What Rail Additions Are Most Needed In NY Metro?

[bluedog2]

^^^^^Of course I have heard that and would love it to happen in my lifetime but I am going to believe it is a myth until I get my 1st ride !
But I am a little more inclined to believe it coming from you,Fred

[runtothesun]

Extend the 7 train to Douglaston and Bayside/Little Neck

[UrbanQuest]

The thread is titled with "NY METRO", so here are my thoughts..

1. LaGuardia rail link
2. Rail connection between Penn station and Grand Central
3. Metro-North extension to New Milford
4. NJ transit extensions:
North Branch line all the way to Haverstraw
Lackawanna extension to East Stroudsburg
Extension to Sparta
Raritan Valley line extension to Phillipsburg
Extension to Flemington
West Trenton Extension
Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex extension
Light rail extension to Bergenfield
Light rail extension to Elizabeth
Extension to New Paltz
5.Brooklyn-Queens-Bronx (North-South) direct connector rail

[NooYowkur81]

Originally Posted by Chava61

For an West-East connection in Manhattan by subway you also have the "L" train on 14th Street.
The "G" train connects Queens & Brooklyn without going into Manhattan. At night & on weekends (when the service is running normally) it goes all along Queens Blvd.
I think that the "M" train which goes from Lower Manhattan into Brooklyn up until Southern Queens should somehow be extended to connect up to the Queens Blvd. subway lines.

For people uptown the Shuttle and the L are not practical. It doesn't make any sense to go all the way down there especially if your going somewhere above those downtown areas, and the buses are way too slow.

[Fred314X]

Originally Posted by bluedog2

^^^^^Of course I have heard that and would love it to happen in my lifetime but I am going to believe it is a myth until I get my 1st ride !
But I am a little more inclined to believe it coming from you,Fred

Thank you. It is going to happen; it's just not going to happen as quickly as we want it to (or as quickly as we need it up and running!)

By the way, I'm fascinated by the sheer outlandishness of the post that suggested extending the #7 line in Queens out to Bayside and/or Douglaston. For no other reason than the nearly unmanageable crowds already carried by that line, extending it anywhere in Queens is simply not an option. (But as long as it's been brought up, I guess I should mention that there already exists a plan for additional service on those tracks. The proposed #10 line would provide service between some unspecified terminal in Queens and Manhattan. I don't know how likely this service is to be inaugurated, but I do know that it's been proposed officially).

[009]

The original K train back into action, replacing the V or merging the M and the V. It would be a great service nowadays to Bushwick and Williamsburg.

[Fred314X]

Originally Posted by 009

The original K train back into action, replacing the V or merging the M and the V. It would be a great service nowadays to Bushwick and Williamsburg.

As a matter of fact, I myself submitted this in writing as a suggestion to MTA (they had a little thing going that involved suggestions from employees). This idea was rejected for the following--and not believable reason:

The V line runs model R-46 cars, which cannot be easily accommodated by the Broadway Brooklyn el (an extension over the Williamsburg Bridge would likely have the line terminating on the middle track at Broadway Junction). In response, I wondered why it is engraved in stone that the V has to run the R-46 cars. It could just as easily use cars of a series that can easily be accommodated along Broadway Brooklyn. No reason why they couldn't put R-42, or even R-160, cars on that line. This merited only silence from MTA.

Later on, I found out that this suggestion has been made by others and at various other times through the years. When you get right down to it, they simply don't want to consider it. (There is, on the other hand, talk about extending the V line into Brooklyn and running it to either Church Avenue or Kings Highway on the Culver--that is, the F--line. Won't do anyone in Williamsburg or Bushwick any good, but would raise the ridership on the V line).

[009]

Love the excuse that it can only use the R-46 cars. The excuse might have worked on a layperson, but to someone rank and file? So much for fleet exclusivity when the V ran a few years back to Euclid Av. and the R-46 cars weren't the only ones used. If a good number of residents in that part of the borough knew that Midtown direct service is possible from the Broadway lines in Brooklyn and organized to promote such an idea, I'd think the MTA would've been singing a different tune. It only makes so much sense, which the MTA apparently lacks.

[Fred314X]

Originally Posted by 009

If a good number of residents in that part of the borough knew that Midtown direct service is possible from the Broadway lines in Brooklyn and organized to promote such an idea, I'd think the MTA would've been singing a different tune. It only makes so much sense, which the MTA apparently lacks.

They do get around to making adjustments that actually offer better service. The W line running from Astoria is one example. And extending the hours of operation for the B line to nearly 10:30PM (it used to stop running at 8:30) is another. Restoring something like the original K line--whether they use that letter or not--will be a more and more important option as more and more people move into neighborhoods adjacent to the Broadway el. Not only would direct service to 6 Avenue be a good idea, but it would eliminate a lot of frenzy at the Delancey-Essex Street station complex as people dash madly from the J to the F trains, or vice-versa.

It's also true than an organized effort by the affected communities would help a lot. People should remember (or be made aware in the first place) that MTA had every intention of scrapping the Franklin Avenue shuttle back in the early 1990s. Only a concerted campaign by the community prevented that. And not only was the line completely refurbished, but an old error was corrected and now there's a connection to the IRT at the Franklin Avenue/Botanic Garden station--so that if you live in Brooklyn and ride the Brighton line, you don't have to make transfers at Atlantic Avenue. Positive change can, and occasionally does, happen.

[eolicom]

Dream on baby:

- Extend Staten Island Express with a stop in Manhattan.
- Rail from Rockland County along the Palisades.

Oh and the ultimate
- MetroNorth Rail across Rockland, WestChester, Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn, without ever touching Manhattan.