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Gap Incidents Could Be Reported To The Federal Government

Posted by
on September 16th, 2008 at 4:09 am

Gap incidents have been a nightmare for the Long Island Rail Road for many years. The nightmare’s intensity picked up in 2006 after the death of 18 year old Natalie Smead at the Woodside LIRR station. The Newsday launched an investigation into gap incidents after her death & have continued to follow the issue closely all this time. So no surprise they were the first to share the news of a possible change in federal policy. If a proposal takes effect, all 21 commuter railroads in the U.S. would have to report gap accidents to the Federal Railroad Administration. Jennifer Maloney has more in this report:

Commuter railroads across the country would have to report accidents in the gap — the space between the train and the station platform — to the Federal Railroad Administration under a proposed rule released Tuesday.

The proposal, which could be adopted next year and is in a public comment period until Nov. 10, would allow the railroad administration to monitor gap injuries and take steps to reduce them, the agency said.

A Newsday investigation spurred by the 2006 death of Natalie Smead, 18, at the Woodside Long Island Rail Road station found that the LIRR, its parent agency, and state and federal oversight officials had done little to address a problem that had injured hundreds of riders. Smead slipped through a gap, crawled under a platform and was struck by an oncoming train.

Although the railroad administration requires the country’s 21 commuter railroads to report bee stings and spider bites, it has never tracked accidents in which passengers slip into the gap.

Click here for the entire report.

I applaud Newsday for continuing their excellent work in tracking the progress of gap accidents & measures being taken to prevent them. However with that out of the way, I must ask the question. How can the federal government require commuter railroads to report bee stings & spider bites but not gap accidents? Call me crazy but wouldn’t common sense say that gap accidents are a more serious issue that could take away lives as compared to a bee sting or spider bite? I am absolutely floored at how ridiculous that sounds when I reread it. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised as the government has made a career out of ridiculous actions.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 09-12

Posted by
on September 12th, 2008 at 7:46 pm

I have just updated the service diversions page with the latest scheduled diversions for this weekend plus next week (and beyond in some cases). Don’t forget to check in for any changes to the page. I also suggest printing out a copy of the page to use while riding the system. Have a safe & wonderful weekend & try to stay dry!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Buses To Replace Some Midday LIRR Trains East Of Ronkonkoma

Posted by
on September 11th, 2008 at 6:50 pm

Earlier this afternoon the Long Island Rail Road sent a press release to announce that buses will replace some midday trains east of Ronkonkoma. The substitution is due to the agency’s track rehabilitation and renewal project which in this case has them upgrading switches at the Riverhead station. Here is the press release which the MTA will release to the public later today or tomorrow:

As part of its track rehabilitation and renewal project, the MTA Long Island Rail Road will be upgrading the switches at Riverhead Station during the weeks of September 15 and September 22, which will affect midday service on the Ronkonkoma Branch. During the switch renewal work, the LIRR will provide bus service in place of some trains during the midday on the Ronkonkoma Branch, east of Ronkonkoma, on Monday, September 15 through Thursday September 18 and again on Monday September 22 and Tuesday September 23.

Monday through Thursday, September 15 thru 18, 2008
Switch renewal work will take place at Riverhead Station, between Ronkonkoma and Greenport. Passengers on two eastbound and two westbound trains will be affected.

Eastbound
Customers on the 9:02 AM train from Ronkonkoma to Greenport and the 1:42 PM train from Ronkonkoma to Riverhead will board buses at Ronkonkoma to complete their trips.
Westbound
Customers on the 11:12 AM train from Greenport to Ronkonkoma and the 3:19 PM train from Riverhead to Ronkonkoma will board buses at their stations and transfer to trains at Ronkonkoma to complete their trips.

Customers should expect increased travel time of up to 25 minutes.

Monday and Tuesday, September 22 and 23, 2008
Remaining switch renewal work will take place at Riverhead Station, between Ronkonkoma and Greenport. Passengers on one eastbound and one westbound train will be affected.

Eastbound
Customers on the 9:02 AM train from Ronkonkoma to Greenport will board buses at Ronkonkoma to complete their trips.

Westbound
Customers on the 11:12 AM train from Greenport to Ronkonkoma will board buses at their stations and transfer to trains at Ronkonkoma to complete their trips.

Customers should expect increased travel time of up to 25 minutes

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Bloomberg Says WTC Hub Plans Must Be Scaled Back

Posted by
on September 10th, 2008 at 1:56 pm

In today’s edition of the Wall Street Journal, you can find a very strong editorial on the proposed World Trade Center Hub by Mayor Bloomberg. Lets get straight to his words on the project he feels must be scaled back as it is too complicated to build:

The eyes of the world will again turn to Lower Manhattan this week as we mark the seventh anniversary of September 11, and as we remember all those we lost on that tragic day. Aerial views of the World Trade Center site will show steel beams that are finally swinging into place as part of the construction of the Freedom Tower and 9/11 museum and memorial.

Progress on the redevelopment of the World Trade Center has been frustratingly slow, owing in large part to a multilayered governance structure that has undermined accountability from the get-go. The city does not own or control the site, but we do control the streets around it. For those who widen their gaze, the rebirth of Lower Manhattan is impossible to miss.

For decades before 9/11, Lower Manhattan was a financial capital but not much of a neighborhood, with most shops closing their doors after 5 p.m. and on weekends. In 2002, we laid out a vision of a new Lower Manhattan that is both a global financial capital and a 24/7 residential community.

Click here for the complete editorial.

This might ruffle the feathers of some out there but I can’t deny how I feel. The World Trade Center transportation hub & area around Ground Zero are long overdue in terms of being built. Tomorrow marks the 7th anniversary of the terror attacks that forever changed the landscape of our country & possibly world. I find absolutely no justified reason as to why these projects have not been completed.

If a college professor wanted to have a lesson about how politics & the greed of some can undermine a whole process, this would be the perfect story to use. There are clearly too many palms looking to get greased which leads to the endless squabble we currently endure. The biggest culprit in all of this is the actual memorial itself. I’m sure I will get flack for that comment but I feel it is the absolute truth.

The memorial seems to have a choke hold on every single aspect of development. While I can understand the family’s need for a memorial, their relentless desire to have things their way in terms of a memorial has led to one delay after another. I’m sorry but while I feel sorry for the victims of the attack, I don’t feel they & their families desires should supersede the needs of the area & NYC as a whole.

Some argue that the transportation hub should be a marvel of art that will have people talking from here to Dubai. However others like myself realize that the functions the hub would provide are the real concern as compared to the overall cosmetics. We are not saying we want a hub that looks like complete garbage but we don’t need it to be this amazing piece of structure that gets the world talking. There is a time & place for cosmetics to reign supreme but a transportation hub is not one of them.

We clearly need to rid the overall development of Lower Manhattan of people who will just continue to deter from the work that should have been done yesterday. I should take a vote as to what project will be completed first, Ground Zero & the surrounding areas or the Second Avenue Subway.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA Unveils New Anti-Terrorism Advertisements

Posted by
on September 10th, 2008 at 12:38 pm

Just a short while ago the MTA unveiled their new anti-terrorism advertisements. The new ads are an update to the award winning “See Something, Say Something” campaign. The press release to talk about them should be up later today but here are the details now (including a link to the new ads):

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today unveiled its newest round of print, television and poster advertisements intended to remind customers to remain alert while using MTA services. An update of the MTA’s award-winning “See Something, Say Something” security awareness campaign, the new material will be seen on television beginning immediately and in print in two weeks.

Building on the success of earlier ads produced under the widely-recognized campaign, this new round uses stark and minimalist images that reflect the seriousness of the message. The ads show images of unattended packages in transit facilities with passengers busily walking back and forth but apparently not reacting to its presence.

“The security of our customers is our paramount concern,” said Elliot G. Sander, the Executive Director and CEO of the MTA. “These new ads remind our customers not to be complacent about what they see around them. They also reinforce the important role our customers play in ensuring the safety of transit users throughout the entire MTA system.”

The campaign, designed by Korey, Kay & Partners, includes three separate 15-second television spots as well as in system and print ads.

Since its introduction, the trademarked “If You See Something, Say Something” tagline has been licensed by the MTA to 37 domestic and international transportation providers and government agencies for use in their own anti-terrorism campaigns.

View advertisements here: mta.info/mta/security.html

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