I am again bringing up the subject of the third rail knowing that those not in favor of it will have to continue to defend their viewpoint.
One evening during rush hour time I turned on one of my clock radios which is always tuned to NY WINS 1010 AM Radio to check the weather.
I was one minute early and heard the traffic and transit report.
Nothing was moving at Penn Station due to signal problems. Often it should be called traffic and trains sit.
This is a known issue about which nothing gets done. It either needs maintenance, an upgrade or be completely replaced being obsolete.
For comparison I have for a few years had my Senior Citizen New York City Metrocard, which after X number of rides a charge appears on one of my credit cards.
It has never failed to work swiping it in any subway turnstile.
A few times for whatever reason I have taken the No. 24 NICE bus from Mineola Boulevard to 179 St. in Jamaica.
I get my free transfer. The opposite when I return.
I imagine the NYC Transit System with all the connecting busses.
One wonders how many card transactions occur per second during rush hour. My experience is that it has never failed.
Monitoring the LIRR trains is just a handful of what I have just described.
Of course, like the subway, if the light is red, a train does not move.
This signal problem has to be resolved first including any problems of switching from one track to another.
Not so long ago was published my having logged the times trains passed over the Roslyn Road underpass in Mineola.
Going west in the morning and east in the rush hours a train passed an average of every three to five minutes or so.
In the opposite direction, one around every 15 minutes or so.
The LIRR is said to be the busiest in the nation. I have no idea how many thousands of commuters every rush hour.
Where do the trains every three to five minutes come from and go to? Hicksville and Jamaica.
The above numbers do not include the Oyster Bay Line.
At Hicksville, one line goes north and east ending in Port Jefferson.
Another goes southeast and divides at Bethpage: one goes east to Ronkonkoma, Riverhead, almost to the end of the North Fork and (I assume) over a bridge to Shelter Island.
The other goes to the south shore and east through The Hamptons and on through the South Fork to Montauk.
These lines on the forks are not practical for commuting due to the distance but do provide a means of travel all the way to Penn Station.
There is the mention of reverse commute by those for the third rail but it is a dubious unexplained statement.
Clearly, the trains I mentioned that go every 15 minutes or so is the reverse commute. It has nothing to do with a third rail.
Double Decker Trains like those on The Oyster Bay Line could perhaps carry 75 percent more passengers.
This could greatly reduce the need for so many trains especially at Penn Station.
Considering the scope of the situation, a train moving non-stop from Floral Park to Hicksville would accomplish virtually nothing.
It would also assume that none of those on the train would want to go to the bypassed stations. It could be very confusing.
I have here the article by Larry Penner “Third Track needed to make Ronkonkoma upgrade work” in this papers June 17, 2016 edition.
I was in Suffolk County and saw for the first time the grandiose Ronkonkoma station.
An electrified train arrived from the west then parked on a side storage track.
At least for whatever distance, going west is double electrified tracks. Going east is a single non electrified track.
Mr. Penner mentions the lack of double tracking between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma. He then says with completion of double tracking “Ronkonkoma. Branch riders will enjoy off-peak 30-minute service.”
It is unclear what he means. Does he mean to Penn Station?
It is virtually a give or take 55 miles to Penn Station.
That would require an unbroken speed of 110 mph.
Trains entering Mineola from the east come from three places: Port Jefferson, North Fork (Ronkonkoma) and South Fork lines.
During the day and at night these trains would be virtually empty maybe all switch to one train at Hicksville.
I have more to say that is pertinent to this entire subject but will leave it until next week
Charles Samek
Mineola
