Tag: train

When will 59th Street Columbus Circle Close?

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Honestly, there’s about 20 square feet of the entire 59th Street station complex that’s NOT under construction.

Every time I have to get off there, it is impossible to miss the fact that there’s very little area not walled off, torn up, or fenced. It’s getting a little insane.

They may want to just shut it down till it is done. Why? Because one morning, we will litterally get off the train and have no where to go.

On top of that, they’ve started laying tile in lots of seperate areas without completing a section. So a lot of the areas do not meet up seamlessly. So effed up.

Most Infuriating MTA Official Comments EVER!

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David Mack (MTA vice chairman) stop being a dick.

David MackMack:

“If you [the average rider] saw something and called it in, it goes right there,” Mack told reporters at a committee meeting, kicking a garbage can.

“Why should I ride [the train] and inconvenience myself when I can ride in a car?” asked Mack, who has six free E-ZPasses. [New York Post]

In case you haven’t been following, the MTA Board is having a hissyfit because they are going to have their lifetime E-ZPasses and train passes taken away. Mack has SIX free E-ZPasses. However, he now claims to be paying them himself while behind the scenes trying to get board members to fight the proposed ruling.

Keep in mind folks, these jerks are multimillionaires who don’t want to pony up the money.

So his belief is that unless the trains are free, the board members won’t bother to ride…which relates back to his first quote.

The board members need to ride the train because, generally speaking, it is only the board members who get their complaints handled. When you and I report a problem, our complaints are ignored.

Another Suicide Jumper at 96th & Broadway

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Dear Subway Blogger,

Last night around 11:30 a man jumped in front of the 23 uptown at 96th street.  I was in the first car and it was really awful.  The train conductor confirmed that it was a jumper; she said “he was facing the other direction; he just whirled around and jumped.”  It was such a horrible experience, and they let us off the train before the medics even arrived, and I did not stick around to see any more.

Well, I did find some details.  Read More »

Hudson Rail Yards Deal is Dead

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The $1 billion deal for the Hudson Rail Yards development project is all of a sudden DEAD.

The deal fell through at some point late Thursday.  Apparently…

“…an “impasse” over zoning and the timing of payments, the rail yards’ owner said Thursday.” [Newsday]

So a big failing grade for the rail yard, as Gothamist puts it.  See their pictures of the development plans.

In case you’ve missed it, the Hudson Rail Yards were supposed to be developed into massive apartment buildings, a park, and more.  Bloomberg was also a big supporter.

Well, there goes that money too.  Lovely.

Getting to Brooklyn Today was Fun!

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And by fun, I mean it sucked big time. 

The Brooklyn bound 2 and 3 trains were definitely not running, but I heard there were issues with the 4 and 5 too, which makes sense.

There was allegedly a power failure somewhere near the crossing from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

In any event, that meant there were no 2, 3, 4, or 5 trains going to Brooklyn.  They all started turning around to come back uptown.  Lovely. 

They suggested taking the N, Q, R, W instead, but of course you would have needed to know that prior to 42nd Street to transfer.  Then of course, once you got to Brooklyn, you were pretty much out of luck, but at least you made if off the island.

Weekend Subway Service Changes Reach Whole New Level

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This was honestly what you had to deal with this weekend to get around the city.

Subway Changes Map

The MTA basically decided to turn the subway into a giant NASCAR track.  So you had to just get on and cross your fingers that you boarded the correct train in the loop.

The 2 train went down the west side as normal, but then returned back up the east side.  The 5 train went down the east side, but then came up the west side.

Hopefully you didn’t have your iPod turned up so loud you couldn’t hear the announcements.  Odds of noticing the posters were low.  Even if you did, you probably wouldn’t be able to read them without the special decoder ring.

Speakers on the Outside of Subway Trains

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Subway Conductor

What a concept! [sarcasm]

The MTA has finally decided to outfit the old trains in the system with speakers mounted on the outside [Daily News] of the trains. That way, people outside the train can hear the announcements while standing on the platform.

I think we’ve all been in the situation where we’ve boarded a train only to realize that it is going to skip some stops. By then, it’s too late because the doors have already closed.

On those days where service is all f-ed up, these external speakers will come in handy. Since you can never rely on the MTA to make timely announcements over the platform PA system, at least you will be able to hear announcements from the trains when they are in the station.Read More »

Bomb Explosion in Times Square Disrupts Subway Service

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A small bomb was set off in Times Square around 3:45am today. The explosion occurred on the doorstep of the Army/Navy recruitment station on the island in the center of Times Square.

As a result, the police immediately suspended subway service in Times Square. Luckily, trains kept moving and simply bypassed Times Square. However, since TS is a major transfer hub, bypassing it makes it a little tricky for commuters.

Luckily, service resumed fairly quickly…or somewhat quickly.

The station was/is basically on super secure mode. Trains entering the station were boarded by police dogs and checked before being allowed to proceed. In the station itself, there were officers in SWAT gear with machine guns. There were many people being randomly stopped and checked as well.

This will likely continue for the next few days. However, as the mayor said, it’s back to business as usual in Times Square, with a few more automatic weapons near by.

The Latest On Congestion Pricing in NYC

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So this spring is going to be hot for more reasons than one.  In this case, it will be over congestion pricing.

Those that drive around the middle of Manhattan are pissed.  Those that don’t drive could care less.  So it will likely be those that drive that end up killing the plan.

In any event, the plan has already been slightly modified to shrink the zone where the $8.00 toll would be charged.

Now, the talks shift to adding public transportation alternatives.  I guess not really adding, just increasing.

But there will be 12 new bus routes in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx; increased service on 48 bus routes in Staten Island, Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx; 309 new buses; increase of service on the 1, E and F trains; and longer trains on the C line. [WCBS-TV]

So it will be nice to have more trains in service on many of the lines.  Hopefully “increased” service means more than just one extra train.

Snow and Deja Vu

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So apparently today’s snow was the most snow the city has seen in two years. For some reason, that makes it sound like some massive amount of snow…as if it were a blizzard or something.

The truth is we just haven’t had much snow at all in the last few years. This year has been a joke. Anyway, in celebration of the snowfall, the MTA has suspended track work for the weekend.

In other news, I had a very odd thing happen to me today. I rode the exact same train, exact same car both to and from work today.

Just by chance, I noticed a Dr. Zizmor ad on the subway that had been defaced to say Dr. Douchebag. It stuck in my head because it gave me a little chuckle. Honestly, who goes to a doctor that advertises on the subway? That’s a top 10 trashy thing to do. If you need more details, this clown has a Wikipedia entry. I’m not linking to it because you can find it on your own.

Anyway, this afternoon, I got on the train to go home, and saw the exact same Dr. Douchebag ad! I was on the same train, same car, and standing in the exact same place as this morning.

That’s never happened to me before, at least that I’ve noticed.