SERVICE CHANGES: NYC TRANSIT COMMITTEE NOTIFICATION: A DIVISION SUBWAY SCHEDULE CHANGES EFFECTIVE SPRING 2017
Service Issue
To ensure that subway schedules accurately match current rider demand, schedules are regularly reviewed, evaluated and revised in order to provide passengers with the most efficient and effective service possible. NYC Transit routinely changes service to reflect changes in demand in compliance with MTA Board-adopted subway loading guidelines.
Additionally, due to damage sustained during “Super Storm” Sandy, in order to maintain the long term safety and viability of the 2 and 3 lines’ Clark Street Tubes between Brooklyn and Manhattan, major reconstruction and rehabilitation work is needed. This vital work can be performed on weekends and would therefore not affect regular weekday daytime service. To accommodate this work, beginning in June 2017, and continuing for approximately 13 months, no 2 or 3 service would be able to operate via the Clark Street Tubes on weekends while work is being conducted. Temporary long term 2,3,4, and 5 schedule and route changes are proposed that would affect Saturday and Sunday service, as well as early Monday morning service before 5:00 a.m. Note that these schedule and route changes would be incorporated into our picked schedules starting in June 2017; however, work in the Clark Street Tubes will start prior to June 2017 and will require a few weekend service diversions before the start of the June pick.
Recommendation
Implement routine schedule adjustments for the 1 and 7 on weekdays. In order to ensure the long term safety and viability of the 2 and 3 lines, and to provide cost effective service that will best mitigate potential crowding and passenger travel time impacts while work is being conducted on the Clark Street Tube, implement temporary long term schedule and route changes to Saturday and Sunday 2, 3, 4, and 5 service, as well as early Monday morning service before 5:00 a.m.
Budget Impact:
Implementation of the proposed routine 1 and 7 schedule changes will cost approximately $0.6 million annually, which is consistent with the proposed 2017 Operating Budget. Implementation of the proposed temporary long term schedule and route changes to Saturday and Sunday 2, 3, 4, and 5 service will save approximately $1.3 million annually as compared to current service plan. This is consistent with the proposed 2017 Operating Budget.
Proposed Implementation Date:
Weekday 1 and 7 schedule changes, and Saturday and Sunday 2,3,4, and 5 schedule and route changes, including changes to early Monday morning service before 5:00 a.m., will be implemented in June 2017.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purpose:
To obtain Presidential approval, and to inform the NYC Transit and MTA Bus Committee, of schedule adjustments on the 1 and 7 routes in response to changes in subway ridership, and of temporary long-term schedule and route adjustments on the 2, 3, 4, and 5 that are being proposed to accommodate reconstruction of the 2 and 3 lines' Clark Street Tubes between Brooklyn and Manhattan, which is needed for the long term safety and viability of 2 and 3 lines.
Discussion:
Proposed Guideline Schedule Adjustments
Schedule adjustments on the 1 and 7 routes are proposed in response to changes in subway ridership. The schedule changes outlined below will be implemented with the Spring 2017 Pick. These changes represent service adjustments during weekday afternoon rush periods and weekday evenings to more closely align 1 and 7 service with customer demand and established guidelines for subway operation. Details of these proposed adjustments are shown in Attachment I.
The additional weekday 1 trips are proposed in response to weekday ridership growth in upper Manhattan, as well as to provide more frequent weekday service along the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue line between Lower
Manhattan and the Bronx. Combined express 2, 3 service currently carries ridership volume in excess of guideline capacity during the p.m. peak hour, and due to track capacity constraints, it is not feasible to schedule any additional northbound 2, 3 service. Additional 1 service during the afternoon rush period, as well as the evening hours, will help relieve crowding along the shared corridor.
The additional weekday 7 trips are proposed in response to weekday ridership growth along 42nd Street in Manhattan and along the Flushing line in Queens during the early shoulder of the p.m. rush period and during the evening.
The schedule changes proposed are as follows:
* Weekday 1 service will be increased a total of 3 round trips between approximately 5:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. One additional round trip will operate during the afternoon rush hour and two additional round trips will operate during the evening hours.
* Weekday 7 service will be increased a total of 6 round trips between approximately 4:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. One additional round trip will operate during the afternoon rush hour and five additional round trips will operate during the evening hours.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed Schedule Adjustments to Accommodate Clark St Tube Reconstruction
We are continuing to fix and fortify our system after the damage that was caused by “Super Storm” Sandy. There is extensive work that needs to be done in the Clark St Tubes to ensure the long term safety and viability of 2 and 3 lines. This vital work can be performed on weekends and would therefore not affect regular weekday daytime service. The weekend service plan that is being proposed to accommodate reconstruction of the Clark Street Tubes was developed with the same “get in, get it done, get out” philosophy as other recent major construction projects. The primary goals of this proposal are to minimize the impact on customers to the greatest extent feasible, minimize the duration of the project and to minimize customer confusion by providing the same service every weekend, to the degree that we can, during the timeframe of this project. This consistency provides predictability not only for customers but for the contractor as well. It also helps shorten the overall duration of the project.
To accommodate construction in the Clark Street Tubes beginning in June 2017, no 2 or 3 service will be able to operate between Manhattan and Brooklyn on weekends while work is being conducted. Temporary long-term schedule and route adjustments on the weekend 2,3,4, and 5 are needed to accommodate this vital reconstruction work. Note that these schedule and route changes would be incorporated into our picked schedules starting in June 2017; however, work in the Clark Street Tubes will start prior to June 2017 and will require a few weekend service diversions before the start of the June pick.
During the weekend construction work on the Clark Street Tubes, in order to maintain 2 and 3 service along 7th Avenue in Manhattan, 2 and 3 trains will need to terminate at alternate locations in Lower Manhattan. In order to provide alternate service to the greatest extent practicable while taking into account the locations of track switches that allow trains to terminate and change directions, 2 trains would be
rerouted via the 1 line south of Chambers St and would terminate at South Ferry. Because of capacity constraints at South Ferry, 3 trains will terminate at 14 St, which is the nearest feasible terminal location north of South Ferry (see Attachment 2).
Because of these 2 and 3 service reroutes, there will be no subway service available at the Park Place, Wall St, Clark St, and Hoyt St stations in Manhattan and Brooklyn on weekends.
To provide alternate service in Brooklyn on weekends, 4 service will be extended from Crown Heights-Utica Av to New Lots Avenue to replace the 3, and 5 service will be extended from Bowling Green to Flatbush Av-Brooklyn College to replace the 2. Both the 4 and 5 will operate with all local service south of Nevins St.
In addition, to facilitate travel between Brooklyn and the 7th Avenue line in Manhattan, a free out of system transfer will be provided between the 4 5 at the Bowling Green station and the 1 2 at the Whitehall St-South Ferry station complex in Lower Manhattan.
To improve operations and reduce the need for additional train crews, the northern terminals of the 2 and 5 will be swapped. 2 trains will operate via the Dyre Avenue line between Eastchester-Dyre Avenue
and E 180 St, and 5 trains will operate via the White Plains Road line between Wakefield-241 St and E 180 St. This is consistent with current operating practices when Clark Street Tunnel is closed for major repairs.
All of these changes together will affect approximately 205,000 riders on the average weekend, and average passenger travel time will increase by about 4.5 minutes. Approximately 70,000 cross-river riders will have to take an alternate service, such as the 4, 5 and R services, which have the capacity to carry these riders. Approximately 85,000 riders will be affected by a reduced frequency in service, and approximately 50,000 riders will be affected because the station they normally would have used will not have service on weekends while this plan is in operation.
In addition to operating on Saturdays and Sundays, this service plan would operate overnight from Sunday night until 5 a.m. on Monday mornings. As such, this service plan technically includes changes in weekday schedules and routes; from the perspective of the vast majority of riders, however, this is a “weekend only” service plan.
Schedule and route changes such as those proposed here have generally been made through issuance of General Orders and via schedule supplements on affected weekends rather than being incorporated into a
Pick. Due to the magnitude and duration of this project, however, it will be more beneficial from both a financial and staffing perspective to implement these changes via Pick. Allowing the worksite to be
accessed predictably and consistently will reduce delays and contractor costs. Further, by incorporating these changes via Pick, and because of the resulting crew scheduling efficiencies, we maintain the flexibility to provide additional service when it is needed to accommodate special events and other necessary weekend service changes for capital and maintenance work. Perhaps most importantly, given how different this service plan is from regular weekend service, it will help minimize passenger confusion and ensure that riders have a consistent weekend service.
Recommendation
Implement routine 1 and 7 schedule adjustments. In addition, in order to ensure the long term safety and viability of the 2 and 3 lines, and to provide cost effective service that will best mitigate potential
crowding and passenger travel time impacts while work is being conducted on the Clark Street Tube, implement temporary long term schedule and route changes to Saturday and Sunday 2,3,4, and 5 service.
Alternatives to the Proposal
Do nothing. NYCT would not make normal 1 and 7 service adjustments to better meet customer demand nor make temporary long-term schedule and route adjustments to Saturday and Sunday 2,3,4, and 5 service. Without the latter changes, vital reconstruction work of the Clark Street Tubes cannot occur. Do the Clark St Tube Work through issuance of General Orders and via schedule supplements on affected weekends. This alternative would be more costly and would require many more train crews. Riders would also have less consistent weekend service, and the project duration and period of weekend service disruptions would be longer.
Budget Impact
Implementation of the proposed routine 1 and 7 schedule changes will cost approximately $0.6 million annually, which is consistent with the proposed 2017 Operating Budget. Implementation of the proposed temporary long term schedule and route changes to Saturday and Sunday 2, 3, 4, and 5 service will save approximately $1.3 million annually as compared to current service plan. This is consistent with the proposed 2017 Operating Budget.
Proposed Implementation Date
Weekday 1 and 7 schedule changes and Saturday and Sunday 2, 3, 4, and 5 schedule and route changes will be implemented in June 2017.
Approved:
Veronique Hakim
President - NYCT
Screen Shot 2016-12-09 at 2.09.20 PM by spicker613, on Flickr
Screen Shot 2016-12-09 at 2.09.13 PM by spicker613, on Flickr