Railroad Forums 

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

Moderator: GirlOnTheTrain

 #1520618  by Paul1705
 
njt/mnrrbuff wrote: Sat Sep 14, 2019 11:42 am There is no need to have an Airtrain route from Manhattan to LGA. Probably the best solution would be is to just have Airtrain stay in Queens and run it between the two airports. That would not only be good for people who are traveling to JFK or LGA, but it could also open up for new travel options from lets say Ozone Park to Willets where Mets fans can get to their games. The Pt. Authority needs to spend more of its energy focusing on expanding capacity at the Port Authority Bus terminal and completely renovating the building. It might not be a bad idea for the MTA to consider extending the N train from Ditmars Blvd to LaGuardia but it's probably better to have people take the 7 or the LIRR to Willets Point and then switch to an Airtrain extension.
Supposedly the Passenger Facilities fee that airport travelers pay is only supposed to benefit the airports. That's why there are no local stations along the Van Wyck section of the AirTrain. A person could travel from Jamaica to Howard Beach if desired, but the high fare probably discourages all but a handful of people who want a shortcut between the Rockaways and eastern Queens.

If better access to Citi Field or central Queens in general is wanted, the MTA would probably have to contribute funding and some kind of cheaper fare structure would have to be used.
 #1520658  by Backshophoss
 
An "Air train" line from the N & Q terminal at Ditmars Blvd would be legal under the funding restriction,a straight line from LGA
Willets Pt is too far south/east of LGA,Citi Field and Ashe tennis complex share that station with the LIRR.
The # 7 line is OVERLOADED already!
 #1520910  by Paul1705
 
Backshophoss wrote: Sun Sep 22, 2019 6:03 pm An "Air train" line from the N & Q terminal at Ditmars Blvd would be legal under the funding restriction,a straight line from LGA
Willets Pt is too far south/east of LGA,Citi Field and Ashe tennis complex share that station with the LIRR.
The # 7 line is OVERLOADED already!
It would be legal I think; maybe it could be designed for conversion to an N train extension in the future - thus eliminating a transfer at Ditmars Boulevard.
 #1521083  by andrewjw
 
Paul1705 wrote: Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:46 pm
Backshophoss wrote: Sun Sep 22, 2019 6:03 pm An "Air train" line from the N & Q terminal at Ditmars Blvd would be legal under the funding restriction,a straight line from LGA
Willets Pt is too far south/east of LGA,Citi Field and Ashe tennis complex share that station with the LIRR.
The # 7 line is OVERLOADED already!
It would be legal I think; maybe it could be designed for conversion to an N train extension in the future - thus eliminating a transfer at Ditmars Boulevard.
If you want a transfer, why not just run down GCP? Astoria Boulevard is getting elevators now.
 #1521162  by andrewjw
 
Backshophoss wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 6:58 pm The line(AirLink) from Ditmars Blvd will be short, 1-3 miles to the LGA airport boundary line and the rest of the route is inside that
Keep it short and simple keeps the overall $$$$ REASONABLE at NYC price points.
Ditmars has NIMBYs. GCP can make a better counterargument - the highway is already there.
 #1521222  by STrRedWolf
 
Bah. Short sighted, after reading the entire thread. If you're going to do it, do it right. Try this route on to size. Stops on this subway line (which looks like would be the K):
  1. Terminal 125th Street 1
  2. Stop 125th Street ABCD
  3. Stop 125th Street 23
  4. Stop 125th Street 456 (and future T)
  5. Traverse via the RFK bridge and I-278 from Upper Manhattan to West Queens.
  6. Stop Astoria Blvd
  7. Follow Grand Central Parkway
  8. Stop at LGA
  9. Follow Grand Central Parkway to Mets-Willets Point
  10. Stop Mets-Willets Point 7/LIRR
  11. Follow I-678 Van Wyck Expressway further southeast.
  12. Connect to the E/F at Briarwood.
  13. Finish at Jamaica Center - Parsons/Archer
Benefits:
  • Extends the T to 1/2/3/A/B/C/D lines and redistributes load to Lower Manhattan.
  • Faster access to LGA from Upper Manhattan as you're not dealing with buses on packed NYC roads. Ditto for JFK since you're skipping having to deal with Mid-Manhattan traffic.
  • Faster access to Mets-Willets Point from Jamaica and Upper Manhattan
  • LGA to JFK transfer at Jamaica "Union".
This would also make extending the G to Astoria a more tempting idea.
 #1521250  by Backshophoss
 
STOP thinking about the connection to the JFK TOO much $$$$$$$ to build,#7 line is way overloaded!!!
The link to the N/Q terminal is a short,easy to build line,and easier to maintain, NYC will deal with the NIMBYS.
Long and grandiose is not needed,short and simple is better,N/Q lines cover midtown Manhattan anyway and connect to the rest of the subway
system,NYPenn and GCT stations
Ditmars Blvd could become a decent TOD zone!
 #1521811  by STrRedWolf
 
Backshophoss wrote: Sun Sep 29, 2019 6:50 pm STOP thinking about the connection to the JFK TOO much $$$$$$$ to build,#7 line is way overloaded!!!
The link to the N/Q terminal is a short,easy to build line,and easier to maintain, NYC will deal with the NIMBYS.
Long and grandiose is not needed,short and simple is better,N/Q lines cover midtown Manhattan anyway and connect to the rest of the subway
system,NYPenn and GCT stations
Ditmars Blvd could become a decent TOD zone!
So phase in the build.
  1. Astroria to LGA to Mets/Willets Point
  2. 125th T extension to Astoria
  3. Mets-Willets to Briarwood
But really? You want the line to end at 96th street Q (because the N/W end at Ditmars)? You basically have to tunnel deep enough under the East River and you might as well just tunnel under Astoria Blvd and Grand Central Parkway just to get to LGA.

Besides, if the 7's overloaded, THEN WHY NOT UNLOAD IT?!? I don't get why folks don't want to pack as much bang for the buck, and here's the perfect opportunity to do it.
 #1521857  by GirlOnTheTrain
 
Crossing 125th is not really as easy as you seem to think it is, particularly down to Broadway, where the 1 is above ground because the elevation drops out in Manhattan.
 #1521888  by Backshophoss
 
Again,From LGA to N&Q at Ditmars Blvd is a nice SHORT ans easy to Build,easy to maintain Air Train/Subway extension.it's a ONE train ride
to Grand Central,NY Penn,and the Wall street area!
If headed to Hoboken.you can connect to PATH directly at Herald Square!
LOOK AT THE "BLOODY" ROUTE MAP! WHY GO SOUTH/EAST to Jamaica??? You Don't need to connect to the Air Train to JFK !
If Flying international,you would fly into Newark or JFK directly!
 #1522019  by STrRedWolf
 
In DC, they're building the subway to IAD (Dulles). You'll have a transfer at one of two stations to get to DCA (Regan National). Meanwhile, there *is* bus service... but consider that there's more than one bus that does it now?

Compared with NYC with... more than one bus doing it, and on NYC roads? Although, granted, DC's airports are all accessible by highway and NYC has some highways accessing it's airports.
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