5 posts tagged “nyc subway”
The new R160 trainsets on the "E" continue to delight - the experience somewhat marred by a few glitches which I will proceed to describe. I am hoping these have more to do with operators' learning curve rather than actual defects. Time will tell. Each car has 3 route maps and 2 variable display message boards (which typically tell the time, the next stop and anything the pre-recorded voice announces).
1) The "V" wannabee
On an R160, the variable message board said it was a "E"to 2 Av. The "E" of course, actually went to WTC.
2) The Confused "E"
The variable display said E to Jamaica center while the route map correctly showed WTC as the destination. It's a little hard to get a readable snap of the variable message board and the route map - but here it is
3) The frozen variable message
I have seen the variable message boards freezing up more than once. I got into an E before 8 am and I thought I saw 7.47 am on the variable message board. That lulled me into a false sense of complancency as I though I had plenty of time for my 8.30 meeting. The time was actually 7.58 or so and the display was frozen at 1:47 AM"! I had mistaken the 1 for the 7. Didn't take a pic of that. On the same day, I got into another R160 which had a problem with one of the doors - only one door would open. This was on car #9339.
Though the route maps on the R160s are somewhat flexible, I wonder what the limits are. Last morning, there was a problem at Queen's plaza that led to trains piling up behind it. We were at Penn station when the dispatchers decided that the E would run on the A line to 168th St! Can the train operator dynamically change the route and set the displays accordingly? (He didn't or couldn't - he chose to let the automated annoncement happen and then came online to correct it)
For those of you whom the title doesn't make sense, this posting is about the 'E' line on the NYC subway. I got my first ride on the brand new R160B trainset on Mon. The cars were numbered 9238-42 and 9233-37. As per wikipedia, the R160 order ends with 9232. So this trainset is the first one from the additional option MTA has exercised on R160. Now is that still called R160 or something else?
The smell of plastic lingered. The ride was noticeably less noisy. The announcements were crystal clear and the new route map was easy to read. It was, of course, well lit and the temperature was just right. All in all, a very comfortable ride.
A ride on the new R160 cars on the ‘E’ line is eluding me. For those not familiar with what I am saying, I am referringto the New York subway – specifically the “E” line which has been running with old train-sets (see one entering 23rd Street, Ely avenue).
But new “R160” train-sets have been introduced on this line and I am eager to ride in one as soon as possible. On new year’s eve morning, just before 9, I was waiting at Chambers St and was quite happy to see an R160 coming in. However it didn't have the route sign on and had "out of service" and "no passengers" on all its message boards. The car numbers were 9257-9253 (Chambers Street End) and 9247-9243 (Queens End). I am actually not sure if the 9000+ series still belong to the R160 series or to a later contract.
I finally ended up in the next R32 E train – taking my place in car no. 3877. So the “new” E eludes me. Hopefully I’ll get a ride next week in one of them.
I usually take the 'E' subway line from World Trade Center to my workplace. It is amazing how reliable the New York subway is and you realize it only on the rare occasions when something goes wrong. Sure, the MTA has its detractors but I am an unabashed fan.
