Transportation
Week from hell for
Queens 7 train commuters
www.qns.com I LIC COURIER I DECEMBER 2018 41
BY MARK HALLUM
Commuters on the 7 train in Queens
and Manhattan experienced a series
of setback during the first week of
communications-based train control,
a digital signal system which replaced
the analog technology.
The Metropolitan Transportation Au-thority
celebrated the official rollout of
the “milestone” installation on Nov. 26,
but by around 4 p.m., delays struck
seeing service suspended between
Queensborough Plaza and Grand
Central. Similar service disrup-tions
related to signal trouble
would occur in the days that
followed.
But the MTA said it is not unusual
for there to be setbacks when install-ing
new technology and that CBTC
on the L train needed similar time for
configuration.
“The new signal system was put in
operation throughout the 7 line this
week — we’re working daily to iron out
issues and will be working with the sup-plier
over the next few weeks to optimize
the system and do other signal work on
the line to complete the transition,” an
MTA spokesman said. “We thank our
customers for their patience — once
the system is stabilized they will enjoy
the enhanced reliability and, eventually,
increased train frequencies that CBTC
signaling allows, as currently seen on
the L line.”
Tuesday’s evening commute (Nov.
27) saw a passenger injured on the
tracks at Willets Point and wait times
for trains at the Woodside station were
between 20 and 30 minutes with limited
service to express stops only.
On Wednesday, Nov. 28, was sus-pended
between Willets Point and 74th
Street throughout the entire evening
rush hour with commuters encour-aged
to take the E, F, M and R train as
alternatives
from Jackson
Heights.
During Thursday
morning’s (Nov. 29)
commute, the connectivity issues caused
stalls to Hudson Yards-bound trains
while the platforms at the Flushing-Main
Street Station offered no additional
places for commuters to stand while
waiting for trains to arrive.
Multiple people took to the Face-book
group, 7 Train Blues, to air their
grievances by posting photos of the
platforms in Flushing claiming they
would need to use the pricier option
of the LIRR as an alternative to get to
work on time.
While Friday morning, congestion in
train cars that some customers were
spotted riding between cars.
“Finally got on the third 7 train, but
had to get off at 74th and transfer to
an R,” Alexis Kaloyanides wrote on
Facebook. “7 train is so delayed and
overcrowded that some straphangers
are riding outside the cars!”
The MTA further pointed out that
although the L train went through similar
issues as the kinks were worked out in
the CBTC system, that line is currently
the most reliable and on time.
With L train set for a 15 month partial
shutdown to make overhauls to the
Canarsie Tunnel from Hurricane Sandy
related damage, however, the 7 train
is anticipated to take on some of the
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
burden of displaced Brooklyn riders
commuting to Manhattan.
CBTC allows the MTA to add 14
trains to the 7 line to accommodate the
approximately 250,000 Brooklyn riders.
But the 7 train will not be the only
one picking up the slack.
The M train will have weekend and
overnight service expanded, according
to the MTA, affording people in Middle
Village a path into lower Manhattan
and extending the line from its usual
terminus at Essex Street to 96th Street
in the Upper West Side.
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