Customer Service Initiatives

NYC Transit 2008 Service Initiatives

Continuing the massive effort to upgrade and improve mass transit services to its seven million daily bus and subway customers, MTA New York City Transit plans to offer a series of initiatives funded through the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s 2008 budget. When combined with the ongoing investment in rehabilitated stations, new vehicles and improved accessibility these service improvements will provide tangible benefits for our customers.

The service initiatives reflect the NYC Transit’s ongoing commitment to meeting the needs of the city’s bus and subway riders. Customer needs and changes in travel patterns are being addressed with new, speedier bus services, route extensions and service increases along Staten Island express routes.

Increased subway use will be addressed by service additions on several lines, including the L, which has seen huge ridership gains over the past several years.

Hybrid Electric Bus in Front of the
NY Public Library

New R160 Subway Car at 42nd Street Station

Selected Planned Service Increases for 2008

Bus
- Bus Rapid Transit initiative scheduled to begin with implementation along two routes.
- B83 bus route extended to Gateway Shopping Center in Brooklyn
- B61 and B77 routes extended to Ikea in Red Hook section of Brooklyn
- Increased Staten Island express bus service on weekends, weekdays, middays and nights.
Subway
- Additional rush hour, weekday off-peak and weekend service on the L Line to provide shorter waiting times and more comfortable travel conditions.
- Additional evening service on the Nos. 1, 4, 5 and 7, and additional weekend service on the No. 7.
- New R160 cars to be delivered for service on the J, Z, L, M, N and Q Lines. (We expect board approval of the first of two contact options for 620 cars)
- ADA accessibility at South Ferry (new No. 1 Line terminal), Union Turnpike-Kew Gardens on the E and F, and 47-50/Rockefeller Center on the B, D, F and V.
- Longer hours of weekday service on the B and W and extended service (on the G) to Church Avenue, Brooklyn

In addition to these operational upgrades, several capital improvements will be either begun, completed or remain underway in 2008. Customers will benefit from the ongoing delivery of aforementioned R160 subway cars, which are brining 21st century amenities to subway lines that are currently being served by 40-year-old equipment.

NYC Transit has been taking delivery of a 660-car order of new technology R160 cars, manufactured by Kawasaki and Alstom. The final 198 cars of the initial order are scheduled for delivery by May 30th, 2008. These cars, like the new cars serving the numbered lines, are providing customers with unparalleled levels of reliability, comfort and customer information.

Newly Installed Accessible Elevator
at Utica Avenue Station in Brooklyn

Next year, a total of 12 subway station rehabilitations are scheduled to be completed, and five of those stations will be made accessible. During the same period, 23 station rehabilitations will be in construction and six of those jobs will include the addition of ADA features. Additionally, nearly 60,000 feet of new track will be installed in the subway.

Several hundred new buses are scheduled to hit the streets next year, providing more comfort for our customers and cleaner, more efficient operation. NYC Transit is scheduled to take delivery of 106 Hybrid/Electric buses, 82 high-capacity articulated models and 66 express coaches.

The opening of a new bus depot at Grand Avenue, Brooklyn will help improve bus maintenance and quality control efforts, benefiting bus customers in Brooklyn and Queens.

Metro-North 2008 Service Initiatives

With its ridership at record levels, MTA Metro-North Railroad continues to seek new ways to improve service for its diverse and growing customer base.

Today, approximately 49% of Metro-North's ridership is comprised of commuters to Manhattan. The remaining 51% of its customers are reverse commuting out of New York to suburban employment centers, traveling during off-peak hours, or taking day trips in the region without ever setting foot in Grand Central Terminal. This changing demographic makes Metro-North not just a commuter railroad, but a full-time means of transportation that is more vital to the region and its residents than ever before.

And the railroad continues to meet this challenge of providing more service in more time periods to more customers without significant staffing increases. For 2008, ridership is projected at 81.5 million — 1.9 million, or 2.4 %, above the 2007 mid-year projection of 79.6 million. The number of trains operated in 2008 is projected at 204,437 — an increase of 2,214 trains over 2007. Yet Operating positions per million riders are projected to decrease to 70.8 positions — 1.3% less than in 2007.

2008 Service Initiatives

On the Hudson Line: On weekends, additional express service will be provided with three new round-trip trains on Saturdays and two on Sundays.
On the Harlem Line: The frequency of peak-period service to customers traveling from Hartsdale through Scarsdale stations will be improved. Also a Wassaic shuttle train will be added. In the off-peak, a new round-trip train serving the Upper Harlem will be provided.
On the New Haven Line: A new off-peak round trip express train will be added for inner New Haven Line customers.
On the Pascack Valley: For the first time, off-peak and weekend service will be added to the line's schedule.

In addition to service upgrades, other improvements include:

Rolling Stock Investments

New Metro-North M-7 Train

Metro-North Railroad has committed significant funding toward the continued revitalization of its fleet, purchasing new equipment and remanufacturing select cars, coaches and locomotives.

The purchase of 342 M-8 cars advances as the review of final design mock-ups takes place during the first half of 2008. During the latter part of 2008, first article inspection of components — including environmental testing — will be made, paving the way for the start of the full production of components. Delivery is expected in 2009.
The overhaul of 140 M-3 Car Fleet will continue through 2008 and be completed in early 2009.
The remanufacture of 104 End-door coaches for service in New York and Connecticut will be completed 2008.
The remanufacture of 31 Dual-Mode Locomotives will continue through 2008, and will be completed in 2012.
The 240-car M-2 fleet Critical System Replacement (CSR) and Component Replacement programs will continue through 2008.
The delivery of 11 new diesel locomotives for branch line service/work trains will conclude in early 2008.
Seven rebuilt F-40 locomotives will be put into service West-of-Hudson, with six to eight more to be rebuilt in the coming years.

Wassaic Station

Station Investments

Stations are not only the "front door" to the railroad. They are part of the communities we serve.

The Hudson Line Stations Improvement Project Phase II will see inbound platforms at Irvington, Hastings-on-Hudson, and Dobbs Ferry finished in 2008, completing improvement work at those stations. At that time reconstruction of the platforms and overpasses at Philips Manor, Scarborough, and Ossining work will commence, starting with the inbound platforms.
Yankee Stadium Station construction will continue through 2008 for an opening in April 2009.
The railroad will increase maintenance of the new ADA improvements on the New Haven Line.
Elevator door replacement will begin at Harlem and Hudson Line stations.

Metro-North's Harmon Shop

Shops and Yards Investments

The railroad can not maintain a state-of-the-art fleet in outdated shops. Facilities must continually be upgraded.

As part of Phase III of the Harmon Shop and Yard Rehabilitation III, construction of the Coach and Locomotive shops will continue through 2008 for completion in 2009.
Construction of the new Highbridge Yard Train Wash is set for completion in 2008. This will enable the railroad to continue with its 60-day car cleaning cycle, supporting the initiative to improve the customer environment.
A new Rail Impact Detection System will be purchased to measure the impact of a wheel to the rail. The railroad will use the impact detector to quickly identify and categorize damage to train wheels, which happens frequently during slippery rail season in the fall. Equipment will be removed from service based on severity of the measured wheel damage for correction. This allows the railroad to manage defects as they occur to improve equipment availability and reduce the number of "flats" in service.
Increased staff will be provided for the new New Haven Line Running Repair Shop.

Infrastructure Investments

The replacement of ties and rail, as well as interlocking/switches throughout our territory and the upgrading of our aging power and signal systems with the latest technology will help enable us to increase service.

A major signal study that will help Metro-North design and start construction on a new signal system on all three lines in both New York and Connecticut will continue in 2008.
In 2008, construction will start on a new Operations Control Center (OCC) which includes the replacement of all control hardware and upgrades to the software providing our OCC with state-of-the-art rail traffic technology.
In support of the East Side Access Project, new signal equipment will be installed on the lower level of Grand Central to accommodate track configuration changes.
As part of the Shell At-Grade Project, 2008 will see the completion of the third and final interlocking at CP 216 in New Rochelle.
Design and construction for signal improvements along the Danbury Branch Line Construction will begin in spring 2008 with completion expected by mid-2010.
Construction on up to ten new substations to increase capacity and service on the Upper Harlem is scheduled to commence in 2008.
The railroad will purchase a pantograph monitoring system to monitor/measure the interaction of pantograph shoes and the catenary wire.
The railroad will install 35,000-40,000 wood ties, surface 200 miles of track, install 45 turnouts, and replace 3-5 miles of rail, in addition to installing 25,000 new concrete ties.
West of Hudson, the rehabilitation of the Woodbury and Moodna Viaducts will commence in 2008. Installation of 13.25 miles of new continuous welded rail and 61,000 wood ties will continue through 2008-for completion in 2009.
Also, signal upgrades will begin West of Hudson with the replacement of two old interlockings on the Port Jervis Line with solid state equipment.

Long Island Rail Road 2008 Service Initiatives

Newly Renovated Jamaica Station

New Rolling Stock in the West Side Yard

MTA Long Island Rail Road is planning a number of new initiatives and enhancements funded through the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s 2008 budget that are aimed at improving customer service in a very tangible way.

Realizing the full benefit of its 836 new M7 electric train car fleet purchased through the MTA/LIRR Capital Program, the LIRR is in the unique position to add service to various branches, as well as improve customer seating opportunities.

In an initiative started in mid-2007 and continuing into 2008 the LIRR has added the following service enhancements:

Additional AM Peak Train Service

Additional service opportunity and more seats at Lynbrook Station on the Babylon Branch.
Added stops for Hicksville and Merillon Ave stations on the Port Jefferson Branch
Added stops at Little Neck, Douglaston and Auburndale stations on the Port Washington Branch.
Additional service opportunity at Locust Manor, and Nostrand Avenue stations on the Far Rockaway Branch.

Additional PM Peak Service

Rescheduled underused evening rush train from Flatbush Avenue to Ronkonkoma to instead originate from Penn Station.
Additional stops at Massapequa, Massapequa Park, Amityville, Copiague, and Lindenhurst on the Babylon Branch.
Additional stops at Islip, Great River, and Oakdale stations on the Montauk Branch.
Additional stops at Nostrand Avenue, Locust Manor, and Laurelton on the Far Rockaway Branch.

Evening/Weekend Service Improvements

Added late evening service on the Port Jefferson Branch serving stations New Hyde Park through Huntington.
Added summer weekend Freeport Express Service on the Babylon Branch providing connections to both Jones Beach buses at Freeport, and Montauk trains Added Service to Shea Stadium, supplementing the limited parking available at the stadium while the new stadium is under construction.

LIRR Vending Machine

The LIRR is expanding the use of credit and debit cards for the purchase of tickets to include station ticket office windows by late summer of this year. This convenient payment feature was previously available only through the ticket selling machines at stations. The LIRR is also installing 15 credit/debit-only ticket selling machines at high-volume stations to supplement the ticket machines already in service.

The MTA’s 2008 financial plan would allow the LIRR to launch a Life Cycle Maintenance program for the interior car body amenities and components in both the electric train cars and diesel coaches.

Capital Improvements

In 2008, several capital improvements are scheduled to be completed, offering our customers new or greatly improved amenities at stations. Station rehabilitation projects are expected to be completed at Valley Stream and Broadway. Additionally, the platform level waiting room at Freeport Station will undergo renovation and the pedestrian underpass at Bay Shore station will be replaced with a new pedestrian overpass.

Design work for the rehabilitation of East Hampton Station will be completed in 2008. Also in 2008, design work will be done for the LIRR’s elevator/escalator replacement program. This will allow for replacement of two elevators at Great Neck Station, and three escalators at Merrick, Bellmore and Massapequa Park stations.