Metro-North crash probe set to conclude
Who or what is to blame for the fiery crash that killed six people in Valhalla when a Metro-North train barreled into an SUV driven by a 49-year-old woman on the night February 3, 2015? The NTSB is set to present its final report on the crash. A federal official told the AP that design of the rail made the incident even deadlier.
LIRR ferries running empty
LIRR commuter Joan Hernandez got a private ferry ride across the East River from Long Island City to East 34th Street Monday morning. And it was not the first time. The evening rush is equally quiet. The 3:40 p.m. and 4:11 p.m. boats left 34th Street without a single passenger Monday afternoon. The often-empty boats, one all the way from Plymouth, Massachusetts, have been chartered by the MTA exclusively as an alternative option during the so-called Summer of Hell.
Q train derailment
Two wheels of a Q train have come off the tracks in Brighton Beach, according to the MTA.
Summer of Hell affecting subways
Forget the Summer of Hell; for riders of the No. 7 subway line, it is all four seasons of hell. Another day, another delay on the 7. Ever since track repair work began at Penn Station, the 7 line has been absorbing some LIRR commuter runoff. The additional crowding will last until September when the repair work at Penn Station is expected to be completed.
Summer of Hell: Commuters turn to ridesharing
As Amtrak goes into summer repair mode, Penn Station is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. With train service that commuters have to patchwork their way through and subway delays they may or may not have time for, it is easy to see why they turning toward rideshare services.
Paying cash rate despite E-ZPass
Drive over the RFK, Throgs Neck, and Whitestone Bridges with an E-ZPass issued in New York and you will pay $5.76. But use an out-of-state tag and it'll cost you cash rate, $8.50. Robert Sinclair Jr. with AAA Northeast says drivers are being unfairly targeted and many don't even know.
Summer of Hell Day 2: Commute not too bad
On Day 2 of what was dubbed the "Summer of Hell" hasn't quite lived up to its name. And for that, LIRR commuters are grateful. Many of the LIRR riders that spoke to Fox 5 said they usually commute in and out of Penn Station but have changed their plans because of the service disruptions.
Summer of Hell: Day 1 mostly smooth
Amtrak has begun 8 weeks of extensive track and equipment replacements at Penn Station, which is shutting down several tracks per day. MTA Chairman Joe Lhota said 7,000 fewer LIRR commuters came into Penn Station Monday morning. Instead, they got off at terminals in Brooklyn and Long Island City and then took either the subway, bus, or a ferry into Manhattan.
Summer of Hell: Penn Station repairs begin
Amtrak has begun much-needed repair work on tracks and switches at Penn Station. Those repairs mean service cutbacks and changes. The doomsday commuting scenario that had been predicted failed to materialize Monday morning. But commuters are not totally in the clear. This is just the beginning. Amtrak's CEO said that all riders will benefit when new tracks are installed by the fall.
Penn Station repairs set to begin
The countdown to the nightmare for hundreds of thousands of commuters is on. A huge repair project starts Monday, July 10, at Penn Station. The two-month repair project will cost Amtrak about $40 million. Penn Station greets about 600,000 passengers a day. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo predicted a "summer of hell." Commuters can't even begin to comprehend that it could get any worse. But it can and it will.
Nightmare commute on MTA railroads
On the same day Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for the MTA, the agency's two major commuter railroads suffered frustrating suspensions and delays. The Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad's services went off course, right on cue. These are the busiest commuter railroads in the nation. The delays remained on Metro-North through most of the evening commute. Trains were cancelled and condensed, leaving extra crowded conditions.
MTA state of emergency
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday declared a state of emergency for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to expedite subway repairs and replacements in the wake of rising delays and accidents. Cuomo made the announcement at a planned news conference for the MTA Transit Challenge, a competition that will award three $1 million so-called genius awards for the best ideas to fix the mass transit system. Cuomo said the MTA needs new ideas to solve the problems.
Subway derailment in Manhattan
Two subway cars of a Brooklyn-bound A train derailed near the 125th Street subway station near St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem Tuesday morning, injuring at least 34 people. Their injuries are not considered life-threatening, officials said. Passengers described the train vibrating wildly and bucking as it went off the rails. All of the customers evacuated the train through darkened subway tunnels.
Rider demands more subway safety info
June 5 is a day Brooklyn resident Michael Sciaraffo wishes he could forget. On that day, straphangers shared videos and pictures from a pitch-black F subway train that got stuck in the tunnel right after pulling out of the West 4th Street station. Michael was one of those riders. He has written nine letters and sent them to the NTSB, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, MTA Chairman Joe Lhota, and other city, state, and federal officials. The letters demand that charts, diagrams or some type of evacuation plan get posted inside subway stations and trains.
Joe Lhota returns to helm the MTA
Gov. Andrew Cuomo nominated Joe Lhota to lead the MTA once again. Lhota served as the MTA's chairman and CEO from October 2011 to December 2012. He resigned to run for New York City mayor but lost to Bill de Blasio. This time around, Lhota will serve as chairman and delegate the day-to-day CEO duties to a permanent executive director. Lhota was a top aide to Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
MTA, Amtrak at odds over money
Things just got a lot more complicated at Penn Station. As commuters brace for a tough two months ahead with delays and service changes as the station undergoes long-needed repairs, the MTA and Amtrak are locking heads over the Long Island Rail Road. At issue is who will pay for LIRR's contingency plan. Amtrak owns the station and the tracks and will perform the repairs. The MTA, which owns the LIRR, refuses to pay for the costs of implementing the schedule changes and alternate service for LIRR commuters. MTA Interim Executive Director Veronique Hakim said that the agency is looking to recover the expenses from Amtrak.
Delays continue to plague New York City subways
Another day and another set of delays for the New York City subways. The MTA has been having a rough time being on time. The problem on Wednesday was a rail defect at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn Station in Brooklyn. That caused delays on the Queens-bound A train and cancellations on the C line. As MTA crews worked to fix the issue, MTA Interim Executive Director Veronique Hakim apologized to straphangers at a board meeting for the number of recent delays including during rush hour.
New concourse at Penn
Many train commuters are accustomed to old tracks, old cars, and an old Penn Station. But now commuters have a new way to get to the Long Island Rail Road tracks without having to navigate through chaos. Think of it as the West Wing. Not of the White House, but of the train terminal many commuters would prefer to avoid if only they could. A new ramp is now open that allows access directly to the LIRR tracks through entrances on 8th Avenue, steps from the A/C/E subway station.
Why so many subway delays?
Many New York City subway riders refer to themselves as "sufferers." They're sick of delays and cancellations and just want to get to work on time. But they may have to learn to live with them because the MTA is years behind on its repair schedule, at least according to one report.
MTA summer plan
The Long Island Rail Road has announced schedule changes in anticipation of summer construction work at Amtrak-managed Penn Station in New York City. The changes include providing ferry service for some customers, and a fleet of buses to carry affected rail riders into Manhattan.