Late Friday Links 6/27

Happy Friday! I sure have been enjoying my first week without full school (half-days until Wed), and It's been a while since my last Late Friday Links as I've been very busy. It was difficult to find interesting things to cover in this Late Friday Links since a lot of the important news things this week had actual posts dedicated to them, but here's the things I could scrounge up:

• New LIRR Train Cars 60 Years Late 

Quite an interesting story showing 1968.

• MNR & LIRR Free Monthly Ticket Saturday Weekend Travel

In a nice move by the railroads, the MTA and LIRR are now allowing people to travel on Summer Saturdays for free. However, the LIRR snarkly (but understandingly) not including trains #6006, #6008, and #6010 in this, nor is train #902. 

• SEPTA Doomsday Cuts

And finally, while I don't typically talk about SEPTA, I think this is more than important enough to talk about. SEPTA will be receiving the "doomsday cuts" which will basically just rip the agency to pieces, cutting half the services, cutting the curfew to 9pm, slashing 2 major rail routes, while still adding a 21% fair increase. I at least hoped at the absolute minimum 

I'll be honest and say that SEPTA is a disaster. I've only ridden it once and it was a terrible experience. I absolutely hated it. I've never once wanted to get off public-transit as much as I did on that day when I was visiting Philly.

Anyways, guys, I hope you enjoyed today’s Late Friday Links!

Late Friday Links 5/23

Happy Friday! So far it's been rather decent smooth sailing into Memorial Day weekend, as only some of the key Montauk trains ran late, and none of them ran over 12 minutes late. We'll have to see as we get further into the weekend, how things go, but I don't have high hopes and I expect a busy summer.

If you can't read the links from Newsday, just disable javascript and you'll be able to read them!

• Person Struck by Train in Amityville Thursday Morning

It was a rough Thursday morning on the Babylon Branch, as a 65 year old man was struck and killed by the 5:24 train to Grand Central east of Amityville around 5:31am

• Newsday Cannonball Article

And Newsday published an article about the "Cannonball", which if you somehow don't know is the non-stop express train from Penn Station to the Hamptons and Montauk on Friday afternoons.

• Metro-North ridership increases

Metro-North ridership is also up, an interesting trend, and no, it doesn't involve the strike, since it was the ridership from March.

Anyways, so far, like I said earlier, OTPs have been fairly steady, but we'll have to see if the LIRR can keep it together as we go through the weekend. I, for one, don't have the highest hopes, and I expect it'll pretty much be a complete repeat of last year.

There's no trackwork this weekend, but, there are some service changes in effect, and if you'd like to see them, click here! 

Have a good Memorial Day weekend!

Late Friday Links 5/2

Happy Friday! It’s been a busy week so it’s a huge relief that it’s Friday. Here’s a couple Late Friday Links for your commute home: 

• West Hempstead Branch Catches Fire

Apparently early this morning there was a fire onboard a work train this morning in Malverne, and they had to make repairs, therefore suspending service for multiple hours during the morning rush hour and it seams repairs are finally done being made.

• Superstorm Sandy East River Tunnel Repair Work

If you've been reading the news lately then you might have seen that Amtrak plans to rebuild the East River tunnels, which were damaged during 2012's Superstorm Sandy but is recieving some backlash from commuters and more specifically the LIRR who's worried it will snarl service for hours if they can't keep up their OTP's for each train perfectly.

• NJT Strike Talks

And finally, as there's a possibility for a New Jersey Transit strike on the horizon, commuters are warned to prepare for "chaos" and to work from home whenever possible. 

Anyways guys, sorry I can’t write more I just have a busy day. Nothing too much is going on on the railroad, and I definitely don’t have time to list out the subway changes but the West Hempstead Branch will be suspended between Valley Stream and West Hempstead this weekend for track replacement

Have a good weekend!

Late Friday Links 3/21

Hello Everyone! I’ve been very busy this week with both school and other things, not room mention it being my birthday on Sunday, so it’s been difficult to make new posts. Most of the posts this week were made in past weeks, and things have been dull this week so I had to really look to find things worth viewing. Here are some Late Friday Links for your reading pleasure during your afternoon commute:

• 10 Arrested After Trespassing in Riverhead

Apparently some people were trespassing in Riverhead and to be honest they should’ve been just left off with a warning since there’s like basically no service out in Riverhead!

• A Battery-Powered Metro-North

Metro-North is now looking into battery-powered trains on the New Haven Line’s diesel branches. Wouldn’t that be interesting if it came true….

• Metro-North’s Six Heritage Unit

Metro-North has now unveiled its 6th heritage unit.

Anyways, be on the lookout for posts this week as they’ll be posts pretty much everyday this week! The next installment of our Reworked Timetables Project will release on Sunday also, so be on the lookout for that. 

If your going to be traveling on the rails this weekend, switch replacement on the Ronkonkoma Branch will knock out the eastern portion of it, therefore, one train per hour in both directions will originate/terminate in Farmingdale, while the other train per hour will originate/terminate in Deer Park.

Have a good weekend!

Late Friday Links 2/14

Happy Valentine’s Day! Here’s a couple of links for your commute home:

• Ronkonkoma Connection To LIRR

So there’s plans to introduce a new connection from the Ronkonkoma LIRR Station to MacArthur Airport. The plan is to build a walkway between the two, along with more parking and road improvements.

• Metro-North Quiet Car Gone For Good

So apparently Metro-North also has a quiet car program, something I hadn’t actually ever realized. It’s disappointing to see it go since commuters seemingly really liked it.

• New MNR President

And, finally, Metro-North has gotten a new president. 

The forecast is hinting towards more snow tomorrow, so make sure to bundle up. I’m lucky enough to have next week off from school. And remember, the LIRR will be operating on a full weekend service this Monday for Presidents Day. Have a good weekend! 

Late Friday Links 1/3

Happy New Year! It's difficult to find relevant links right now, because there's not much in the news, but we might be getting some snow this Monday, which would be nice considering I go back to School on Monday for the first time since 12/20. 

• Car Hit Central Islip

Unfortunately last Saturday a car was hit early at Central Islip.

• Mastic-Shirley Rider Enraged

So apparently this Mastic-Shirley rider is enraged with construction going on at the station which I somehow didn't know about.

• Year In Review 2024 

I also forgot this one, I'm adding it later while working on another post, the MTA released this article and it's definitely interesting and nice to see.

I know neither of those articles are very interesting, but I felt like getting something out. I'm not looking forward to this weekend, as I know I'm going back to School on Monday but hopefully they'll be some snow and SNOW DAYS to look forward to. 

Late Friday Links 12/20

Happy Friday everyone! Now that I’m on break, my schedule has greatly improved and quite a few articles are scheduled the next couple of days so make sure to check every morning.Here  are a good couple of articles for your commute home:

• Drunk Driver On Tracks At Elmont

I didn’t have time to make a post on this; but I have failed to mention this. A brooklyn man somehow managed to drive an SUV onto the railroad tracks at Elmont- UBS Arena.

• NJ Transit Rail Strike in January Possible Dates

I haven’t talked about New Jersey Transit recently, so I thought I’d mention it. There are rumors of a possible rail strike in January.

• MTA Board Approves Chargers

The MTA board has approved a deal to replace the aging DE and DM30ACs. I’m personally saddened by this, as these are my home locomotives, but it’s a very worthwhile investment as these cars are aging and becoming extremely unreliable.

• 2025 SMEE Replacement - MTA

The New York City Subway also announced they’ll begin “replacing” the R62, R62A, and R68 cars in 2025, however, I doubt that.

I hope everything will run smoothly this weekend, as it’s an important one, and I’m hoping the loads won’t be too bad. If you got on vacation today, like me, I hope you enjoy your week (s) off.

Late Friday Links 11/29

Welcome to the third episode of Late Friday Links. If your waiting on the checkout line at a store, here are some Black Friday links to help you pass the time, and by the way, I've posted quite a few posts this week, so make sure to check back and make sure you didn't miss anything!

• MTA A.I Bus Cameras Issue Thousands of Mistaken

The MTA had previously installed cameras on the M79 & BX35 routes (yeah, I have no idea what those are) to find people who park & block bus lanes, but recently it mistakenly tickled more then 3,800 vehicles! 

• MTA Considers Flying Drones to Watch Over Busses in Network

I know this isn't close to as interesting as the previous link, nor the following two (hint-hint), but it's still a bit interesting that they need to do this. If this will help evenly space the busses, then good.

• NYC Transit Museum Holiday Nostalgia Rides 2024

The New York City Transit Museum will be bringing back the Holiday Nostalgia Rides this 2024 Holiday season!!! They will run every Sunday in December, and will run on the (F) from 2nd Avenue- Houston Street at 10am, 12pm, 2pm, & 4pm going uptown to 96 St, and will depart 96 St - 2nd Avenue going downtown at 11am, 1pm, 3pm, and 5pm. I'm definitely hoping to go this year as I had missed it last year (the one week I thought I could go my dad said no and I ended up going to Mineola for a bit for the first time). 

• MNR Rolls Out First-of-a-kind Holiday Train 

I just saw this article while looking for articles today, and I think this is very cool. They have decorated an M8 with Christmas Lights and other very festive things and will be randomly operating it on the New Haven, Harlem, & Hudson Lines! It's important to note that this is not an event, it'll just operate randomly, and that you'll have to look out for it. I don't know if I'll be able to get on it this year, but I'll see and if I do I'll definitely slide some photos! It's crazy how the M8s are perfect for the job, they can operate on all 3 lines, they're red, and they are available.

As a reminder, off-peak fares are accepted on the remainder of all trains today and normal service operates all weekend! Not planned disruptions are happening on the railroads this weekend, but 1 trains aren't running between 14 St and South Ferry,  7 trains aren't running between Queensboro Plaza and 34 St- Hudson Yards, L trains aren't running between Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues and Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway, and Q trains aren't running between 34 St- Herald Sq and Prospect Park. 

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend off and if you (like me) have a holiday festival this weekend, enjoy!

Late Friday Links 11/22

Happy Friday everyone! It’s been a while and here are a good couple of articles for your commute home (and for your enjoyment):

• Van Ritshie, voice of MNR & LIRR announcements died at 80 - NBC

Van Ritshie, the iconic voice of announcements on the C3, M7, M7A, and M8 cars has tragically died of old age at 80. I really loved his announcements and I grew up with them, and I think it’s very sad he died, but his legacy will live on for years. I advise you that next time you hear “This Station Is” or “Watch The Gap” on your LIRR/MNR trip, pay tribute to him.

• LIRR's Iconic 'Ronkonkoma' voice dies at 80 - Greater Long Island

I decided to include an additional article because of my failure to make a post and because of the sadness of this event and in tribute of him. Rest in peace Van Ritshie, you’ll be truly missed.

• MNR Unveils New Locomotives

I decided not to make a post for this, but the long-awaited Siemens Charger SC42-DM locomotives have finally been unveiled. They are expected to enter service in early 2025, though who knows if they will at this point, and I expect to go see them early on!!!!!

• SIR R211s Sidelined

The New York City Subway’s “Staten Island Railway” New R211S cars that just entered service around a month ago have already been sidelined due to signal issues. I don’t care for the Staten Island Railway very much at all, but I hope that they fix the issue.

If you’re riding the rails this weekend, it’s important to note that this weekend (7) trains will not run between Queensboro Plaza and 34 St - Hudson Yards, (F) trains will not run between Coney Island and Church Avenue, (G) trains will not run between Church Avenue and Hoyt-Schermerhorn St and will run in two sections, (2) trains aren’t running between Franklin Avenue and Flatbush Avenue, (L) trains aren’t running between Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues and Canarsie-Rockaway Pkwy, (3) trains aren’t running between New Lots Avenue and Chambers St, and (Q) trains aren’t running between Brighton Beach. 

Other than that, there’s a lot of cool stuff coming next week, and Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Have a good weekend!

Late Friday Links 9/27

Today is Friday, September 27, marking the end of yet another stressful work week, oh thank god it’s Friday, I think our world needs it! While I don’t have the time to do a proper post on these things, I did want to write something, so here it is, a couple of nice links to check out over your weekend. I’m hoping to post again soon.

• MTA 2025-2029 Capital Plan

I’d say the most interesting of the bunch, I made an article on this earlier, the MTA recently released the capital program, and for those of you that may not have seen it, here’s it. Unfortunately, a lot of my good predictions were wrong.

• Babylon LIRR Major Renovation

Another interesting one, Babylon will be receiving a bunch of improvements, which will mean that the usual 12-car platform will be reduced to 6 cars for the time being, I highly recommend you check this one out since it’s nice to hear.

• Amtrak Derailment NJT Delays

An Amtrak train’s set of wheels derailed off the tracks, resulting in chaos and delays during Wednesday’s PM Rush.

• MNRR Bathroom Cleaning QR Code

And finally, to finish off your Friday afternoon commute, Metro-North to roll out a new pilot test program that will allow you to scan a QR code and it will lead you to a survey which will let the cleaning team know in real-time when a bathroom needs to be cleaned. It will be available on select stations and train cars on the New Haven, Hudson, & Harlem lines.

Anyways, there isn’t too much going on as far as service changes go this weekend, however, on The Port Jervis Line, from 12:30 AM Saturday to 11:59 PM Sunday, trains will not run between Suffern & Port Jervis, however, busitutions will be available. While I’m not gonna report on all the subway service changes, you can look on MTA.info for more information.