Comments on: Metro-North Penn Study Enters Final Stretch

By: Demand is High for Meadowlands Rail | Mobilizing the Region

Demand is High for Meadowlands Rail | Mobilizing the Region — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:17:20 +0000

[...] service between Secaucus and stops on Metro-North’s New Haven Line, a first step towards broader regional rail plans. The first day of the regional service seemed to be a success: Jets fans shouted the [...]

By: bob

bob — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:48:50 +0000

I guess it depends on what you consider a “long held goal”…The New Haven used to run to PSNY. Several stations in the Bronx were closed a few decades ago, now we will open some new ones. It seems very cyclical.

Lionel: the 59 St exit was a station, one of several, in the Park Ave tunnel. They were closed just a few years after opening. Do you really want to cut capacity that much in the tunnel when the Lex subway gives a more versatile, lower fare, alternative? Things will improve markedly when the first phase of 2nd Ave opens (a mere decade away!) – that will give a one seat ride to Times Square and the west side, which should draw plenty of people off the Lex.

By: Lionel Ruberg

Lionel Ruberg — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:37:55 +0000

I do not understand why I have never seen a discussion of the possibility of providing Metro-North riders access to and from the upper east side by converting the existing emergency exit at 59th St. in the Park Ave.tunnel into a station. Also, would it not be possible to provide access for LIRR riders to the east side by widening a short section of the LIRR tunnel at Park Ave. to accommodate a station?

By: Robert Schoenfelde

Robert Schoenfelde — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:31:35 +0000

The Astoria station would cost too much to build I spoke to the engine4er in charge of the project and he explained to me why we had quite a long discussion and I even sent him a map I had gotton of the stations in the Bronx on the old New Haven River line Two of the three stations are at locations that had stations in the past The only new station in the East Bronx is Coop City The stations on the Empire corridor were selected because they would be easy to build and in areas that would use them The Hunts Point station would serve reverse commuters to Westchester and Connecticut

By: Boris

Boris — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:31:02 +0000

While LIRR and Metro-North are talking about improvements, there are roughly 2 million people in Brooklyn and Staten Island with no commuter train service whatsoever. The long and arduous trek to JFK or Coney Island from points north (with tourism from NJ suffering as well due to the lack of accessibility) or the rest of the city from points south sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the relatively good connectivity in the Bronx, Manhattan, and much of Queens. The bedroom communities of Brooklyn are all but forgotten when it comes to either transportation or livability issues (parks, etc).

By: AlexB

AlexB — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:14:17 +0000

I agree with Kev, the stops in Queens seem intuitive. I assume the line is elevated and a new station would not be as simple as a new station at grade. Maybe in the future, with proper demand/advocacy…

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:11:10 +0000

While one can say that the ride between Dyckman and 34th only takes 34 minutes, my experience over the years is quite variable. I would allow at least an hour to get from my apartment on Cabrini and 187th to 34th/Penn Station using the 181st street A station (entering from the elevator between 183rd and 184th). If there was any major walking from Penn Station add the appropriate time.

Sadly, despite the long express run from 59th to 125th express service into Washington Hgts/Inwood and into the Bronx is lacking.

By: Kev

Kev — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:48:32 +0000

The tracks in Queens go right over both the Ditmars stop on the N, and the Northern Blvd. on the R, V & G (@ Broadway). Though the right of way is only 2 tracks wide through Queens, and 4 through the Bronx – perhaps the reason the MTA exclude these options is that Amtrak trains would have to continue to run “express” to New Rochelle.

Widening to 4 tracks & platforms at Northern Blvd. looks like it would require eminent domain and the loss of several buildings or portions thereof – though few appear to be residential. Even so, it seems like a good idea for a station location and a good connection for all of Queens.

By: Chris G

Chris G — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:22:45 +0000

What this plan really needs most is a stop in Sunnyside. This will allow passengers going to Queens and Brooklyn to no longer have to go into Manhattan at all.

As is, the New Haven line to Sunnyside is a 3 train affair in the rain or two with a several block walk when its nice outside.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:20:24 +0000

The tracks run west of the highway in Washington Heights and Inwood. So any access to the bus terminal, 181st St, or 165th St would require a highway crossing as well. Dyckman St could work, however, but the tracks are a 10-minute walk west from the A train, which only takes 34 minutes to Penn.