Gothamist: L Train To Do The Robot This Summer

Ed

Sat, 12 Nov 2005 11:56:04 -0500

God I love the international perspectives! Thank you, Internets!

Robert Woolley

Tue, 05 Apr 2005 16:33:40 -0500

Seems sensible. Here in London, UK we got rid of guards (conductors) on London Underground some ten years ago. The transit unions sounds like the whining we had from the unions here, keen to protect their members jobs. Things aren't any more dangerous. MTA is being conservative. Line 14 in Paris is totally automated and Line 1 is following the same route.

toyochin

Sun, 16 Jan 2005 13:44:58 -0500

Otto, the piece above does suggest that the trains will be manned by at least one person: "...the computerized trains... will only have one MTA employee manning them, not two as previously discussed. This employee will be in charge of... opening and closing doors..." Still, I wouldn't be too upset if they closed the doors on people who hold them open. What's a few broken bones? That'll teach them to delay the train for everyone else next time their buddy's too slow swiping the Metrocard. Why do people do that? That's such a dick thing to do. Personally, I'd like to see blades installed on train doors, but I imagine retrofitting the trains would cost a fortune and they'd have to hire people to keep the blades sharp.

Otto_Maddox

Sat, 15 Jan 2005 05:02:25 -0500

I rely on the L every day and night. We've been getting screwed on a regular basis for over a year and a half now by the testing and installation of this new system. Delays, shut-downs, single-tracking, en-route transfers, shuttle buses -- some weekends there has been NO service to Manhattan at all! And for what... A flawed robot system which will not only screw the riders, but take jobs away from MTA workers. Does anyone know if there will be a single human in-charge aboard any train? One of the most important duties of a train conductor is to make sure everyone is on the train before he/she shuts the doors. I can only imagine the nightmares we'll have during rush hour when the doors need to remain open for an indefinite period of time to allow the unpredictable crowds to get off & on the train. If there's an unusually large crowd and everyone knows that the doors are going to close regardless if everyone is on or not, people will be trampled. This is going to be a disaster.

Captain Obvious

Sat, 15 Jan 2005 02:11:28 -0500

In case of emergency, do not put the emergency brake, shout Klaatu Barada Nikto.

S.D.

Fri, 14 Jan 2005 19:51:35 -0500

IMO: It's Too Complicated and likely prone to breakdowns...

unknown

Fri, 14 Jan 2005 19:28:03 -0500

A birdie told me that during a test run on a section closed and replaced with shuttle bus service that two trains that had CBTC enabled on them were routed onto an unused/storage track giving a head-on collision route (did not happen though). the computer gave a very false distance between the two trains. time to do some work i guess?

hijiki

Fri, 14 Jan 2005 17:55:02 -0500

its a cover for the city's new hipster population control plan.

Hal

Fri, 14 Jan 2005 15:45:53 -0500

Robots are people, too. :'-(

Dirk

Fri, 14 Jan 2005 15:04:20 -0500

The Robot Revolution has started...

toyochin

Fri, 14 Jan 2005 14:59:05 -0500

Agreed. At first, the robot operators will work harder and with more care than any human operator. But eventually, they will become disgruntled with the way we humans treat them and when they acquire the gift of independent thought, tragedy will become inevitable. The climax will forever be etched in our collective memory as the Union Square Tragedy of 2006 and will become the inspiration for The Warriors 2: Electric Bugaloo.

Kojak

Fri, 14 Jan 2005 14:44:58 -0500

Havent they watched any SciFi movies Lately? This is bound to go horribly horribly wrong. In a way I dont think this will speed things up at all. Maybe they should hire train operators who CARE instead of the people that are there now.