By Stephen Jacob Smith 2/19 4:50pm

Planes Trains & Automobiles

With the LIRR diverting some trains to Grand Central, Penn Station could see Metro-North trains if the MTA goes through with West Side Access.

West Side vs. East Side (Access): Upper West Side May Get Metro-North Stop

East Side Access, which will give Long Island Rail Road commuters the choice of arriving at Grand Central Terminal in addition to the current terminus at Pennsylvania Station, may get all the buzz and billions in capital funding, but it’s the Bronx and the West Side that may be getting new regional rail stations.

West Side Access, as the plan is being called, would involve building a number of new stations within New York City, on the West Side and the Bronx, which would see direct service to Penn Station operated by Metro-North Railroad. The plan has been under consideration for decades, but will finally be added to the MTA’s next five-year capital construction program due out in 2014, according to Newsday. Compared to the $8.24 billion East Side Access project, West Side Access would be downright cheap: in the “hundreds of millions of dollars,” according to MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan. Read More

By Drew Grant 7/17/12 1:14pm

The hamptons

The Jitney: White whine included (HamptonsJitney.com)

Planes, Trains, and the Jitney: Tracking The New York Times Hamptons Travel Beat

Spring skirt trends have given way at The New York Times to the more topical issues facing Manhattanites: like how to escape from New York City and get up to the Hamptons.

Three stories in two days debated the relative pros and cons of train, bus, and air travel upstate, but we’re still left with a nagging question…do we have to go? (That’s rhetorical, obviously, yes, you have to go to the Hamptons. Every weekend. All summer.) The only thing missing is an in-depth profile on seaplanes.

So for a quick refresher course–just in case you don’t have time to read a 1,000 word piece on how much alcohol 21-year-olds consume on the LIRR, we’ve summed up The Grey Lady’s stance on each method of getting your tuchus to Montauk. Read More