"Night Owl" service

For your information about the last NH train at night.

1) It does NOT currently stop in the Bx. The NH bound train to stop at the Bx is the 1240 AM.

2) Even if it did, there is only 1 stop in the Bx that it would make - Fordham. So 1 stop makes no difference at all.

pnaw10 wrote:
New Haven Line: Since New Haven is the largest "northern terminus" city on the system, there should definitely be hourly (or more) service in both directions on the mainline. Other than that, I'm not very familiar with this line, so I won't even pretend to have an opinion on how often overnight branch service should be offered.

What REALLY used to annoy me about lack of New Haven line service is the fact that the last inbound train leaves New Haven at 11:18PM. This made it impossible for me to use the train as an option when I wanted to go into New Haven to do something on a Friday or Saturday night. I imagine the situation is not much different in White Plains or Poughkeepsie for riders who live outside those cities. There really should be a later inbound train on all three lines.

As for the last outbound New Haven train of the night, that ride is BRUTAL. I've only ever ridden it as far as Southport (I used to live in Westport but I slept through my stop once, which led to a 3 mile walk home), but it feels like an eternity, and most riders are either asleep, drunk, or angry. There's a reason it doesn't stop at Fordham - look at the Harlem line timetable and you'll see why....

checkthedoorlight wrote:

pnaw10 wrote: As for the last outbound New Haven train of the night, that ride is BRUTAL. I've only ever ridden it as far as Southport (I used to live in Westport but I slept through my stop once, which led to a 3 mile walk home), but it feels like an eternity, and most riders are either asleep, drunk, or angry.

I hear you on that, I always try to get on the 1217(though it dosent always work out). The 130 train making every stop makes the ride seem like it takes days.

checkthedoorlight wrote: What REALLY used to annoy me about lack of New Haven line service is the fact that the last inbound train leaves New Haven at 11:18PM. This made it impossible for me to use the train as an option when I wanted to go into New Haven to do something on a Friday or Saturday night. I imagine the situation is not much different in White Plains or Poughkeepsie for riders who live outside those cities. There really should be a later inbound train on all three lines.

You are correct -- the last inbound train times should be extended as well. The last inbound from Poughkeepsie leaves at 10:59, so anyone who misses their stop on a train going north after the 9:02 from GCT to POK (or if the 9:02 is more than 6 minutes late arriving at POK --it's rare, but it's possible) is crap-outta-luck if they cannot catch a cab or get someone to drive up to get them. When you figure that a cab ride from Poughkeepsie to Beacon is usually 20-30 (depending on the cabbie and the passengers' respective negotiating skills), going further south makes you wonder if you should just rent a room at one of the local hotels

More important than oversleeping passengers is allowing nightlife in northern cities to flourish -- I would be more inclined to party in Poughkeepsie if I knew that "last call" for me wasn't at 10:30 or so.

Nester

Nester's desire for better nightlife in Poughkeepsie just triggered an idea in my mind: maybe some of these quiet suburbs don't want flourishing nightlife. I'm not saying there are any specific examples, but is there a chance that MTA may have received complaints or concerns from NIMBY's or local governments?

Another thread on this board was spurred by a Connecticut newspaper report where some cities and villages are filing requests to keep whistles silenced as trains pass through certain qualifying grade crossings. Obviously these people are opposed to late night train noise... I wonder if these same people (or others) are opposed to the idea of MTA allowing their city to play host to more and more late-night partiers.

Is my wording there understandable enough? Basically, would people be upset if increased late night service resulted in more partying, more rowdyness, and perhaps more crime at night?

I don't think these communities have a problem with it.

Using Poughkeepsie as an example, there are a few bars that are in the immediate, walkable vicinity of the train station, and they are open well beyond the last train. Growth continues (as evidenced by the new bar/restaurant that opened up *right next* to the Parking Lot in Pok, Mahoney's). These bars want the business, and the city wants their tax money. Many communities up here have bars and clubs open until the state-mandated closing time (I believe in all the lower hudson valley counties, it is 4:00 AM)

As for Grade Crossing Noise:

There are a number of communities on Long Island where they killed the noise on the grade crossings (lights but no bells) and the train still honks when it goes through. I would imagine that other communities have made similar requests of the RR. The problem comes when you have hi-traffic corridors that have traffic all night -- you would have bells clanging all the time.

Nester

Back in March of 97 when I went to Katonah with grandma, I remember the grade crossing there having no noise when the gates came down.

njt/mnrrbuff wrote:Back in March of 97 when I went to Katonah with grandma, I remember the grade crossing there having no noise when the gates came down.

I can confirm that the Jay Street grade crossing is still silent, and has been for as long as I can remember (I have lived in the area for almost 17 years).