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Subway hell weekend is behind us, and now the transit system has been restored to its hyper-efficient, fast-paced glory. But were this weekend's irritating disruptions worth all the agita? The MTA, obviously, says yes, and NYC Transit's Twitter page is filled photographic documentation that workers were so totally busy repairing the infrastructure.
The Times sent reporters underground to get the usual quotes from disgruntled commuters, as well as MTA spokesman Paul Fleuranges, who says, "There is no good time to do major rehabilitation and system upgrade. If we don’t work on the railroad, it won’t work. It begins to fail, and leads to the conditions that plagued the system in the 1980s, which produced rampant derailments and fires that crippled the system. We’re not going to go back there." But man on the platform Eric Markowitz feels like "back there" is right now, and opines, "You wonder why they keep raising prices, while service seems to be cut more and more."
18 of 20 subway lines were experiencing diversions over the weekend, with only the 6 and M lines unaffected.
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As much as I loathe the MTA and the TWU, I guess they are right in that there really is never a good time to do the work. It would be nice if it just didn't happen all at once. They made any kind of detours impossible this weekend.
sure you can bitch when they have to work on the subway tracks and stations. but then don't complain when the ceiling falls on your noggin.
It's for true! I rode the Unicorn line to Marshmallow Land this morning. Magical!
I wonder how upset these people (who whine) who be when their train fell off the Manhattan bridge because track work wasn't completed.
Wow thanks MTA and TWU for doing your fucking jobs for once! Pay raises for all. And medals. And then you can go back to sleeping on the job all winter, per usual.
If they didn't neglect the system for decades, they wouldn't need to shut down so many lines on the weekend. Ceilings wouldn't collapse if they bothered to inspect and or repair them once in anyone's lifetime. The subway system resembles a movie set from Beneath the Planet of the Apes. Their concept of progress is to install smart card technology instead of checking support beams that are rusting away. They want to install countdown clocks for arriving trains. Here's a concept, why don't they bother fixing the fucking clocks that remain broken for year???? People should complain more about this abysmal service.
You're so right, i think about that clock thing daily, as i walk through west 4th, i always look up and think, how hard would it be to get out an 8ft ladder and set the f'ing time??
Very hard since it's not in their contract to change the clocks.
They love the visible technology improvements, like new lines (Second Ave) new trains, "smartcards" and countdown clocks because MTA officials and pols get to claim credit for them.
Stop complicating and be glad the MTA is making sure the system is in tip top shape. It's not like just NYCT has construction on weekend. Metro-North and LIRR does too. Sometimes they have buses only or need to take out a track and increasing the running times.
The weekends are not the right time for this. Used to be that trains were deserted on the weekends, but that has not been the case for over a decade now. They should do their work in the middle of the night instead. Also, they should efficiently so the jobs don't take forever.
That's my opinion as an opinionated NY who loves to complain.
Trilby16, it's already been determined that midnight to 5am on weeknights is not sufficient time to efficiently do maintenance and repairs.
It appears as though there are 20 workers setting one rail tie at a time in that Rockaways South Channel shot. I have no problem with repairs and required maintenance, but I am convinced that at least 50% of TWU workers are hired to fetch and drink coffee. That picture does nothing to assuage my concerns.
You tell them to work faster, the union sues you for "unsafe work conditions". If you try to fire them, the others left will sue you for "unsafe work conditions".