on June 12th, 2008 at 5:07 am
The last two days would definitely qualify as bad ones for the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). They first had to deal with a track fire during Tuesday evening’s rush hour that knocked out service on the Port Washington line between Hicksville & Huntington. This also caused delays on the Ronkonkoma line.
Yesterday was no better as a power outage interrupted service on the Far Rockaway line along with the 
. Here are the respective stories for each incident starting with Tuesday’s track fire courtesy of Newsday
Amid yesterday’s scorching heat, a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) track fire in Hicksville suspended rush-hour train service on the railroad’s Port Jefferson line, the Hicksville Fire Department said.
A pile of wooden ties adjacent to the elevated tracks near Barclay Street and Woodbury Road began burning at about 6:30 p.m., said First Assistant Fire Chief Edward Korona.
The fire likely was ignited by sparks from a passing train, he said.
Firefighters, who could see the fire from the window of their department, waited for the railroad to confirm that service had been suspended, then raised a ladder truck bucket to extinguish the flames.
At 7 p.m., LIRR service was suspended in both directions on the Port Jefferson line between Hicksville and Huntington. Service was restored on one of two tracks at 7:35 p.m. and on the other at 7:50, said LIRR spokesman Sam Zambuto.
Trains were delayed by up to an hour on the Port Jefferson line and by 10 to 15 minutes on the Ronkonkoma line, the railroad said. Service was back on schedule by 9 p.m., Zambuto said.
Sporadic weather-related power outages continued in homes and business in the area yesterday. The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) reported about 1,500 outages last night.
Metro-North Railroad said it was operating trains at reduced speeds because of the heat.
Outside Penn Station, Lisa Burke waited in a block-long taxi line rather than walk a half-mile to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
“If it were more pleasant, I would walk,” said Burke, of Oyster Bay. “I want to arrive at my destination looking cool and composed.”
This story was supplemented with an Associated Press report.
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Service on the A train and along the Long Island Rail Road’s Far Rockaway branch has been restored after an earlier Long Island Power Authority power outage knocked out service to subways in the Rockaways and power to Long Island Rail Road signals, slowing several commuter trains running through that area.
At the height of the outage, more than 75,000 customers were without power, according to LIPA.
By 2:05 p.m., full power was restored to most of the affected areas, said Ed Dumas, LIPA’s vice president of communications. As of 4:20 p.m. about 80 outages remained.
As a result of the outages, the 1:05 p.m. LIRR train from Flatbush Avenue, scheduled to arrive in Far Rockaway at 2:03 p.m., was operating 20 minutes late. The 1:36 p.m. LIRR train from Far Rockaway, scheduled to arrive in Flatbush Avenue at 2:33 p.m., was operating 25 minutes late. Forty passengers were on the trains.
“LIPA experienced a transmission failure at a key substation in Valley Stream interrupting service to approximately 50,000 homes and businesses in Valley Stream, Cedarhurst, Inwood, Lawrence, Hewlett, Woodmere and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. Service crews were dispatched immediately”, read a notice posted on LIPA’s Web site.
On the subways, the MTA reported that because of a train with mechanical problems at the Broadway Junction station, Inwood-bound A trains were running local from the Euclid Avenue to Hoyt-Schermerhorn. Customers on the A should expect delays.
LIRR service through the Rockaways was back by 2:17 p.m. and subway service was restored around 2:42 p.m., according to the MTA’s Web site.
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on June 12th, 2008 at 4:46 am
PATH commuters were able to breathe a sigh of relief yesterday as the morning commute went off without a hitch after service between 33rd Street and the Journal Square & Hoboken terminals was suspended for most of Tuesday due to a track fire between the Christopher and 9th Street stations . I spoke to a couple of friends who said getting home was a nightmare as it took over an hour longer because of the suspension.
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on June 12th, 2008 at 4:32 am
While I was relaxing in my house with the A/C blasting on Tuesday, I was reading the New York Daily News. While going through the paper, my eyes got drawn to pages 16 & 17 as there was an amazing color photo of a large bolt of lighting that came down between the Manhattan & Brooklyn bridges. I looked to the left of the photo & noticed a report from Pete Donohue on how free E-Z Pass tags cost the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) $14 million dollars a year. Here is the article courtesy of the New York Daily News
As straphangers face the possibility of higher fares and tolls, the MTA’s freebie E-ZPasses are costing the authority $14 million in lost revenues a year.
In March alone, cars and other vehicles with a free E-Z Pass made nearly 300,000 trips via Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bridges and tunnels – amounting to approximately $1.2 million in uncollected tolls, MTA records show. Many of the trips were made by city employees, including on-duty police officers and firefighters.
The MTA is planning fare and toll hikes in 2010, but they could be put on the table for next year because of budget gaps. Given the MTA’s shortfall, fare hikes could come around next year – and Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign said the city should pony up some dough.
“The City of New York should reimburse the agency’s cost, as it now does in part for discounted fares for city students and senior citizens,” Russianoff said.
Toll revenues go toward maintenance and operating costs associated with MTA bridges and tunnels. They also help fund the bus, subway and commuter train network. Of the approximately 24,000 freebie tags issued or honored by the MTA, nearly 14,500 were distributed to city agencies.
The largest batches went to the police and fire departments. Smaller numbers went to sanitation, recreation and other city departments, records show.
The city Office of Emergency Management has 107 of the non revenue tags. The mayor’s office has 14 but is only using 10, spokesman Jason Post said. Those 10 are assigned to city cars for official business by senior staff, including deputy mayors, Post said.
For decades, the MTA has granted free passage to government agencies that “provide services directly to us … to save public money by avoiding the need for these agencies to budget public funds for tolls,” the MTA’s bridge and tunnel division said.
The MTA also has doled out more than 2,700 special free-travel passes good only on the Triborough Bridge approach to Randalls and Wards islands.
These limited freebies, given to city and state workers assigned to the islands, include 543 passes given to the city Parks and Recreation Department, 559 to the Fire Academy and 493 to the Department of Environmental Protection. Two state mental health facilities have 859 tags.
City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said those assigned to the East River outposts have few options.
“There is no subway line,” he said. “Bus service is infrequent. They are almost forced to drive.”
The department provides a shuttle bus over the bridge to a Manhattan subway line on a very limited basis, Benepe said.
Does it really surprise anyone that the MTA has lost millions due to idiotic practices? I am not the least bit surprised as it has been a staple of the MTA since day one. They seriously need to find a way to accurately determine who deserves a free E-Z Pass tag & monitor the use of it. It is common knowledge that these tags are being used outside of the confines of official business trips. If the agency would shore up such revenue holes like this, they could start to fix the financial woes they are in.
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on June 10th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Many riders are expected to & most likely already are facing a tough rush hour commute tonight. This is due to the service alert that has been out for a number of hours tonight which features a service suspension. Here is the entire press release courtesy of PATH
PATH service between 33rd Street and the Journal Square and Hoboken stations will be suspended in both directions throughout this evening due to power cable damage caused by a track fire between the Christopher and 9th Street stations. PATH stations at 33rd Street, 23rd Street, 14th Street, 9th Street and Christopher Street stations will be closed this evening.
PATH will operate regular service on its Newark to World Trade Center and Hoboken to World Trade Center lines, and also will operate between Journal Square and Hoboken stations. NJ Transit will cross-honor PATH tickets on its trains and buses at Penn Station New York and Penn Station Newark. PATH passengers also can use the New York City subway system to pick up PATH service at the World Trade Center Station.
Good luck to all the PATH commuters tonight!
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on June 10th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Earlier today, New York Governor David Patterson announced the appoint of 12 members to the MTA Financing Commission which will be headed by former MTA Chairman Richard Ravitch. Here is the press release courtesy of the New York Governor website.
Governor David A. Paterson today appointed 12 members to the Commission on Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Financing, to be chaired by former MTA Chairman Richard Ravitch. The Commission is charged with recommending strategies to fund MTA capital projects and operating needs over the next ten years, a period when the Authority will be under unprecedented financial pressure as it expands its system and rebuilds its core infrastructure to provide the additional capacity needed to allow the region to grow. Governor Paterson announced in April that Richard Ravitch would head the Commission in wake of the failure of the congestion pricing proposal, which would have provided an additional revenue stream to the MTA.
“New York’s leaders have too often underestimated the critical importance of mass transit to the economic wellbeing of the region and the quality of life of our citizens,” said Governor Paterson. “New York City’s famous subway system, its buses, and the extensive regional commuter rail network are the lifelines of the greatest city in the world, bringing millions of people to their places of work, fueling development, and increasing the property values of residents and businesses. The congestion pricing debate highlighted the need for sustainable funding for the MTA. This Commission will help ensure that the MTA has the resources it needs to expand and maintain a mass transit system that can increase regional prosperity while also curbing sprawl, reducing traffic congestion and improving the environment.”
The Commission will include experts on transportation and finance, and will be chaired by Richard Ravitch, former Chairman of the MTA and a New York City business leader. The Commission will submit its report to the Governor and legislative leaders by December 5, 2008.
“As MTA Chairman from 1979 to 1983, Richard Ravitch was one of those New Yorkers with the foresight to see how invaluable a safe, reliable mass transit system is to the health of the City,” said Governor Paterson. “He was a leader with the ability to bring that vision to reality by developing the first MTA capital plan that famously saved the New York City mass transit system from collapse. We need that kind of leadership today which is why I am appointing Dick to lead the Commission that will help chart the next ten years for the MTA.”
Ravitch, who thanked the Governor for his trust and support, said: “The future of the MTA and the future of New York State are inseparably linked, and I am grateful for this opportunity to serve my Governor and the State by helping chart a course for the Authority’s continued success. The years I served as MTA Chairman are amongst the proudest of my career, and I am lucky that I can again be of service to the organization.”
The Commission reports to the Governor and legislative leaders will include an estimate of capital needs for the next two MTA programs through 2018. The panel will work with the MTA to review the needs presented in the 2008-13 Capital Program recently approved by the MTA board and preliminarily estimate the subsequent capital program needs through 2018. The Commission will, in conjunction with the MTA, consider the funding requirements for the core program of normal replacement and state of good repair projects as well as the cost of completing existing mega projects and undertaking additional system expansion. The Commission will not be asked to make recommendations on transit priorities reflected in the current MTA Capital Plan.
With regard to the MTA operating budget, the Commission will review scenarios developed by the MTA that predict the range of operating budget shortfalls over the next ten years.
The Commission will then propose a series of actions to address the identified funding needs. These actions may include, but are not limited to: proposals on new funding sources authorized by the Governor and the State Legislature to be dedicated to the MTA, toll and fare adjustments in support of MTA operations and its capital plan, congestion pricing, and initiatives to maximize MTA efficiencies.
The Commission will also examine MTA financing policy issues such as the role of debt in the MTA capital program, the role of the Port Authority in funding regional mega projects, federal, state and local government burden sharing for financing the MTA, and other mass transit providers in the MTA region.
Since announcing that Richard Ravitch would head the Commission to examine MTA funding, the Governor and his staff have been working with Mr. Ravitch to recruit members and develop a charge and work plan for the Commission.
The Governor recognizes that the financing of downstate mass transit cannot be divorced from the broader statewide transportation strategy, and this Commission should serve as a model for how New York State takes up the responsibility of funding its other transportation needs including highway and bridges, rail, ports and aviation.
The following people have agreed to serve on the Commission (in alphabetical order):
- Laura L. Anglin – Budget Director
- Keven Burke – Chairman of the Board @ Con Edison/Con Edison of New York
- Robert B. Catell – National Grid, US Chairman
- Douglas Durst – Third generation member @ The Durst Organization
- Peter Goldmark – Program director of the Climate & Air program @ Environmental Defense Fund
- Denis Hughes – New York State AFL-CIO President
- Father Joseph McShane – Fordham University President
- Mysore L. Nagaraja – Well known expert advisor in urban transportation
- Mark Page – New York City Office of Management & Budget Director
- Steven Polan – Partner @ Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
- Elliot G. Sander – MTA CEO & Executive Director
- Kim Paparello Vaccari – Head of the Transportation Group @ Banc of America Securities
The commission is to report its proposals to Governor Patterson by December 5th, 2008.
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