Fordham Service Questions (GCT - Fordham and New Haven Line)

Most midday Stamford locals stop at Fordham, yet the departure board at GCT gives their first stop as Mt. Vernon East. I know that historically, only NYC trains stopped there and not NHRR trains, but is there a reason why under MNRR only Harlem local trains are said to make Fordham the first stop?

More importantly, why do I need to know this? I don't look or behave like a foamer...

Because CDOT, which provides much of the funding for New Haven Line service, does not want their trains providing local service in New York City.

Only you can answer the second question....

Jim

For New Haven Line trains Fordham is a pickup (northbound) and drop off (southbound) stop only. It does not make any other stops in the Bronx.

All New Haven Line trains originating from GCT only make "R" stops or Receive Only stops, you can't board a New Haven Line train from GCT and exit at Fordham. Conversely, you can't board an inbound New Haven Line train at Fordham and exit at 125th street or GCT as inbounds only make "D" stops or Discharge Only stops at Fordham. If you did the conductor can charge you from GCT to Mt. Vernon East, the first New Haven Line stop.

There is also no ticket GCT to Fordham(or vice-versa) that is valid on the New Haven Line.

So a customer at GCT looking to go to Fordham will have to board a Harlem Line train, thus it would only cause confusion if they advertised New Haven Line trains as stopping at Fordham when that stop is only to receive customers not discharge.

Do the New Haven Line trains have to stop at 125th St and Fordham? Are the stations well used by NH line passengers?

the New Haven trains just say mount vernon east because i guess b/c almost all stop at 125 and Fordham in addition to the discharge recieve rule...they should make an announcement due to CDOT limitations customers cannot exit at fordham from Grand Central Terminal or something

fordhamkid7721 wrote:the New Haven trains just say mount vernon east because i guess b/c almost all stop at 125 and Fordham in addition to the discharge recieve rule...they should make an announcement due to CDOT limitations customers cannot exit at fordham from Grand Central Terminal or something

There is no need for any announcement of this nature. If they just sit at
125th Street making announcements, they will lose valuable running time.
I recall when I had a regular job on the New Haven Line, I had a local out
of GCT to Harrison and the conductor used to sit at 125th Street just
repeating the same announcement two and sometimes three times, we
always left there a couple of minutes behind our schedule. I never said
anything to him, figured it was his job and not mine in the first place.
Noel Weaver

not the conductor like a GCT announcement to remind customers...maybe not saying b/c of CDOT limitations but CDOT owns 60 something percent of their equipment so they have the upper hand i asked a engineer and i thnk it was 68 to 32 percent just saying

As Noel said there's no need for announcements. If they post the first stop as Mt. Vernon East then there shouldn't be any confusion.

Adding to what Noel and RearOfSignal said... these rules/policies have been in place for years. Most MNR riders are everyday riders who know how it works, and they don't need the explanations every day.

The small percentage of "casual" riders (tourists, first-timers, etc.) do not need to know the entire story behind this policy. Giving people more information than they NEED to know will only confuse them more.

Besides all of this, the printed schedules clearly note which stops are discharge-only or receive-only. Even though a train may be scheduled to stop at 125th and then Fordham to pick-up passengers... as far as GCT passengers are concerned, that train isn't letting anyone off until Mt. Vernon East... so that's why the boards at GCT list MVE as the first stop.

Same goes for Hudson and Harlem Line trains... even though they all stop at 125 Street, they never list it on the board. Why? Few (if any) customers are boarding at GCT to get off at 125th. (You can get there cheaper via subway, and the service is more frequent.) It's much more useful for the board to list the first stop where people are likely to get off.

thanks I understand now I learned something new again fom you guys CDOTdoesnt want any of their eqipment coming into CT making too much profit in NYC does this includes those trains to Harrison too?What if theyre using 100%MN eqipment?

Trains do not make profit, for every dollar spend the passenger pays $0.40 and state pays 0.60 in subsidy.
State of Connercticut is not and can not compete with transportation in New York state.
Both Fordham and 125th street are served by MNCR's own trains on Harlem line, plus alternative of subway exist.

true,thanks

To me it's ridiculous. Most of the NH trains stopping at Fordham are locals from Stamford and about 70% of their run is TOTALLY WITHIN New York State. But they can't take five people freezing their a** off at Fordham because some arrogant bureaucrat sitting up in Hartford doesn't like it?

It's nuts.

If those five people had read the timetable properly, they wouldn't be sitting there freezing their butts, they'd be at a coffee shop waiting for the proper time for a train that WILL pick them up.

None of the information put out by the railroad implies that you can take a New Haven Line train locally between GCT and Harlem-125th St or Fordham. If they think they can get one over on a conductor and try it anyway, then they have no complaints if it doesn't work.

Jim