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  • 2014/2015 Service Enhancements

  • Discussion of the past and present operations of the Long Island Rail Road.
Discussion of the past and present operations of the Long Island Rail Road.

Moderator: Liquidcamphor

 #1284606  by RestrictOnTheHanger
 
Saw this on the MTA site today:

West Hempstead weekend service restored in November, running every 2 hours

10 weeks of extra Montauk weekend service thru Thanksgiving this year, and year round Babylon-Patchogue hourly service starting September 2015

2 weekend Oyster Bay trains added (restored?) in September 2015

6 rush hour trains go from 10 to 12 cars

http://www.mta.info/press-release/lirr/ ... nd-service" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1284682  by inthebag
 
Nice to hear about West Hempstead weekend restoration. Bi-hourly sucks but it's better than nothing.

Adding two cars to train 460 is a mistake. The problem with that train is that it loads off track 16 usually. The back of the train is always empty, so the real underlying problem is not seating capacity but passenger load distribution. Putting it on track 20 or 21 would help more than adding 2 cars on a branch that can't handle 12 cars. That train will now always be late as it waits at Bayside, Manhasset, and Plandome for the people in the first two cars to walk back.
 #1284721  by Amtrak7
 
2309 desperately needs the extra cars. It's the third-worst of the AM, with 819 and 1631 at the top. The former already has 12 cars and is merely a Jamaica issue, the latter is a matter of Huntington siding capacity.

460 operates with 1050 people and is the second-worst train of the PM rush (the worst being 2078). Two extra cars are better than nothing. That said, they might have a 1734-issue on their hands with all the walk delay.

I wonder what these Oyster Bay trains are. I don't think throwing precious money on this branch is the best thing to do, though, if weekend service was the goal.

The Montauk extra 10 weeks appears to be 8702/8703.
 #1284728  by inthebag
 
Amtrak7 wrote:460 operates with 1050 people and is the second-worst train of the PM rush (the worst being 2078). Two extra cars are better than nothing. That said, they might have a 1734-issue on their hands with all the walk delay.
It'll definitely be late everyday. I've worked that train as the brakeman and the collector before. It's always empty in the back while I have to fight through the vestibules in the front. The amount of people in the first two cars that get off at Bayside is incredible, despite the eastern most staircase being around the B-end of the third car.
 #1284770  by RestrictOnTheHanger
 
Amtrak7 wrote: I wonder what these Oyster Bay trains are. I don't think throwing precious money on this branch is the best thing to do, though, if weekend service was the goal.
It's probably restoring the 1-something am jamaica to OB and 7:20 OB to jamaica runs.
 #1284971  by SwingMan
 
inthebag wrote:
Amtrak7 wrote:460 operates with 1050 people and is the second-worst train of the PM rush (the worst being 2078). Two extra cars are better than nothing. That said, they might have a 1734-issue on their hands with all the walk delay.
It'll definitely be late everyday. I've worked that train as the brakeman and the collector before. It's always empty in the back while I have to fight through the vestibules in the front. The amount of people in the first two cars that get off at Bayside is incredible, despite the eastern most staircase being around the B-end of the third car.

You can't fix people. They all think they are higher than the others. When everyone hears, "Walk back, plenty of seats in the rear" most people just assume other people will walk back or are simply too lazy.
 #1285478  by peconicstation
 
baileyjet2000 wrote:With the north folk continuing to grow, I'm surprised there isn't any additional service being planned.

Ray J in RSW
First it's the North FORK, second, outside of the summer peak, almost every one uses the Jitney now.
I don't know if the LIRR can ever win that business back, and I say this as a 24/7/365 resident of the North Fork.

Even the fare on the Jitney is lower, $19.00 if you prepay when making your reservation, as opposed to the LIRR 19.75 off peak, or $27.00 peak fare.

Ken
 #1285596  by boblothrope
 
inthebag wrote:Nice to hear about West Hempstead weekend restoration. Bi-hourly sucks but it's better than nothing.
I agree, though weekend service every 2 hours is what the line had before the cuts.

Here's my question: It's a 15-minute trip each way from West Hempstead to Valley Stream. Why not run one a shuttle train every hour? If it's every 2 hours, that means each one-way trip consists of moving for 15 minutes, and then sitting around for 45.
 #1308872  by lirr42
 
boblothrope wrote:
inthebag wrote:Nice to hear about West Hempstead weekend restoration. Bi-hourly sucks but it's better than nothing.
I agree, though weekend service every 2 hours is what the line had before the cuts.

Here's my question: It's a 15-minute trip each way from West Hempstead to Valley Stream. Why not run one a shuttle train every hour? If it's every 2 hours, that means each one-way trip consists of moving for 15 minutes, and then sitting around for 45.
The West Hemstead Branch had weekend service every 2 hours before the cuts, and nobody wanted to use it, so that was exactly why it was cut. Why take the train just a few minutes to Valley Stream just to stand on the platform or transfer twice if you want to get to New York, there waiting when you could drive to Valley Stream, stand on the platform, and then chose from a much wider variety of trains (some that even go right to New York!). Now that people have gone on with their lives for years without weekend service on the branch, they've likely gotten accustomed to their more frequent alternatives, and the weekend service will likely be even more unpopular than it was before it was cut. They could have easily gone with hourly service to West Hempstead, or 90-minute headways to Jamaica or HPA, eliminating a transfer for those wanting to go to New York.

It's nice that they're restoring the things they cut, but all of these things were cut for a reason, and some of them might be better off staying off the timetables. I can't help thinking if the money being spent to reactivate this service (2 crews, 1 set of equipment) would be better spent elsewhere.

Also, as an aside, does anyone know if M3's are not allowed on the West Hempstead Branch? The last few times a M3 has set out for the branch, it seems to get partially cancelled at Valley Stream due to mysterious "equipment trouble."