Why cant Eastchester 5 Line be extended to Co-op City?

Why cant the extednd the 5 to Co-Op and then further on to City Island, it would give the 5 line.... some purpose

Doesn't it already have a purpose? Haha

The Shuttle from E 180 - Eastchester most certainly does. But with the highly unstable schedule of the 5 Train, you cannot compete with the more concrete and reilable 4 and 2 Trains. Personally I would trade in 5 service for more 4 and 2 service, with simply shuttle trains running to E 180 to Eastchester.

But doesn't the 5 go from Bowling Green to Dyre Av./Eastchester? It isn't still a shuttle, I don't think.

the 4 services those stations 24/7 and go past them into brooklyn, see my point? The 5 is the bitch of the MTA, running unstable schedules, thru express (which i like btw), going to brooklyn one minute the next bowling green bound, you always see one being held up i.e never has the right of way, and it does the job of a transfer to the 4 train at GC 149 and/or to the two at E 180. It more or less is just in the way and overcomplicates the Lexington Avenue//White Plains Road lines. The MTA can carry on without it, Late nights it does just that.

I like the long distances between local stations on the 5 up on the Dyre Av. Line... something you don't find on older subway systems such as NY, Boston, and Philly, except for in express stretches.

matt1168 wrote:I like the long distances between local stations on the 5 up on the Dyre Av. Line... something you don't find on older subway systems such as NY, Boston, and Philly, except for in express stretches.

It's common for subways built on former railroad right of ways to have that spacing, especially ones built through areas once sparcely populated. It's not unique to the 5 in New York though, IIRC the A has similar spacing for some fo it's stations
Also a similar line to the 5 was built in Boston on a (at one time former) Old Colony Railroad right of way, with spacing about the same as the 5's outer stations and through a siliar suburb. It seems to be a trend, most new construction follows former lines and branches with spacing getting wider and stations centering on major areas rather than individual neighborhoods. I think the 5 started the trend though for new construction on former right of ways though.

efin98 wrote:IIRC the A has similar spacing for some fo it's stations

AFAIK, on the portions when the A runs alone (only north of 168th and south of Euclid Av.), the only stations with such a long gap between them is between Howard Beach/JFK Airport and Broad Channel (because the train crosses the bay at this point), and between Broad Channel and B. 67th St., although that's not as long. The area between Howard Beach and Broad Channel is ~3.5 mi.; the longest gap between local stations in the city.

When the A runs express along with the C, E, B local trains and the D express trains, in both Brooklyn and Manhattan, there are some long gaps between stations (between 59th St. and 125th St., for example), but I don't count those, because there are local stations on those stretches, and most of the long express stretches are filled with timers, and trains go slow through those areas (ex. ~35 mph between 59th and 125th, versus around 55/60 between Howard Beach and Broad Channel.)

I never understood why A & D trains clock only around 35mph on the long stop-free stretch between 125th and 59th. I mean, a good of 50-55mph would be more effective for that stretch.

JayMan wrote:I never understood why A & D trains clock only around 35mph on the long stop-free stretch between 125th and 59th. I mean, a good of 50-55mph would be more effective for that stretch.

One word... timers.

It's like this on some other long express stretches too, like between 125th and 145th A/D, and 21st St. to 71st St. on the F in Queens.

If you want a nice fast express run, it looks like you've gotta hit the BSL down in Philly... just rode that thing express for the first time yesterday... damn can that thing move!

Just how much of the old New York, Westchester & Boston ROW exists beyond Dyre Avenue anyway...? Could the 5-train go to White Plains via this route? (If the NYW&B had been extended to Manhattan instead of dead-ending in the Bronx, there may never have been a 5-train to Dyre Avenue...)

Not much, as you can see here:

http://www.nycsubway.org/nyc/nywb/

Why the heck would I want to take the 5 to City Island? Third Avenue Railway took over the old trolley operation on City Island over 80 years ago, tried to make a go of it, and still no one rode it. We dont need subway rapid transit to City Island.

-otto-

Otto Vondrak wrote:Why the heck would I want to take the 5 to City Island? Third Avenue Railway took over the old trolley operation on City Island over 80 years ago, tried to make a go of it, and still no one rode it. We dont need subway rapid transit to City Island.

-otto-

Then I guess my fantasy map would do you no good (posted further down in the MTA NYC Subway topic)

On top of that- who said the residents of City Island want Subway service? I think the people of City Island enjoy their semi-isolation from the rest of the city. It is one of the things that makes the island so charming. I would not be opposed if there was trolley or light rail from City Island, over the bridge, down the Shore Road to the nearest Subway station on the 6... but I dont think that has a chance either.

-otto-