Month: January 2008

Holy Construction

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Wow was there a lot of construction on the tracks this weekend!

Saturday, I thought I would run out to do some shopping.  I needed some new clothes and shoes, so I thought I’d head down to the Herald Square area to cruise the stores.

An hour later, I finally made it.  Normally, that trip would have been about 20 minutes or so.  Not this time.

I was excited because the train came almost right away.  Jumped on, and we pulled about 100 yards out of the station, and stopped.  Waiting.  Waiting.  Still waiting.

If that bitch on the intercom said “Please be patient” one more time…

So then we got to the next station.  Doors open and we wait.  Waiting.  Waiting.  Then we pull out, only this time we were moving about 10 feet a minute.

This was the entire trips worth.  It wasn’t even like I had the option to get off and transfer to a different train. Trust me, if that had been an option, I would have done it.

In all seriousness, I could have made it from the UWS Mid 80’s to 34th Street in half the time this train took.

The track gangs were everywhere.  One can only hope that they made  huge amount of progress in this one shot.  They were there overnight too.  That’s understandable, but you don’t see it in the middle of the day like that.

The Subway: Where Politics and MLK Day Converge

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Uncivilsociety reminds us of a somewhat darker time in subway history.  This ad once ran on the subways in a pre-civil rights era.  It combines two themes in one ad that today would be considered unbelievably offensive.

First, the tongue-in-cheek way they use “women voting.”  As if it were an inevitability.  Then again, as we all know, women will only vote for Gold Dust detergent because that’s all women really know.  Right?

Second, we might be crazy enough to allow women to vote, but let’s face it, our black servants are the ones that will use the detergent in the first place.  As depicted in the ad, the lady of the house will buy the detergent, but the black house keepers will joyfully use it.

Very interesting to see how these ideas weren’t just in the back of people’s minds.  They were pro actively used in advertising!

When it rains, it pours

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Has there been an insane amount of transit failures this week, or is it me?

There was Tuesday’s insanity, with what was first reported as a train derailment.  Turns out to have been a fairly massive mechanical failure.

Then, there was today’s crap on the 1, 2, and 3 line.  Still don’t know what the hell that was all about.  What I do know is that I am $20 lighter today thanks to the gypsy cab I had to take.  (Of course, everyone was looking for a cab.)

Oh and let’s not forget the suicide jumper we had in the middle of the day today, that was special.

It’s a roll of the dice every morning.

Weathermen Scare Off Subway Riders

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Well, it seems that the meteorologists have scared off commuters this morning.

Not quite sure why. All you had to do was look out your window to see the massive “swing and a miss” they pulled last night.

I don’t even think it got below 40 degrees!

Anyway, there seems to be very few people on the train this morning. Only about a half of what there normally would be.

I must be missing something. Surely, they can’t all be home with their kids because school wasn’t canceled. Could it be that most of the tourists stayed home? Maybe people who planned to go shopping decided to put it off another day.

Hell, I even did laundry yesterday so I wouldn’t have to go out in “the mess” today.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Amtrak Strike Will Be a Subway Disaster

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Amtrak workers could go on strike as early as January 30th.  As with all strikes, there’s a much broader impact than you first think.

An Amtrak strike has affect on virtually all rail related travel.  What most people don’t realize is Amtrak controls the signals coming in and out of Penn Station.  This means all the rail switches are under their control.

Because of that, LIRR and NJ Transit trains cannot come in or out of Penn Station without them.  Even though multiple train companies use the rails, it is Amtrak doing the switch work.  If and when the Amtrak workers go out, Penn Station will grind to a stop.  It translates into the displacement of 85,000 LIRR riders and about 70,000 NJ Transit riders.

NJ Transit riders will be able to get close to the city, but not all the way in.  They would be able to ride as far as Hoboken, and then they would have to get off.  From there, they would need to take the PATH or Ferry.

LIRR riders would have to get off at Jamaica Station in Brooklyn.  From there, the only option would be to take the subway the rest of the way into Manhattan.

If the strike happens, there will be an enormous amount of volume on the PATH and subway.  Perhaps more than they are able to handle.  There would also be an insane amount of street traffic.

People would likely start to drive into the city.  If the option is drive to a PATH station or parking lot near a subway stop, people will probably just say “screw it” and drive all the way in.

Folks that choose not to drive are going to get crammed into PATH and Subway trains like they’ve never seen before.

January 30th happens to be a Wednesday.  I’d imagine that is a fairly slow day for incoming or outgoing tourist travel.  However, Thursday and Friday are going to get crazy.  People coming into the city for the weekend that had planned to take Amtrak will start to flood in using alternative methods.  Yikes.

Ummm…psycho

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Remember when we discussed the 1,944 people who saw something and said something? Yeah, well this guy took it personally.

He claims to call the reporting hotline 3 to 4 times a day! Psycho!

Who does that? You’re not helping anything. When you call that often, you know they hang up the phone and brush you off. As a matter of fact, you’re probably on the watch list now because they think you’re a nutcase.

When they hang up the phone, they must say, “Oh it was just crazy Alan again.”

Get a grip dude.

Looming Snow Could be Subway’s First Test

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Tonight/Tomorrow’s snow could be the subway system’s  first test of 2008.  Wet weather tends to cause massive cluster f*cks on most lines.

All it takes is a hold up ad ONE point on a line, and the entire line suffers.   So what do we hope to avoid?

Snow in general isn’t an issue most of the time.  It’s when it melts.  So the first thing we are looking to avoid is having a lot snow fall, and then melt all at once.  When it melts fast, it causes flooding because the system can’t handle all of the water at once.  So that can cause issues with signals shorting out, or  third rails being under water.

The other scenario of disaster is if the snow falls as a slushy mess and then freezes.  This can cause some slipping issues on the areas of track that are above ground.  Eventually, a very thin, very slick layer of ice forms on the rails.  Trains try to stop and slide.  Or the reverse happens.  Trains try to move and the wheels slip.

So I guess it is just wait an see.  Be careful, that first step can be a…

Yet Again, 1 Train Makes Me Want to Kill Kittens

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So the trend of late for the 1 Train is to do construction or service work in the middle of the damn day.  No no, not on the platforms…on the tracks.

From 10:30 to 3:00 on weekdays, there’s no service on certain sections of the tracks on the Upper West Side.

Lately, I’ve been working on a project at Columbia, so I’m riding up there often.  I usually get up there before 10:30a and leave after 3p.  So I’ve never really noticed the service changes.  Not today though.

I wrapped up my meetings at 11a today, and started to head downtown.  Get to the platform, and there was the hot pink tape.  Blocking the stairs to the platforms.

Now, wouldn’t you expect to see the tape before you walked through the turnstile?  Yeah, me too.  I have an unlimited card so it doesn’t matter, but I would be pissed if I had a pay per ride, and had to go get a refund.

Written there in sharpie marker on white paper was a note from the token booth attendant telling me to walk alllll the way down to 96th Street.  Wonderful.

At least it was something like 75 degrees out today.  If it had been freezing cold or raining, this rant may never have ended.

The 1 Train Sucks Lately

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Ok, so the 1 Train has totally sucked for….oooohhh…at least the last week.

Takes forever to come at the peak of rush hour.  The person in charge of the line, or in charge of the dispatch tower must be on vacation this week.  There must be a substitute in there.  Why?

They’ve been using the “skip ahead to other stations” trick way too often.  You know the drill…

You wait on the platform for at least 20 minutes or more.  The over crowded train finally pulls in, and you knock over a few old ladies to get on the train.  Meanwhile, 80% of the people waiting on the platform definitely did not make it onto this train, so you are even more thankful that you made it.

The train pulls away.  It is packed so tight that you don’t even need to old on.  You’re surrounded by puffy, down coats.  If only there weren’t that subtle odor.

You arrive at the first stop since you got on board only to have the “English as a Second Language” door operator try to tell everyone that this local train is about to start running express.  First of all, I’m not that sure they know how to use the intercom.  It’s almost like having your grandmother talk into the wrong end of the phone.  There’s a voice in there, but something just isn’t right.

Then, what you do hear is some sort of randomly organized words.  But you do manage to detect the words “express” “nest stop” “one two five street”…not necessarily in that order.

I’m sure I’m not alone here.

Death of the Subway Token

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Ahhh these were the days…

The New York City subway token, tool and talisman of city life since Vincent R. Impellitteri was mayor, is dead at age 50, transit officials said yesterday.

The causes of death were technology and economics.

Tokens will be sold for the last time on Saturday, April 12, said Lawrence G. Reuter, president of New York City Transit. After 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, May 4 — the moment at which fares will rise, with the price of a single trip jumping to $2 from $1.50 — any token plinked into a turnstile will be spit back out. Bus fareboxes will still accept the token — along with 50 cents cash, thank you — through the end of the year.

Read the rest of this little trip down memory lane on the NY Times Website.