why do I stay and pay (Lindenhurst, Brunswick: private schools, income, taxes)

[sirtiger]

Originally Posted by kayfouroh

The second a raindrop hits the tracks, all hell breaks loose..

in my experience, rain delay isn't that common. what is common is amtrak getting stuck inside the east side tunnel which is most irritating

[Roland Deschain]

My sister lives in Raleigh. Whenever I visit I can't help but hear dueling banjos and notice the locals eyeing me a little too closely...creepy stuff.

[bubbathedog]

Originally Posted by sirtiger

how is lirr incompetent?

imo, lirr does a pretty good job. Most people can get around almost all of Nassau in under a hour commute (which is faster than some nyc subways!). The only big issue is the cost of the lirr monthly pass. Also MTA overall handles their finances & projects like free money is another issue I have with them.

Maybe it's me. They only screw up when I'm on the train. Two weeks ago, I had an early meeting and was able to grab a 12:30 PM out of Penn Station. Lucky me, because two work trains 'bumped' each other. Right after my train, the delays increased to over 60 mins. Then the cancellations started. By rush hour, Penn was a mad house.

I do know some commuters who look on the bright side and figure for all of the time they take the train, it's on time most of the time. Good for them. We pay too much for the level of service the LIRR and the MTA provide.

[urbanlook]

(ROLAND) Oh that is why, on your last visit you packed a banjo.

[ClarkStreetKid]

Originally Posted by Roland Deschain

My sister lives in Raleigh. Whenever I visit I can't help but hear dueling banjos and notice the locals eyeing me a little too closely...creepy stuff.

Usually it's the visitor acting odd, not the locals.

[Forest_Hills_Daddy]

Originally Posted by bubbathedog

Maybe it's me. They only screw up when I'm on the train. Two weeks ago, I had an early meeting and was able to grab a 12:30 PM out of Penn Station. Lucky me, because two work trains 'bumped' each other. Right after my train, the delays increased to over 60 mins. Then the cancellations started. By rush hour, Penn was a mad house.

I do know some commuters who look on the bright side and figure for all of the time they take the train, it's on time most of the time. Good for them. We pay too much for the level of service the LIRR and the MTA provide.

Part of the reason is that because of the high population density in the metro area and the issues with the subways, the LIRR, MNR and NJT are being used as virtual subways by commuters. People take the LIRR even from Queens. During the schoolyear, a lot of kids take the LIRR to Manhattan from Flushing to Bayside to attend the specialized schools. Hence trains must run more frequently and at tigher schedules thereby straining infrastructure and resources. The commuter trains and the track networks were not designed for that purpose (ie all tracks running from out of a single tunnel, etc.).

[bigjretrac]

Originally Posted by Forest_Hills_Daddy

Part of the reason is that because of the high population density in the metro area and the issues with the subways, the LIRR, MNR and NJT are being used as virtual subways by commuters. People take the LIRR even from Queens. During the schoolyear, a lot of kids take the LIRR to Manhattan from Flushing to Bayside to attend the specialized schools. Hence trains must run more frequently and at tigher schedules thereby straining infrastructure and resources. The commuter trains and the track networks were not designed for that purpose (ie all tracks running from out of a single tunnel, etc.).

This is why they need to hurry up with the East Side Access, and add a track from Floral Park to Ronkonkoma. At least if Amtrak screws up the East River Tunnels (it's usually their fault), you can just hop on the subway to Grand Central and be on your merry way home. Another tie-up is the mainline because, if a train is delayed on the single track section of the Ronkonkoma line, it messes everything up.

It would take an act of God to fix that bottleneck known as Jamaica Station.

[Forest_Hills_Daddy]

I'm guilty as well. When I used to live in FH and later Kew Gardens, I would take the LIRR instead of the subway. People in Woodside do the same also. From our POV it's a big convenience but for people coming from Babylon, Huntington or Hempstead, having to make 4 short stops in Queens can be quite irritiating. And it only increases wear and tear.

[bigjretrac]

Originally Posted by Forest_Hills_Daddy

I'm guilty as well. When I used to live in FH and later Kew Gardens, I would take the LIRR instead of the subway. People in Woodside do the same also. From our POV it's a big convenience but for people coming from Babylon, Huntington or Hempstead, having to make 4 short stops in Queens can be quite irritiating. And it only increases wear and tear.

The Hempstead branch is terribly slow because of this. I usually drive to Mineola instead for that very reason.

There is one express in the morning that doesn't make any stops between Floral Park and Penn, but nothing like that in the evening. I'm okay with you Queens people using the LIRR, just run more express trains (or skip-stop trains, like the J/Z subway) to improve travel times . Mineola and Hempstead are practically the same distance, but Mineola takes 35 minutes to get to Penn while Hempstead takes 55! It's stupid.

[Forest_Hills_Daddy]

Hehe.=) I don't live there anymore but from where I commute now, I'm getting my own dose from passengers getting on in the Bronx MNR stops. Can't blame them given how the subways operate out of the Bronx in rush hour.