In the weeks, months, and years leading up to the opening of East Side Access the LIRR management has the opportunity to either radically change the face of transit and rail travel on Long Island (in a way that will greatly benefit all who use the system), or completely ruin the railroad that we all know and love--and I'm not exaggerating.
A while ago someone told me an extremely fitting catch phrase for the LIRR, it is as follows:
"Designed by geniuses, run by idiots."And when you think about it, it is spot on. Just look at the layouts of interlockings like JAY, HALL, DIVIDE, QUEENS, and HUNT and you can see how brilliantly laid out many of these critical interlockings are. When the designers of the LIRR were doing their thing many years ago, they had a plan for everything. Over the last 11 months or so I've tried to illustrate many of the things the LIRR does and why they do them. I've put together things like the interlocking walkthroughs to shed some light on why it works so well, despite being between a rock and a hard place in terms of capacity.
One trend that I have observed recently is that the LIRR management is currently gearing up to destroy all that. Projects like the Jamaica Capacity Improvment Project will radically alter the layouts of JAY and HALL interlockings, and while it might provide for some added capacity through to Grand Central and Penn Station, it cuts off the Atlantic Branch and reduces the functionality of Jamaica as an integral transfer point in the LIRR system.
And this comes back to the Manhattan-centric thinking the LIRR seems to be stuck on. Things like the Jamaica Capacity Improvement Project will help to get people to Manhattan, but in the meantime it will make getting around within Long Island or getting to places like Long Island City or Brooklyn much more difficult for all of us who don't want to go to Manhattan.
I can say personally that if the LIRR were to stop serving trains at Hunterspoint Avenue and Long Island City I would stop taking the LIRR. I really would. It would not be worth it to me to add two transfers, 30 minutes, and $112 to my commute. I would move my practice to eastern Long Island and never set foot on the LIRR again. I could also say with some certainty that if the LIRR would stop serving Atlantic Terminal directly there would be people who would stop taking the LIRR. Furthermore, I could say with some certainty that if the LIRR made intra-island travel more difficult than it already is then there will be a lot more people who will stop taking the LIRR.
There comes a point where the LIRR can no longer serve my or other people's needs. So we will stop taking the LIRR. Forcing all of the islands commuters to either go to Penn Station or Grand Central will kill the LIRR.
Intra-island and intra-city travel provides the most opportunity for growth on the LIRR. Not only will they miss a fantastic opportunity to build up markets in these areas, they will succeed in annihilating whatever ridership they currently have in those markets.
You might think that if the LIRR is getting all of its people to Manhattan then they're doing their job. But not everybody wants to go to Manhattan. Just take a look at the insanely crowded roads on Long Island. Where are all of those drivers going? Chances are, not Manhattan.
They're going to other places on Long Island, places in Queens, places in Brooklyn. They wish they could take a train to their destination, but the LIRR makes it ridiculously difficult (and it will only get more difficult for those people who can manage to take the train). But the LIRR insists on going to Manhattan or bust and who cares about the intra-island, Brooklyn, and Queens losers. Meanwhile congestion on our roads here within Long Island will only get worse and worse because we have a LIRR administration who have their minds set back in the previous century. There are tons of jobs in places other than Manhattan. Serving only Manhattan will miss lots and lots of people.
The LIRR is at a crossroads here. They could make right, logical decisions that don't overlook their existing infrastructure and non-Manhattan commuter bases or they could destroy all the things that make the LIRR versatile in the sole attempt to force people to get to Manhattan. Manhattan isn't everything anymore. That's the plain truth.
The LIRR management can play their cards right and the LIRR will be set for decades, or they can make some bad close-minded decisions and ruin the LIRR forever...
I don't like our chances.
This post is part of the "Considering the Future of the LIRR" series. To see other posts in this group, click here.
Their future business model seems to be NJT at Secaucus or Newark, not a good omen. Outbound diesel trains wait a reasonable period of time for their connection from New York, but inbound, the trains run when they run. Evidently LIRR feels eliminating dove-tailing will improve their OTP. The ONLY reason NJT has a good LOOKING OTP is due to obscene amounts of fat in their schedules.
ReplyDeleteI think you're forgetting that the LIRR is planning to create a new stop in Sunnyside a few blocks away from HPA on the main line. That should bring eastern queens the frequent trains that are lacking from the current setup.
ReplyDeleteThat plan for a Sunnyside station is long dead. LIRR and Amtrak do not want trains stopping anywhere near Harold Interlocking.
DeleteI have not forgotten about Sunnyside. In my particular case, Sunnyside won't work for me since I work in Long Island City-proper, and walking to the current Hunterpspoint Avenue station in the winter is a bit too far for me already, now to walk anotehr half-mile or so past that won't be practical, for me at least. I would probably have to transfer to the subway someplace, which would again add $112, two transfers, and 20 minutes to my commute.
DeleteBut while I haven't forgotten about it, it seems like the LIRR has. As Mr. Versaggi said, a Sunnyside station is very doubtful at this point. I might not be completely dead and buried yet, but it is highly unlikely that we will see one at this point.
I would not bet the ranch on Hunterspoint surviving ESA either. They have never done one bit of ADA work, none is foreseen, I suspect ridership will decline sharply, more diesels will terminate at Jamaica, and the few remaining to decongest Jamaica will simply run into LIC.
ReplyDeleteThe station comes off as an eyesore simply because the LIRR outright refuses to maintain the station; yet, NYCT has a much nicer-looking station by comparison. Why is it that NYCT is trying to pull out of the Manhattan-centric attitude yet LIRR isn't?
DeleteI would like to see train service increased to HPA/LIC at somepoint first. I personally don't really care what a station looks like so long as it gets the job done. If they neatened up HPA at some point that would be fine, but I'd say increase service there first before undertaking a makeover.
DeleteIn my eyes, the bottom line with HPA and LIC is they make good places to turn trains. Jamaica does not. While they may not have the largest ridership bases, their functionality still, and will remain after ESA opens, still very versatile and apt for turning trains.
ReplyDeleteTurning trains at Jamaica can be rather clumsy and if the LIRR's plan is to simplify things at Jamaica, running Oyster Bay, Port Jeff, and Montauk branch diesels through Jamaica to HPA/LIC will be a good way to keep things flowing smoothly.
I'll have more on the HPA/LIC conundrum Monday, but for now, let's not let go of HPA real quick.
I look forward to seeing your thoughts on it. I know you had indicated you'd like to see LIC upgraded possibly with more platforms and a canopy. I can only agree with that including electrifying the rest of it to serve as an alternate terminal. I can only think that it would also cut a little bit of travel time for getting people to the 7 train vs. ESA.
DeleteThe walk from LIC to Vernon-Jackson is too long, as is the long creep into LIC station. Best interface with #7 is HPA, gym workout that it is.
DeleteIn the 1980's LIRR had big plans for HPA. They disclosed it in the newsletter they used to place on the seats. They were to build another platform on the north side, which would then have direct access into the subway station mezzanine, punching right into the side of it, yet pass over the portal of Amtrak Line 1. There would been escalators. Trouble was, LIRR never told their plans to the NYCTA when they refurbished it. They got as far as placing a diamond for a new set of crossovers between the 2 tracks just east of the station. Weeds grew around them for years, then they removed it when the ESA bug hit.