i wonder if any of these old stations will ever be put back into use someday? :wtf:

 

Doubtful, as most of them were closed for valid reasons.

 

At the City Hall IRT station (pictured above), the platform is only long enough for 5-car trains, and the tight curve would mean dangerously large gaps between the platform edge and the center doors of each car. There are also (overblown, IMO) security concerns with the station being almost directly underneath City Hall. However, you can still (sort of) see this station. The 6 train passes through this loop after discharging passengers at the nearby Brooklyn Bridge station, and if you remain on board and look out the train windows, you'll be able to see parts of it. Occasionally there is talk about giving the station over to the Transit Museum and re-opening it to the public, even though it wouldn't be in passenger service.

 

As for the lower level of the 42nd Street station mentioned in the article, that area is being demolished so that the #7 train can be extended westward to the Javits Center.

 

There are several abandoned sections of the subway that weren't mentioned in the article. The section with the greatest likelihood of being restored to passenger service is the unused express tracks on the F train in Brooklyn, including abandoned lower level platforms at Bergen Street. With that portion of Brooklyn seeing more development and the F train suffering from overcrowding, I think it's only a matter of time before the express tracks are put into service.

 

briefly: i knew that, i didn't know that & i knew that. so thx!

 

Is Phase 2 of the Second Ave. subway the stations heading up to 125th?  It will be interesting to see how much ridership the first segment of the line attracts with just three stations. 

 

I think we've had this same conversation before, but it's been several years. Was there ever any talk of extending the 2nd Ave. line under 125th across Harlem?  The opportunity for very useful connections to various other line is obvious.

 

What is the deal with the 3 train in Harlem?  Has anyone actually ridden it to its lonely terminus?  I understand how it works in Brooklyn, but its Harlem stub seems rather odd and surely headways are rather long. 

Is Phase 2 of the Second Ave. subway the stations heading up to 125th?  It will be interesting to see how much ridership the first segment of the line attracts with just three stations. 

 

I think we've had this same conversation before, but it's been several years. Was there ever any talk of extending the 2nd Ave. line under 125th across Harlem?  The opportunity for very useful connections to various other line is obvious.

 

What is the deal with the 3 train in Harlem?  Has anyone actually ridden it to its lonely terminus?  I understand how it works in Brooklyn, but its Harlem stub seems rather odd and surely headways are rather long. 

 

The MTA is in financial ruins.  I'd be surprised if they could finish the 2nd ave. line in the next century. Also It's five stations.  The first station would be at 72 street.

 

The 3 train terminal is at 148.  There is an unground train yard, built right under the project that is between Lenox and ACP.

 

Here are some pictures I took in 2006.

 

Here is the 148 Station.  You can see a train entering/leaving the station.

 

The 145 Street and 148 Stations.  The 145 Station is one of the original IRT stations.  Only 5 trains of a ten car train can open in the station.

 

Looking up at the PJ from the front of the station

 

The front of the station

 

Looking down at the platform from the paid fare zone

 

The 3 rail yard

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does it still look like this? What a dump!

 

Does it still look like this? What a dump!

 

 

Yes.  It in the middle of the PJs.  148 Street & ACP isn't pretty by any means.

yeah i've been there a few times, it's a stop where there is no reason to go unless you live there.

 

and no it's not a dump. of course its no fancy new south ferry terminal either.  :roll:  the 3 train stub is the huge lenox railyard underneath the pj's. actually as you can see in the last picture its open air and the buildings all kind of float over the whole yard. here's a blurb on it:

 

Lenox Yard is a rail yard for New York City Subway trains. It is located near 148th Street in Harlem. It has no maintenance facility, and is only used as storage of trains that operate on the 3 service. It was the first overhaul shop for the IRT and opened with the subway in 1904. It is located at the northern terminal of that service. Two tracks were taken from the yard in 1968 for the Harlem–148th Street station.

 

and a historic shot from 1902:

 

funny thing i was there recently one morning when i was studying for class and got on the wrong train to work. i was so engrossed i didn't even look up until i was in the terminal there and realized i got on the wrong train!  :laugh:

 

 

 

****

 

 

i like the cords better than the touch strips anyway!  :clap:

 

 

Updated 05/13/2009 03:49 PM

 

Bell Cord Technology Returns To Buses

 

By: NY1 News

 

Bell cords are making a comeback on city buses.

 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says some 270 new buses have already been outfitted with the plastic cords used to signal a stop.

 

The cords were phased out beginning in the 1980s in favor of the mounted yellow strips.

 

The agency plans to install the cords on another 580 buses next year, and eventually on the entire fleet.

 

Bell cords cost nearly $300 per bus to install, compared to about $1,000 for the yellow strips.

 

video:

http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/transit/99005/bell-cord-technology-returns-to-buses/Default.aspx

 

here's another one. southern brooklyn G train service is supposed to be expanded this summer:

 

 

May 18th, 2009

 

Assemblyman Joe Lentol: G Train Extension on the Right Track But Has a Long Way to Go

 

Assemblyman Joe Lentol (D-NorthBrooklyn) is pleased to announce the extension of the G subway line to the Church Avenue F station due to the reconstruction of the Culver Viaduct. “This is great news for all who depend on the G train,” Lentol said. “At the same time, there is still a cacophony of issues concerning the G train thathave yet

to be broached by the MTA.”

 

 

 

http://www.r8ny.com/node/140705

 

 

When I first moved to NYC, the G Train ran all the way to Church.  The F ran express from Bergen to Church during rush hours and the G ran local.

 

I've always wondered why this is the only brooklyn line with only one line of service.

http://www.railwayage.com//content/view/860/121/

 

Mesa, Ariz., approves Valley Metro LRT extension  

 

 

Mesa, Ariz., has approved a 2.7-mile extension of Valley Metro light rail into the city’s downtown retail district along Main Street.

 

 

Maryland Purple Line LRT may trump two road projects 

Railway Age

 

Flouting traditional routes taken by most state departments of transportation, Maryland transportation officials are emphasizing financing the proposed 16-mile Purple Line light rail project, traversing the northern Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., while demoting two “major” road projects in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

 

 

http://www.railwayage.com//content/view/867/121/

Cutting two highway projects in favor of a light rail line??? My, My. How the times have changed! :-o

^ wow. yeah aint that heartening to see? bravo.

 

***

 

dude, downtown manhattan is gettin an occulus....

 

 

The Oculus Cometh: Fulton Transit Center Done in...2014!

 

Thursday, May 21, 2009, by Joey

 

The journey of the MTA's Fulton Street Transit Center near the World Trade Center has been a long, strange trip, but there's finally light visible at the end of the subway tunnel. The hub—meant to untangle the WTC's subway line spaghetti and provide an underground link to Santiago Calatrava's PATH station while adding its own bit of flashy architecture to the Lower Manhattan landscape—was announced in 2004, broke by 2008, and saved by a federal cash hand-out at the beginning of this year (big ups, Barack!). Now the Times reports the MTA says the Fulton Street Transit Center will be done in 2014, seven years late and around $650 million over budget. But forget about the bill, because the four-story glass box built above-ground is now guaranteed to be topped by a 50-foot glass oculus instead of flattened out. Mt. FiDi is saved!

 

 

 

http://curbed.com/archives/2009/05/21/the_oculus_cometh_fulton_transit_center_done_in2014.php#reader_comments

 

"Better Late than Never"

 

Sounds like a good advertising slogan for Amtrak! :-D

I just received this email from Midwest High Speed Rail Association:

 

We have a chance to make a major break through for high speed rail development in the entire Midwest.

 

Illinois Governor Quinn has requested $750 million for high-speed trains.  This will be a game changer for all states in the Midwest and the country.

 

We need your help to make it a reality.  We need to generate as many calls as we can to Illinois representatives and senators today, Thursday and on Friday morning.

 

Please forward this email to your friends who live in Illinois.  Ask them to click this link to get instructions on how contact their reps:

 

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2228/t/1597/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=994

 

Also, it is short notice, but if you or your friends can get to Springfield, there will be a press conference at 10:00 in the Blue Room of the Capitol Building. We need to have people come and show their support.

 

Thanks,

 

Rick Harnish

Executive Director

Midwest High Speed Rail Association

4765 N. Lincoln Ave.

Chicago, IL 60625

 

Nashville Planning More Commuter Rail Lines:

 

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090525/NEWS09/905250330/Cities+on+board+for+commuter+rail+lines

 

(sorry, I'm on a shared commuter with limited time, so I didn't try to paste the entire article...).

 

 

(sorry, I'm on a shared commuter with limited time, so I didn't try to paste the entire article...).

 

 

Someone's got "commuting" on the brain!  :wink:

I'm on a shared commuter...

 

I hope you wore some protection.

Must be part of some new Commuting Benefits plan -- beyond the tax-break incentives!

Must be part of some new Commuting Benefits plan -- beyond the tax-break incentives!

 

Maybe that would get our politicians on board!

Nashville Planning More Commuter Rail Lines:

 

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090525/NEWS09/905250330/Cities+on+board+for+commuter+rail+lines

 

(sorry, I'm on a shared commuter with limited time, so I didn't try to paste the entire article...).

 

Good to hear. The Music City Star was built on the cheap -- using an existing ROW due to cost issues, although it was the option that would have had the fewest riders. And the ridership gains never really materialized for the first few years, but they have steadily climbed that at least they are looking for expansions.

 

And dedicated ROW expansions at that. I hope they use electrified rail, although this wouldn't be compatible with the line east to Lebanon.

speaking of commuters, an all new metro-north commuter station opens at yankee stadium:

 

 

05/22/2009 01:25 PM

Metro-North To Debut New Yankee Stadium Stop

 

By: NY1 News

 

Beginning Saturday, baseball fans will be able to take Metro-North straight to the new Yankee Stadium when a new train station opens at East 153rd Street.

 

 

news video:

http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/transit/99544/metro-north-to-debut-new-yankee-stadium-stop/Default.aspx

 

So cute! Check the article for photos!

 

Double-decker bus brings British charm to Lexington

Lexington gains some merrie olde charm

By Jennifer Hewlett, Herald-Leader, May 25, 2009

 

Tim Hart and Robin Atwell are toying with ideas for their recent acquisitions — two double-decker buses.

 

Click the title above for the remainder of the article.

Metro-North To Debut New Yankee Stadium Stop

 

Beginning Saturday, baseball fans will be able to take Metro-North straight to the new Yankee Stadium when a new train station opens at East 153rd Street.

 

That's good news for me... Hopefully there will be fewer obnoxious B&T douchebags on my subway train during evening rush hour on game days.

Metro-North To Debut New Yankee Stadium Stop

 

Beginning Saturday, baseball fans will be able to take Metro-North straight to the new Yankee Stadium when a new train station opens at East 153rd Street.

 

That's good news for me... Hopefully there will be fewer obnoxious B&T douchebags on my subway train during evening rush hour on game days.

amen to that.  The A&D are crowded with those drunks.  Riding with them from 59 to 125, is painfull!  Except when the play the Indians, then I too can be an obnoxious!

 

The Mets fans are respectful, not @sses like the Stankee fans.

Good to hear. The Music City Star was built on the cheap -- using an existing ROW due to cost issues, although it was the option that would have had the fewest riders. And the ridership gains never really materialized for the first few years, but they have steadily climbed that at least they are looking for expansions.

 

I took some pictures of the downtown station and the surrounding infrastructure. I'll try to post them here when I get a chance, that is, if people are interested.

 

If they expand service by more than maybe one additional line, they are going to have to expand the station infrastructure somehow.  Right now, it's a single, stub-end track sandwiched between the river and, I think, 1st Avenue. 

 

I was trying to figure out where, someday, the 3-C could be extended to Nashville.  I didn't venture much beyond 4 blocks from the river, though, so I didn't figure it out.  By the looks of things, it's appears that, back in the day, intercity trains to Nashville didn't stop along the riverfront.  I'm not sure where the intercity station(s) were. 

There was a small train station at the site of the current Music City Star depot. But the main station still stands and is used as a Wyndham Hotel... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Station_(Nashville)

http://www.unionstationhotelnashville.com/

 

This is the old riverfront depot in the 1950s...

 

 

The bridge in the background should look familiar. Here's the current station site today....

 

 

http://www.rtands.com/breaking_news.shtml#Feature4-5-28

 

Groups present rail bypass proposal to Olmsted board

 

Freight hauling, not high-speed passenger service, is the main expressed purpose for a proposed Rochester-area railroad bypass, the Rochester, Minn., Post-Bulletin. That's a message Olmsted County commissioners heard in a presentation by proponents of the bypass. The 48-mile rail line is proposed as a way to re-route Canadian Pacific Railway train traffic around the south side of Rochester. The bypass would start in Dover and wind up near Dodge Center.

 

Here's a bunch more snippets of what other states/regions are doing.....

 

http://www.rtands.com/breaking_news.shtml#Feature5-5-28

 

Light rail has a pulse in Virginia Beach, Va.

 

From traffic-counting tubes, to biologists tramping through wetlands, to newsletters, residents will see the start of the $1.5 million study to evaluate extending light rail to the Beach from Norfolk, The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reports.

 

Project boosters say they will start shaping their messages to build support for the mass-transit project that was vetoed by voters 56 percent to 44 percent in a referendum 10 years ago.

 

“I’m going to do everything I can do to move light rail forward. I believe in that strongly,” Mayor Will Sessoms said. “It will be a project supported by a majority of the citizens of Virginia Beach.”

 

The study is the first step in a project that’s at least six years away and is expected to answer questions about the route, cost, number of expected users, location of park-and-ride lots, possible road closures, environmental impacts and noise.

 

The Beach segment is the first phase of the federally funded study – the total cost is $5.7 million – that will also look at extending the rail line to Norfolk Naval Station. Hampton Roads Transit, the region’s transportation authority, hired Omaha, Neb.-based architecture and engineering firm HDR to do the study, which will take about 16 months.

 

The Beach City Council is in final negotiations to buy the old 10.6-mile Norfolk Southern corridor for $40 million, which includes $10 million in city money. It crosses the city from Newtown Road to Birdneck Road, roughly paralleling Interstate 264 and Virginia Beach Boulevard.

 

Most council members have said they’re waiting to see the results before taking a position on light rail. The body’s last official action was its vote against the project after the 1999 referendum.

 

The city is also forming a citizen advisory committee to research the project. The group will start meeting this sum mer. The first public hearings on light rail will be in July.

 

Part of the city’s study will determine how high the light rail route would need to be elevated to prevent clogging already-busy intersections. For example, it’s almost certain a bridge would be needed to raise the line over the congested Rosemont Road/Virginia Beach Boulevard intersection, said Ray Amoruso, HRT’s vice president of planning.

Witchduck Road and Independence Boulevard might also need bridges, he said.

 

The study will also identify smaller roads that cross the line, such as some in the Thalia neighborhood that might need to be closed to make way for light rail.

 

As the study moves forward, the city is crafting development plans for areas on the light-rail route, which planners call “strategic growth areas,” or SGAs. Growth plans for Pembroke and Town Center, the Oceanfront and Newtown Road, which are either finished or under way, have a strong light-rail focus. About half of the city’s growth areas are on the rail line, as Planning Director Jack Whitney pointed out at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

 

“If light rail does happen, and we’re smart, we will make those plans ahead of it,” City Councilman John Uhrin said. “It would be silly to go forward and not take the SGAs into account.”

 

Largely, the study is about gathering information, which takes time, planners said.

 

“There’s always a hunger for having the answers, but so much data has to be assembled,” Amoruso said.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

May 27, 2009

 

 

TriMet finishes bus mall portion of transit project

 

Portland, Oregon’s latest mass transit project opened on Memorial Day when TriMet buses returned to downtown’s bus mall, local media report. The two-year project on Fifth and Sixth avenues cost roughly $220 million and met its budget and its projected finish date, according to a TriMet spokeswoman.

 

The project is part of a larger $575.5-million project that includes the construction of a new light-rail line that will connect Portland State University and Clackamas Town Center. The bus service that came back to the mall marks the first of several milestones in bringing the MAX Yellow Line and the new MAX Green Line to the Fifth and Sixth avenue corridors. The Yellow Line will start on the mall August 30 and service on the new 8.3-mile Green Line will start on Sept. 12.

 

The federal government funded roughly 60 percent of the projects. The remaining money came from a variety of state and local sources, including the city of Portland, Metro, Clackamas County, the Oregon Department of Transportation, TriMet and the Portland Development Commission.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

May 26, 2009

 

 

DART, T exploring innovative approach to expanding North Texas rail

 

Dallas Area Rapid Transit and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority want to find out if an increasingly popular method to jump start highway projects will work for transit projects in the United States. The two transit agencies have issued a Request for Information seeking firms who would be interested in a public private partnership to design, construct, operate, maintain and finance a cross-regional passenger rail service starting as early as 2013.

 

The 67.7-mile project, known as the Cotton Belt Rail Line, will operate principally on a 54-mile DART-owned rail corridor of the same name. The DART corridor extends from Wylie in Collin County, north and east of Dallas, west to Fort Worth. Some of the cities on the corridor include Plano, Richardson, Dallas Addison, Carrollton and Fort Worth as well as DFW International Airport.

 

The line is presently used by freight trains and both DART and the T have plans for introducing passenger rail service. DART’s current long-range system plan calls for Cotton Belt service starting by approximately 2027. The T is developing plans for rail service on another corridor in southwest Fort Worth, which could be part of the PPP, and connecting to the Cotton Belt in the northern part of the city.

 

The Cotton Belt Rail Line would connect the current DART Light Rail Red Line and the future Light Rail Green Line. It would also connect in downtown Carrollton with the planned Denton County Transportation Authority passenger rail service between Denton and Carrollton, and the TRE line at the Intermodal Transportation Center and T&P Stations in Fort Worth.

http://www.railwayage.com//content/view/889/121/

 

Tucson, Ariz., orders streetcars from Oregon Iron Works  

Friday, May 29, 2009

 

Tucson, Ariz. Wednesday became the second U.S. city awardinga contract to United Streetcar LLC, a subsidiary of Clackamas, Ore.-based Oregon Iron Works, Inc.

 

 

Sugar House streetcar? It may be closer to reality than you think

By Derek P. Jensen

 

The Salt Lake Tribune

 

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12478044

 

 

This is an east-west route connecting one of Salt Lake's prime NBD (Sugarhouse) with the main north-south light rail line.  It would be built on an abandoned rail right-of-way between 2100 South and 2200 South.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amtrak to operate new state-supported route in Virginia

 

Amtrak recently signed an agreement with the commonwealth of Virginia to provide new passenger-rail service between Richmond and Washington, D.C.

 

 

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article.asp?id=20565

Yeah.....but people won't leave their cars to ride trains... really?

 

Rail Runner hits 2 million passenger mark in New Mexico

 

Yesterday, New Mexico's Rail Runner Express recorded it 2 millionth passenger. 

 

The Rail Runner — which has become the fastest commuter-rail start-up in the past 20 years, according to the agency — currently carries an average of 4,500 passengers daily between Santa Fe and Belen. The line's first phase between Belen and Bernalillo opened in July 2006; a second phase from Bernalillo to Santa Fe opened in late 2008.

 

The New Mexico Department of Transportation and Mid-Region Council of Governments oversee the service.

 

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article.asp?id=20562

^ Wow. Only 144,000 people live in Santa Fe. Yet in less than 3 years it's at the 2 million passenger mark.

Interesting to see what PennDOT may have in mind. But was the omission of Cleveland - Erie - Buffalo an omission by PennDOT or by the Philadelphia Inquirer?

 

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/46845917.html

 

Wed, Jun. 3, 2009

 

Biden: $8 billion targeted for high-speed rail

By Paul Nussbaum

 

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

The first of $8 billion in financing for high-speed trains on lines such as the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh corridor will be made by late summer, Vice President Biden said today.

 

Biden met with state governors, including Gov. Rendell, at the White House today to urge them to think boldly in planning for trains that could travel up to 150 m.p.h. He said funding from the federal economic stimulus package could "jump-start" a high-speed rail network to improve the nation's "terrible passenger rail system."

 

 

.........

yay for community advocacy in kc:

 

 

 

Your source for news and information on Kansas City’s light rail progress

 

New Chastain petition drive starts Monday

 

May 20th, 2009 | Category: Events, Other Cities

 

After a failed attempt at working directly with the Parks Board, Clay Chastain is starting another light rail petition initiative. He will be gathering signatures from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at Union Station. Laugh if you must, but Chastain is the only person who's actually doing something about light rail right now. What better way to keep the city's feet to the fire than sign the petition again?

 

 

 

http://kclightrail.com/

 

 

http://www.railwayage.com//content/view/907/121/

 

June 6, 2009

St. Paul Union Depot purchase approved 

 

The Ramsey County (Minn.) Board Tuesday unanimously approved purchasing St. Paul’s Union Depot main building for $8.2 million, to facilitate use by the planned 11-mile, $914 million Central Corridor light rail transit project and for future passenger intermodal options as well. The board serves as the Regional Rail Authority overseeing the matter.

 

The purchase includes the head house and the parking structure and the land that the building sits on. Thirty-nine condo units built by the current owner will remain in private hands.

 

 

Re: Purchase of St. Paul Union Depot: YAY!!! :clap:

Work begins on nation's largest mass transit project

 

By Steve Kastenbaum

CNN Radio Correspondent

   

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The largest mass transit project in the country got under way Monday with the help of federal stimulus dollars, as public officials broke ground on a second passenger rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River.

 

 

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/06/08/newyork.rail.tunnel/index.html

 

 

_______

 

http://www.railwayage.com//content/view/922/121/

 

June 9, 2009

Feds will provide $3 billion for trans-Hudson rail tunnel 

 

 

At a ceremony Monday in North Bergen, N.J., marking the ceremonial start of construction for a new trans-Hudson rail tunnel, Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff pledged $3 billion in federal funding to fully cover the cost ofthe $8.7 billion project, called Access to the Region’s Core Mass Transit Tunnel.

 

to clarify, different lines will go to different stations:

 

All Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line and Raritan Valley line trains will go to the current Penn Station.

 

All Bergen, Main Line, Morris & Essex, Montclair, Pascack Valley, Port Jervis trains will use the new 34th street terminal.

 

 

Combined with the ongoing East Side Access project that will bring Long Island Railroad trains into a new terminal deep under Grand Central, the 2nd Avenue Subway, and the 7 train extension to Javits, the NYC area is spending some impressive coin on commuter rail infrastructure. The city is going to see some major shifts in its commuting patterns over the next couple decades, and it will be interesting to watch.

^ yeah there is the all new yankee stadium commuter rail station and the south ferry subway station too.

 

but the other real biggies are downtown: the calatrava wtc path station and the fulton transit center, which mta apparantly has taken a blood oath to have completed by 2014!  :laugh:

 

 

TRANSIT-HUB 'BLOOD OATH'

 

By TOM NAMAKO

May 21, 2009

 

The 50-foot glass building and metal dome that will tower over a revamped Fulton Street Transit Center won't be completed until June 2014 -- a date one MTA official swore was "signed in blood."

 

 

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05212009...ath_170309.htm

 

 

 

http://www.railwayage.com//content/view/925/121/

 

June 10, 2009

U.S. Senators back restoration of Lackawanna Cut-Off  

 

U.S. senators from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York are vocally backing a 20-year effort to restore passenger rail service along the Lackawanna Cut-Off, a famed rail right-of-way that last saw active rail service in 1981. The Cut-Off this week received a “finding of no significant impact,” or FONSI, from the Environmental Protection Agency, clearing the way for the states to seek funding.

 

 

This works in the other direction, of course. If you're driving to Toronto for the weekend, why not leave your car in Niagara Falls and take the GO Train (or Amtrak or VIA) into Toronto?

 

http://www.railwayage.com//content/view/928/121/

 

June 10, 2009

GO Transit adds summer service to Niagara Falls  

 

Toronto-based GO Transit will commence summer weekend and holiday rail service to Ontario’s Niagara Region beginning June 27. The service will offer four train trips daily in each direction on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from June 27 through through Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, October 12.

 

 

U.S. Senators back restoration of Lackawanna Cut-Off

 

Is this on the line that goes through East Stroudsburg, PA??

^ yes. they have been talking about restoring this service on and off for along time now. there are many more commuters from the pocanos and even scranton itself than you might expect. i even work with three people i can think of who live in the pocanos and commute into nyc every day. i think its nuts, but they seem to be ok with it.

 

if you want to see -- here's a route map from njtransit:

 

http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/lackawanna_1105.pdf

 

***

 

thats interesting to hear about canada's additional rail service from toronto to niagara falls.

 

when i was in bgsu we took via rail from windsor to toronto a couple times. they used to have weekender specials and it was easy and a lot of fun. i dk about go, but the via rail service was good, i bet it still is.

 

robot trains:

 

 

11:49 AM

MTA Increases Use Of Computer-Operated Trains

 

By: NY1 News

 

Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials say the agency has been steadily increasing the number of computer-operated trains running on the L line.

 

Transit officials say that at one time as many as 10 Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) trains run on the line between Manhattan and Brooklyn.

 

 

 

http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/transit/100629/transit-workers-help-make-special-delivery/Default.aspx

 

I hope they cleaned up the mess before they put the train back into service.

The NJT passenger rail tunnels beneath the Hudson River that will link New Jersey with New York will NOT double the capacity on the nation's busiest rail corridor. The currently planned project may double New Jersey Transit's trans-Hudson capacity, but it will have nearly zero affect on Washington-Boston rail passenger service because the new tunnel will not connect to existing Penn Station tracks and platforms. NJT's tunnel will only serve its all-new deep cavern commuter rail station, which will not be under Penn Station but north of and below it.

As a result, intercity rail passenger service will remain solely dependent upon the 1908 tunnels built by the Pennsylvania Railroad.

This project, as now planned is an idiotic waste of taxpayer and passenger money, selfishly limited to benefit only NJT. Rather than pledge millions of federal tax dollars to support this boondoggle, the Obama administration should have ordered it stopped until it is redesigned to serve its original purpose -- expanding trans-Hudson rail capacity for all area passenger services and facilitating through-running of commuter trains between New Jersey and Long Island and Metro-North services. Anything less is a criminal waste of OUR money.

 

Is that your first post, Hardiho9?? If so, let me welcome you!