Extra LIRR Trains For NY Mets Season Opener
Once again, the MTA Long Island Rail Road will be running extra trains for the New York Mets season opener. They will also have trains stopping at the new stadium the day before, for their open practice. Here are the complete details about these two days & overall season plans courtesy of a press release sent to me by the agency:
Baseball is back starting Monday, April 5 with the Mets season opener against the Florida Marlins. The game is timeless, and so too, is getting there on the MTA Long Island Rail Road, the best way to travel to Mets home games at Citi Field Stadium. For the 1:10 PM season opener, the LIRR will provide extra service to supplement the regular train service to Mets-Willets Point Station for Mets baseball. On April 4, the day prior to the season opener, there will be an Open Practice at Citi Field starting at 11 AM, and LIRR train service will be available for fans attending the event.
Train service to Mets-Willets Point is available on eastbound Port Washington Branch trains from Penn Station and westbound trains from Great Neck and Port Washington. The train ride is just 19 minutes from Penn Station to Mets-Willets Point. For those traveling on the LIRR from Long Island, the ballpark is just seven minutes from Woodside, 17 minutes from Great Neck and 27 minutes from Port Washington. From Long Island, customers may travel directly to the stadium from Port Washington Branch stations. Customers from other branches should transfer at Woodside for service to Mets-Willets Point.
LIRR trains will be making stops at Mets-Willets Point Station during regular games. Starting times for weekday day games are 1:10 PM, weekday night games at 7:10 PM, and weekend day games at 1:10 PM. Please note, the weekend game on Sunday, April 25, will start at 8:05 PM
Sunday, April 4 – Mets Open Practice:
The LIRR will stop regularly scheduled trains at Mets-Willets Point station stop this Sunday, April 4 for the Mets special workout taking place between 11:00 AM and 1 PM.
The following Port Washington Branch trains will stop at Mets-Willets Point this Sunday:
Eastbound: Depart NY at 8:48 AM, 9:19 AM, 9:48 AM, 10:19 AM, 10:48 AM, 11:19 AM, 11:48 AM, 12:19 PM, 12:48 PM, 1:19 PM, 1:48 PM, and 2:19 PM.
Westbound: Depart Port Washington at 8:39 AM, 9:10 AM, 9:39 AM, 10:10 AM, 10:39 AM, 11:10 AM, 11:39 AM, 12:10 PM, 12:39 PM, 1:10 PM,1:39 PM, and 2:10 PM.
____
On Opening Day, April 5, the LIRR will provide additional eastbound trains from Penn Station to Mets-Willets Point, and additional westbound trains from Port Washington to supplement the regular Mets schedule. The full listing on Opening Day train service is as follows:
Opening Day, April 5 (start at 1:10 PM):
Eastbound: Departing Penn Station at: 9:49 AM, 10:49 AM, 11:19 AM, 11:49 AM, 12:19 PM, 12:49 PM, 1:19 PM, 1:49 PM, 2:49 PM, 3:18 PM, 3:49 PM, 4:22 PM, 4:25 PM, and 4:46 PM.
Westbound: Departing Port Washington at: 10:08 AM, 10:40 AM, 11:08 AM, 11:40 AM, 12:08 PM, 12:40 PM, 1:08 PM, 2:08 PM, 3:10 PM, 3:40 PM, 4:06 PM, 4:36 PM, and 5:00 PM
____
The following Main Line trains will have added Woodside stops:
Eastbound: 4:54 PM train from NY to Farmingdale, 5:04 PM train from NY to Hempstead, 5:24 PM train from NY to Hempstead, 6:21 PM train from NY to Ronkonkoma and 6:35 PM from NY to Hicksville.
Westbound: 10:29 AM from Babylon, 11:28 AM from Freeport, 11:29 AM from Babylon and 12:28 PM from Freeport.
____
The following Port Washington trains will have added Mets-Willets Point Station stops during regular season day games, Monday through Friday, from April 28 through May 12:
Regular Season Day Games (start at 1:10 PM):
Eastbound: Departing Penn Station at: 9:49 AM, 10:49 AM, 11:49 AM, 12:49 PM, 1:49 PM, 2:49 PM, 3:18 PM, 3:49 PM, 4:25 PM, and 4:46 PM
Westbound: Departing Port Washington at: 10:08 AM, 11:08 AM, 12:08 PM, 1:08 PM, 2:08 PM, 3:10 PM, 3:40 PM, 4:06 PM, 4:36 PM, and 5:00 PM
____
The following Port Washington trains will have added Mets-Willets Point Station stops during regular season night games, Monday through Friday, from April 7 through May 16:
Regular Season Night Games (start at 7:10 PM):
Eastbound: Departing Penn Station at: 3:49 PM, 4:25 PM, 4:46 PM, 5:14 PM, 5:29 PM, 5:50 PM, 5:56 PM, 6:14 PM, 6:42 PM, 7:14 PM, 7:49 PM, 8:19 PM, 8:48 PM, 9:18 PM, 9:48 PM, 10:18 PM, 10:48 PM, 11:18 PM, 11:48 PM, 12:19 AM (Saturday)
Westbound: Departing Port Washington at: 4:06 PM, 4:36 PM, 5:00 PM, 5:23 PM, 6:24 PM, 7:09 PM, 7:39 PM, 8:09 PM, 8:39 PM, 9:09 PM, 9:39 PM, 10:09 PM, 10:39 PM, 11:39 PM, 12:40 AM (Saturday); The following trains will originate at Great Neck: 5:44 PM, 6:04 PM, 6:20 PM, and 6:44 PM
____
The following Port Washington trains will have added Mets-Willets Point Station stops during regular season day games, Saturday, Sunday and Holiday day games from April 10 through May 16:
Saturday, Sunday and Holiday Day Games (start at 1:10 PM):
Eastbound: Departing Penn Station at: 10:19 AM, 10:48 AM, 11:19 AM, 11:48 AM, 12:19 PM, 12:48 PM, 1:19 PM, 1:48 PM, 2:19 PM, 2:48 PM, 3:19 PM, 3:48 PM, 4:19 PM, 4:48 PM, 5:19 PM, 5:48 PM, 6:19 PM, 6:48 PM, and 7:19 PM
Westbound: Departing Port Washington at: 10:10 AM, 10:39 AM, 11:10 AM, 11:39 AM, 12:10 PM, 12:39 PM, 1:10 PM, 1:39 PM, 2:10 PM, 2:39 PM, 3:10 PM, 3:39 PM, 4:10 PM, 4:39 PM, 5:10 PM, 5:39 PM, 6:10 PM, 6:39 PM, 7:10 PM, and 7:39 PM
____
The following Port Washington trains will have added Mets-Willets Point Station stops on Sunday, April 25:
Sunday Night Game, April 25 only (start at 8:05 PM):
Eastbound: Departing Penn Station at: 4:48 PM, 5:19 PM, 5:49 PM, 6:19 PM, 6:48 PM, 7:19 PM, 7:48 PM, 8:19 PM, 8:48 PM, 9:19 PM, 9:48 PM, 10:19 PM, 10:48 PM, 11:19 PM, 12:19 AM and 1:18 AM (Monday)
Westbound: Departing Port Washington at: 4:39 PM, 5:10 PM, 5:39 PM, 6:10 PM, 6:39 PM, 7:10 PM, 7:39 PM, 8:10 PM, 8:39 PM, 9:10 PM, 9:39 PM, 10:10 PM, 10:39 PM, 11:40 PM, and 12:40 AM (Monday)
________
The LIRR’s Mets-Willets Point Station is not handicapped accessible. The subway Flushing Line Mets-Willets Point station is accessible via the Queens-bound local platform, with an ADA ramp connecting to the sidewalk on the south side of Roosevelt Avenue. LIRR Customers with mobility impairments who are traveling to see the Mets should travel to Woodside Station.
At Woodside Station, which has elevators, customers should transfer to a Flushing-bound #7 subway train to the Mets-Willets Point subway stop, and then use the ramp to reach Roosevelt Avenue, across from the ballpark.
To return to Woodside after the game, customers with mobility impairments should board the #7 subway and travel one stop east to its end point, the Flushing-Main Street Station. There, after a brief wait on the train, the train will head west to Woodside. This is necessary due to the location of the ramp, which will only permit access to the eastbound platform.
Fans traveling from branches other than Port Washington can reach Mets-Willets Point by taking a regularly scheduled train to Woodside Station, then changing to an eastbound Port Washington Branch train. Since Mets-Willets Point is located in Zone 1, tickets to that zone from outlying stations are valid to Mets-Willets Point.
However, passengers must retain their ticket stubs and inform ticket collectors of their intention to travel to Mets-Willets Point Stadium. Customers must hold onto their tickets, which will be collected at Mets-Willets Point after they disembark.
The Railroad’s special Family Fare is a great way for future big leaguers to see their favorite team. Children, ages 5 through 11, can ride for only 75-cents each when tickets are purchased at a ticket office or from a ticket machine, during off-peak hours, when accompanied by an adult paying the regular off-peak fare.
Parents with monthly or weekly tickets just pay for the children. Up to four children can travel with each parent (or guardian, 18 or older) at this special rate. The Family Fare is $1 per child if purchased on-board a train. For travel during peak hours, the child fare is one-half the regular one-way fare. Children under 5 ride for free at all times.
Mets-Willets Point timetables are available at LIRR ticket offices and terminals. Fans can also contact the LIRR’s 24-hour Travel Information Center.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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LIRR Special Ticket Package For NY Auto Show
If you are into cars, the New York Auto Show is the place to be. The MTA Long Island Rail Road wants auto enthusiasts to use the LIRR to & from the show. To encourage this, the agency is offering a special ticket page. Here are the details courtesy of a press release sent to me by the agency yesterday:
When heading to the New York Auto Show, MTA Long Island Rail Road customers should leave the driving to us.
See some of the hottest cars & trucks ever displayed under one roof at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center . That means more sneak peeks, more brand new ’10 & ’11 production models, more concept vehicles than ever before, and no salesman hovering over your shoulder! Don’t miss it!
The LIRR discount package includes up to 30% savings on admission and off-peak round trip rail fare. The package cost $25 for adults (zones 1-10) and $34 for adults (zones 12-14) and $4 for children 5-11. Seniors 65-plus should check current regular admission and rail fare and compare with adult package price. Commuters can save $3 off the Auto Show admission by presenting a discount coupon at the Auto Show box office at the time of purchase. Discount coupons are available at the Penn Station ticket office.
LIRR Auto Show package tickets must be purchased in advance at a LIRR ticket office or full service ticket machine. Tickets are good on trains arriving in Penn Station weekdays after 9:30 AM and returning up to 4 AM the following day, or anytime weekends.
Auto Show hours are:
Friday April 2 (Sneak Preview) – 11 AM-10:30 PM
Saturday, April 3 (Opening Day) – 11 AM-10:30 PM
Monday to Saturday – 11 AM – 10:30 PM
Sunday – 10 AM – 7 PM
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Fulton/Broadway-Nassau Look Ahead
If you ride any of the lines that stop at the Fulton Street/Broadway-Nassau complex, you would know that service to this station usually is under some sort of service diversion due to work on the Fulton Transit Center. Earlier this afternoon, MTA NYC Transit issued a press release with a look ahead to planned service diversions involving this project. Here are the complete details:
Due to ongoing construction of the Fulton Street Transit Center, the following service changes will be in effect for weekends in April:
April 3-5:
•
&
trains bypass Broadway-Nassau in both directions.
• No transfers between the
,
,
, &
at Fulton Street/Broadway-Nassau.
____
April 10-12:
• No Queens-bound
• No
____
April 17-19:
•
• No transfers between the
• No
station (from West 4th Street
____
April 24-26:
• No Brooklyn-bound
• No
station (from Canal Street
• No
____________
MTA NYC Transit apologizes for any inconvenience to our customers. Service changes at Fulton Street-Broadway Nassau station complex will continue for most weekends through October. As weekends approach, customers should:
• Pick up brochures that detail alternate travel options
• Look for signs and service change posters in stations
• Visit the website at www.mta.info and check on “Planned Service Changes” and/or “Current Service Status”
• Sign up for free email or text message alerts at www.mta.info
• Follow changes on Twitter at nyctsubwayscoop
• Call Travel Information at 718-330-1234The Fulton Street Transit Center:
Some of the work being done at Fulton Street/Broadway-Nassau during these weekends include reinforcing girders over the AC platform. There will also be elevator work, which consists of digging the pits on the AC platform and at least partially constructing the shafts up through all levels of the station.
For more information on the construction project itself, log on to www.mta.info . Once at the home page, click on Capital Construction (under “MTA Agency Links”), then click on Fulton Street Transit Center under Programs.
You can also view the calendar of these changes in a .pdf by clicking here.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Union Officers Hold Spot Inspections
The war between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) & Transport Workers Union Local 100 (TWU Local 100) has been going on for years. Yet another chapter was added to it this past Friday when angry union officers caused delays in bus service due to spot inspections. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News has more in this report:
Transit workers angry over MTA layoffs and other cost-cutting moves slowed down the morning rush in parts of Queens Friday, the Daily News has learned.
Before dawn at the College Point bus depot, union officers conducted spot inspections on buses heading to the only exit.
Citing equipment defects, union officers and staff delayed 64 buses by more than an hour, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority confirmed.
The scheduled runs of an additional 16 buses were canceled by managers because of the logjam, the MTA said.
All told, about one-third of the depot’s available fleet was affected by what sources said was the biggest action of its kind in years.
After taking office in January, Transport Workers Union Local 100 President John Samuelsen said members would fight management if they tried to close budget gaps with layoffs.
Friday, he maintained the equipment inspections were not connected to MTA plans to let go up to 500 token booth clerks and bus drivers later this year.
Click here for the complete report.
Let me start this off by saying that new TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen needs to cut the bullshit. I tend to support the unions as they normally get the raw end of the deal from the MTA & riding public due to the idiotic perception that they are the main reason for the MTA’s financial woes.
However, I will not support outright lies by Mr. Samuelsen in saying these spot inspections had nothing to do with recently approved cuts to slash bus driver & token booth clerk positions. Growing up in a family of bus drivers, I know that spot inspections are rarely done & the times they are, it usually is out of spite for one reason or another. This is nothing but a case of that & any claim otherwise is bullshit.
Honestly Mr. Samuelsen, I think you need to get a clue with this. Screwing over the riding public will not endear you to them. They also are not the reason why some of your members will lose their job. If you want to send a message to someone, target the management via ways that do not hurt the public. Also take that same sentiment & aim it towards the elected officials who continue to short change the MTA in terms of funding. So next time, a stunt like this is suggested, ignore it & focus on something legitimate. Anything else is complete unacceptable!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Clerks Call In 400+ Emergencies A Day
With most of the focus on service cuts stemming from the current budget woes of the MTA, one of the other angles in the situation that needs some attention is the cutting of token booth clerks. The amount of clerks being cut will be up to approximately 500. As one would expect, the potential loss of these clerks has drawn responses from both sides of the aisle.
The initial reaction from the public tends to lean towards how this is a bad choice. These sentiments stem from the thought process of these clerks being a line of defense or a safety mechanism, even though they are not authorized to get involved directly with incidents. The other side of the aisle tends to lean towards the fact that these clerks are not needed & do not provide anything more than a false sense of security.
This past Friday, Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News wrote a report about how MTA token booth clerks relayed information to supervisors about emergencies almost 500,000 times in the last 3 years. Here is a brief sample of his report:
Token booth clerks – whose ranks are being slashed by layoffs – relayed information about subway emergencies nearly 500,000 times in the last three years, the Daily News has learned.
Dealing with everything from sick passengers to suspicious packages to lost children, the clerks used an emergency-only telephone line connecting them to the transit command center an average of 412 times a day last year, data provided by NYC Transit reveal.
Their calls summoned police officers, firefighters, ambulance crews or transit agency workers, depending on the situation.
The MTA is in the process of laying off up to 500 clerks, or station agents, to cut costs. Transit officials insist riders won’t be more vulnerable with fewer workers in the booths, citing the NYPD’s success in driving crime down to historic lows.
But some transit advocates and transit workers insist the MTA is going the wrong way.
“Riders know to go to a booth clerk to ask for help,” Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign said. “Now, they’ll have to ask: ‘Who you gonna call when most booth clerks are history?'”
At the MTA board meeting Wednesday, clerk Sabrina Greenwood told board members, “I save lives.”
Click here for the complete report.
When I look at those numbers, I must admit that it does help the case of those who feel these cuts are not that drastic. The average amount of calls considering the size of the system is next to nothing, especially when factoring in daily ridership. I admit that I understand the thought process of many who feel they provide a sense of security as it is human nature. However on the other side of it, I do understand that the sense of security is false in some ways due to the actual policies in place for the clerks.
In this economy, I can certainly feel for the clerks who might end up with no jobs. I also feel that if the MTA is so set on saving money by cutting these positions, they should apply the same principles on the management level. The fact is the way they have the agency structured leaves a lot to be desired. There are plenty of unnecessary positions on the management level that should be cut as well. If it is good for the blue collar part of the agency, it should be good for the white collar as well.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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