City Councilman Releases A Report On Lexington Ave Lines
A direction many have to follow on the usually crowded uptown 51st Street platform. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit.
Earlier today I posted a statement the MTA released via e-mail about crowding on the Lexington Avenue subway corridor. I wondered why they suddenly released a statement about an issue that is known by many. It turns out that the office of City Councilman Daniel R. Garodnick released a report about the Lexington Avenue lines. The report was to highlight how crowding is so bad, a decent percentage of riders are not able to board the arriving train. Sewell Chan of the New York Times has more in this report:
The three Lexington Avenue subway lines — the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 — have gotten so crowded that riders are routinely stranded on the platforms during peak periods, unable to board the cars, according to a report released on Wednesday by the office of City Councilman Daniel R. Garodnick, who represents parts of the Upper East Side.
The problem is not new, but Mr. Garodnick said it was probably worse on the East Side lines than anywhere else in the system, citing the passenger-loading guidelines used by New York City Transit, the arm of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that runs the subways and buses. Mr. Garodnick urged the authority to spare the three lines from the service reductions being contemplated as the authority struggles to close a growing budget deficit.
Even at full capacity — 27 trains per hour — during the morning rush, the two Lexington Avenue express lines, the Nos. 4 and 5, frequently are too full to accommodate all the passengers, who must wait for the next train. Transit guidelines call for a three-square-foot space for each passenger to stand; often, such space is unavailable.
The result, Mr. Garodnick said, is not only commuter frustration, but also lost economic activity, and safety concerns.
Although the evidence from the report is more suggestive than scientific, the findings suggested heavy crowding.
* More than 130 riders were kept off of each downtown No. 6 train at 77th Street during the morning rush, defined as 8:15 to 9 a.m. On two days, the number of stranded passengers exceeded 400.
* At least 75 commuters were unable to board each No. 4 and 5 train at 59th Street on the nights of Yankees home games in August.
* During the two commuter rush periods, an average of 25 riders were left stranded by every train at the stations observed.
Click here for the complete report.
Well the report issued reveals nothing that millions of riders didn’t already know. However the MTA is not lying when they say that they have maxed out capacity on the corridor. Under the current conditions it would be impossible to add anymore trains. If anything this report just further illustrates why we need a properly setup Second Avenue Subway. What I mean by properly setup is in terms of actual stops & service patterns.
The goal of the SAS should be to encourage riders to use it & you can only do that by providing service that matches the needs of riders. Unfortunately the SAS is over budget & nowhere near being ready to be what it can & needs to be. So for now, riders of the Lexington Avenue subway corridor will continue to suffer.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Huge Fare Increases For Express Bus & Access-A-Ride Riders?
The countdown to what is billed as a doomsday scenario will reach 00:00 when the MTA Board is presented with budget proposals to help trim an over $1 billion dollar budget deficit. The New York Daily News has been leaking some of the potential proposals over the last few days & that trend continued with the latest report from Pete Donohue. In his report, he talks about how express bus riders might see a 50% hike on the current $5 fare. Access-A-Ride users would see a hike as well which could be double the base subway fare. Here is a sample of Pete’s report:
The MTA’s bruising budget proposal more than doubles the fare disabled riders pay for a special van service – and socks express bus riders with a 50% hike, the Daily News has learned.
Access-A-Ride users would pay twice the base subway-bus fare, which is now $2 but is headed for a big boost unless the state adopts a bailout plan for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, sources told The News. The doubled fare will be based on the increase, so it will cost more than $4 per van ride.
Express bus riders are looking at $7.50 per trip, up from $5, under the plan being released by the MTA tomorrow, according to sources.
Click here for the complete report.
I can’t wait for the MTA Board meeting so we can get all the facts out in the open & not have to rely on “leaks” for what might or might not happen.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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LIRR Statement On Today’s Accident
I apologize for not posting this sooner but I was tied up. Anyhow, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) issued a statement via e-mail on this morning’s minor accident where 2 trains bumped west of the Jamaica station:
The MTA Long Island Rail Road is expecting normal evening rush hour service.
At 7:30 am today, a Babylon train and a Port Jefferson train traveling at under 15 mph sideswiped each other just west of Jamaica Station due to a train possibly going through a stop signal. The exact cause of the accident remains under investigation. Under federal regulations, the employees involved are undergoing routine drug and alcohol testing.
Approximately 1,000 customers from both trains were safely evacuated at Jamaica this morning. There were five reported injuries, including two passengers who complained of back and neck pain and who were taken to local hospitals for further examination.
Four cars of the Babylon train and one car of the Port Jefferson train were damaged during the accident.
We apologize to our customers, many of whom experienced significant delays this morning due to the accident.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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MTA Statement On Lexington Avenue Corridor Crowding
Just a few minutes ago the MTA released a statement on crowding of the Lexington Avenue corridor:
As the sole subway corridor serving the east side of Manhattan, MTA New York City Transit’s Lexington Avenue Line is the busiest in the system. On an average weekday, 1.3 million customers board trains. To handle the rush hour crowding, the 4, 5 and 6 trains operate on two-minute headways—among the shortest in the system. With only two minutes between trains, the line is operating at its capacity, meaning that during the height of the rush period, no more trains can be added. However, work is currently underway on the construction of the Second Avenue Subway. When opened, this state-of-the-art rapid transit line will add significant capacity to the east side of Manhattan.
In order to keep customers informed of delays and service changes, NYC Transit is in the process of expanding its customer communication efforts through the use of text messaging, email alerts and the installation of Public Address Customer Information Signs, which will be installed in more than 150 stations on the numbered lines.
MTA Metro-North Railroad is currently building a new commuter station adjacent to the new Yankee Stadium and it is scheduled to be ready next spring. This new stop will provide additional capacity beyond the Jerome and Concourse subway lines, which already serve the Stadium.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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4 Commuters Hurt In Minor LIRR Accident
Earlier this morning, my sister sent me a text message saying she was stuck on her LIRR train due to an accident. I did not notice the text message until sometime later but decided to poke around to find out what happened. As it turns out, local media outlets had the story. The cause for my sister’s delay along with thousands of others was due to a minor accident. The minor accident occurred when 2 LIRR trains bumped when they reached a signal at the same time west of the Jamaica station. John Valenti of Newsday has more in this report:
Two Long Island Rail Road trains bumped into each other while leaving Jamaica station during the morning rush on Wednesday, resulting in four minor injuries and subsequent delays of more than an hour, the LIRR said.
A railroad spokesman said service was back “on or close to” schedule at 11:45 a.m. The accident was the second in eight months involving a collision between two trains, also just west of Jamaica station.
The accident occurred at 7:30 a.m. as the two trains were leaving Jamaica station.
It was then that the 5:59 a.m. train from Port Jefferson, due in at Hunterspoint Avenue at 7:41 a.m., struck the rear car of the 6:42 a.m. train from Babylon, which was scheduled to arrive at Penn Station at 7:49 a.m.
According to Mendelson, the two trains were leaving the station and “got to a switch at the same time.” Mendelson said the front of the westbound Port Jefferson bumped into the rear of the Babylon train.
About 770 passengers were evacuated from the Babylon train, while another 230 were evacuated from the Port Jefferson train, Mendelson said.
Click here for the complete report.
This issue has to be looked into since this is the second known accident in the area this year.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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