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Ok, I was waiting for this... in today's Newsday, check out the article entitled: LIRR chief defends shutdowns during storm
Helena Williams is back at it again, defending the hapless, hopeless LIRR. Putting a shine on the turd, we get a fare increase next March! Sounds like a great deal.
The railroad was never that great, but years ago, it used to be all hands on deck in the face of a disaster. People would pull out all stops to keep things running. Now, they simply curl up in a ball at the first sign of a storm, leaving people on their own to try and get to work. The LIRR is hated anyway -- and probably always will be -- so why should it bother to provide any service?
The railroad was never that great, but years ago, it used to be all hands on deck in the face of a disaster. People would pull out all stops to keep things running. Now, they simply curl up in a ball at the first sign of a storm, leaving people on their own to try and get to work. The LIRR is hated anyway -- and probably always will be -- so why should it bother to provide any service?
It's a safety issue. You don't want people waiting on a platform with 70+ mph winds blowing. You don't want to risk trains running through areas that are flooding, you don't want to risk a piece of debris flying through the window and killing the engineer or a passenger, you don't want trains running over damaged tracks, and so on.
Aside from that, as we saw, the storm was pretty bad. You shouldn't have been out taking the train or bus during the storm anyway, so you would've been running empty trains (which would've still put the crew at risk). It's better to just shut down everything, and then you minimize the amount of damage you have to repair after the storm and get everything up and running that much sooner. If a train derailed during the storm, now you have to repair a section of track and a locomotive, which takes more time and money (and while that locomotive is being repaired, it's not on the tracks serving the riders). And if somebody is injured or killed, you can't put a price on a life.
It's a safety issue. You don't want people waiting on a platform with 70+ mph winds blowing. You don't want to risk trains running through areas that are flooding, you don't want to risk a piece of debris flying through the window and killing the engineer or a passenger, you don't want trains running over damaged tracks, and so on.
Aside from that, as we saw, the storm was pretty bad. You shouldn't have been out taking the train or bus during the storm anyway, so you would've been running empty trains (which would've still put the crew at risk). It's better to just shut down everything, and then you minimize the amount of damage you have to repair after the storm and get everything up and running that much sooner. If a train derailed during the storm, now you have to repair a section of track and a locomotive, which takes more time and money (and while that locomotive is being repaired, it's not on the tracks serving the riders). And if somebody is injured or killed, you can't put a price on a life.
This.
The trains would not have made it to Penn anyway with the flooding. Someone most assuredly would have been killed. And don't forget all the trees on the LIRR right of way. Don't forget that government (wisely) urged everyone to seek shelter and stay put. As the poster above mentioned, trains would have been empty except for the crews.
The MTA did dock its workers 2 days pay (or made them use vacation)...not sure how I feel about that.
No one likes the LIRR, but closing the system was the right and only thing to do.
People who lived through the 1966 blackout could tell you some pretty bad horror stories about being stuck on the train or the subway. There were people stuck on the LIRR during a snowstorm fairly recently too.
So people would rather have been stuck on trains for hours or days then be safe at home? Wow . Keep in mind some of the tunnels got flooded. That would have meant a LOT of people killed.
It's a safety issue. You don't want people waiting on a platform with 70+ mph winds blowing. You don't want to risk trains running through areas that are flooding, you don't want to risk a piece of debris flying through the window and killing the engineer or a passenger, you don't want trains running over damaged tracks, and so on.
Aside from that, as we saw, the storm was pretty bad. You shouldn't have been out taking the train or bus during the storm anyway, so you would've been running empty trains (which would've still put the crew at risk). It's better to just shut down everything, and then you minimize the amount of damage you have to repair after the storm and get everything up and running that much sooner. If a train derailed during the storm, now you have to repair a section of track and a locomotive, which takes more time and money (and while that locomotive is being repaired, it's not on the tracks serving the riders). And if somebody is injured or killed, you can't put a price on a life.
I understand the safety implications during a serious storm like Sandy, but let's face it, when the LIRR shutdown, riders had the option of getting off at the next station or taking the train west. There was obviously no obligation to get the fares to their home station. And that is unsafe.
Clearly, I don't think anyone would expect the trains to be running during a hurricane or tropical storm. In the same breath, I don't think the LIRR infrastructure is close to being storm-ready. In all fairness, neither Jersey Transit nor Metro North are much more advanced, but Metro North was in business much sooner--post Sandy--than the LIRR and that is impressive.
I understand the safety implications during a serious storm like Sandy, but let's face it, when the LIRR shutdown, riders had the option of getting off at the next station or taking the train west. There was obviously no obligation to get the fares to their home station. And that is unsafe.
Clearly, I don't think anyone would expect the trains to be running during a hurricane or tropical storm. In the same breath, I don't think the LIRR infrastructure is close to being storm-ready. In all fairness, neither Jersey Transit nor Metro North are much more advanced, but Metro North was in business much sooner--post Sandy--than the LIRR and that is impressive.
Could that be because they didn't need to pump billions of gallons of water out of their main route to NYC? Or that they don't get their power from LIPA?
I understand the safety implications during a serious storm like Sandy, but let's face it, when the LIRR shutdown, riders had the option of getting off at the next station or taking the train west. There was obviously no obligation to get the fares to their home station. And that is unsafe.
Clearly, I don't think anyone would expect the trains to be running during a hurricane or tropical storm. In the same breath, I don't think the LIRR infrastructure is close to being storm-ready. In all fairness, neither Jersey Transit nor Metro North are much more advanced, but Metro North was in business much sooner--post Sandy--than the LIRR and that is impressive.
Most of the Regional Except NYC was off the streets by 3pm....on Sunday there was very little traffic....most towns were ghostly... Metro North has upgraded all of its lines to prevent any new washouts , trimmed trees and other things hence why it only took them 2 days to recover...
Most of the Regional Except NYC was off the streets by 3pm....on Sunday there was very little traffic....most towns were ghostly... Metro North has upgraded all of its lines to prevent any new washouts , trimmed trees and other things hence why it only took them 2 days to recover...
How long were the metro north tunnels into Grand Central flooded?
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