By Matt Chaban 11/05/12 12:38am

Planes Trains & Automobiles

Pumping out South Ferry. (MTA/Flickr)

Your Monday Subway Commute: Most Lines Are Back, But They’ll Be Slow and Crowded

Update 6:32 a.m.: Here‘s the current map for your Monday morning commute, with all the latest subway lines colored in. Almost looks back to normal, don’t it?

Original post: One of the miracles of the MTA’s restoration of the subway system is how many lines the transit agency has managed to get up in running in such a short amount of time. With the exception of the L and the G, every single line is running in some fashion. There are the standouts, like the numbered trains, all of which are back to full service, end-to-end, and then there are pieces like the A-train to the Rockaways, which will be out of commission for who knows how long due to damage to the crossing through Jamaica Bay.

Numerous warning came today from the governor, mayor and MTA chief Joe Lhota that commuters tomorrow should exercise patience and caution. Go to work a little early or a little late, if you can manage it. Already trains will be running less frequently all day, about one every 10 minutes on the lines that are up, god willing there are no breakdowns on the tracks that have been heavily taxed by salt water and other extreme conditions never before fathomed. Read More

By Matt Chaban 11/03/12 8:06pm

Planes Trains & Automobiles

What, me worry? Not if we build the right stuff. (MTA/Flickr)

MTA Chief Joe Lhota Wants to Look to Europe and Asia for Infrastructure Inspiration

MTA chairman and CEO Joe Lhota has thrown his support behind Governor Andrew Cuomo’s call for stronger infrastructure to protect New York City from future natural disasters like Superstorm Sandy.

This may not be surprising—after all, the governor is Mr. Lhota’s boss—but their unanimity on the matter will lend extra support to the idea of improving the city’s defenses against future floods and rising sea levels. That support is especially important when Mayor Bloomberg has so far dismissed calls for strengthened infrastructure around the city. Read More

By Matt Chaban 11/03/12 3:03pm

Planes Trains & Automobiles

The pump train, working it in the Cranberry Tunnel. (MTA/Flickr)

Subways Back to 84 Percent Monday Morning, But No L or G-Train Service Until Sometime Next Week

Updated, 11/05 12:40 a.m.:Looks like the Monday morning commute is shaping up as expected.

Update, 9:12 p.m.: Service has been restored on the J-train into Manhattan, but service on the B/D/F/M line remains suspended because of “unforeseen problems with electrical service” at the West 4th Street station, according to an MTA statement. “Crews are still pushing to restore service on additional subway lines between Brooklyn and Manhattan before midnight,” the statement concludes.

Original post: So the MTA has done an unbelievable job restoring subway service after so much of the system was knocked out following Superstorm Sandy. Even MTA chief Joe Lhota said as much this morning at a press briefing. “I’m really proud of the MTA for coming back as fast as it did,” he said standing outside the 69th Regimental Armory. “It exceeded most of the public’s expectation and it exceeded my expectations, too. I didn’t think I’d be standing here today telling you we’d be at 81 percent.”

Service will be back to 84 percent by Monday, covering most of Lower Manhattan with many lines fully restored. Read More

By Matt Chaban 11/03/12 2:16pm

Planes Trains & Automobiles

The damage done. (MTA/Flickr)

Broad Channel Crossing Must Be Rebuilt, Leaving Rockaways Without A-Train for Months or Longer

The Rockaways have been one of the hardest hit areas of the city following Superstorm Sandy, with lives lost, houses destroyed, crime on the streets. It has also been a remarkably resilient place, with diehard New Yorkers beginning the daunting work of rebuilding. It will be a long time before the Rockaways returns to normal, though, and it turns out that goes for subway service to the area, too.

At a press briefing Thursday night, MTA chief Joe Lhota said it would be some time before A-train service could be restored to the Rockaways due to extensive damage to the Broad Channel crossing that carries the train between Howard Beach in Brooklyn to the Rockaways.

“The amount of destruction on the A-train over Broad Channel is indescribable,” Mr. Lhota told reporters. Read More

By Matt Chaban 11/01/12 7:54pm

Planes Trains & Automobiles

Joe Lhota shows off his custom MetroNorth map. (Matt Chaban)

Two More Subways Return, but Even More Could Run if We Only Had Power Downtown

The good news is, the subways are coming back to life with remarkable resilience. The bad news is even more would be running if there were power in Lower Manhattan.

Following a briefing with Gov. Cuomo this evening, MTA chairman and CEO Joe Lhota walked reporters through the status of the city’s subway system and the regional rail lines. As of now, the M train is running again in Queens and Brooklyn in two sections: from Jamiaca Center in Queens to Midtown, though it is skipping Queens Plaza and Court Square and getting to 42nd Street via the F line tunnel, and the M train shuttle from Middle Village in Queens to Myrtle Avenue.

The 7 train will also begin service tomorrow, possibly as soon as midnight, but only from Main Street in Flushing to 74th Street, Broadway Station. From there, straphangers can transfer to the F or M trains into Manhattan. Read More

By Matt Chaban 11/01/12 4:47pm

The Great Flood

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Governor Cuomo Declares New York’s Greatest Strength Also Its Greatest Weakness

Standing at the mouth of the Hugh L. Carey/Brooklyn Batter Tunnel in Lower Manhattan earlier this afternoon, following a tour of the flooding within, Governor Andrew Cuomo gave yet another one of his rousing speeches on the trials of New York under pressures, particularly how it is that the physical infrastructure that makes this city tick can also bring it to its knees if a disaster occurs.

But before we get to that, what exactly is the status of the tunnel, one of the city’s busiest, with a daily traffic of some 50,000 vehicles? MTA Chairman and CEO Joe Lhota began by relating of the story he told earlier this week, of meeting the governor at the mouth of the tunnel by happenstance on Monday night, where they took in the hellish scene. Read More

By Colin Campbell 10/31/12 2:05pm

commuting

subway map

Limited Subway Service to Begin Tomorrow; Here’s the Schedule

Update 11/1 8:22:As of Friday morning, there will be service on the M and No. 7 trains has been restored in Queens and Brooklyn, though there is still no subway service into Lower Manhattan. You can read more about the changes to the service here.

Original post: At a press conference earlier this afternoon, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and MTA Chairman Joe Lhota announced that New York City’s subway system will restore service on a number of lines, leaving out a swath of territory south of 34th Street in Manhattan. Lower Manhattan was left out, they explained, because of the mass power outage in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

“It’s been an extraordinary amount of time and a lot of work and a lot of lack of sleep, but we’re going to continue to do it,” Mr. Lhota said. “Our goal is to, every day, get this service back to normal, back to the situation we were used to last week, and if not, even better.”

View the working transportation lines below, including other parts of the MTA, courtesy of Mr. Cuomo’s office: Read More

By Matt Chaban 10/27/12 5:34pm

Planes Trains & Automobiles

(Getty)

MTA Shutting Down Subways, Buses and Trains Starting at 7 p.m. Sunday [Updated]

Update 10/28, 10:50: Governor Cuomo just announced that all MTA service will be shut down starting at 7 p.m. tonight. Full details from the MTA are at the bottom of this post.

“The transportation system is the lifeblood of the New York City region, and suspending all service is not a step I take lightly,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement. “But keeping New Yorkers safe is the first priority, and the best way to do that is to make sure they are out of harm’s way before gale-force winds can start wreaking havoc on trains and buses.” Read More

By Matt Chaban 10/26/12 10:22am

Planes Trains & Automobiles

One57 won't save the MTA. (Matt Chaban)

The MTA and the Real Estate Bubble: $88 M. Apartments Do Not Mean Transit Agency Is Rich Again

Yesterday, MTA chief Joe Lhota was on the Brian Lehrer Show, where he almost immediately walked back his earlier radio statements that he was leaning toward a base fare hike to $2.50. But Mr. Lehrer was more interested in discussing the question on many New Yorkers’ minds: Do we really need another fare hike, especially coming so soon after the last one?

Mr. Lhota said we do, because costs like pensions and debt-service have not kept up with revenue—and this was mandated in 2009 anyway, when Gov. Paterson and Richard Ravitch created their MTA bailout. But how could there not be more revenues, particularly from real estate? The economy is still mediocre, for sure, but in a year that has seen more blockbuster sales than we can keep track of, shouldn’t the far-too-dependent-on-real-estate-taxes transit agency be flooded with cash? Read More