FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM NOVEMBER 4, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 21
How the LIRR combats an astonishingly annoying problem: Fallen leaves
BY PHIL ENG
When you think of fall in New York,
your mind likely fills with images of
beautiful foliage and maybe some
pumpkins or apple picking. For us at
the railroad, the season is significant:
While the leaves are pretty to look at,
they’re a menace to railroad operations.
When wet leaves on tracks get
crushed by steel train wheels, a slippery
substance called pectin forms and coats
the rails. Pectin affects how our trains
brake and can cause a “slip-slide” effect,
where a train with brakes activated
slides along the rail instead of braking,
CONSIDER THESE
ALTERNATIVES TO
AIRTRAIN PROJECT
Here are some options to improve public
transportation connections to LaGuardia
Airport as opposed to former Governor
Cuomo’s $2.05 billion AirTrain project.
Th ey could be implemented far more
quickly than either the AirTrain or any
subway extension at a far lower cost.
One of the previous NYC seven private
franchised bus operators, Triboro Coach,
once operated the Q57 express bus. It
ran from the Queensbridge NYC Transit
subway station at 21st Street and 41st
Avenue served by the F train to LaGuardia
Airport in 1990. It was marketed as the
“QT (Quick Trip) LaGuardia Express”
bus route.
Th e service was discontinued in May
1991 due to lower than expected ridership.
Th e service ran every 20 minutes,
arriving at the airport in 25 minutes, and
stopping at all terminals. Th e route operated
via 21st Street and Astoria Boulevard
to LaGuardia Airport. Service was provided
from 21st Street between 6 a.m. and 11
p.m. and from LaGuardia between 6:35
a.m. and 11 p.m.
Restoration of this service might only
require six buses to maintain a 20-minute
headway along with operating assistance
to cover defi cits. Farebox revenue will not
meet all operating costs. MTA would also
have to market this new route along with
other existing subway to airport bus connections.
Run a closed-door bus service from the
Port Washington Long Island Rail Road
branch Flushing Station to LaGuardia
Airport. It would be far faster than the
existing NYC Transit Q48 Flushing Bus
Service.
Coordinate with the city of Glen Cove
in Nassau County. Th ey are attempting
to start a ferry service to Pier 11 in Wall
Street. Ask their operator to consider
adding intermediate stops within NYC.
Th ese could include LaGuardia Airport
as well as Bayside Fort Totten, College
Point, Flushing Marina, Long Island City
or Astoria. Th is could generate signifi -
cant additional riders, resulting in a more
fi nancially viable operation.
Th ousands of residents from northeast
Queens two-fare zones are willing to pay
premium fares for NYC Transit express
bus or LIRR services. Many would do the
same for a new ferry service rather than
driving or taking a local bus to subway
for journeys to work. Th e NYC Economic
Development Corporation provides millions
in subsidies to their own private
ferry operators. Cost sharing with them
might have reduced the funding that has
to be provided by the city of Glen Cove.
Larry Penner, Great Neck
oped
letters & comments
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creating flat spots on the wheel. In
these instances, the train must be taken
out of service in order to repair flat
wheels. This inconveniences customers,
lessens the number of cars we have
in operation, and costs money to fix in
addition to causing delays and cancellations
— none of which we like to see
happen.
After dealing with this issue unsuccessfully
for decades, we at the LIRR
found a solution. Two years ago, we
partnered with a company to launch
the first laser train in North America. It
works by using high-intensity lasers to
remove layers of pectin from the tracks.
These trains have proved so efficient,
we added a second laser train last year
and increased its speed, allowing us to
cover more territory more quickly.
The initiative has yielded major
year-over-year improvements in service
while ultimately paying for itself
through reduced labor and material
costs. In 2020, low-adhesion delays were
down 66% (246 trains) compared to
2019, and down 79% (473 trains) compared
to 2018. On costs, labor expenses
related to fixing flat wheels have
decreased by 34%. These figures show
that our technology works, and it’s saving
customers valuable time while saving
the LIRR valuable funding.
This year we’re looking to build upon
these successes. Our team is working
closely with the vendor to improve
maintainability and effectiveness of
the laser so that our laser trains are
more reliable and their maintenance
more efficient. This means our laser
trains will experience less downtime
in between runs, which again saves us
money while deploying the trains faster.
I’m incredibly proud of the LIRR
team for making this new technology
not only a reality, but a successful
one. While each fall season brings
its own challenges, this cutting-edge
innovation gives us a leg up on Mother
Nature’s powerful force. We know that
we cannot stop weather events — which
are only getting worse and more frequent
in recent years — but we can mitigate
the impacts.
We are laser focused as we lead the
way to better service and welcoming
back New York to the LIRR.
Phil Eng is president of MTA Long Island
Rail Road.
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