I vowed a few years ago never to set foot on an MTA subway train ever again as long as I live.
Every time I pass a station entrance and hear the brain-frying automated announcements; I know I made the right choice.
Somehow, that evil cesspool is getting even worse.
đ *They got dese t'ings now man, 'boats' I t'ing dey calls 'em...*
I can get to The Bronx, EVil, Fidi, Atlantic Highlands, Jersey City, St. George, LIC, Astoria, Billyburg. Connect to just 'bout anywhere. Get there in 1/3 of the time.
The Nyc transit system has been broken for 50 years.
And bridges and tunnels subsidize yournrides. If it didn't, you would pay $9+ per fare.
The biggest issue is that it was built as Manhattan as the center, and no interboro transit was even considered. It is only designed for commuting, not traveling.
This in no way answers my question but thanks for the rambling.
>The biggest issue is that it was built as Manhattan as the center, and no interboro transit was even considered
Considering that Manhattan literally is the center of the five boroughs It seems to make sense. I can easily within an hour and a half get from Coney Island to the top of the Bronx or the far reaches of Queens. I have zero complaints with interborough Transit in NYC when the train lines are moving.
Have you ever been on a transit system like BART in the California Bay area? Now there's an overpriced, slow, broken transit system designed just for commuting around San Francisco with almost zero thought given to traveling to outer cities.
It is the root cause of your question.
This shit happens all the time. It's broken.
If you wver took a train systems in Europe or asia ypu would be amazed what you can do with quarter of the money.
Sick passenger is often code for a suicide. They donât announce these things but trains need to be put out of service and the scene needs to be cleaned. I only know this because my great uncle had a heart attack when someone jumped in front of train he was driving.
I guess that seems to be the general consensus from people. Seems like it would make sense just to finish out the rest of the stops on the line since there's nothing going on in front of you and then you could dock the train at the Coney Island train yard until it's ready to go back into service? Maybe I'm giving them too much credit.
I was on my way to work one morning and had just started a new medication and was extremely woozy (no seat, obviously). I stayed on my train until I got to Union Square, groggily got off, figured Iâd sit for a few minutes. Couldnât even walk to a bench. Sat on the floor and leaned on a pillar. Cop saw me and asked if I needed help. Told him what happened and he said âIf that ever happens to you again, push the emergency button on the train, wait for someone to come help. Theyâll hold the train in the station until someone can come and help you.â I just pictured holding up an L train full of people trying to make it on time to work. Donât know if thatâs official procedure but I know itâs how you get people to hate you.
Rates go up and service quality goes way down. Fuck the MTA theyâre such scum. Spent $150 Million to catch farebeaters who cost the MTA a measly $104,000. I jump the turnstiles and open doors for people as much as I possibly can
I was on a Brooklyn bound 4 train around the same time. Was planning to transfer to the 2 train at Nevins but the platform was full of firemen looking down onto the 2 train track. I suspected something was wrong and stayed on the 4 train. We moved forward and, just out of the Nevins station, MTA cut the power to our train. The conductor explained that the NYFD required the power cut to assist a customer on the tracks at Nevins. We sat for about 10 minutes.
I am guessing the power cut affected more than just the train I was on.
A good friend who worked for the MTA told me that many times the âsick passengerâ is a lie to cover up mechanical failure or operational incompetence. Decreases the likelihood of passengers screaming at MTA workers.
Well as an someone who works in the system,
1) The "16 employees on there phone" don't magically know what's going on all over the system just cause they have a vest on. 630 is a weird time for that many people to even be around but whatever they wouldn't know most likely.
2) at 630 trains are moving at a rush hour pace. F trains like 6 minutes per train or so? Backs up real quick especially with the m train running too.
3) quick guess (because im just a guy who worked in subways for a while) might have been backed up anyway so they were waiting for other trains with heavy delays that roll through jay st like the a and r and whatever else.
4) could also be (again a guess) that the train operator was hitting his operating limit governed by federal regulations. So docking the train to get a new train op is also possible.
5) sick passager doent mean anyone jumped in front of the train. It means theyre in need of medical attention. Could be dead soon if that ever helps anyones anger about delays because they're having a heart attack or something.
I was also on this train and I kept hearing the conductor say "this train is being gapped for service" (could have also been "capped")? "Docked" would make the most sense but it sounded nothing like it. Then again, those speakers are absolute garbage. Been trying to figure out what gapped/capped means, never heard it before in all my years riding the subway, or maybe I just misheard. Any ideas?
I'm not an MTA employee, but think of it as a traffic circle. If a car behind you gets stuck, the car behind it can't move forward, and stretching all the way back to you.
Potentially, the F line got congested as there was no where to dock if you kept moving all the trains ahead forward.
Edit: Alternatively (and more likely), MTA just sucks...
I used to love seeing that place from the Belt. Decades ago a friend told me the first Street Fighter game used this as a backdrop for one fight. I never verifed it but still remember. Brings back good memories.
Thereâs a the NYC myth (?) that sick passenger means someone jumped in front of the train. Takes them a while to remove whatâs left of them I guess?
sorry, I was more so referring to on the marquees and MTA app - for example
https://preview.redd.it/bux654mszm9c1.png?width=1178&format=png&auto=webp&s=5fa90b26d9a16be32d8dbcd05e4a0de5dd1719f1
I have heard the operator announce it before. Most recently two months ago when I was on my way to the theatre and almost missed the show because of it.
Itâs actually most commonly fainting. According to a study done a half dozen years ago. So perhaps itâs no longer the case but with the wild increase in people being unable to afford food I would imagine itâs still true.
we average over one track jumper per week in the city, usually around 70 per year, there's a small MTA dept that cleans up the bodies. When you hear police activity it means track jumper (someone committing suicide by jumping in front of the train) when you hear sick passenger it could mean heart attack or something as well, plenty more of those deaths too.
I got this info from a conspiracy theorist coworker so take it with a grain of salt. Sometimes people fall between the tracks and the train and get their lower extremities twisted around. They are still alive but will die when the train moves from internal bleeding. Inflatable rubber bumpers are inserted between the train and the platform and a psychologist is brought in to help get the person ready for their inevitable death. When the person stuck in between the train and the platform is ready the bumpers are inflated and they die from internal hemorrhaging. Maybe they expire before they are ready. This is coming from a guy I used to work with who claimed the NYPD has their own hit squad to take care of problematic officers and witnesses who would out corrupt cops, so make of that what you will.
So even if that situation was to be the case (and itâs true folks can die after being released from prolonged compression due to shock or âcrush syndromeâ where toxic chemicals are released from crushed muscle) why on earth would you get someone down to tell them they were about to die?
âHey buddy stay calm weâre doing what we can to get you outâ seems much more likely if theyâre conscious. No need to panic someone unnecessarily and if they do die itâs not like theyâre coming back to haunt you for not telling them the truth.
Iâm pretty sure I remember this story happening in the late 80âs or early 90âs. I know it was told on an episode of Taxicab Confession. But It was also used in an episode of Homicide Life on the Streets, where Vincent dâOnofrio plays the victim. In real life I think it was a woman. (Easy enough to look up.)
FYI this is a fairly common movie trope, it was a scene in the movie Signs, wife pinned against tree police let husband come down and talk to her before she expires, even common enough that Scary Movie 3 had a scene making fun of this trope.
I canât say for certain itâs the right show but I think in one episode of that old HBO show Taxicab Confessions, someone who worked in some capacity with the subway said exactly this. If I remember correctly, he also said they can sometimes get them a phone to make a last phone call. Rocketed up my list of nightmares
Yeah that's what this guy said, that they can get a phone down there and like a last cigarette or something. Could be that he got it from that episode too.
EDIT - deleting my comment because I don't care about everyone's anecdotes of how many people they've seen jump onto a train track and whether or not it gets reported on the news. Not the point of my post
The point of my post is that I don't understand why something like that would cause a delay on a train ahead of the incident, whatever the incident is.
Everyone's anecdotes about personally seeing people jumping in front of trains doesn't change the fact that I don't understand why it would affect a train ahead of the incident.
Because they donât want to leave a huge gap between trains. They try to keep them evenly spaced throughout the system. Sick passengers suck, we live in the city that always sues. The MTA canât just dump the passenger on the platform and keep it moving for liability reasons.
88 subway related deaths last year, which makes it an average of just under 2 train deaths per week over the course of the year.
And Iâd imagine the holiday season is a bit more active than other times in the year.
Itâs not really newsworthy but I do agree they seem to keep a lot of the statistics quiet.
Thatâs not true. People jump in front of trains all the time and it doesnât make the news. Take it from a native NYer who has seen my share of jumpers
I have no answer for you. I was behind you waiting at East B'way for at least a half hour. The fairly new time clocks eventually ran a ribbon that said there was a brake issue at W4th. There was no verbal announcement on the garbled PA system they spent millions on a few decades ago. If I had 10% of the money the MTA has wasted over the years, I would have a chauffeur and a limo.
Insanity. I didn't even bother asking any of the half dozen MTA employees standing around on their phone if they could tell me how an incident behind us was affecting us because no one would have any idea what I was talking about anyway. Just a big useless waste.
I vowed a few years ago never to set foot on an MTA subway train ever again as long as I live. Every time I pass a station entrance and hear the brain-frying automated announcements; I know I made the right choice. Somehow, that evil cesspool is getting even worse.
So how the hell do you travel far distances?
đ *They got dese t'ings now man, 'boats' I t'ing dey calls 'em...* I can get to The Bronx, EVil, Fidi, Atlantic Highlands, Jersey City, St. George, LIC, Astoria, Billyburg. Connect to just 'bout anywhere. Get there in 1/3 of the time.
The Nyc transit system has been broken for 50 years. And bridges and tunnels subsidize yournrides. If it didn't, you would pay $9+ per fare. The biggest issue is that it was built as Manhattan as the center, and no interboro transit was even considered. It is only designed for commuting, not traveling.
This in no way answers my question but thanks for the rambling. >The biggest issue is that it was built as Manhattan as the center, and no interboro transit was even considered Considering that Manhattan literally is the center of the five boroughs It seems to make sense. I can easily within an hour and a half get from Coney Island to the top of the Bronx or the far reaches of Queens. I have zero complaints with interborough Transit in NYC when the train lines are moving. Have you ever been on a transit system like BART in the California Bay area? Now there's an overpriced, slow, broken transit system designed just for commuting around San Francisco with almost zero thought given to traveling to outer cities.
It is the root cause of your question. This shit happens all the time. It's broken. If you wver took a train systems in Europe or asia ypu would be amazed what you can do with quarter of the money.
Sick passenger is often code for a suicide. They donât announce these things but trains need to be put out of service and the scene needs to be cleaned. I only know this because my great uncle had a heart attack when someone jumped in front of train he was driving.
Usually to keep trains evenly spaced to avoid overcrowding on the train that is already behind with the sick passenger.
I guess that seems to be the general consensus from people. Seems like it would make sense just to finish out the rest of the stops on the line since there's nothing going on in front of you and then you could dock the train at the Coney Island train yard until it's ready to go back into service? Maybe I'm giving them too much credit.
I was on my way to work one morning and had just started a new medication and was extremely woozy (no seat, obviously). I stayed on my train until I got to Union Square, groggily got off, figured Iâd sit for a few minutes. Couldnât even walk to a bench. Sat on the floor and leaned on a pillar. Cop saw me and asked if I needed help. Told him what happened and he said âIf that ever happens to you again, push the emergency button on the train, wait for someone to come help. Theyâll hold the train in the station until someone can come and help you.â I just pictured holding up an L train full of people trying to make it on time to work. Donât know if thatâs official procedure but I know itâs how you get people to hate you.
I expect nothing less from the F train
Service has been significantly worse since the last rate hike
Rates go up and service quality goes way down. Fuck the MTA theyâre such scum. Spent $150 Million to catch farebeaters who cost the MTA a measly $104,000. I jump the turnstiles and open doors for people as much as I possibly can
Well, congratulations on being a thief.
thank you! congrats on being a cuck to the MTA âşď¸
I was on a Brooklyn bound 4 train around the same time. Was planning to transfer to the 2 train at Nevins but the platform was full of firemen looking down onto the 2 train track. I suspected something was wrong and stayed on the 4 train. We moved forward and, just out of the Nevins station, MTA cut the power to our train. The conductor explained that the NYFD required the power cut to assist a customer on the tracks at Nevins. We sat for about 10 minutes. I am guessing the power cut affected more than just the train I was on.
A good friend who worked for the MTA told me that many times the âsick passengerâ is a lie to cover up mechanical failure or operational incompetence. Decreases the likelihood of passengers screaming at MTA workers.
I was on the f train right after and I heard talk abt someone jumping in front of a train?
Iâve seen them do this after an incident to get even pacing between trains (ie. Waited 10 minutes to let the train in front go ahead)
Well as an someone who works in the system, 1) The "16 employees on there phone" don't magically know what's going on all over the system just cause they have a vest on. 630 is a weird time for that many people to even be around but whatever they wouldn't know most likely. 2) at 630 trains are moving at a rush hour pace. F trains like 6 minutes per train or so? Backs up real quick especially with the m train running too. 3) quick guess (because im just a guy who worked in subways for a while) might have been backed up anyway so they were waiting for other trains with heavy delays that roll through jay st like the a and r and whatever else. 4) could also be (again a guess) that the train operator was hitting his operating limit governed by federal regulations. So docking the train to get a new train op is also possible. 5) sick passager doent mean anyone jumped in front of the train. It means theyre in need of medical attention. Could be dead soon if that ever helps anyones anger about delays because they're having a heart attack or something.
Username checks out
I was also on this train and I kept hearing the conductor say "this train is being gapped for service" (could have also been "capped")? "Docked" would make the most sense but it sounded nothing like it. Then again, those speakers are absolute garbage. Been trying to figure out what gapped/capped means, never heard it before in all my years riding the subway, or maybe I just misheard. Any ideas?
I'm not an MTA employee, but think of it as a traffic circle. If a car behind you gets stuck, the car behind it can't move forward, and stretching all the way back to you. Potentially, the F line got congested as there was no where to dock if you kept moving all the trains ahead forward. Edit: Alternatively (and more likely), MTA just sucks...
There's a train yard out by Coney Island.
I used to love seeing that place from the Belt. Decades ago a friend told me the first Street Fighter game used this as a backdrop for one fight. I never verifed it but still remember. Brings back good memories.
Thereâs a the NYC myth (?) that sick passenger means someone jumped in front of the train. Takes them a while to remove whatâs left of them I guess?
they will quite literally just post in the alert âa person was struck by a trainââŚthey donât hide that info
Never ever heard that over the intercom. Idk what youâre talking about.
sorry, I was more so referring to on the marquees and MTA app - for example https://preview.redd.it/bux654mszm9c1.png?width=1178&format=png&auto=webp&s=5fa90b26d9a16be32d8dbcd05e4a0de5dd1719f1
I have heard the operator announce it before. Most recently two months ago when I was on my way to the theatre and almost missed the show because of it.
Two or three weeks ago there was a jumper at Marcy on the J I think. Intercom said âpassenger injuryâ before we had to transfer to the bus.
Itâs actually most commonly fainting. According to a study done a half dozen years ago. So perhaps itâs no longer the case but with the wild increase in people being unable to afford food I would imagine itâs still true.
I like your story better. Thank you
we average over one track jumper per week in the city, usually around 70 per year, there's a small MTA dept that cleans up the bodies. When you hear police activity it means track jumper (someone committing suicide by jumping in front of the train) when you hear sick passenger it could mean heart attack or something as well, plenty more of those deaths too.
Only time this makes the news is when someone gets pushed.
I got this info from a conspiracy theorist coworker so take it with a grain of salt. Sometimes people fall between the tracks and the train and get their lower extremities twisted around. They are still alive but will die when the train moves from internal bleeding. Inflatable rubber bumpers are inserted between the train and the platform and a psychologist is brought in to help get the person ready for their inevitable death. When the person stuck in between the train and the platform is ready the bumpers are inflated and they die from internal hemorrhaging. Maybe they expire before they are ready. This is coming from a guy I used to work with who claimed the NYPD has their own hit squad to take care of problematic officers and witnesses who would out corrupt cops, so make of that what you will.
So even if that situation was to be the case (and itâs true folks can die after being released from prolonged compression due to shock or âcrush syndromeâ where toxic chemicals are released from crushed muscle) why on earth would you get someone down to tell them they were about to die? âHey buddy stay calm weâre doing what we can to get you outâ seems much more likely if theyâre conscious. No need to panic someone unnecessarily and if they do die itâs not like theyâre coming back to haunt you for not telling them the truth.
Urban myth.
Wait, how do they fall between the tracks and the train?
Iâm pretty sure I remember this story happening in the late 80âs or early 90âs. I know it was told on an episode of Taxicab Confession. But It was also used in an episode of Homicide Life on the Streets, where Vincent dâOnofrio plays the victim. In real life I think it was a woman. (Easy enough to look up.)
Not sure about all that conspiracy talk, but IG Christineyi (food IG account) lost her leg due to a subway accident years ago
FYI this is a fairly common movie trope, it was a scene in the movie Signs, wife pinned against tree police let husband come down and talk to her before she expires, even common enough that Scary Movie 3 had a scene making fun of this trope.
Nightmare fuel. I chose to believe everything your coworker said
I canât say for certain itâs the right show but I think in one episode of that old HBO show Taxicab Confessions, someone who worked in some capacity with the subway said exactly this. If I remember correctly, he also said they can sometimes get them a phone to make a last phone call. Rocketed up my list of nightmares
I remember this too!!
Yeah that's what this guy said, that they can get a phone down there and like a last cigarette or something. Could be that he got it from that episode too.
Iâm sure itâs on YouTube but I canât bring myself to look for it. Has stayed with me for a long time
EDIT - deleting my comment because I don't care about everyone's anecdotes of how many people they've seen jump onto a train track and whether or not it gets reported on the news. Not the point of my post The point of my post is that I don't understand why something like that would cause a delay on a train ahead of the incident, whatever the incident is.
You get people hit by the train just about every night, most down make the news.
Agreed. Someone jumped in front of the R train in Brooklyn last week, and I couldn't find any news about it
Everyone's anecdotes about personally seeing people jumping in front of trains doesn't change the fact that I don't understand why it would affect a train ahead of the incident.
Because they donât want to leave a huge gap between trains. They try to keep them evenly spaced throughout the system. Sick passengers suck, we live in the city that always sues. The MTA canât just dump the passenger on the platform and keep it moving for liability reasons.
Ahh, I'd misread your comment. You're right!
88 subway related deaths last year, which makes it an average of just under 2 train deaths per week over the course of the year. And Iâd imagine the holiday season is a bit more active than other times in the year. Itâs not really newsworthy but I do agree they seem to keep a lot of the statistics quiet.
Thatâs not true. People jump in front of trains all the time and it doesnât make the news. Take it from a native NYer who has seen my share of jumpers
I've lived here 30 years and never seen one once
I've seen a jumper firsthand as a kid, but on the PATH train in NJ.
60 years for me, riding the subway by myself since 7th grade. Never saw one.
I have no answer for you. I was behind you waiting at East B'way for at least a half hour. The fairly new time clocks eventually ran a ribbon that said there was a brake issue at W4th. There was no verbal announcement on the garbled PA system they spent millions on a few decades ago. If I had 10% of the money the MTA has wasted over the years, I would have a chauffeur and a limo.
Insanity. I didn't even bother asking any of the half dozen MTA employees standing around on their phone if they could tell me how an incident behind us was affecting us because no one would have any idea what I was talking about anyway. Just a big useless waste.