169 replies to this topic

[AlanB]

Gov's Press conference just announced that Babylon & Huntington lines on the LIRR will reopen tomorrow with hourly service. The Metro North Hudson line will reopen with regular service between Grand Central & Croton Harmon; no service further north of Croton. Service was restored earlier this afternoon on the Harlem line to Southeast, with the 2:13 departure from Southeast. Additionally subway lines will return, including the #7 line between Main Street Flushing & 74th Street. Not sure why they're not running to Queensboro Plaza to connect with the N.

[AlanB]

NYC Subway update:

NYC Transit has restored additional subway service on two lines this evening, providing riders with additional travel options as work to restore the subway to full strength continues. The M train has been partially restored between Midtown and Southeast Queens, operating from 34th St Herald Square to Jamaica Center/Parsons Archer. Service was restored in time for the Thursday evening rush period. This marks yet another step on the road to recovery in the wake of “Superstorm” Sandy. See Service Alert. Additionally, Flushing Line 7 trains are set to resume partial service at about 9 p.m., tonight, running between Main Street and 74th-Broadway, where customers can transfer to Queens Boulevard F and M trains.

[AlanB]

LIRR:

MTA Long Island Rail Road is restoring limited hourly service for Friday (Nov. 2) morning’s rush from Huntington to Penn Station and from Babylon to Penn Station, as work continues around the clock in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The recovery work, while taking place throughout the LIRR system, focused on returning service to the LIRR’s four largest branches – Port Washington, Ronkonkoma, Babylon and Huntington.

See train departure times for service to/from Babylon here.

See train departure times for service to/from Huntington here.

[AlanB]

Here's a video from the MTA of the pump train working down at South Ferry. When this video was shot the pump train was right at the interlocking where the old line to the South Ferry loop intersects with the new line to the relatively new station that opened about 2 years ago or so. As a guess, that puts the train at least 3 blocks away from the actual station, maybe more.

[AlanB]

The Metro North update, which includes some really good news. Original estimates earlier today (Thursday) where that they hoped to restore service to New Haven by afternoon. Instead, they've managed to restore service as of the start of service on Friday morning!

Hudson Line Service from Croton-Harmon Is Restored, Along With Extension of Service to Southeast & New HavenWorking around the clock, Metro-North Railroad employees are making big strides toward the railroad's ultimate goal of restoring quickly and safely as much of its train services as possible in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Beginning with rush hour this morning, Metro-North will operate the following additional service segments:

Close to regularly scheduled service on the Hudson Line between Croton-Harmon and Grand Central Terminal See Hudson Line Schedule.
Close to regularly scheduled service on the Harlem Line between Southeast and Grand Central Terminal See Harlem Line Schedule.
Close to regularly scheduled service on the New Haven Line between New Haven and Grand Central Terminal. See New Haven Line Schedule.
See the Thursday, Nov. 1 Harlem Line schedule.

See the Thursday, Nov. 1 New Haven Line schedule.

The following service segments will remain suspended:

Hudson Line service between Poughkeepsie and Croton-Harmon/Grand Central Terminal
Wassaic Branch on the Harlem Line
New Canaan, Danbury & Waterbury Branches on the New Haven Line;
The West of Hudson services (Port Jervis/Pascack Valley Lines) operated by NJ TRANSIT. See www.njtransit.com for updates.
Currently, parking is still limited. Bridge plates may be used at some New Haven Line stations. Customers should use caution getting on and off trains.

Governor Cuomo has declared a transportation state of emergency. To encourage New Yorkers to use public transit, the Governor has directed the MTA to suspend fare collection on all subways, buses, LIRR and Metro-North trains on Thursday, November 1 and Friday, November 2. Additionally, Metro-North customers should hold onto their October monthly and current weekly tickets; they will remain valid for travel through Monday, November 5.

Transport of Rockland will provide additional TAPPAN ZEExpress bus service from the Palisades Center Mall park & ride lot to Tarrytown Station. See www.rocklandbus.com for schedule information.

There is no subway service south of 34th Street. Customers can take the following buses downtown: M5 at Fifth Ave. and West 42nd Street; M15 at Second Ave. and E. 42nd Street; and the M103 at Lexington Avenue and E. 42nd Street. See http://www.mta.info/status/1 for more information on subway and bus service.

Metro-North employees will continue to work to restore service for all customers as quickly and safely as possible.

Until full service is brought back to all lines, however, customers should expect some delays and crowding on trains and should stagger their travel times.

Continue to check www.mta.info, listen to news media reports, and listen for announcements at stations and onboard trains.

[AlanB]

More good news, Metro North will restore normal service on its 3 main line as of tomorrow morning!

Regular Train Service Restored on Hudson, Harlem, New Haven Lines Starting Tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 3)With the re-establishment of Hudson Line service from Croton-Harmon to Poughkeepsie, Metro-North will resume operating regular train service on the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Lines starting tomorrow (Saturday, November 3):

On the Hudson Line, regularly scheduled service will be restored between Poughkeepsie and Croton-Harmon/Grand Central Terminal. See a Hudson Line Timetable or Metro-North TripPlanner (Schedules) for details.

On the Harlem Line, regularly scheduled service continues between Southeast and Grand Central Terminal.

See a Harlem Line Timetable or Metro-North TripPlanner (Schedules) for details.

On the New Haven Line, regularly scheduled service continues between New Haven/Stamford and Grand Central Terminal.

See a New Haven Line Timetable or Metro-North TripPlanner (Schedules) for details.

Wassaic Branch service on the Harlem Line and New Canaan, Danbury & Waterbury Branch service on the New Haven Line remains suspended until further notice.

West-of-Hudson service remains suspended until further notice as NJ Transit continues recovery efforts.

Pascack Valley Line Customers: Transport of Rockland will provide additional TAPPAN ZEExpress bus service from the Palisades Center Mall park & ride lot to Tarrytown Station. See www.rocklandbus.com for schedule information.

Monthly and weekly tickets from Spring Valley, Nanuet and Pearl River stations will be honored on Hudson Line trains from/to Tarrytown Station.

Port Jervis Line Customers: Monthly and weekly tickets will be honored on Upper Hudson Line trains.

Customers should expect some delays. Continue to check www.mta.info, listen to news media reports, and listen for announcements at stations and onboard trains.

For the latest information on subway and bus service see http://www.mta.info/status/1 .

[AlanB]

The latest LIRR update, which sees the Port Washington branch being restored all the way to Port Washington.

LIRR Restores Hourly Service to/from Port Washington, Babylon, Huntington and Ronkonkoma

Ronkonkoma Branch to Penn Station
Limited hourly train service between Ronkonkoma and Penn Station is continuing with westbound trains departing Ronkonkoma 37 minutes after the hour. Eastbound trains depart Penn Station 9 minutes after the hour. See train departure times for Ronkonkoma Branch here.

Port Washington Branch: Service restored from Port Washington

LIRR is now providing hourly service between Port Washington and Penn Station. Eastbound trains depart Penn at 14 minutes past the hour, westbound trains depart Port Washington at 35 minutes past the hour. See Port Washington Branch schedules: Westbound. Eastbound.

Brooklyn Service
The LIRR is providing hourly train service between Jamaica and Atlantic Terminal/Brooklyn. Customers can walk across Atlantic Avenue to Barclays Center and connect to shuttle buses to midtown Manhattan. See Brooklyn Schedule here.

Getting to Downtown Manhattan
LIRR customers heading to downtown Manhattan should travel to Penn Station and connect with MTA bus service there.

Kew Gardens & Forest Hills
Service at Kew Gardens and Forest Hills is being provided during off-peak hours only.

LIRR Fare Policy During Hurricane Sandy Recovery Efforts
Governor Cuomo has declared a transportation state of emergency. To encourage New Yorkers to use public transit, he has directed the MTA to suspend fare collection on all subways, buses, LIRR and Metro-North trains through Midnight on Friday night , November 2. Starting at 12:01 AM off-peak fares will be in effect for the weekend. Additionally, LIRR customers should hold onto their October monthly and weekly tickets; they will remain valid for travel through Monday, November 5.

LIRR Customers Should Anticipate Crowding
Because service will be limited, waits will be longer and trains will be more crowded. Customers are advised to consider changing their normal routines to travel later in the morning or later in the evening. Customers should anticipate crowded conditions on all LIRR trains that run until more service is restored. For safety reasons, some trains may be required to skip stations if they become overcrowded. Customers may have to wait for the next train. The LIRR will make every effort to add additional trains whenever possible.

[AlanB]

And of course in a sign of both normalcy in the sense that things are going back to normal, but also a sign of idiocy, I just monitored a call from a train requesting to go out of service because some clown decided to spray paint graffiti in one car of the subway consist. We already don't have enough service on our trains, and now one has to go out of service because of an idiot!

[AlanB]

Here's the Friday night update for the weekend from the LIRR:

LIRR Hourly Weekend Service (Saturday, November 3 & Sunday, November 4)MTA Long Island Rail Road hourly weekend service (Saturday, November 3 & Sunday, November 4) to the LIRR’s four largest branches (Port Washington, Ronkonkoma, Babylon and Huntington) to Penn Station, as work continues around the clock to repair the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Weekend Service (Saturday, November 3 & Sunday, November 4)
See train departure times for service to/from Babylon here.
See train departure times for service to/from Huntington here.
See train departure times for Ronkonkoma Branch here.
See train departure times for service to/from Port Washington here.

Brooklyn Service
The LIRR is providing hourly train service between Jamaica and Atlantic Terminal/Brooklyn. Customers can walk across Atlantic Avenue to Barclays Center and connect to shuttle buses to midtown Manhattan. See Brooklyn Schedule here.

Getting to Downtown Manhattan
LIRR customers heading to downtown Manhattan should travel to Penn and connect with MTA bus service there.

Kew Gardens & Forest Hills
Service at Kew Gardens and Forest Hills is being provided during off-peak hours only.

LIRR Fare Policy During Hurricane Sandy Recovery Efforts
Governor Cuomo has declared a transportation state of emergency. To encourage New Yorkers to use public transit, he has directed the MTA to suspend fare collection on all subways, buses, LIRR and Metro-North trains on Thursday, November 1 and Friday, November 2. Additionally, LIRR customers should hold onto their October monthly and current weekly tickets; they will remain valid for travel through Monday, November 5.

LIRR Customers Should Anticipate Crowding
Because service will be limited, waits will be longer and trains will be more crowded. Customers are advised to consider changing their normal routines to travel later in the morning or later in the evening. Customers should anticipate crowded conditions on all LIRR trains that run until more service is restored. For safety reasons, some trains may be required to skip stations if they become overcrowded.

[AlanB]

The Saturday morning update:

Major Subway Service Restorations Lexington Ave , , service between the Bronx and Brooklyn and on the Flushing Line between Queens and Manhattan has been restored. Both corridors had been operating only limited service due to flooding in underwater tubes and in the case of the Lexington Ave Line, power problems affecting Midtown and Lower Manhattan. In addition, limited service will resume on the Staten Island Railway between St. George and Tottenville.

Lexington Ave Line service will operate as follows:

4 service will operate between Woodlawn and New Lots Ave operating as an express in Manhattan only.

5 service will operate between Eastchester/Dyre Ave and Flatbush as an express in Manhattan only.

6 service will operate between Pelham Bay and Brooklyn Bridge as a local

7 Flushing Line service will operate full local service between Main St – Flushing and 42nd St – Times Square.

Staten Island Railway (SIR) will operate limited hourly service between St. George and Tottenville.

The restoration of Lexington Ave Line service between Manhattan and Brooklyn was made possible by Con Edison’s continued work to restore power to darkened sections of Lower Manhattan and work by NYC Transit crews to pump out the flooded Joralemon St Tube that was filled with thousands of gallons of water, courtesy of Hurricane Sandy. Once the waster was removed, crews still had to inspect and repair equipment before trains could run again.

“We have worked closely with Con Edison to bring back the subways as soon as possible without jeopardizing the progress they have made in restoring Manhattan’s electric grid,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Joseph J. Lhota. “Our dedicated workers are continuing to pump water, test signals and bring back more of the subway network that 5.5 million customers depend on each day.”

Similarly, water had to be pumped out of the Steinway Tube between Long Island City and Grand Central before Flushing Line service could be resumed. Transit workers are continuing to pump water out other underwater tubes affecting several lines. Crews are also inspecting components,making repairs and testing equipment in an attempt to restore as much service as soon as possible.

Until full service is restored to all lines, customers should expect some delays and crowding on trains and should stagger their travel times. More work needs to be done to restore normal subway service to all lines across the city. Heavy duty pump trains continue to rid several under river subway tunnels of water. Crews are checking track, signals and other components, and then resting them to make sure they will function properly when service is restored. Customers are advised to view the Hurricane Sandy Recovery Service map:

They also expect to restore the F train to it's full run later today, although it's unclear if "full" means Coney Island or its current terminus at Avenue X. The M is expected to return to its full run, and then some as it will continue to replace the E in Queens. Additionally the D train will start running through lower Manhattan. And finally they expect to bring back the J train over its full run later today.