Angry New Yorker

Semi-Daily Rants from New York City's Angry Man

"As I know more of mankind I expect less of them, and am ready now to call a man a good man, upon easier terms than I was formerly." - Dr. Samuel Johnson, Boswell, Life of Johnson, Sept. 1783

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Tuesday, January 25, 2005
 
No way to run a railroad

Has it come to this? A country that put a man on the moon in less than a decade, that built the empire state building in 18 months, that repaired torpedoed and bombed aircraft carriers in weeks (leading to a U.S. win at Midway, the decisive battle in the Pacific theatre), can't fix damage from a small fire in the subway in less than FIVE years? I'm sickened. If we've been reduced to this spavined and pathetic condition than the forces of mediocrity and excuse have won here.

From NY1.com:
"Angry Riders Face Years Of Problems On A, C Lines
JANUARY 25TH, 2005

Commuters who use the A and C subway lines are confused and angry, facing years of disruptions after a crippling fire on Sunday.

The C train has been suspended indefinitely, and the A line is only running at 30-40 percent of normal capacity, meaning wait times can be much longer than usual. The disruptions, which affect nearly half a million riders, are also causing overcrowding on other lines.

“I think it's disastrous,” said a straphanger at the Ocean Avenue station in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. “There are many of us who have to go to work at a set time, and this way it's inconveniencing us. They don't even understand the situation. I think it needs to be solved as soon as possible.”

Investigators believe the fire, at the Chambers Street station in Manhattan, was started by a homeless man trying to keep warm during the blizzard. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says the blaze spread to a small room housing the intricate system of electric signal controls for the A and C lines.

“The signals are basically knocked out really at the station and just south of the station,” said New York City Transit President Lawrence Reuter. “But you know, just like when you crimp your garden hose, once you've crimped the garden hose in any one spot, only so much water can go through it. It's the same thing with the trains."

The damage to the custom equipment, which is necessary to safely space out trains along the tracks, could take three to five years and millions of dollars to repair, Reuter said.

* * *
Another transit official, however, said it could only be a matter of months until A train service is close to normal.

In the meantime, the C train effectively does not existed, replaced by the V train in Brooklyn but with no substitution in Manhattan.

Absolutely ridiculous.

UPDATE: Thanks goodness! Someone slapped some sense into the moribund MTA, which after spewing forth with its insane prediction, above, that repairing this damage would take 3-5 years, has now re-evaluated and said it should take only 6-9 months. We'll see if they can meet this new timeframe.
A And C Lines To Take Months, Not Years, To Fix
JANUARY 26TH, 2005

It’s rare to find a straphanger happy to lose subway service for months, but that’s good news for riders on the A and C lines. After initially saying repairs to a signal system damaged by fire could take three to five years, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Tuesday scaled back the estimate to six to nine months.

Transit officials say they have found enough existing switches and other equipment to replace what was burned in Sunday’s fire, which was apparently started by a homeless man. But the signal room, near the Chambers Street station in Lower Manhattan, will still not be completely rebuilt for several years.


posted by anonymous at 11:12 AM

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