Man Almost Swept Onto the Subway Tracks by Floodwaters

Just when you think you've seen everything in the subways. This looks like a scene out of some Hollywood disaster movie. Just pathetic. That infusion of funds and makeover for the system cannot come fast enough.

From amNewYork: Court Square Subway Station Flood Nearly Sweeps Man Onto Tracks

Important MTA Community Forum Coming Up

Subway Construction Update

Thanks to the anonymous commenter who recently responded to my post about the seemingly endless subway work that has been impacting the express train service on most recent weekends. I found the original press release he or she was referring to about some of the benefits of the work, and thought I'd share it here:

$205.8M in Contracts Approved to Install Communications-Based Train Control System

July 20th, 2015

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today gave preliminary approval to two contracts totaling $205.8 million to Siemens Industry Inc. and Thales Transport & Security for the installation of a Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) signaling system on the Queens Boulevard Line, one of New York City Transit’s busiest subway lines. The signaling system, which is currently in operation on the Canarsie  Line and being installed on the Flushing  Line, enables the MTA to address overcrowding and record subway ridership by operating subway trains more closely together, adding passenger capacity to the century-old subway system.

CBTC allows NYC Transit to operate more trains per hour, thereby increasing passenger capacity; provide improved and more reliable service; and make more efficient use of its track and car fleet. The system is more flexible than the current block signals system because CBTC continuously updates train positions, distances and travel speeds, allowing for faster and more efficient operations. Continuous updates allow the subway system to recover quickly from delays and restore consistent wait times at subway stations.

The installation of CBTC will keep the signaling system in a state of good repair and will also enhance safety for customers and employees alike. With CBTC, NYC Transit can program a work zone so trains cannot exceed a set speed, making the work zone much safer for workers on the tracks.

The signals system also can provide real-time travel information that can be shared with customers on public address systems and electronic screens such as countdown clocks or data-driven mobile apps.

CBTC will be installed on local and express tracks serving the  lines from north of the Kew Gardens/Union Tpke  station to north of the 47-50 Sts/Rockefeller Ctr station on the FM Lines and south of the 50 St  station. It is the first phase in a project that will ultimately update the signaling system for the entire Queens Boulevard Line. QBL West Phase 1 represents a change from MTA’s other CBTC projects, which have been installed on single subway lines such as the  and . QBL West Phase 1 encompasses four subway lines with multiple train overlays.

“The communications-based train control signaling system is a vital part of our plan to address issues of overcrowding, record ridership and service delays,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast. “CBTC represents the MTA’s efforts to bring advanced technology to a century-old subway system that, in some parts, has not been updated in decades. On the Line where CBTC has been installed for several years now, we have seen improved service and we have been able to increase capacity significantly. Once we’re done installing CBTC on the  Line, those customers will also benefit from similarly improved and increased service, and the Queens Boulevard project is a continuation of our efforts to make those improvements system-wide.”

Design work on QBL West Phase 1 is estimated to begin later in 2015, with major installation work estimated to start in mid-2017. Once complete, NYC Transit will be able to run more frequent subway service with fewer delays, which will be a major benefit to  customers who commute to some of Queens’ most populated neighborhoods, major commercial destinations, and areas in Central Queens that are undergoing significant residential and commercial development. On the Line, ridership has increased by 27 percent since CBTC was installed in 2007; capacity also is expected to increase on the Line once CBTC becomes operational in 2017.

The Transit Committee of the MTA Board approved the 67-month contracts to Siemens Industry Inc. and Thales Transport & Security Inc., currently the only two MTA-qualified vendors for CBTC projects. The Siemens contract is for approximately $156.2 million; the Thales contract is for $49.6 million.

It also approved a separate $1.2 million contract for Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. to develop and test CBTC software and systems with the goal of qualifying an additional supplier for future CBTC projects. This process widens the pool of vendors to compete for such projects and increases the potential for cost savings for the MTA.

These contracts are scheduled to be considered by the full MTA Board on Wednesday. They will be fully funded by the MTA, with portions funded by the 2010-2014 Capital Program and other existing programs. Integral portions such as car and wayside equipment installation are scheduled to be funded in the 2015-2019 Capital Program.

Please click on https://youtu.be/Mjx3S3UjmnA to view a video presented today at the Transit Committee about the benefits of CBTC.

E Train Plan Takes it From Forest Hills, Gives it to Brooklyn

This idea is quite disturbing, arrogant, and obnoxious, and has the potential to be a huge clusterfuck for us. 

From a reader:

I think this article that was featured on Gothamist yesterday is EXTREMELY relevant to us in FH.

Can An E Train Extension Mitigate The Coming L Train Shutdown Hell?  

I'm sure other members of the community would appreciate if you talked about this in some way... I know that it is just a proposal now, but it could potentially take away our access to the E train (not to mention, one less way for ALL New Yorkers to get to the airport).

Personally, I think it's important for members of our community to be aware that this could end up as a possibility, and we need to be prepared to fight tooth and nail against it. At very least, right now we should be voicing our displeasure so that the MTA knows this plan would come at the expense of our community. 

I don't want FH residents to be surprised if this becomes a possibility. I want to make sure we are prepared to fight it. I hope you will spread the message.

Expect New Subway Delays... Wait, What?

From DNAInfo: Queens Riders: Expect Delays on the E, F, M and R Trains for Next 3 Weeks

A curious announcement, considering the Queens subways have had really bad delays (cancelled or non-existent express train service, slower trains, skipped stations), oh, since I think about February—I kind of lost track (no pun intended) because the situation has been going on so long. Only the difference is, these disruptions have been kept to late evenings and weekends.

I think there's a larger story here, and I think it reflects the way Forest Hills and the rest of the city is changing—and how the MTA has been slow to catch on.

If you take the subways into Manhattan during the late evenings and on the weekends, then you know what I am talking about. I think maybe one week since February the service has been normal during the weekends and during the late evenings. And yet, I may be wrong, but I don't recall the MTA ever announcing any big ongoing construction project to the press like they have done with this new one that impacts rush hour service.

And that's just unfair and reflects old thinking.

The subway isn't just a commuting option for an increasing number of those of us who view ourselves as living in a city where boroughs matter less and less, and we forego owning a car as a choice—because this is one of the great cities of the world where you simply do not need one.

For me, the subway is a critical part of my life, a way to enjoy the other parts of the city that I frequent every week. And not just to work. I spend a ton of my free time in these other parts of the city—I consider it as much my home as Forest Hills. I live in New York City and avail myself of every part of it.

It would just be nice to know that the MTA is aware how vital the subway is as a link for those of us living here to other parts of the city—and not just for rush hour commuting. If they are going to start a construction project impacting late evenings and weekends for 7 months and counting, shouldn't we all be told about it?

I think this is where the larger story comes in. This is who currently controls our subway system:

• The Governor recommends six board members, including the Board Chair,
• New York City's Mayor recommends another four members,
• The county executives of Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties recommend one board member each,
• And the county executives of Orange, Putnam, Rockland, and Dutchess Counties recommend one board member each (those four board members cast one collective vote). 

So, the pathetic and simply wrong reality is that out of 14 potential MTA votes, New York City residents have a say through their Mayor in only 4 of those MTA Board votes. And our Mayor doesn't even get to select the MTA board chair.

Now, I ask you, who really depends on the MTA more and should have more of a say in how it's run? Those of us who use it every day of the week as a vital connection to our city since we don't own cars? Or suburbanites who mostly own cars, and use it mostly as a choice for commuting?

Various Unpleasantness

• The "Cannibal Cop" who lived somewhere here in Forest Hills, has been found guilty. 
• And I'm sorry, but this story about how the MTA is rolling out a new pilot program to sterilize all them varmints in the subways feels way too much like those government plans that go awry and somehow end up destroying all of humanity instead. No?

MTA Restores Cuts

Some Subway, Train and Bus Services to Be Restored or Expanded

The M.T.A., which two years ago made cuts, plans to phase in the improvements starting this fall.

Another sign of the health of this remarkable city we live in while times are still really difficult for a lot of other parts of the country.

More Wi-Fi Coming to Subway Stations

Five years from now, if all goes as planned, pretty much every subway station in NYC will finally have wi-fi.

Free Wi-Fi comes to New York City via Google Offers, Boingo

Six subway stations and more than 200 hotspot locations in The Big Apple get free Wi-Fi as Boingo rolls out its massive wireless plan that will eventually reach all of the city's underground transit stations.

But this article also says that the wi-fi will no longer be free in the stations after September? Really?

Now You See It....

.... Now you dont!... Hmm, Didn't there used to be a subway entrance here in front of the T-Bone Diner?

Cute Subway Announcements

N.Y. / REGION
City Room: Heard Underground, in Your Dreams
By DAVID W. DUNLAP and MICHAEL KOLOMATSKY
Published: February 23, 2012
What readers would love to hear underground, as recorded by Bernie Wagenblast.

Changes Coming to Forest Hills Subway Station

Click on the pic to see a bigger version...

A Radical Shift in Subway Maintenance

Ok, so I was ranting to a friend the other day about how the MTA shouldn't do all of its construction work on the weekends. "I am so sick of this!!," went my rant. "I bet the heads of the MTA don't even live in the City! If they did, they wouldn't always do all of the construction on the weekends! When are they going to start making the suburbanite commuters feel some of the pain and do some construction on the weekdays!"

My friend vehemently disagreed, saying that would be an even bigger inconvenience! How would we all get to work??

Apparently, someone from the MTA was walking behind us and I must've frightened him or her with my anger. My sincere apologies to all of New York City for bringing this on all of you.

N.Y. / REGION Experiment on Subways Will Shift Pain to Weekdays
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
Published: November 14, 2011
New York City Transit will test an approach next year to do major construction work on weekdays between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., potentially improving weekend service.

(Just kidding. Kind of. At least it will be taking place at night. Oh yea, but then there is this: "For more complex repair work, the agency would consider closing some track segments for up to 16 days at a time, with no service day or night." Oy vey.)

Here's an MTA email update you don't see everyday: "Due to an earlier Earthquake in Virginia, there is no effect to train service."

Old Subway Cars to Get Upgrade?

N.Y. / REGION
Transit Agency Weighs a Digital Upgrade for Aging Subway Cars
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
Published: June 16, 2011
The upgrade, if put into effect, would bring automated station announcements and digital route displays to more than 1,700 aging subway cars.

Misery

Hey, We Can Dream Can't We?

An interesting take on the dream transit system of the future for New York: Transit Fantasyland: Improving service across NYC


Somehow, I think this is not on the list of the MTA's priorities though. However, I did notice that some of the escalators have finally been fixed. So maybe they can get cracking on that new subway line to Forest Hills!

Truly Frightening

How people can do something like this and sleep at night is simply beyond me.

N.Y. / Region

Subway Signal Inspections Found to Be Falsified

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM

Published: November 19, 2010

An investigation by the inspector general of the Metropolitan Transit Authority found safety workers had deemed the signals safe even though the inspections had never taken place.