Posts Tagged ‘MNCR’
Monday, August 16th, 2010
NJT's Multilevel Railcars, which may or may not resemble what MNCR may or may not end up purchasing.
Many media outlets are reporting this morning that Metro-North Commuter Railroad (MNCR) is seriously considering purchasing double decker rail cars for its Hudson and Harlem commuter lines, which terminate at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.
One interesting aspect of this idea is that MNCR’s Park Avenue tunnel, which leads to Grand Central Terminal, has more restrictive clearances than even the Hudson (North) and East River tunnels used by NJ Transit and LIRR’s multilevel/bilevel cars.
While multilevel trains are typically taller than regular trains, officials in the region have found ways to deal with the narrow clearance of underwater and underground tunnels that provide access into Manhattan. At New Jersey Transit, the bilevel cars feature a sharply beveled roof, which curves at a roughly 45-degree angle to ensure the trains do not scrape against walls.
Metro-North engineers believe their trains would require an even steeper bevel to avoid the walls of the Park Avenue tunnel. And low-hanging wires and underground protrusions might have to be trimmed back.
Other problems/issues to be considered/resolved may or may not include gapping-out when crossing the switches at Grand Central Terminal, HEP ratings, and locomotive availability. However, as usual, some of these issues, as reported by the media, are either much more or much less complicated than they are making them out to be.
Read here what some railfans and railroad employees have to say about all this.
Tags: bilevel, double-decker, gct, grand central terminal, harlem line, hudson line, Metro-North Railroad, MNCR, MNR, mnrr, mta, multilevel
Posted in commuter rail | No Comments »
Sunday, June 27th, 2010
Finally, after three years, the Henry Hudson Bridge pedestrian walkway has reopened to pedestrians and cyclists! What a great connection! And what great views! Here are some quick cell phone pics I took as I walked my bike across the bridge this afternoon.
The entrance to the walkway on the Bronx side
View of the Inwood Movable Bridge and the Spuyten Duyvil Metro-North train station
View of the Spuyten Duyvil Metro-North train station
Tags: bicycle, Bronx, Metro-North Railroad, MNCR, MNR
Posted in commuter rail | 6 Comments »
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
a derailed Metro-North train is seen causing a big mess
A Metro-North/CDOT electric M.U. set derailed near the Stamford Yard this morning blocking some tracks and slowing the departure of trains from the yard. As a result service is delayed and conditions on-board are reported to be quite crowded.
Photo is from 1010 WINS. Story via MNCR, SubChat, and 1010 WINS.
Tags: Metro-North Railroad, MNCR, MNR, mta
Posted in commuter rail, delays, service alert | No Comments »
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
MTA New York City Transit has provided some good advice on how to best travel to the ticker tape parade celebrating the New York Yankees victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2009 baseball World Series:
Although the Lexington Avenue line serves the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall, Fulton Street-Broadway/Nassau, Wall Street, and Bowling Green stations, Yankees’ fans should be aware that the 4 5 6 lines are usually crowded during normal weekday rush hour along the corridor.
Instead, fans are encouraged to use the 1 line or the R or W lines to Rector Street, or the E to World Trade Center. Fans should also consider taking the 2 or 3 lines to Chambers Street or Wall Street, and the J to the Broad Street station.
Crowding conditions at the City Hall R and W station, Park Place 2 and 3 station and nearby 4 5 6 Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station may force trains to bypass those stations during the parade and ceremony at City Hall. All lines affected will be monitored by supervision to ensure smooth operation.
Read the entire press release for this November 6, 2009 event, here. I’ve also provided an image of the Special Event poster for the parade, as well as an image of the revised World Series poster from earlier in the week:
In addition, both Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road will be running extra trains to bring fans to and from the parade. Click the preceding links for the train schedules.
Tags: Long Island Rail Road, Long Island Railroad, Metro-North Railroad, MNCR, MNR, mta, new york, new york city, New York City Transit, nyc, nyct, subway, train
Posted in commuter rail, subway | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
Metro-North has announced that they are FINALLY reviving their Penn Station Access Study. The first part of study, formally called the Metro-North Penn Station Access Major Investment Study/Draft Environmental Impact Statement (MIS/DEIS), was carried out from 1999 to 2002. Since then, it seems it has been dormant. Railfans and transit planners used to speak about it in hushed tones and with tears in their eyes. The “DEIS” part of the study never came to fruition, even though it was promised for “Fall 2003″.
Now the study is back in a big way, with an Environmental Assessment (EA) scheduled for completion in 2011. Thankfully “analyses performed to date on [the proposed "Build"] alternative reveal no significant impacts that cannot be mitigated. Therefore, Metro-North has decided to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA), rather than an EIS.” That should save some time and money.
Click here for the press release: MTA Metro-North Railroad Renews Study of Access to Pennsylvania Station
The proposed “Build” alternative consists of Hudson Line service to Penn Station via Amtrak’s West Side line + Empire Connection, and New Haven Line service to Penn Station via the Hell Gate line. There would be five new stations built:
Hudson Line trains
- West 125th Street
- Upper West Side
New Haven Line trains
- Co-op City
- Parkchester
- Hunts Point
I say that this service can’t come soon enough. For people who work near Penn Station or along the 8th Avenue IND or 7th Avenue IRT subway lines, this service could possibly significantly reduce their commuting times.
For a lot more information about the work done so far on this project (1999-2002), check out the Penn Station Access Study website on MTA.info. The site appears to have been updated to reflect that the EA will be done in 2011, and with a proposed “Build” alternative graphic that shows the station formerly called “West 59th Street” to now be called “Upper West Side”.
Bonus: a graphic from a past version of the Penn Station Access Study website.
Tags: Metro-North Railroad, MNCR, MNR, mta, new york city, penn station, train
Posted in commuter rail | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
MTA officials were too busy tailgating with NJ Transit officials at Penn Station New York today to notice the significant and glaring error in their all important press release.
The press release, meant to announce the beginning of both LIRR/MNCR+NJT joint-ticketing to the Meadowlands and direct Metro-North New Haven line service to Secaucus, is only successful with the former. That’s because the press release GOT THE DATE WRONG of the first direct New Haven line train!!!!
In addition, Metro-North will be introducing a new direct service from major New Haven Line stations to the Meadowlands (via Secaucus Junction) for football games starting at 1 p.m. From there, shuttle trains will bring fans directly to the new Meadowlands Station and the game. Metro-North New Haven line direct service begins as the regular season kicks off on Sunday, September 13 with the NY Giants/Washington Redskins game that starts at 1 p.m. [Emphasis added]
Good job, MTA. Way to go.
You see, the 9/13/2009 game actually starts at 4:15 PM, thus making it ineligible for direct New Haven line service. The correct start date of direct New Haven line service is Sunday, September 20, 2009, when the New York Jets host the New England Patriots with a 1:00 PM kickoff.
In case the MTA goes and corrects the press release, below is a screen shot with the offending material highlighted.
UN believable
Tags: football, Giants, Jets, lirr, Long Island Rail Road, Long Island Railroad, meadowlands, Metro-North Railroad, MNCR, MNR, mta, new jersey transit, NJ Transit, njt, penn station, train
Posted in commuter rail, delays | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
You can now buy and use a single train ticket to ride from stations on the Long Island Rail Road all the way to the Meadowlands Sports Complex in New Jersey, home of Giants Stadium, a new football stadium to be named later, and the Izod Center (as well as the Meadowlands Racetrack and the unfinished Xanadu).
But be careful – even though New Jersey Transit will be running trains to the Meadowlands for events other than Giants and Jets football games, the LIRR thru-tickets are only “officially” valid for football game days. This may have something to do with the fact that, as the LIRR notes, you must show your rail ticket at the fare gates at Secaucus Junction, instead of feeding it through the turnstile, since the LIRR ticket stock does not have the magnetic stripe like the NJT ticket stock.
Read all about this LIRR/NJT joint ticketing initiative here: http://mta.info/lirr/pubs/TrainToTheGame/. That LIRR web page even features a nifty diagram of part of Penn Station, to help people make the LIRR -> NJT transfer. The other part of the graphic is an extremely simple route diagram of the rail service. You can see them below:
Click to see a bigger version
Oh, and Metro-North is doing the same thing. Even though they are running direct trains from the New Haven line to Secaucus Junction on the days of Sunday 1 PM games, you can also buy a joint ticket from any Metro-North station that you can use to get all the way to the Meadowlands. You will of course need to get from Grand Central Terminal to Penn Station New York in order to board a New Jersey Transit train to Secaucus. The brochure linked to in my recent post on this topic explains things in much much greater detail.
P.S. And no, you can’t buy an LIRR ticket from Penn Station New York to the Meadowlands. I know, because I tried it this evening. Would have been (pointlessly) cool though, in a railfanning kind of way.
Update: Here’s a good Newsday article on the topic of the joint-ticketing.
Tags: football, Giants, Jets, lirr, Long Island Rail Road, Long Island Railroad, meadowlands, Metro-North Railroad, MNCR, MNR, mta, new jersey transit, new york city, NJ Transit, njt, penn station, train
Posted in commuter rail, railfanning | 5 Comments »
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
Metro-North Railroad has created a new brochure to explain their part of the direct service that they are planning to run with New Jersey Transit this fall. It is admittedly a complicated task to convey all of the options and nuances that they are trying to get across, but I think they did an okay job. The brochure is linked from a new web page Metro-North put up for this service. You can also download the PDF directly from this link: http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/SchedPDF_vWEB_Brochure.pdf
Edit: This brochure, in all its glossy printed glory, is available in the information boxes next to each of the upper level tracks at Grand Central Terminal, as of yesterday, August 19, 2009.
Tags: football, Giants, Jets, meadowlands, Metro-North Railroad, MNCR, MNR, new york, NJ Transit, njt, penn station, train
Posted in commuter rail, railfanning | 1 Comment »
Monday, June 15th, 2009
Weekdays: about 50 vs. projection of 400
Game days: high of 4,200 vs. capacity of 10,000
Source: Slow start at new station
Tags: Metro-North Railroad, MNCR, MNR, mta, new york city, nyc, station, train
Posted in commuter rail | No Comments »
