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Discussion relating to the past and present operations of the NYC Subway, PATH, and Staten Island Railway (SIRT).

Moderator: GirlOnTheTrain

 #1394760  by Jeff Smith
 
Howz that for a title for you? Eminently searchable...

Anyway, we don't seem to have a topic on the shutdown. I searched various terms, Canarsie, 14th, and tunnel, and no apparent discussion. So here we go, have at it, feel free to discuss what's being done, the service plan, what they could do, yada yada.

New York Times
L Train Will Shut Down From Manhattan to Brooklyn in ’19 for 18 Months
...
After months of uncertainty, the authority said on Monday that the tunnel, which runs under the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn, would be shut entirely for a year and a half, starting in January 2019, to repair serious damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

The plan promises to upend the commutes of tens of thousands of people along a popular line that has become synonymous with the hipster culture of the Williamsburg and Greenpoint neighborhoods. The reaction was swift, with regular L riders expressing despair.

“Instead of three stops, I’ll have to take three trains,” Marley Cavalcanti, 30, of Greenpoint, said as she waited on a platform in the Bedford Avenue station on her way into Manhattan on Monday.

Others offered little sympathy, suggesting that commuters learn to love the bus. “2019 is the year Williamsburg dies,” a headline in The New York Post blared in a bit of hyperbole.
I know there won't be much to talk about while we wait for the tunnel to actually close, and work to start, but hopefully come 2019 we'll remember this topic, and have more to talk about.
 #1394961  by gprimr1
 
I think they made the right choice. It sounds like the line is over crowded to begin with, and running half service for 3 years would prob be more of a nightmare than 18 months of no service.
 #1395764  by Allan
 
Given that they have about 3 years to work things out, it will be interesting to see just what alternatives and expanded service they actually go with.

One big issue is that they get the intended work on the M train structure north of Myrtle/Broadway started and completed before the 2019 start date for the L closure.

One thing I hope they don't even give consideration to is adding switches at Hoyt-Schermerhorn and extending the E into Brooklyn and then going on the G up to Court St as suggested by ReThink Studio. http://staging.rethinkstudio.org/l-trai ... rettyPhoto" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't think the people at ReThink realize that with the MTA it could take 3 years just to get started on installing switches there. It takes them years to plan it, years to get funding and just when you think they would begin - there are changes to the plans adding more time.

If they went one station further they'd be back on Queens Blvd going northbound creating a round-robin for the E and screwing passengers on the E train in Manhattan wanting to go to Queens.

I think extending the M to 71st Av every day (not just weekdays) to until about 1 AM would help. From 1 AM to 5:30 AM they can do the shuttle from Metropolitan to Myrtle/Bway.
 #1396055  by Backshophoss
 
Is the "plan" to shut down the Manhattan side of the "L service" or run that like the GCT shuttle?
There are NO track connections to other lines in Manhattan,so 1 track needs to stay connected thru the tunnel
to allow equipment swapouts as needed.
At least the Bedford Ave to Canarsie section has access to yards and a transfer at E. New York to the "A,C,J,and Z" lines
to Manhattan.
It's a little bit of backtracking to the east to head west however. :wink:
 #1396384  by 1890rOGERS460
 
I have a commment and a question on this one.

First, I say that it's better to close the tunnel entirely for 18 months than to single track it for 3 years. Not only will the work be done sooner, but the pain relly won't be much different. If the tunnel and the Manhattan part of the line will be closed entirely, then people who use the L Train to go to Manhattan can transfer to the A or C to get to 8th Avenue/14th Street, the M to get to 6th Avenue/14th Street or transfer to the A, C, M, or J and then one more time to get to Union Square. Some L Trains could be diverted onto the J line for transferring directly to trains that go to Union Square. And for getting to 14th Street much East of Union Square, there's buses. However, if they single track the tunnel, the service will be poor due to trains waiting at the tunnel for th track to clear of traffic going the other way, or due to longer headways as the way to avoid such waits.

Second I ask: If the renovation of the Montague Street Tunnel was done in 2013 and 2014, and the renovation of the new South Ferry Termnal which is still ongoing at least started in 2013, why in this situation are they taking until 2019 to start repairing major damage that was done in 2012?
 #1396388  by Jeff Smith
 
1890rOGERS460 wrote:Second I ask: If the renovation of the Montague Street Tunnel was done in 2013 and 2014, and the renovation of the new South Ferry Termnal which is still ongoing at least started in 2013, why in this situation are they taking until 2019 to start repairing major damage that was done in 2012?
My surmise would be "triage".
 #1396464  by GirlOnTheTrain
 
That, and there's work on the M which needs to be done soon, and the MTA has committed to doing before the L train shutdown as the M will be one of alternatives during the shutdown.
 #1424967  by Jeff Smith
 
Fast-tracking repairs: Progressive RR

I suppose 15 is shorter than 18...

Fair-use:
NYCT to fast-track Canarsie Tunnel repairs

MTA New York City Transit's (NYCT) rehabilitation of the Hurricane Sandy-damaged Canarsie Tunnel is expected to wrap up in 15 months instead of 18, the agency announced yesterday.

Under a $477 million contract with Judlau Contracting Inc. and TC Electric, the firms will receive an additional $15 million for completing the repairs in 15 months, NYCT officials said in a press release.

The tunnel, which connects the L rail line between Brooklyn and Manhattan, is now scheduled to close for the repairs in April 2019.
...
The work includes demolition and reconstruction of about 60,000 linear feet of duct banks, 14,400 linear feet of track and track bed, and 270,000 linear feet of cable ducts and associated cable.

The rehab project also calls for repairing 7,000 linear feet of concrete lining and installing tunnel lighting and fire systems.
...