Although the Hall signal tower has since been repaired and LIRR service is operating normally after last Monday’s fire, I spotted this video late this weekend and wanted to pass it along. In it, the MTA goes inside the signal tower and explains what happened to the burned out equipment and how crews had to test each of 200 wires to ensure that the switch is working properly. Getting service up and running with seven days was apparently quite an undertaking.
Schematics of a 1912 plan to connect Staten Island with the BMT via a subway tunnel under the Narrows. Click to enlarge.
Staten Island is often called the forgotten borough by New York’s transit literati. With only some local and express bus routes connecting through to other boroughs and the Staten Island Railway as its only train line, the borough plays host to a high car ownership rate and is relatively disconnected from New York City Transit’s extensive four-borough subway network. For nearly 100 years, Staten Islanders have clamored for a subway connection to nearby Brooklyn or Lower Manhattan, and at every turn, the project has been shunted aside over costs or worse.
A 1912 article in The New York Times introduces us to a plan to build a subway to Staten Island under the Narrows. The piece focuses on how real estate values in Tompkinsville and Rosebank were on the rise amidst rumors of a direct subway connection to Manhattan’s Broadway line via a tunnel from Brooklyn that would parallel 67th St. in Kings County, and developers were excited about the future of Staten Island real estate. “In the first place, all Staten Island will not be greatly benefited because there is a large portion of the Borough of Richmond where there are no trolley lines connecting to with the future subway,” William E. Harmon said.
Harmon also mentioned the proposed terminus of this underwater subway route. “The end of the Staten Island subway is, according to present plans, to be at Arrietta Street, about five minutes’ walk from St. George’s Ferry,” he said. Today, Arrietta St. is better known as St. Marks Place, and the subway would spurred both south and north to make a connection with the Staten Island Railway.
Even though the Board of Estimates approved this subway connection to Staten Island on July 11, 1912 and the Mayor William Jay Gaynor followed suit on July 16, the subway was slow to materialize. A 1915 letter to the editor of The Times from Robert T. Cone highlights how borough activists were dying for a subway. Cone noted how travel took three times as long as it should have on the ferry and how Staten Island, if developed properly, could house 3 million taxpayers. He advocated for a two-track subway connection as well as a two-track freight connection from Staten Island to Manhattan. It was an ambitious plan indeed.
A 1919 proposal for a subway from Staten Island to Manhattan. Click to enlarge.
Four years later, the issue of a Staten Island subway connection again reared its head. Proponents of any subway plan had decided that a connection to Brooklyn via the 67th St. tunnel would be too indirect and the trip too long, and so they proposed a direct Manhattan-to-Staten Island tunnel. The Staten Island Subway Committee called for one of two routes: either a direct route to Battery Park via Ellis and Bedlow Islands under “the shallows of the bay of Robbins Reef and thence under Kill Van Kull” or by subway via Ellis Island to “within the bulkhead line below Communipaw [in Jersey City]; thence on an elevated structure just within the bulkhead line to a point near Robbins Reef; thence by subway under the Kill Van Kull.” The committee declined to include any cost estimates but assumed the net increase in tax assessments would eventually cover the price of this lengthy subway expansion.
In 1921, optimism was on the rise as the city promised residents of Richmond a subway expansion. For $25 million, the city would build a tunnel under the Narrows and connect Staten Island with the BMT routes in Bay Ridge. In present-day values, that $25 million would be approximately $297 million — or the equivalent of a few blocks of the Second Ave. Subway. At the time, the Board of Estimates had yet to determine if the subway to Staten Island would go under 67th St. or continue from the BMT’s terminal at 86th St.
In 1925, with the BMT in dire fiscal straits, the city’s engineers seemingly torpedoed the subway. That optimistic $25 million was far too low, they said. According to a survey, the real cost in 1925 would have been at least $40 million, and city engineers said they could build a bridge spanning the Narrows for $90 million. “But where a tunnel, if built, could be used only for rapid transit,” The Times said, “a bridge could carry not only vehicular traffic, on which tolls could be charged, but might be so constructed as to afford an outlet for freight cars.”
And thus died the subway to Staten Island. The plan for a bridge meanwhile laid dormant for decades. In the mid-1950s, Robert Moses revived the plan to span the Narrows, but much to the chagrin of The Times, writing in 1955, Moses declined to provide space for rail service on what would become the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. When the bridge opened in 1965, the paper called it “more of an esthetic and engineering marvel than a way to get to Staten Island.” Without rail, it would become dominated by cars, and Staten Islanders were left waiting for that rail connection to the rest of the city. It’s 2010 now, and they’re still waiting.
While calls to toll the East River crossings have stalled in New York State, the MTA may have hit upon a partial solution to some forms of congestion in its latest fare hike proposal. As WNYC’s Matthew Schuerman noted late last week, the authority has issued two plans for its bridges and tunnels: One would see rates increase evenly across the board while another would penalize non-E-ZPass users more than it would those with the electronic payment tags.
The options — as the MTA presents them here — are simple. If rates are raised evenly across the board, tolls will increase from anywhere from 25¢ to 50¢ with the one-way toll across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge going up by $1. The E-ZPass rates would increase by approximately 10 percent across the board.
Another plan, though, earning less play on the MTA’s website is summarized thusly: “If tolls were raised only for Cash and non-NYS E-ZPass customers, this would result in a $7.00 toll at Major Crossings ($14 at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge), $4.50 at the Henry Hudson Bridge and $4.00 at Minor Crossings.”
Scheruman spoke with MTA officials about the rationale behind this plan. He reports:
The new idea, according to MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz, is meant to encourage people to use E-ZPass, cutting down on congestion at toll plazas and the pollution that comes with it. The proposal means that E-ZPass users from elsewhere on the Atlantic seaboard who occasionally pass through New York would end up paying 53 percent more. They currently qualify for the $4.57 E-ZPass rate.
AAA New Jersey opposes any sort of variable tolling, according to spokesman Stephen Rajczyk. “It shouldn’t matter if you are an out-of-state driver or an E-Z Pass driver,” he said. “You could say the people who use it all the time maybe should be paying more for it because they are using it all the time.”
The MTA says that you don’t have to be a resident of New York State to get a New York State E-ZPass—you simply have to apply for a tag from the New York State E-ZPass Service Center. And in fact, drivers who use tags from the Port Authority would qualify for the discount, according to MTA Bridges and Tunnels spokeswoman Joyce Mulvaney. About 75 percent of drivers who use MTA’s bridges and tunnels use E-ZPass; 70 percent use New York State tags.
This variable-rate plan is a sure sign of economic protectionism by the MTA. First, they would be foisting off more of the costs on out-of-state users who don’t pay taxes to New York State (and thus, aren’t contributing to the MTA’s coffers through the state treasury). With this variable-rate plan, drivers would either have to pay to purchase a New York State E-ZPass tag with a $25 prepayment charge or be willing to fork over more dollars for tolls.
Second, this plan serves as a de facto congestion-reducing proposal. By raising the rates at tolled roads, the MTA will discourage some — but not all — drivers. Unfortunately, however, the MTA doesn’t have a monopoly on tolled river crossings. They can raise rates at the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel and the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, but the Queensboro Bridge and Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges will remain untolled. Thus, any toll increase could have the unwanted result of foisting more traffic onto local roads that lead into the free crossings and contributing to the negative side effects of increased congestion.
The MTA’s various hearings on these toll proposals and their slate of fare increases are set to begin in two weeks from tonight. For a full list of hearing times and locations, visit this site.
After months of political grandstanding by New York State’s elected officials, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced today that he will begin a forensic audit of the MTA’s finances. As DiNapoli recently found systematic abuses of overtime, the comptroller’s probe will focus on work rules and overtime oversight but will explore the entire MTA financial picture. “Something is wrong with a system that allows more than 140 people to double their salaries through overtime,” DiNapoli said on Monday. “It’s hard to justify repeated fare hikes, layoffs and service reductions when New Yorkers believe the MTA isn’t controlling spending and restraining costs. For too long, the MTA has had a culture of acceptance when it comes to overtime abuse. That has to change.”
DiNapoli says he will target “excessive overtime” in this audit and recognizes that the MTA’s new leadership is committed to fiscal responsibility as well. “There is a relatively new leadership there,” he said. “They said they’re going to do a top-to-bottom review of operations. We want to be sure that overtime is a key part of what they are reviewing.” For its part, the MTA said it won’t resist the comptroller’s probe. “We welcome the controller’s assistance as we continue to fulfill our commitment to reduce overtime,” Jeremy Soffin, MTA spokesman, said to The Daily News.
DiNapoli says he’ll refer his report to state prosecutors if he uncovers any potentially illegal wrong-doing, but I’m more concerned with the state’s legislative response than I am with its criminal response. A so-called forensic audit that uncovers systematic overtime abuses would be news worthy of a “dog bites man” headline, and New York’s politicians are sure to fault the MTA for any widespread examples of waste. But the true test will be in the state’s actions. Since the MTA is a creature of the state, its politicians can change work rules that lead to rampant overtime — if rampant overtime abuses indeed exist. The politicians can change the structure of the MTA to better consolidate its various subagencies. The politicians can enact better fiscal management and more thorough oversight. They can grandstand all they want, but without real action, the structural problems of the MTA will continue ad infinitum.
Earlier this month, The Post highlighted the mixed results for the MTA’s attempts at bringing automatic train operation to the L line. Various glitches and a higher-than-expected failure yet has plagued the three-year effort to bring this technology — a part of a communications-based train control suite — to the New York City subways, and this weekend, the news got worse. According to the Daily News, Transit had to temporarily suspend the ATO program to fix a handful of glitches with the system.
According to Pete Donohue, a series of incidents required Transit to request software updates as trains were moving on their own according. Since automatic train operation began in 2009, these problems have popped up frequently. Donohue reports on the latest developments:
In one incident, a train that was stopped at a Brooklyn platform took off on its own – traveling three to five feet before a crew member on board hit the emergency brakes, NYC Transit confirmed yesterday. With two other similar incidents recently on the Brooklyn-to-Manhattan line, the agency suspended use of the computerized train control system on Aug. 16, NYC Transit said in a statement yesterday.
Train service continued the old-fashioned way – with motormen doing the driving, not computers – until software fixes were finished last weekend, the agency said…In automatic train operation mode, the Robotrains are controlled by computers telling them when to stop and how fast to travel. After discharging passengers at a station, a train should remain idling until the motorman, who’s monitoring its operations at the cab’s computer, authorizes departure with the push of a button.
“Train operators have the authority to take manual control of their train when necessary while still maintaining a safe operation,” NYC Transit said in the statement. “It’s important to note safety was not an issue, but reliability was.”
As of now, many of the ATO-equipped trainsets have been updated and are back in service, but this problem is one in a long line of issues plaguing the L train, the guinea pig of the transit system. Since the late 1990s, the MTA has tried to bring this technology to the Canarsie Line, but various difficulties — from overcrowding to backwards compatibility concerns — have prevented a smooth upgrade. A 2007 report said the service would be ready to go in January 2010, and while ATO commenced a year before that, the implementation has been anything but smooth.
Meanwhile, the union, which stands to lose jobs if ATO is implemented properly, continue to claim that the problems prove how untrustworthy this system is. Kevin Harrington, a higher-up at the TWU, said that the recent problems show how ATO and CBTC are “potentially dangerous.” Yet, other transit systems throughout the world have brought these systems online with fewer troubles. As the MTA gears up to computerize the 7 line, the L can serve as a valuable practice run, but the kinks must still be worked as well.
Just a week after a fire crippled LIRR service east of Jamaica, the railroad announced last night that service on Monday morning will run as scheduled. The LIRR completed repairs and testing at the 90-year-old Hall signal tower by 4 p.m. on Sunday and is now prepared to see their 700 trains pass through the switch on Monday.
“I appreciate the challenges our customers faced during the past week and I thank them for their patience during what has been a difficult time,” LIRR President Helena E. Williams said in a statement. “I would also like to thank the hundreds of railroad employees who worked around the clock to put the damaged signal and switch system back together while keeping service going and assisting our customers throughout the week. Once again, they demonstrated their dedication and commitment to our customers.”
The fire on Monday knocked out a signal tower that will be replaced by a $56-million computerized control center in the fall. During the outage, the railroad had to use a manual switching system that led to rampant delays, canceled trains and missed connections throughout the week. Still, the LIRR managed to run between 60-75 percent of trains last week. Yet, by the end of the week, it was clear that the problem could have been avoided had the switch system been replaced on time and on budget. “While the new systems are a big improvement, more needs to be done to replace and update some of our old technology throughout the LIRR,” Williams said. “That’s why we need a fully funded, five-year capital program.”
Friday evening once again. You know the drill. These come to me from New York City Transit and are subject to change without notice. Listen to on-board announcements and check signs in your local station.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, downtown 1 and 2 trains run express from 14th Street to Chambers Street due to work to replace the roadbed at Franklin Street.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, August 27 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, there are no 2 trains between Manhattan and the Bronx due to switch renewal at the 142nd Street junction north of 135th Street. 2 trains run between Flatbush Avenue-Brooklyn College and 96th Street, and then are rerouted to the 1 line to 137th Street. Free shuttle buses replace the 2 between 96th Street and 149th Street-Grand Concourse. 5 trains replace the 2 between 149th Street-Grand Concourse and 241st Street. Note: After leaving 96th Street, uptown 2 trains stop at 103rd Street then run express to 137th Street (days).
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, August 27 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, there are no 3 trains running due to switch renewal at the 142nd Street junction north of 135th Street. 4 trains replace the 3 between New Lots Avenue and Nevins Street all weekend. 2 trains replace the 3 between Nevins Street and 96th Street. Free shuttle buses replace 3 trains between 96th Street and 148th Street.
From 4 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 10 p.m. Sunday, August 29, Manhattan-bound 4 trains run express from Mosholu Parkway to Burnside Avenue due to track panel replacement north of Kingsbridge Road.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, downtown 4 trains run local from 125th Street to 14th Street-Union Square, then express to Brooklyn Bridge due to gap filler replacement at 14th Street-Union Square and the construction of the Broadway-Lafayette to Bleecker Street tunnel connector.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, uptown 4 trains run local from Brooklyn Bridge to 125th Street due to gap filler replacement at 14th Street-Union Square and the construction of the Broadway-Lafayette to Bleecker Street transfer connector.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, 4 trains run local between Atlantic Avenue and Utica Avenue and are extended to and from New Lots Avenue to replace the suspended 3 due to switch renewal at the 142nd Street junction.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, there are no 5 trains between Bowling Green and 42nd Street-Grand Central due to switch renewal at the 142nd Street junction. Customers should take the 4 instead. Note: 5 trains run between the 241st Street 2 station and 42nd Street (days) or 149th Street-Grand Concourse (overnights). 5 shuttle trains run between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street all weekend.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, Manhattan-bound 6 trains run express from Parkchester to Hunts Point Avenue due to station rehabilitation and structural repair at Whitlock Avenue, Morrison Avenue-Soundview and Parkchester. Note: At all times until September 2010, the Manhattan-bound 6 platform at Parkchester is closed for rehabilitation. Manhattan-bound 6 trains stopping at Parkchester will use the Pelham Bay Park-bound platform.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, downtown 6 trains run express from 14th Street-Union Square to Brooklyn Bridge due to gap filler replacement at 14th Street-Union Square and the construction of the Broadway-Lafayette to Bleecker Street tunnel connector.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, downtown A trains run local from 125th Street to 59th Street-Columbus Circle due to repair of the concrete roadbed south of 125th Street.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, 207th Street-bound A trains run on the F line from Jay Street to West 4th Street, then local on the A to 59th Street-Columbus Circle due to work on platform edges, tiles and stairs at Broadway-Nassau St. (Fulton Street Transit Center).
From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, August 28 and Sunday, August 29, Manhattan-bound C trains run on the F line from Jay Street to West 4th Street due to work on platform edges, tiles and stairs at Broadway-Nassau St. (Fulton Street Transit Center).
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, there are no D trains between Pacific Street and 34th Street-Herald Square due to work on the Broadway-Lafayette to Bleecker Street transfer connector. The N, F and free shuttle buses provide alternate service.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, downtown D trains run local from 145th Street to 59th Street-Columbus Circle due to repair of the concrete roadbed south of 125th Street.
From 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday, August 28 and Sunday, August 29, Jamaica Center-bound E trains skip Briarwood-Van Wyck Blvd. due to rail repairs north of Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, August 27 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, Manhattan-bound E trains run local from Forest Hills-71st Avenue to Roosevelt Avenue due to a track chip out south of Elmhurst Avenue.
From 12:30 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, Jamaica Center-bound E trains run local from Roosevelt Avenue to Forest Hills-71st Avenue due to a track chip out south of Elmhurst Avenue.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, August 27 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, Manhattan-bound F trains run local from Forest Hills-71st Avenue to Roosevelt Avenue due to a track chip out south of Elmhurst Avenue.
From 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday, August 28 and Sunday, August 29, 179th Street-bound F trains skip Briarwood-Van Wyck Blvd. and Sutphin Blvd. due to rail repairs north of Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike.
From 12:30 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, 179th Street-bound F trains run local from Roosevelt Avenue to Forest Hills-71st Avenue due to a track chip out south of Elmhurst Avenue.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, Coney Island-bound N trains are rerouted over the Manhattan Bridge from Canal Street to DeKalb Avenue due to grouting and track work at Cortlandt Street.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, Coney Island-bound N trains run on the D line from 36th Street to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue due to concrete and cable work north of 8th Avenue.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, N trains stop at DeKalb Avenue and run local in Brooklyn between Pacific Street and 36th Street due to work on the Broadway-Lafayette to Bleecker Street transfer connector.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 28 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, there are no Q trains between Times Square-42nd Street and 57th Street-7th Avenue due to fan plant rehabilitation south of Queens Plaza. Customers should take the N instead.
From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, August 28 and Sunday, August 29, Brooklyn-bound R trains are rerouted over the Manhattan Bridge from Canal Street to DeKalb Avenue due to grouting and track work at Cortlandt Street.
From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, August 28 and Sunday, August 29, R trains skip 5th Avenue-59th Street, Lexington Avenue-59th Street, and Queens Plaza due to fan plant rehabilitation south of Queens Plaza. Customers should take the N instead.
From 12:01 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, August 28 and Sunday, August 29, and from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30, the R shuttle service is extended due to work on the Broadway-Lafayette to Bleecker Street transfer connector. Northbound R trains run from Bay Ridge-95th Street to Whitehall Street and 95th Street-bound trains run from DeKalb Avenue to 95th Street.
Due to a series of complicated agreements between Metro-North, New York and Connecticut, our fair neighbor to the east may soon be paying the commuter railroad to keep down costs. Because Connecticut Department of Transportation can help Metro-North set fare rates, when the MTA implements a fare hike early next year, tickets to and from Rye and Port Chester would be more expensive than those from the nearby Greenwich station. Thus, riders would be encouraged to head to Connecticut to travel.
To avoid this situation, Metro-North is working with ConnDOT to control the fares. Martin B. Cassidy of the Connecticut Post has more:
Because of Connecticut’s decision to avoid New Haven line fare increases this year, Metro-North is seeking an agreement to lessen the effect on Port Chester and Rye riders by having Connecticut pay Metro-North the difference between the cost of a Greenwich and Port Chester, ticket.
The agreement, often called a “hold-down” fare agreement, assures that price levels remain even across state lines, as Connecticut chooses to put off fare increases, Anders said. Under the agreement, the state would pay Metro-North a certain amount for each monthly ticket sold at the Port Chester or Rye stations, thereby keeping the price of a monthly ticket at Rye and Port Chester to $237, Anders said.
Connecticut’s monthly payments would be calculated on total ticket sales at those stations, Anders said, including subsidies for all forms of peak and off-peak tickets. Metro-North Railroad is currently finalizing a similar agreement with New Jersey Transit, Anders said. “Finally when Connecticut DOT raises fares, Metro-North would then adjust the Rye and Port Chester, fare to $247 and the hold-down payments would stop,” Anders said.
While it’s clear that New York riders and Metro-North would benefit, Connecticut politicians are wary of the hold-down agreement. Connecticut Rail Commuter Council Chairman Jim Cameron says Metro-North is just trying to back-door its way to a fare hike. “These changes are really no more than a hidden fare increase and they are not helpful in encouraging ridership on the trains,” Cameron said. “It looks as though the MTA are scrambling to find every nickel and dime they can, and doing a stealth fare increase like this will just discourage people from wanting to take the train.”
I can’t imagine anyone who takes the train would find it less desirably to pay more than to sit in traffic on the Merit and Hutch for hours on end two times a day, five days a week. I can certainly see why Connecticut might view this as some creative fare work by Metro-North.
The fire at the Hall signal tower that has severely curtailed LIRR service started, according to the MTA, when rain water served as a conductor for an electricity surge, and the irony of it, as I explored yesterday, is that a computerized signal system is set to go online in November. It comes as no surprise then that The Post notes that this signal system should have been activated years ago.
In a piece that explores the nature of the fire and its ramifications, three Post reporters comment on the signal upgrade efforts: “It’s unlikely a similar fire would have caused such mayhem if the parent MTA had implemented on time and on budget a new microprocessor-based system designed to replace the near-century-old system that failed…It’s three years late and 167 percent over budget.” This development is an unsurprisingly one in the annals of MTA projects. Few major transit works have been completed on time or on budget, and at some point, someone — the comptroller, an external auditor, the MTA itself — should tell us why rampant delays and cost overruns have become the accepted norm. For now, we’ll just wait for the LIRR to close the barn door after the horse already escaped.
The flip seats on this R160, currently in service along the E line, will remain in the locked position. (Photo courtesy of New York City Transit)
To combat overcrowding, transit agencies can turn to a variety of solutions. Some may look to increase capacity by running more car sets, but eventually those efforts will max out when the tracks are overcrowded with trains. Others may look to a low-cost solution that allows them to stuff more people into a single car by removing seats. That’s the path New York City Transit first started to follow in April 2008 when the agency announced a pilot that see seats removed at rush hour. Now that this train car is rolling, though, the authority has canceled those plans.
The flip-seat pilot, when first unveiled, was not without its detractors. Crowded rush hour subways can already resemble cattle cars, and by removing all seats, the standing masses might take up less space but would be considerably less comfortable. Few riders liked the plan, and the plan seemed to stall last September when Kawasaki refused to retrofit an R142. Yet, Transit went ahead with the order on an R160 anyway, and the train hit the rails in February albeit with the seats locked in the down position.
As Pete Donohue reports in The Daily News, New York City Transit has no plans to flip the seats up any time soon, and it sounds as though the pilot may have been canceled for good. According to Donohue’s sources, Transit has scrapped the idea because of the fear of a widespread public backlash against the MTA. Since fare hikes and service cuts have left New Yorkers disgruntled, removing seats might push them over the edge.
“People are already feeling they’re paying more for less,” Donohue’s source, a transit official, said. “I don’t know that a train like that, even though the idea was to increase capacity, was something that the public would have embraced. We’re not going down that road.”
The original plan called for four cars in a eight-car train to be without seats for a year’s worth of rush hours. Transit would have surveyed rider reaction and then determined whether or not to expand this program as it orders new cars in the future. One MTA board member is pleased to hear that the seatless cars won’t see the light of day. “I think there would have been civil disobedience,” Andrew Albert, the New York City Transit riders representative to the board, said. “I think people would have brought bolt cutters and unlocked the seats. I hated that idea. I still do. We shouldn’t be locking [seats] away from riders. We shouldn’t be telling people they can’t have seats.”
Albert’s reaction may be a strong one, but the psychological impact of a seatless car train isn’t in doubt. Even if we’re not sitting down, we still want to know that the chance to sit might exist. Still, the fact remains that certain subway lines at rush hour are too crowded. The East Side IRT cannot handle more passengers or train sets, and the Queens Boulevard lines are nearing capacity as well. A one-train experiment with four cars of seats locked up during the rush might have been worth it.
In the end, this pilot was doomed by a change in administration at Transit. Ordered by Howard Roberts, it was canceled when economic circumstances changed with Tom Prendergast as Transit president. Still, transit officials assure me that all is not lost with this new R160. “This particular 8-car set also contains other handhold options as well as video surveillance equipment,” Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges said to me an e-mail. “The testing of that equipment is on going. So it would be incorrect to infer that any money spent on these cars is now ‘down the drain.'”