Transit is ready to unveil its Fastrack construction schedule. Starting Jan. 9 and continuing through the 13th, the MTA will shutter the Lexington Ave. line from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. each night between Grand Central and Atlantic Ave. in order to blitz the line with needed repairs. The new plan, announced last month, is designed to save the MTA money while also speeding up improvements that can often drag on for months as crews navigate live third rails and avoid trains in service.
According to numbers released today by Transit, the systemwide weeknight ridership is only approximately 250,000, and the shutdowns — one per Manhattan trunk line per quarter — will affect between 10-15 percent of riders. Those riders are expected to see a 20-minute jump in late-night commute times, and the MTA expects to realize productivity savings of $10-$15 million annually. Transit says, that in order to minimize disruptions to travel patterns, it has targeted lines where “there are substantial subway alternatives have been selected for the overnight shutdowns.”
Meanwhile, the agency stressed again that these weeknight shutdowns are “not a replacement for weekend work.” While workers can target critical maintenance and upgrades during the week, the capital work will continue to lead to massive weekend service changes. The next Fastrack shutdown will occur along the Seventh Ave. line between Penn Station and Atlantic Ave. from February 13-17.
21 comments
How does it “speed[] up improvements” yet it is “not a replacement for weekend work”? Surely it replaces some weekend work, right? Otherwise how does it speed up improvements? I’m confused. Is this just resulting in less service at no benefit? Or is the only benefit the cost savings to the MTA?
(In which case this is basically a service reduction disguised as an improvement?)
I assume the improvement is in comparison to work being done while the trains are still running on the line, every 20 minutes. That work would be done on weeknights anyway.
The press release explains:
http://www.mta.info/mta/news/r.....15-NYCT147
Some of the work that takes place is for maintenance and inspections; other work is done by contractors working on capital projects. These shutdowns will mostly accommodate the maintenance side.
Hopefully the MTA will add on a few extra R and N trains during the shutdown periods, since the Broadway local is the closest of any of the lines to paralleling the Lex (and hopefully they’ll also make the needed announcements at Atlantic Avenue and 59th Street about the added transfer options to the N and R).
Don’t bet any money on that scenario. They rarely add service on other lines during the weekend shutdowns. I for one will drive in, so the MTA can kiss it.
Didnt the mta say that it was a replacement?
No.
Savings of $15 million? That’s a drop in the bucket fore the MTA . to strickly compare dollars to dollars, Trimet’s total debt for 2012 is $17 million.
I’m surprised. For one thing, I thought that doing work on a five night a week basis would cut down on overtime by giving workers a regular five night per week shift.
Might the problem be that everything looks like a “drop in the bucket” for the MTA? Work rules, maintenance, etc. If you start looking at EVERYTHING more efficiently, it eventually adds up (I hope).
Sheesh! I hope the MTA have a good alternative plans for the riders.
-Operate the 42nd st shuttle overnight provide connections to the (N) (Q)* Q trains can run local to Canal St Bridge Line
-Extend the (3) to New Lots Ave at the shutdown time
-4 trains can operate in 2 sections
Between Woodlawn to 42nd st
Between Atlantic Ave to Utica Ave
Alek-
You’re assuming that the MTA actually gives a rat’s ass about commuters, which alas is a wrong assumption. Most of the MTA management either gets driven around in nice big Grand Marquis’ or they have a “company” car of their own. The middle management are out the door of their newly-renovated offices at 2 Broadway by 4:45pm, where they can walk across the street and catch a train at Bowling Green. The rank and file (conductors, engineers, etc) will be none too happy that their trains are being taken out of service, since it doesn’t bode well for them to have nothing to do.
In the end, you’re on your own. You’ll either have to walk or take a crosstown bus to the Broadway or 7th Ave lines (add 20 mins right there) then wait for a train crowded with hundreds more commuters than usual. In the case of the BMT Broadway (N/R) trains: good luck. They suck during rush hour, never mind after 10pm. Maybe the MTA can lend you one of their Mercury Grand Marquis cars and let you drive it home.
R stands for rarely N stands for never
If that’s really the case, why would they bother to schedule maintenance? Wouldn’t they just let everything fall apart?
In fact, the few MTA managers I know often find themselves taking the train to far-flung parts of the city at hours of the day that most of us are fast asleep. And from the way they describe what they do, they’re not alone.
The shuttle will run overnight and the 3 will run to New Lots. There’s no need to run the 4 between Atlantic and Utica if the 3 is running.
I don’t know if the Q will run local or express, but it would be nice if it were extended to 59th and Lex.
It’s the announcements that I’m most worried about. Will conductors bother to make announcements approaching 59th?
Will there be shuttle bus service on those nights? Traffic is light enough between 22:00 and 05:00 that buses can be reasonably fast, but this only helps if they actually run buses with enough frequency and capacity to be a viable replacement.
No. Shuttle buses are very expensive. This is being done to save money.
Wherever you’re going, there are other subway lines nearby that will take you reasonably close. Probably the hardest hit are people trying to get to 33rd/28th/23rd, where Broadway is several blocks to the west. South of Union Square, the BMT is very close.
I don’t know. This seems to be a lot of complaining over something that I don’t think is that big of a deal. One week of overnights out of every 3 months, one of the Manhattan trunk lines won’t run at all. Big deal. With this much advanced notice, and the time it’s scheduled, I find it quite reasonable. Take 1/2 Av SBS! Walk a LITTLE bit farther to another line! So what if it’s more crowded? God forbid you have to stand after 10pm! The horror! Why does everyone conveniently forget just how convenient the trains actually make everything when they’re running properly (which, by the way, would never be the case without this scheduled maintenance). It seems as though many are quick to complain, and even quicker to take for granted and forget the times it has taken them 12 minutes to get from 125 St. to Union Square. I don’t mean to take such a holier-than-thou approach, but come on people.
Yeah, it doesn’t seem like a big deal to me either.
Now people will know what it’s like to live in Rockaway Park (sort of).