Latest news with #RobFree
New York Post
6 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
MTA doubles LIRR passenger seating at Grand Central Madison but passengers say there ‘should definitely be more'
Long Island-bound straphangers can finally take a load off. The MTA unveiled 70 new seats at Grand Central Madison's Long Island Rail Road mezzanine on Tuesday, effectively doubling the number of seats at the station. The scores of two-seat benches near 45th and 46th streets — available only to ticketed LIRR customers within a 90-minute window — bring the number of available seats in the station to 106, MTA reps said — and riders were quick to notice the new addition. 'They're not optimal, but they're pretty comfortable,' said Long Island-based chiropractor Randi Jaffe on Tuesday afternoon, pointing to the 'odd' curvature of the seats. 4 LIRR President Rob Free and Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara announce new seating areas Tuesday on the mezzanine level of Grand Central Madison. LIRR 'It beats standing.' Jaffe, 53, who called the new benches 'fantastic,' added: 'It would be good if they had a back, just for support, but I imagine people aren't sitting on these benches for too long.' 4 Commuters sit on the new metal benches — without backs — at the newly-built Grand Central LIRR hub, designed for brief seating. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post The station — which didn't have any seating when it opened in 2023 — began the rollout with 28 seats near 47th Street last October, with 14 seats at 45th Street and 28 seats at 46th Street installed this month, the MTA said. The expansion comes after a surge in LIRR ridership — with a record 1.72 million riders during the week of July 23 and an 89% return to pre-pandemic ridership numbers — and a resulting slew of customer feedback, LIRR President Rob Free said at a Tuesday press conference at the station. 'Improving the customer experience is one of our top priorities,' Free said. 4 Passengers waiting on benches at Grand Central Madison. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post The seats are evidently already so much of a hit with some riders that there was already a resounding call for more. 'I think they're a good addition – I think there could be more of them. Otherwise there's no complaints,' said student Liam Hosey, 20, from Rockville Centre, who was sitting on the floor due to a lack of open seats. 'I was kind of dreading coming down here, not having anything to sit on,' said straphanger Megan Riley, 34. 'I think they're great.' 'There should definitely be more,' said CUNY worker Jean Ryan, 56. 'Especially for people who have mobility issues, and people who are in pain, who have arthritis.' Others, like 30-year-old health care worker Ashley, worried the seats could be taken over by homeless individuals without proper enforcement — but noted the armrest or divider used between seats 'kind of eliminates the possibility.' Another straphanger, Chris Conway of Vermont, refused to sit because of food scraps already soiling the brand-new seat. 4 New seating areas at Grand Central Madison, located on the mezzanine level at 45th and 46th Street. LIRR Despite obvious waste left behind on some of the new seats, the MTA argues customer satisfaction with the 'cleanliness' of the station is up one point from its Fall 2024 survey to 96%. 'Making sure the station is clean and well lit, clear signage as well as improved wayfinding and announcements that can certainly move the needle,' said MTA Senior Advisor for Communications and Policy Shanifah Rieara. Aside from more seats, MTA officials are working to usher in more retail to the terminal – a TRAX restaurant is poised to open at the end of the month, and the MTA is 'in the process of negotiating other leases,' Rieara said. 'We want Grand Central Madison to be a bustling terminal,' she added, 'just like our neighbors upstairs at Grand Central Terminal.'
CBS News
08-05-2025
- CBS News
NJ Transit riders face delays into Penn Station for another morning of Amtrak trouble
NJ Transit reports 30-minute delays and counting for riders heading to Penn Station in New York City. The agency posted on social media shortly after 7 a.m. Thursday saying the delays were due to "an Amtrak switch issue and track maintenance near Elizabeth, N.J." The delays started at 20 minutes but have since bumped to 30 for the morning rush. Amtrak work also caused delays and disruptions for Long Island Rail Road commuters trying to get to Penn Station on Wednesday morning. 2nd day of issues on Amtrak operated tracks The LIRR said 43 trains were delayed, five were canceled and six were diverted. "What took place this morning was unacceptable, it should not happen and cannot happen again. Tens of thousands of Long Island Rail Road customers were inconvenienced this morning," LIRR President Rob Free said Wednesday. "Unfortunately, what we've seen is the result of poor maintenance practices by Amtrak." Amtrak said crews were doing work on a line outside the East River tunnel overnight, and the repairs were not done by the morning rush. "The work went over the outage period as we are still completing repairs. We apologize for the inconvenience to Long Island Rail Road passengers," a spokesperson for Amtrak told CBS News New York. The disruptions come as Amtrak prepares to repair two of the four tubes in the East River Tunnel that were damaged by Superstorm Sandy. Amtrak says it needs to fully close both tubes for 13 months each, but Gov. Kathy Hochul and the MTA are calling on Amtrak to rethink the plan and avoid a complete shutdown.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Amtrak work delays dozens of LIRR trains weeks before planned tunnel work
Long Island Rail Road commuters were delayed Wednesday morning after an Amtrak work crew damaged a section of track near the East River Tunnel during early morning work. Five trains were canceled and 43 were delayed out of a total of 62 that typically run during the morning rush, LIRR President Rob Free said, after damage to the third rail was discovered following Amtrak work. 'Tens of thousands of Long Island Rail Road customers were inconvenienced this morning,' Free said. 'Unfortunately, what we've seen is a result of poor maintenance practices by Amtrak.' The incident comes at a moment of tension between the two railroads over plans to repair damage to two tubes of the four-tube East River Tunnel that occurred during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. 'This is exactly what we have been concerned with and warning our customers and Amtrak about,' Free said. 'Over the last week alone we've seen a smoke condition in Line 2, a smoke and fire condition just east of Penn Station and, now, this morning,' he added. According to the LIRR boss, overnight Amtrak track work on the tunnel's Queens side near the entrance to Tube No. 4 early Wednesday morning went awry when workers for the federal railroad, tasked with stabilizing the track bed under the rails, inadvertently damaged a section of the powered third rail, bending it. Shortly after 6 a.m., the LIRR president said, one of his trains hit the anomaly, breaking off several of the contact shoes that trains use to get power from the third rail. Several trains had to be inspected, and traffic to Penn Station was diverted through Tube No. 2 for the rest of the morning. The problem was fixed by 10:58 a.m. The East River Tunnel, owned by Amtrak and first opened in 1910, links Manhattan and Queens. Tubes Nos. 3 and 4 primarily serve the LIRR, while Tubes Nos. 1 and 2 are used by Amtrak for service on the Northeast Corridor and by NJ Transit for storage of commuter trains in the Sunnyside Yard in Queens. During the repairs, Amtrak wants to close each of the two damaged tubes — the Nos. 1 and 2 Tubes — for alternating 13-month repair projects, effectively turning the tunnel into a three-tube structure for more than two years. The work is scheduled to begin May 23. But Free and other MTA brass say closing a tube for repairs will overload the tunnel's remaining three tubes to the extent that there will be no room for error in the railroad's schedule. They've called on the federal railroad to come up with a phased approach for the work that would allow for shorter shutdowns or move the project to nights and weekends. Amtrak apologized for the delays Wednesday, characterizing them as the result of work running longer than expected — and said the incident showed why starting and stopping the work around daytime train schedules wouldn't work. 'This illustrates the risk of a nights and weekends approach to complex projects, and why the full tube closure of the East River Tunnel is the most efficient method and least disruptive to service and customers,' Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams said in a statement. 'Unexpected service disruptions, like the one experienced today, are far worse than a well-coordinated and well-planned approach that [is] scheduled in advance and have stronger mitigation plans in place.' Free said he was 'baffled' by Amtrak's statement. 'What happened this morning is not a result of late track work,' he said. 'What happened this morning is a result of poor quality control.' 'There would have been a shutdown [of LIRR service] if Line 2 had been out of service,' Free added.
CBS News
30-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
New York officials demand Amtrak repair East River tunnels without full shutdown
Amtrak's East River Tunnel project is facing stern pushback from other transit officials and New York elected leaders. The rail company says it must repair the tunnels damaged during Superstorm Sandy, and the only way to do it is by closing multiple tunnels. MTA, governor propose overnight, weekend work The three-year project means two of the four tunnels guiding trains in and out of Penn Station from the east will be closed off. Long Island Rail Road President Rob Free says that's a problem. "With the limited infrastructure that we have, we will be forced to still maintain service into only one tunnel," he said. Fewer tracks mean fewer outlets for trains to flow in and out of Penn Station. During Wednesday's April MTA board meeting, we learned Gov. Kathy Hochul, the Nassau County executive, the MTA and some members of Congress have already sent "stern letters" to Amtrak demanding that the company find other methods to complete construction without a full shutdown of the specified tunnels. The MTA and governor are suggesting doing the work overnight and on weekends when there are fewer trains operating. "I don't know why we can't have the same bipartisan support out of Washington to demand what New York needs," MTA board member Neal Zuckerman said. Amtrak still plans to begin work May 9 Amtrak, however, is now fighting back, saying the MTA, NJ Transit and the governor were well aware of this project years ago and that the finalized construction plan shouldn't come as a shock. A new statement from Amtrak reads, in part, "Major construction work will still begin on May 9, after MTA delayed the work for more than seven months due to their lateness in completing work for their eastbound re-route project. We have been actively working with MTA to mitigate the impact of this delay." But really, it's the riders, now tied up in a multi-rail agency beef, who will suffer the most. The MTA continues to tout the success of Grand Central Madison, saying it essentially serves as another option for LIRR trains. But it may not work for everyone, especially the 60% of LIRR riders who rely on Penn Station specifically.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MTA brass, NY pols call on Amtrak to change E. River tunnel plan amid fears of LIRR delays
An unlikely alliance of MTA leadership, Democrats and Republicans are calling on Amtrak to rethink a work plan that will shut down one of four tubes of a critical Long Island Rail Road tunnel for the next three years. The East River Tunnel — a century-old set of four tubes that carry trains between Penn Station and Queens — has been in need of an overhaul since 2012's Superstorm Sandy, when an incursion of salt water into two tubes threatened to corrode the wiring and infrastructure within. Amtrak, the federal railroad which owns and maintains the tracks, intends to shut down each damaged tube for 13 months apiece in order to repair them — a plan that leaders at the Long Island Rail Road say could wreak havoc on service. 'Amtrak owns the infrastructure, but the Long Island Rail Road is by far the biggest user, with approximately 461 trains a day using the East River Tunnels,' LIRR president Rob Free said Wednesday. The tunnel is also used by Amtrak passenger trains headed toward Boston via the Hell Gate line, as well as by NJ Transit trains that continue on from Penn Station without passengers each morning in order to wait in Queens at the Sunnyside Yards for the afternoon rush back to the Garden State. Under Amtrak's plan, trains from all three railroads will have to compete for slots in just three tubes while the work to repair either of the damaged tubes is underway. 'With the tunnel closure, trains will be operating very close together for most of the rush hour period, which leaves little to no room for error,' Free said. 'The slightest deviation could have significant impacts to our operations reliability, including possible shutdowns of service depending on the issue.' In an April 9 letter from Free to Amtrak's executive vice president Gerhard Williams, the LIRR boss said any incident or outage affecting a second tunnel during the rebuilding project could be 'catastrophic' to LIRR service. 'While we are all uneasy with the planned reduction of capacity due to the tunnel outage,' Free wrote, 'we are even more concerned given the recent increase of infrastructure incidents that have impacted operations.' Free said the MTA would be positioning additional crews to respond to any power or signaling outages during the project, and asked Amtrak to commit to the same. An Amtrak source told the Daily News that the railroad had its own protocols in place, including the normal complement of rescue trains in Queens and New Jersey capable of removing a disabled train from the tunnel. MTA officials Wednesday called on Amtrak to reconsider their plan — which would require the wholesale replacement of wires for traction power and signaling as well as structural components like tracks and bench-walls — and opt for a method that would close the tunnel on nights and weekends to replace wiring components, but leave some structural portions in place. A similar solution averted the MTA's planned 15-month shutdown of the L train's Canarsie line tunnel — also flooded by Hurricane Sandy — in 2019. In a Monday letter, Gov. Hochul called on Amtrak to consider a similar 'repair-in-place' option that would allow all four tubes of the tunnel to run trains during the workday. But the MTA also garnered support from unlikely quarters this week, with GOP Rep. Mike Lawler, a congestion pricing foe, calling on President Trump and his transportation secretary Sean Duffy to 'step in and force' Amtrak to adopt a plan that would keep the tunnel fully operational during weekdays. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman also called on Duffy to intervene this week, holding up the L train reconstruction as a model. 'When the governor and the county executive of Nassau are on the same page, that's a special occasion,' MTA chairman Janno Lieber quipped Wednesday. But in a statement Wednesday, Amtrak president Roger Harris said a 'repair-in-place' plan had been evaluated, but didn't fit the bill. '[T]he plan we are implementing proved to be the safest, most efficient, reliable, and timely to complete the full rehabilitation of East River Tunnel, making it the best use of taxpayer investments,' he said. East River Tunnel's Tube No. 1 is set to be taken out of service on May 9 for a week of prep work. Tube No. 1 will then be put back into service while Tube No. 2 is closed for similar work. By mid-May, according to Amtrak's plan, Tube No. 2 will be closed for major construction set to last until 2026.
