4 ms·

NYC needs to dump a lot of work into their rail system, and not slack off in the good times. They keep flipping from having one of the best systems in the US to

NYC needs to dump a lot of work into their rail system, and not slack off in the good times. They keep flipping from having one of the best systems in the US to being plagued by terrible issues, every decade. Chicago hasn't expanded in a while, but they maintain their tracks, buy new stock and renovate stations. I don't think people appreciate how incredibly important all that maintenance is to the city. I hope Chicago can get enough funding one day to expand and start on the outer loop project, but not at the expense of keeping what's there in good condition.

dehrmann 7y ago
It's cute to talk about banning cars from Manhattan, but the Second Ave. line only has three stations uptown. And like parent said, ongoing maintenance. How's the L doing, these days?
bradleyjg 7y ago
The problem is terrible governance. That can’t be fixed by throwing money at it.
gok 7y ago
I ride the L most days, and mostly think it's great, but the systems are not really comparable. The subway has over 10x the ridership and is vastly more important to New York's economy than the L is to Chicago's. The "hard" decisions CTA made to shut down whole branches for months at a time to do rehab would be politically impossible in New York.
delfinom 7y ago
Do not mix subway with rail. NYC has a subway system, it more or less functions independent from NYC's rail network. NYC's rail network covers 4 boroughs and goes all the way to the end of Long Island. They are spending $100 million just this year alone building additional freight transfer points in Brooklyn & Queens and adding more marine barge terminals explicitly to remove more trucks entering NYC. NYC's subway network is not owned by NYC but by NYS which is operated by the MTA, they can't really run it themselves and it's a point of political fighting. However, there is tons being done by the MTA while people bitch and moan while dedicating no effort to educating themselves. Over 1k new subway cars are on order (and honestly, there hasnt been a time in the last 2 decades they haven't been, the subway just requires a shit-ton of them). There are track geometry scanning trains that run and down the lines at least once a week per line to scan rails for defects. And they recently acquired another train to do so as well. This helps reduce unexpected failures. They have been replacing all wooden ties with concrete ties as they can. They are also switching out for continuous welded rail as they go as well. Signal work is disastrous because the amount of track (>700 miles) AND multiple subway lines intermix meaning every mixed line needs to be replaced at the same time. All while maintaining 24/7 service, AND DONT YOU DARE DISCUSS HALTING A TRAIN LINE AT NIGHT TO EXPEDITE WORK LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD, you'll be voted out of office.
- ravitation 7y ago
  Significant sections of train lines are selectively closed at night and modified on weekends all the time for maintenance and improvements.
  - jacques_chester 7y ago
    Don't you dare suggest that it was hyperbole.
    - ravitation 7y ago
      Will I be voted out of office?

dehrmann 7y ago

It's cute to talk about banning cars from Manhattan, but the Second Ave. line only has three stations uptown. And like parent said, ongoing maintenance. How's the L doing, these days?

bradleyjg 7y ago

The problem is terrible governance. That can’t be fixed by throwing money at it.

gok 7y ago

I ride the L most days, and mostly think it's great, but the systems are not really comparable. The subway has over 10x the ridership and is vastly more important to New York's economy than the L is to Chicago's. The "hard" decisions CTA made to shut down whole branches for months at a time to do rehab would be politically impossible in New York.

delfinom 7y ago

Do not mix subway with rail. NYC has a subway system, it more or less functions independent from NYC's rail network. NYC's rail network covers 4 boroughs and goes all the way to the end of Long Island. They are spending $100 million just this year alone building additional freight transfer points in Brooklyn & Queens and adding more marine barge terminals explicitly to remove more trucks entering NYC. NYC's subway network is not owned by NYC but by NYS which is operated by the MTA, they can't really run it themselves and it's a point of political fighting. However, there is tons being done by the MTA while people bitch and moan while dedicating no effort to educating themselves. Over 1k new subway cars are on order (and honestly, there hasnt been a time in the last 2 decades they haven't been, the subway just requires a shit-ton of them). There are track geometry scanning trains that run and down the lines at least once a week per line to scan rails for defects. And they recently acquired another train to do so as well. This helps reduce unexpected failures. They have been replacing all wooden ties with concrete ties as they can. They are also switching out for continuous welded rail as they go as well. Signal work is disastrous because the amount of track (>700 miles) AND multiple subway lines intermix meaning every mixed line needs to be replaced at the same time. All while maintaining 24/7 service, AND DONT YOU DARE DISCUSS HALTING A TRAIN LINE AT NIGHT TO EXPEDITE WORK LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD, you'll be voted out of office.

ravitation 7y ago
Significant sections of train lines are selectively closed at night and modified on weekends all the time for maintenance and improvements.
- jacques_chester 7y ago
  Don't you dare suggest that it was hyperbole.
  - ravitation 7y ago
    Will I be voted out of office?