You are browsing the Subway category
September 29, 2007
Hundreds of subway cars will be sleeping with the fishes - and much more aquatic life - as the MTA approved a plan to send old cars from the C and E lines to the Garden State for artificial reef-building. NYC Transit assistant chief of operations Mike Zacchea explained, "They create a cave-like structure that let young hatchlings mature. Within 30 days, marine life attaches to the car body." Earlier this month, NJ environmental officials... [continue]
| September 28, 2007
Riders of the L train gave the line an average grade of "C" according to the NYC Transit Agency's report card. Over 4,000 riders graded the 10.3 mile line (42,000 surveys were handed out; over 2700 were mailed in while over 1200 were submitted via the MTA's website), giving the following marks: B- to "Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way," "Comfortable temperature in subway cars," and "Lack of graffiti in... [continue]
September 24, 2007
Move over, remake of The Warriors: Variety (subscription required) reports that Denzel Washington will star in the Tony Scott-directed remake:Washington will take on the role of Zachary "Z" Garber, which was played by Walter Matthau in the original 1974 Joseph Sargent-helmed film. The story, based on a novel by John Godey, also spawned a 1998 TV movie starring Edward James Olmos. The latest incarnation takes place in contemporary New York and is set in motion... [continue]
September 21, 2007
Subway service on the F train line has been temporarily suspended in Brooklyn, due to what readers are letting us know is a possible bomb threat. Reader Marc Zeltzer tells us that the streets from 6th to 8th Aves. and 8th to 10th Sts. in Park Slope have been closed by police. Subway trains are running through the 7th Ave. station without stopping and two "NYPD special emergency trucks" are on site. Marc also sent... [continue]
There was a bit in the MTA's August 8 Storm Report which mentioned that the MTA was working on some street furniture designs to "raise vent heights to prevent water inflow." As part of the recommendation to "Implement corrective action plan for top flood-prone locations," the MTA, with the Department of Transportation and Department of Environmental Protection, is developing short- and long-term solutions at the most flooding-vulnerable locations. Perhaps a more promising and intriguing... [continue]
Advertisement: Gothamist Continues Below!
September 20, 2007
In case you didn't realize it on August 8, when a tropical storm caused the massive flooding in the streets and subways, essentially shutting down the system, the MTA didn't so such a great job of anticipating the storm's severity or letting riders know how to get around. But now, a report to Governor Spitzer lays it all out in its 115-page glory (here's the PDF). Highlights:Operations Findings: - The storm was not predicted... [continue]
Two years after asking various companies to bid to bring cellphone service to the subways, the MTA has finally picked a vendor to wire all stations. Here are the details:Transit Wireless will pay the MTA at least $4.6 million each year over 10 years; Transit Wireless is made up of four communications and constructions companies. Subway stations will be wired for cellular and wireless service. Subway tunnels will not be wired, which means cellphone use... [continue]
September 18, 2007
The Division of State Government Accountability from the Office of the New York State Comptroller recently released an audit of the New York City Transit Museum’s Nostalgia Train program. The audit identified “significant weaknesses in the Museum’s internal controls over ticket revenue for Nostalgia Train excursions” and that most of the program’s costs are coming from New York City Transit’s fare revenues and public mass transit funding. What's fun is that the audit was spurred... [continue]
September 16, 2007
Last week, the Senate passed the Transportation Appropriations Bill that includes some big bucks for NYC mass transit projects. There's $125 million for the Second Avenue Subway, plus another $200 million for the East Side Access Project (LIRR connection to Grand Central). Senator Chuck Schumer said, "The Second Ave. subway line will provide desperately needed relief to the severely stressed Lexington line," while Senator Hillary Clinton said, "Now that the ground has been broken... [continue]
September 10, 2007
It was originally named the 8th Avenue Subway, but the 'A' train turns 75 today, having opened September 10th, 1932. Officials are holding a ceremony at the line's northernmost station––Inwood/207th St.––and will be running six antique railcars from the 1930s during the day to commemorate the event. This is more than the Eighth Ave. Subway garnered on its opening day: Back in 1932, just before midnight, transit workers simply dropped chains blocking access to... [continue]
September 8, 2007
Ooh - NY1 has the exclusive on this exciting bit of subway news: The MTA is planning on installing subway platform doors on the 7 line extension. The platform doors are not only a safety feature, they create savings with energy bills and keep stations cooler. Additionally, they would prevent people from being able to litter in the tracks (and that litter can cause track fires, which is a major cause of subway delays).... [continue]
September 6, 2007
Did you ever want to see an animated map of how the city's subways were built? Okay, probably not, but 2nd Avenue Sagas points us to a map someone made that shows the lines in the order they were built.Starting with the Franklin St. Shuttle, remnants of the original Brooklyn El system, and the far reaches of the J line which contain the oldest surviving transit structures still in use in the city, the... [continue]
September 4, 2007
The MTA says all service is running normally now, but, earlier, a switch problem at 59th Street/Columbus Circle caused delays with the A, B, C, and D lines. The trains were diverted, with the C going express between Canal and Columbus Circle and the B and D running local between West 4th and Columbus Circle... we even heard that the B and D were running on the northbound N/R line. Because these delays affected the... [continue]