|
|
| MTA overnight fixes in 2012 will shut down Manhattan subway lines for up to 4 days in a row (1116824) | |||
 |
|||
| Home > SubChat | |||
|
[ Read Responses | Post a New Response | Return to the Index ] |
|
||
|
MTA overnight fixes in 2012 will shut down Manhattan subway lines for up to 4 days in a row |
|
|
Posted by Gold_12TH on Sat Nov 12 09:22:58 2011 Trains will stop at 10 p.m. and resume service at 5 a.m.Take your medicine in one dose, straphangers. Starting early next year, the MTA plans to periodically shut down a subway line through much of Manhattan for massive blitzes by workers inspecting, fixing and replacing equipment like signals and switches, the Daily News has learned. Every three months, a line segment — possibly stretching from midtown all the way to the southern tip of Manhattan or even downtown Brooklyn — would be closed for three or four consecutive weeknights, sources said. The new strategy likely will be tested first on the Lexington Avenue line between 42nd Street to the north and either Bowling Green in lower Manhattan or Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, to the south, sources said. Trains would stop running at about 10 p.m. each night and wouldn’t start up again until about 5 a.m. the next morning. That would allow the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to get many projects and tasks done at once rather than piecemeal throughout the year. It’s a worthwhile tradeoff, one transit source familiar with the plan said. “For a few nights, you won’t have service on a segment of a line but contrast that with work being done over far more nights and weekends with all the service diversions and train slowdowns.” Commuters backed the all-at-once plan, but were anxious the service outages would be extended. “I’d rather it be done quickly. I’m tired of construction on the tracks — if they could get it done quickly, that would be great,” said Kelly Murphy, 34, a customer service rep from Murray Hill. The shutdowns will largely be limited to Manhattan below 42nd Street because there are parallel subway lines. A rider wouldn’t have to walk very far for alternate service. The MTA expects the “all hands on deck” approach will reduce costs while increasing safety. Workers will not have to contend with passenger trains in service coming down the same track or an adjacent track. Such traffic requires time-consuming and costly safeguards like flaggers who alert approaching motormen they’re approaching a work zone and need to slow down. Flaggers also direct crews to step aside or “clear up” when a train is heading their way. It’s still dangerous work. Since 1947, at least 239 subway workers were killed on the job. Most of them were struck by trains. Ten were killed in the last decade. The MTA also plans a pilot project condensing major construction work in eastern Queens between the Forest Hills/71st Avenue and Parsons Boulevard stations. Instead of closing the Manhattan-bound track for eight weekends, the Manhattan-bound (F) line track would be closed for nine straight days day and night, a source said. Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-overnight-fixes-2012-shut-manhattan-subway-lines-4-days-a-row-article-1.976569#ixzz1dV75WpWQ |
|
|
|