|
|
| R188 observations (and **sigh** disappointments) (1258407) | |||
 |
|||
| Home > SubChat | |||
|
[ Read Responses | Post a New Response | Return to the Index ] |
|
||
|
R188 observations (and **sigh** disappointments) |
|
|
Posted by gbs on Tue Nov 12 23:08:26 2013 I had the good luck to ride the R188 this afternoon from Main St to Times Sq (local) and from Times Sq to Main St (express). It's exciting to have brand-new cars on the #7 again (the last time was 1964), and everyone seems surprised and pleased.Certain things, however, need to be addressed: 1. Automated announcements: When the train arrived at Times Sq (as a local) on track 1 (the outgoing express track), the new platform annunciators said it was leaving as an express, and after incorrectly setting the route as local, the c/r correctly set the route as express. However, the train's automated announcements at Times Sq, 5 Av, and Grand Central called it a "Queens-bound 7 train", without specifying "express", a serious omission. I suspect that the TA doesn't want to confuse those (minority of ) riders staying in Manhattan, where the train makes all stops. Nevertheless, most of the riders are going into Queens and do care whether it's a local or express, and this should be stated at all stops, even in Manhattan. (Visually disabled riders can't depend on the signs.) Once in Queens, starting at Vernon-Jackson and for the rest of the trip, the announcement changes to "Flushing-Main-St-bound 7 express train", so it's a deliberate decision to leave out the "express" designation in Manhattan. This is a mistake. The "Stand clear of the closing doors" announcement should be broadcast through the external speakers as well as the interior speakers, so people on the platform can hear the message too. This is true on all the new-tech trains, but should be corrected. 2. Interior ceiling signs The Queens-bound express signs showed (7) instead of <7>. Don't the other diamond services still show <5> and <6> like they used to? The 7 express should also show <7>. Approaching Main St, the signs said "THE NEXT STOP IS" then "FLUSHING", not "MAIN ST" or "FLUSHING-MAIN ST". There's enough room for Main St, and that should show as the last stop. I believe the N and Q show "ASTORIA-DITMARS" as the last stop, not just "ASTORIA". The neighborhood may be Flushing, but the station is Flushing-Main St. At 5 Av, the station name displays as "5 AVENUE", not "5 AV". Every other station name street is abbreviated, even when there's lots of room. Why is this one spelled out in full? At 74 St-Broadway, the station name displays as "74 ST", even though Broadway is an important street at that station (the IND runs under it), yet at 46 St, 40 St, and 33 St, the old rarely-used names Bliss, Lowery, and Rawson are displayed. Put back the Broadway in 74-Broadway. 3. Strip maps The plastic sheet covering the strip maps attracts dust and smudges, and they're all already filthy and shabby looking, though brand new. This has been true since the first new-tech trains (even on the ads), but by now should have been corrected. An earlier post pointed to an Instagram photo of a new #7 strip map; the dust is obvious even there. 4. Interior car numbers Like the R142s and R142As, the interior car numbers are individual number stickers pasted together, not single plastic plates like on the R160s, a step back in progress and aesthetics. Let's get back to the plates for car numbers, not individual paste-on stickers. General observations: There are floor-to-ceiling cabinets in the passenger compartment right behind the t/o's position, taking away the second wheelchair spot and additional standing room. The RFW is very respectable, though with a handle only on the left (because of the cabinets). The t/o's coat hangs on a hook next to the door, not over the window like on the R62 transverse cab. The conductors need to be reminded not to bombard the riders with so many automatic announcements (including one I never heard, about adjusting the volume on headphones "for your ears only"). Some peace and quiet (and the cars are nice and quiet) is in order. The double doors between cars have only one handle per pair, on the left door. I thought that each 11-car train was to have one C car, somewhere in the 6-car linked set, but according to the R188 Wikipedia article, "Breakdown is as follows: A-C-B-B-A+A-B-B-B-C-A". Is that correct? Riding in each car, I couldn't distinguish any C car(s), but maybe I didn't know what to look for. |
|
|
|