MHV9218

This was only fun while Quill had RTSes on this run... Shouldn't have been retired.

Noticed from photos that 9206-9207 have had the MTA NYC Subway logo on 9207 (bad) and the 1970s M logo on 9206 (good) swapped out for the semi-misshapen meatball M Transit logos that the TM has been putting on all the redbirds lately (9586-9587, 9310, etc).

5 hours ago, trainfan22 said:

Well, the line is suspended right now with no reason given so their might not be ANY R32s running today..

https://mobile.twitter.com/NYCTSubway/status/1242050102593757186

EDIT: another tweet says its crews are taking precautions against Corona Virus so maybe that's the reason the is suspended right now..

There's actually a better chance that we see 32s than usual, since the entire fleet was yanked to disinfect. If they do restore service and need clean cars, might be the 32s.

8 hours ago, lupojohn said:

The right move by the MTA, but they better have extra law enforcement on hand since there will be many fights over seats and such.

I don't know about you, but I haven't seen more than five people on a bus in week and a half. Maybe some subway shuttles, but even then.

7 minutes ago, RestrictOnTheHanger said:

Q70 is being converted to artics in April 2020 and Woodside bound buses will use Woodside Ave instead of Roosevelt Ave. Source is NYCT board docs for the March 25th meeting

You know what they're not gonna need in about a month? Artics.

18 minutes ago, Coney Island Av said:

not to mention the fact that these won't be in service until fall of next year (assumign if corona virus doesn't mess anything up) because they still gotta go through lots of tests. this is precisely why removing all the R32s from service is extremely dumb. the 211s may seem like they will be in service soon but in reality it will be almost two years till the majority of the fleet gets on property, and it would be the same amount of time we would be having a shortage while ridership is going up. 

even the R42s should have been kept in service despite being surplus after all the R179s had been delivered. they could have kept them for rush hour put-ins. thankfully, all of those retired R32s and R42s are only mothballed in storage (mostly intact) so they can easily return them to service if they need cars. 

Right, I'm guessing a number of 32s get held in active storage while this disaster continues. I doubt there will even be scrap opportunities available – nonessential businesses are getting closed, after all! Plus, after the 179 disaster door earlier in the year, I think it was made pretty clear why it's important to have cars on active reserve.

7 minutes ago, trainfan22 said:

I didn't bother riding the subway today due to the epidemic as well, and won't need to for the foreseeable future.

In the past couple of weeks I had more than enough R32  train rides where I'm perfectly OK with that fact that I might never ride an R32 in revenue service again. With this epidemic fanning isn't even enjoyable despite the reduced crowds, the anxiety this virus is causing, the tension in the air, etc. For any buffs thinking about going fanning during these times, well the MTA advises you to stay home!

One thing I will say, I think this is gonna mess up the R211 delivery just as much as it messes up anything else, so even if we see the 32s removed for now, it's hard for me to see them completely retired without a legitimate replacement on hand...whenever that is.

56 minutes ago, trainfan22 said:

I saw on reddit that there is at least one set of R32s running on the  today. 

My ass sure isn't looking for them! Haven't stepped foot in the subway in a week, prolly the longest in my life...

20 minutes ago, Calvin said:

Starting Monday, local routes and SBS will be at a fare of $0.

Only the rear doors are opened but front is only when there's a customer with a wheelchair (Artic: middle/rear). 

No, SBS and express are still full-fare. Local is free since that's the service where they couldn't guarantee fare collection.

I assume the state decided the MTA was losing so much money anyway, and this might make B/Os a little safer, so they went ahead with it.

49 minutes ago, MassTransitHonchkrow said:

"the MTA will be cancelled."

Whatever that means, not happening.

18 minutes ago, MassTransitHonchkrow said:

MTA workers are already beginning to get sick and there's a huge drop in ridership. I was just in NYC this past Monday. My bias does not make the reality any different for those below I-287. People are gonna get "railroaded".

https://www.msn.com/en-us/finance/markets/new-york-e2-80-99s-mta-takes-a-ridership-hit-as-investors-hang-on/ar-BB11pZLE

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marleycoyne/2020/03/20/23-new-york-area-transit-workers-have-tested-positive-for-coronavirus/#3cd7565129a5

I'm not making anything up. Stop pretending that this isn't real.

What are you suggesting is going to happen? MTA service, if it were to be curtailed, would be curtailed because of a decree from Cuomo, not because of anybody economically tied to the MTA's debt payments. It probably will get reduced, but even in Italy the trains are still running. It will not be shut down entirely.

2 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

The rest of what you state is all debatable. 

Lmao. I'm just quoting the NYPD stats. Do you not believe the NYPD?

Sounds fairly anecdotal to me. The 'inmates' are coming from jails, not prisons, which means they are awaiting trial, not convicts. Probably not all nurses and librarians, but not murderers, either. We won't have numbers on this sort of thing for a week or two. However, if you view the NYPD's Compstat portal, you'll see that Transit crime is up from last year. There are been five more incidents through last week, the start of diminished travel, than over that week last year. Citywide, however, crime is up in almost every measurable respect. And transit crime has been up all year. That both implies we have a larger problem on our hands, and that the subways are not specifically more dangerous (due to the shutdown) than the rest of the city right now. We'll have a better idea when next week's numbers come in, as well as the weeks after that. This data doesn't yet reflect the major shutdowns, but if you consider the daily view, there does appear to be a downward trend in recent days. That might reflect the beginning of the isolation. Personally, I would not be surprised if we do see a modest increase in crime: the streets are empty, which is never a good thing.

Data: https://compstat.nypdonline.org/2e5c3f4b-85c1-4635-83c6-22b27fe7c75c/view/89

More LED headlights (a la 4562) showing up on the NGs. One of the Manhattanville 396x buses, I forget the exact number, just had them installed. 

8 minutes ago, Coney Island Av said:

nice. the  sign there is a rare historic sign that still lingers even to this day- a reminder of what could have been over three decades ago. sadly there aren't much signs from this era still standing in the system today. 

getting a shot of it is possible, but very hard to do. it is underneath Union Turnpike, alongside the jackie robinson, so getting there on foot is out of the question. the only chance of getting a picture would be to be in a car when there is a lot of traffic and then snap the pic when you are perfectly aligned, but you'd need good cameras and lighting. 

Gotcha. That sounds like a two-person task, and a tricky one at that. Impressive this guy got the photo.

For what it's worth, that's only a 1985-1986 sign, and there are actually many signs left from that era – particularly along the , for some reason. There are older signs from the early-1980s left in some places, and possibly a few from the late-1970s, though they're being removed. The last ones from the 1960s tend to be maintenance rooms/end-of-platform warning signs, and of course there are some original 1930s signs scattered around between the tracks in varying degrees of poor condition. 

That's fascinating. I never knew about this. That's off the highway proper, entirely inaccessible on foot? Judging by the font with the cut-e semi-Akzidenz/Helvetica, it looks like this is a 1985-1986 sign, which adds up given the switch in 1987.

Well, considering the entire world will be falling into a potentially catastrophic recession, the MTA is only one of many.

7 hours ago, CTK246 said:

That's a huge safety issue, so no.

Less than being a huge safety issue – it's not – it's a huge union issue. TWU would stage a coup. Driverless tech has been functional in the subway since the 1950s, albeit on simpler lines. It's the notion of eliminating T/O and C/R jobs that's the problem.

19 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

...... at the earliest 4/20/20. Closure could extend until June. 

Yeah, no way in hell they reopen this school year. Here's hoping it opens as normal in September.

2 hours ago, Snorunts said:

Interesting... So Manhattanville lost four buses.

Five!

4 hours ago, m2fwannabe said:

Some nasty planning ahead depending on how deep goes the Force Majeure (i.e. Coronavirus rider droppage).  One option is "Forever Weekend" scheduling on subways.  Otherwise a long-term subways closure may not be out of question as events require.  The need for R-32s seem to be leaving us all!

Note that WMATA is already full-time weekend scheduling and MBTA will be following next Monday.  Here we go...  

Worth noting that the pandemic will also likely delay the R211 production and delivery over the same period that any slowdown/shutdown would take. I would be surprised to see the TA fully deactivate a fleet that could very well be needed again. Very likely that they're removed from service pending a major slowdown – that's just good operations planning, MBDF-wise – but it does seem that it would be unwise to move to their retirement without R211s on hand. But the MTA has done dumb things before, so...

Lol, it does look much better. The American flag has always looked completely stupid on there. The MTA logo, fine, but why we needed to continue the post-9/11 obsession with flags on every possible surface is beyond me.

For context, remember that this is how the R143s were specced and initially delivered. It's also why the flags are below the logo on these cars, since they were haphazardly added later. Looks a lot better this way.

Nice to see a side-by-side R32  and R32 yesterday. I know the fleet is down, but at least they're regularly using the remaining cars. Weekend service no less.

Fascinating and completely accurate interview. Good for him. Feinberg is pathetic.

Recommended viewing, VERY frank interview and entirely correct in all regards.

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/03/06/exclusive-andy-byford-marcia-kramer-interview/?fbclid=IwAR2tOBPVR3zXKLDX8coCQGSlUxDotZ3RpZlfbE7O2EGpV4a4YU7enjx6tsk

Edit: I didn't see that Harry posted this, but this is probably a worthwhile addition to this threat, particularly as he speaks on the Feinberg question around 9 minutes through the interview.