MTA Prepares for Early Rush Hour Due to Storm

MTA Prepares for Early Rush Hour Due to Storm

                                            Getty Images

A woman enters a subway station in the snow and sleet in the early hours of a major winter storm on Friday.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority was preparing for the storm by moving some sensitive equipment out of the path of snow and by adjusting train schedules to accommodate an earlier-than-usual afternoon rush hour on Friday.

Subways were operating normally Friday morning, with routine delays not linked to the approaching storm. As the storm approaches, the MTA’s transit division will move some trains underground for storage, including on express tracks through Manhattan, which means some lines that normally run as express will operate on local tracks Friday afternoon.

The MTA will halt service on the No. 7 train in Manhattan beginning at midnight, the agency said. The line will operate as usual between Main Street and Queensboro Plaza in Queens, and as a shuttle from Queensboro Plaza to Vernon-Jackson Avenues.

Buses were rolling out of depots with chains on their tires, and monitors at headquarters were keeping track of road conditions.

More closely watched as the storm approached were the region’s commuter rail lines, including Metro-North, Long Island Railroad and NJ Transit. Those systems move hundreds of thousands of commuters over long distances each weekday, through suburban territory expecting a wallop from the snow.

All three commuter rail systems were planning to add extra train service in the afternoon to help carry an anticipated early rush hour of Manhattan office workers departing ahead of the storm.

When the storm is at its height later in the day, an MTA spokeswoman said, there is a chance of intermittent closures of some bridges in the region – standard procedure when wind and snow create whiteout conditions. Those closures, however, would not be as lengthy as the outages that were required during superstorm Sandy, when the MTA, the city and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey closed river crossings because of hurricane-force winds.

The MTA was also preparing for the need to protect drivers after the height of the storm, when refreezing and melting conditions could produce dangerous ice buildup on suspension bridge cables. If ice falls are happening, those bridges could be closed temporarily, the spokeswoman said.

The MTA prepared to cancel some trains on Metro-North Friday evening, even as it sent extra trains out of New York in advance of the storm.

The railroad was to operate on a reduced schedule from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday night, the MTA said, and would significantly curtail service between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. Saturday. After 8 p.m., trains will run every half-hour on the New Haven and Harlem Lines out of Grand Central Terminal, and once an hour inbound toward Grand Central. On the Hudson Line, the railroad will run trains once an hour overnight.

Railroad officials said more service could be cut if the storm becomes more severe.

Amtrak announced Friday afternoon that it will not operate Acela Express service on Saturday between New York and Boston, though the express trains will continue to run south of New York.

Amtrak suspended all service between New York and Boston Friday afternoon in anticipation of snow and high winds. Southbound service on regional trains will resume from Boston at 11:40 a.m. Saturday, while northbound service will resume at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The railroad also canceled other trains throughout New England because of the storm.

Source : http://blogs.wsj.com