MTA Evening Service Update

Here is the latest evening service update courtesy of an e-mail I just received a few minutes ago:

MTA crews are busy at work across our 5,000 square mile territory to restore service throughout the system as soon as possible in a manner that is safe for our customers, employees and equipment after the blizzard that dumped almost two feet of snow throughout the MTA’s service territory.

Workers are clearing snow from tracks, roadways, platforms, and stairways, applying salt and sand for safety, and deicing critical infrastructure such as switches and the third rails that power subways and commuter trains.

This work is ongoing, and we hope to restore limited service to the suspended parts of the system tonight and tomorrow. We will provide information later this evening to inform customers what to expect for the morning commute. Below, please find current conditions for the evening.

– The New York City Subway is operating with outages affecting a number of lines that are elevated or in open cuts, particularly in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and the Rockaways in Queens. Please go to MTA.info for the latest service updates.

– Buses in New York City and Nassau County: Crews are working first to clear stuck buses, and the number of buses that are stuck is being reduced. Second, we are evaluating roadway conditions on a route-by-route basis to determine whether conditions permit us to run service. Third, we are restoring bus service where possible. The MTA is working with the NYC Department of Sanitation to prioritize snow clearance on bus routes. MTA Bridges and Tunnels is also lending snow-clearing trucks to assist clearing bus routes.

– The Long Island Rail Road has restored limited Port Washington branch service eastbound from Penn Station as of 5:30 pm. As train equipment becomes available, the LIRR will continue to run trains on the Port Washington branch this evening. The LIRR is continuing efforts to restore service on additional branches when it is safe to do so. However, impacted snow and ice above the third rail remains a significant issue, along with frozen switches at various locations. Crews will continue to work around the clock to restore service as quickly as possible. The LIRR has been running test trains, without customers, on major branches as part of the effort to bring service back.

– Metro-North Railroad continues to run limited service on all of its lines, with schedules available at this link: http://bit.ly/fTvUNT For tomorrow, Metro-North expects to run a full Saturday schedule.

– Service on the Staten Island Railway is suspended until further notice.

– Bridges and Tunnels advises motorists on bridges that winds are gusting up to 40 miles per hour. In many cases, MTA Bridges and Tunnels has issued Phase I wind restrictions, in which motorists are notified at the bridge to reduce speeds.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Comments

dec 27 2010

My son and his gf went to NYC last night for a WWE event at MSG. And as we know got stranded in penn station over nite finally about 3 pm or so they called and said they were put on a bus to take them to the wantagh ny train station . He called me later and said the bus was stuck in Valley Stream ny . well its 7:17 pm and still not home. are the roads and buses that bad.I understand that the weather was bad but we need to improve on our mass transportation system before we raise rates.

There has been little change to the LIRR statements regarding the situation for restoring service since last night except for the recent update on Port Washington. There should be some specific information demonstrating progress and a time estimate, give or take 6 hours, of how the progress is being measured and monitored. Furthermore, there has been no visible presence by LIRR officials on the television, websites or radio providing some sense of personal accountability. I have my doubts that the problem at this point is related to snow removal but the limited, cursory statements on the LIRR website continues to say that snow clearing is the problem while I personally suspect that it is the switching issues that are causing the delays. Who is the public affairs person? Is the President going to make a statement? Two days is a long time to be out of service. Maybe I am overdoing my concern, but someone needs to exert some pressure on the situatin.

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