser-used commuter line?

©2012 Second Ave. Sagas. All Rights Reserved.

The details are simple: Starting October 17, on certain peak trains, the last (AM) and first (PM) cars will be set aside for commuters who would like to avoid ringing cell phones, loud conversations and other gadgetry sound effects. These trains will carry a Q with them on the timetable. The program, says Metro-North, will be voluntary with customers self-monitoring. Conductors, though, will issue so-called “shh” cars to non-compliant riders. That’s sure to go over well with petulant cell-phone users. Those who wish to converse in the Quiet Cars must use subdued voices.

Along the West-of-Hudson routes, a similar pilot has been wildly successful. According to a July study, 82 percent of riders were satisfied with the Quiet Car program with nearly 20 percent moving to the Quiet Car and only four percent sitting elsewhere. After a few months, Metro-North will evaluate the East-of-Hudson pilot before deciding whether or not to expand it. “We are pleased that Metro-North’s West of Hudson quiet car program has proved popular with riders and support Metro-North extending this initiative to East of Hudson lines, as our Council has urged in the past,” David Buchwald, chair of the Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council. “We believe that giving riders a choice in their commuting environment will make for a more pleasant traveling experience.”

©2012 Second Ave. Sagas. All Rights Reserved.

Cyclists at Grand Central Terminal on Friday tested prototype bicycle hooks being piloted on Metro-North's M-8 cars by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Photo by Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Patrick Cashin.

For a long time, bicyclists and Metro-North trains have co-existed rather uneasily. The MTA charges a $5 permit for those who wish to bring their bikes on board, but the limitations are extensive. Bikes are, of course, not allowed at all in peak directions during peak hours, and the railroad limits the total number of bicycles per train to four during the week and just eight during the weekend. For cyclists who want to take advantage of the numerous trails around the New York area, these rules make riding the rails onerous and sometimes impractical.

On and off, we’ve heard of efforts by the MTA to improve the way bikes are stored on Metro-North trains. The authority originally announced a prototype test on the M-7s back in 2009 but had to cancel amidst cost concerns last year. Now, the prototype is back on track.

Last Friday, Metro-North held a demonstration of a potential bike solution for the M-8 trains. They tested two types of hooks as cyclists experimented with the hanging bike hooks. I’ve heard that test trains will run on the New Haven line between now and November 13, and NYCC has published the prototype schedule. Bikes can be just as intrusive as those travelers with giant luggage who often use Metro-North, and adding hooks as an accommodation should help make it easier for those on two wheels to get around.

©2012 Second Ave. Sagas. All Rights Reserved.

Twisted rails and eroded track beds mark the Port Jervis line. Photo by Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Hilary Ring.

It’s been over two weeks since Hurricane Irene stormed through the New York area, and the MTA is still in the process of assessing the future of the Port Jervis line. Even with the MTA’s so-called emergency powers activated in order to avoid a lengthy procurement process, the line will be out of service for a few months as engineers levy a cost estimate and then begin repairs. The storm has brought renewed attention to a little-used lifeline into the city, and many are wondering what should be done with it.

Earlier this week, Jim O’Grady at both WNYC and Transportation Nation examined the Port Jervis line. The two articles are basically identical copies of each other but with different headlines. One asks if the MTA should bother fixing it, and the other notes that the authority is going to “spend millions” repairing the line. Whatever the price tag, it’s going to be a lot of dough for 2300 riders per day.

O’Grady raises a point I briefly mentioned in my most recent examination of the Port Jervis line’s future: Based on the MTA’s initial estimates, the cost to repair the Port Jervis line will be far steeper than the money the agency saved when it cut 37 bus lines, and the Port Jervis ridership is “just a small portion of the thousands of riders who used to take” those buses. If only it were that simple.

By providing service into Orange County, the MTA can earn subsidies from those counties. While few riders travel along the Port Jervis line into New York, it is included in the payroll tax calculations. Relatively little money comes from the largely rural county, but the subsidies allow the MTA to operate this far-flung service at relatively little additional cost. Sinking millions to repair the line alters the equation.

Yet, for those 2300 who live in Orange County and commute to New York, many cannot afford to take the drive every day. “It’s the only means of transport for these people,” Gene Russianoff said to O’Grady as he debated the pros and cons of repairing the line.

Still, the MTA’s interim offerings haven’t been too popular. The authority is currently conducting a $500,000 study on the 14 miles of washed-out track, and by the end of September, they will know how much repairs will cost. In the meantime, they have unveiled extensive bus routing. MTA Bus has sent 40 vehicles to Orange County to provide service to nearby stations. “In the two weeks since flooding crippled 14 miles of the Port Jervis Line, Metro-North has worked to provide buses to transport the 2,300 people who depend on the railroad each weekday. They will be taken to nearby stations in New Jersey and across the Hudson River in a complex and evolving plan to provide alternative public transportation,” Metro-North Railroad President Howard Permut said. “It is the most extensive and complex busing program ever implemented by the railroad.”

Unfortunately, though, only around 1250 people a day are using these buses, according to WNYC, and politicians are complaining anyway. “We have balked about paying the MTA tax, that percentage, for the last few years, and now, when we need them the most, they can’t provide any of my constituency with an appropriate service,” Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, who clearly doesn’t the impact understand weather-related disasters, said. “I think it’s outrageous. People are in tears. How can you do that? Even from Harriman down. There are people that are paying this tax, and now, all of a sudden, it’s not us getting the service again. It’s like we’re the orphan children.”

Ultimately, the MTA isn’t going to cut bait on the Port Jervis line, and it wasn’t discussed behind closed doors. FEMA dollars will likely cover some of the costs of repairs as well. But better planning, some higher speed options and a drive to encourage transit-oriented development along the lonely line could improve commutes for everyone while making the Port Jervis line more popular. Finding an opportunity in a hurricane could be a good move; giving up likely isn’t.

©2012 Second Ave. Sagas. All Rights Reserved.

The Port Jervis line will be out of service for months following Hurricane Irene. (Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Hilary Ring)

Metro-North’s Port Jervis line is in trouble. As the pictures have shown us this week, the west-of-the-Hudson commuter rail line was hit hard by Hurricane Irene. It’s currently out of service and will be for months, according to MTA CEO and Chairman Jay Walder. By all accounts, this is the worst weather-related transportation outage the region has suffered in decades.

Earlier this week, the MTA had to pull out its emergency powers to begin to ready the Port Jervis line for revenue service again. “The damage suffered by the Port Jervis Line can only be described as catastrophic,” Walder said during a tour of the destruction. “There are sections of track literally suspended in the air, and in many places we will have to build a new railroad from scratch, from the foundation to the tracks to the signals. I have directed Metro-North to take such steps as are necessary to expeditiously and fully address the catastrophic damage suffered along the Port Jervis Line as a result of Irene. Rebuilding this infrastructure is going to be a long and difficult process, but we are taking every action in our power to continue serving our customers, to reduce unnecessary delay and to communicate every step of the way.”

The worst of the damage is extensive. Near Sloatsburg, three sections of track totaling 1000 feet each are gone. A smaller section washed out to a depth of eight feet. Several bridges have sustained damage, and the signal system which is exposed and under water will have to be rebuilt. By using the emergency powers, the MTA can bypass lengthy procurement processes and can push through these badly needed repairs faster. “The Port Jervis Line is critical to the MTA’s West of Hudson customers, so it’s important that we use emergency powers to remove red tape and rebuild this infrastructure as quickly as possible,” MTA Board Member Susan Metzger said.

In The Times today, Christine Haughney writes about the trip to Orange and Rockland Counties, and the report from the devastation really brings it home. Walder, who said the time for repairs would be “measured in months,” seemed floored by the damage. “In nearly 30 years, I’ve never seen anything like that,” he said.

But beyond the emotional impact of the storm’s path, the MTA has to ask a lot of questions about the Port Jervis line’s future. It has been a long slow ride toward modernity for this 100-year-old rail branch, and while ridership is still low — barely 2300 per weekday and under 800 per weekend — it provides a vital lifeline to the city for a rapidly-growing part of New York State. For now, the authority will bus the commuters from Harriman to New Jersey Transit’s Ramsey/Route 17 station. In the coming months, the MTA will try to expand bus offerings.

Meanwhile, the economics of the situation are a cause for concern as well. As we know, the MTA has had to cut back its five-year capital plan, and for now, it will have to dip into cash reserves to fund this emergency repair work. The authority hopes that FEMA dollars will flow its way and that insurance proceeds can pick up some slack, but it also can’t afford to wait for the money to flow through the red tape. For now, the emergency powers will allow the MTA to get started on this project.

So now the MTA has an opportunity to recreate an old rail line or jettison something that many consider to be a drag on the MTA’s bottom line and a sprawl-promoting spur. They can improve the signals on the Port Jervis line. They can double-track some of the line. Or they could work quickly and do nothing much new but just work to get service running again. Taking the long view would pay off in the end, but transit authorities haven’t taken the long view too frequently these days. Now we’ll see what happens with the closest thing to a blank slate the region has.

©2012 Second Ave. Sagas. All Rights Reserved.