Posted on 03/10/2023 6:34:15 PM PST by SamAdams76
Commuter trains are how most Americans commute in the really big cities.
The top three commuter train systems in the United States are in the New York City Metro area.
1. Long Island Railroad (118 million annual riders)
2. New Jersey Transit Rail (88 million annual riders)
3. Metro North Railroad (86 million annual riders)
Next closest is the Chicago Metra System (67 million annual riders)
It drops precipitously from there.
So basically, New York City dominates, and I mean dominates, commuter rail in the USA. It is not even close. I mean, you have 400 plus individual stations to commute out of. And that doesn’t even include the nearly 500 subway stations on the world’s largest subway system in NYC.
Recently, the LIRR (Long Island Railroad) opened a new terminal under Grand Central. It’s pretty amazing how deep under the ground it goes. Grand Central now has FOUR underground levels of trains. Two for the Metro North (that serves Connecticut and upstate NY) and two for the Long Island commuters.
To get to the LIRR tracks at Grand Central, you first take an escalator (or stairs) from the Grand Concourse to the underground dining area (where the lower level of Metro North train tracks are). Then you take another escalator down to the LIRR area where it opens up into another large concourse that stretches six city blocks (from 42nd to 48th streets). From there, you take this incredibly long escalator (actually one of about 18 of them) that bring you very far underground - about a three minute ride. Even then, you need to take ANOTHER escalator down to the lower level LIRR tracks. (The other level of LIRR tracks requires a short escalator up).
This is just one new cog in what is the most massive commuter rail system in the United States.
Now there are certain protocols you must follow when riding NYC area commuter trains. They are not published. You just learn from experience.
For example, consider the plight of the women who ride these trains.
The commuter trains have three-seaters on one side and two-seaters on the opposite side.
How to navigate the three seaters? The unwritten protocol is that the middle seat on the three-seater sided never gets filled unless the train is utterly crowded. Typically the inside (window) seat gets filled first by either a man or a woman. For the inside window seat of a three seater is the most prime seat on commuter rail as you are almost guaranteed an empty middle seat between you and the passenger riding the outside seat and you can scrunch up to the window as opposed to having people walking down the aisle banging into your elbows and such. The downside is if you are getting off the train before the person in the outer seat, in which case you have to get their attention and get them to stand up in the aisle so you can move past them.
The outer seat on a three-seater is next to get filled. Typically if a woman occupies the inside seat, a woman will quickly fill the outer seat because most women do not feel comfortable sitting next to a strange man. Even if an empty middle seat separates them. The men on the other hand seem to be oblivious to the gender who occupies the inside window seat. They just plop themselves down whenever there is an available outer three-seater, when no inside seats are available. Girls will reluctantly take the outer seat opposite a man only if there are no other more viable options.
The middle seat on the three seater, as I said, almost always remains empty. But on certain peak-hour rides, those middle seats will start getting filled. The first middle seats that get filled are when women are occupying the outer seats. For either gender feels most comfortable squeezing between two females.
But when two men occupy the outer seats, only women are really welcome to fill that middle seat. For two men typically do not appreciate another man squeezing in between them where thighs, elbows, and such may touch.
When two women are in the outer seats, they really do not appreciate a man squeezing between them but I’ve done it on occasion as it is preferable to squeezing between two other men. Sorry ladies but I do prefer your close company to that of men.
The two-seaters on the opposite aisle have a completely different protocol. For on more crowded trains, you are virtually assured of having a seat mate. The men rather aggressively take the outer seat, literally challenging another passenger to ask them to squeeze in next to them. Women will compliantly take the inner seat, hoping that it is a woman that sits next to them in the outer. Though if I am entering a crowded train, I will almost always select an empty seat next to a female on a two seater as again, I hate sitting in such close proximity to another man if I can help it. Plus, women tend to smell much better and are less likely to overspill into my seat because they are usually smaller.
Overweight people by the way are virtually assured of not getting a seat mate on a two seater, nor will anybody want to take the middle seat of a three seater when an overweight person is on one of the outer seats.
Eating food on a commuter train is absolutely frowned upon. Nobody wants to sit next to a passenger making smacking sounds while eating food, even it if is just a snack bar or a bag of peanuts. It’s just gross.
Even worse are those commuting neophytes who brazenly take onboard hot food like an egg and bacon sandwich or a burger and fries from the Shake Shack and Grand Central, as what happened to me last week. The smell is absolutely disgusting as well. Smells travel really well on trains by the way. You can smell a slice of pizza six rows up or down.
Don’t eat on a commuter train. Just don’t.
Drinking on the other hand is perfectly acceptable. So long as you keep your drink under control at all times. Do not sit your drink on the seat next to you or eventually the train will lurch, spilling the drink all over the seat and floor, making a nasty mess. The conductor will hate you. Your fellow passengers will hate you. Just don’t do it.
Did you know that drinking alcoholic beverages are perfectly acceptable no NYC commuter train? No conductor checking your ticket will ever give you a hard time if you are sipping on a beer or (plastic) glass of wine. Never bring glass on board however as that is an accident waiting to happen. Also, realize that alcohol on board is really for the evening commute. Don’t be the guy drinking a beer on the morning commute.
Every other car on a commuter train features a lavatory. These are fairly disgusting. Men can safely use them to pee, as we can pee just about anywhere. Women should really try to hold it until they get to where they are going. Even with three layers of toilet paper, you don’t want to sit on one of those things. Plus the sink almost never works so when you come out of there, we can safely assume you were not able to wash your hands properly.
Don’t put your empty beer cans in the lavatory sink. Even though the sink doesn’t work, it’s still rude and low class. You will never find a proper trash receptacle on a train. Just save your empties as every station features ample trash receptacles, many with a circular opening to slide your empty cans into.
It is fascinating to watch how the conductors work these trains. They check your tickets between stations (usually on a phone these days) and then punch a piece of cardboard with numbers on it and slip it into a pouch on the seat in front of you, slanted a certain way. Once done, they will never ask you for your ticket again. Even if you move to another seat. They just memorize who you are. And they always know who the newcomers on a train are and will ask for their ticket.
Conductors on a commuter train typically deal with a lot of nonsense from passengers and I’ve never seen them lose their cool. However, if you mess with one, you are virtually guaranteed that at the next stop, police will board the train and take you off. They have a magical way not only of summoning the police but having the police know where precisely the troublemaker is sitting when they board it.
People love to complain about the trains but after years of riding them, I have almost never had a major hassle. They are almost always on time and get you where you need to go. The ticket apps that you can put on your smartphone these days are pretty amazing. You can track the approaching trains and see how many cars they have as well as the percentage of empty seats in each car (they calculate this by weight apparently). This allows you to position yourself on the platform so that the doors of the most empty car usually open right in front of you, allowing you first dibs on the choicest available seats. This level of detail is only attained by train geeks and I am one of them. Whatever happened to Willie Green?
I hated commuting to NYC on trains from New Jersey. The service was terrible and the peak hour trains were usually packed beyond standing-room-only.
FWIW ... I'm a civil engineer by trade, and I did some work on the preliminary design of the LIRR Grand Central extension project way back in the 1990s. I think it was officially called the LIRR East Side Access Project.
The last time I was on the LIRR was 25 years ago. I was traveling to visit family with my then 3 year old to save them the 2-3 hour horror of picking us up at the airport. We were on an fairly empty early afternoon train from Jamaica at the back of the car.
We were riding along when my daughter says in her unmodulated child voice, “Mommy, why does everybody look so angry?” Slowly people looked up, looked around and started smiling at her, and each other. It was kind of amazing.
The outer seat on a three-seater is next to get filled.
I always fill first the outer seat on the three seater. If the three seater fills up you can always stretch your legs toward the aisle when you are in that outer seat. The same can't be said when you are in the inside seat
After I fill the outer seater, anybody who wants the inner or middle seat usually politely asks, and I get up, step out into the aisle and I let them in.
I've been waiting for this for years as I have a branch office on Long Island which previously required me to get to Penn Station to catch a LIRR train out there. My main office is on Lexington Ave just across from Grand Central. So now it is very easy to get to Long Island from my primary office.
The New Jersey commuters have the worse of it. Many of them drive in, which to me is horrifying as I would never want to take my personal car into Manhattan.
The Metro North is the best of the three and my main commute (up to Westport, CT). The LIRR is also pretty reliable though they have some real growing pains due to this East Side Access opening up. They've had to split the trains between Penn and Grand Station resulting in many passengers having to get off at Jamaica to catch a train to their final destination. Sometimes they only have a minute or two to run up the stairs and across the ramp to get to the track their next train is on.
They will get it right eventually.
Too bad. So sad.
Grand Central also used to have "bar carts" on the platforms and in the lower level dining area. These were actually run by Metro North employees. They were shut down in late 2016 due to a money skimming scandal.
However, there are plenty of places at Grand Central to get some brews or wine to take on board. Most of them overcharge. But at the Rite Aid pharmacy on the west side of Grand Central, they have a large selection of canned alcoholic beverages for reasonable prices. At rush hour, the lines are practically out the door with commuters buying beer.
Train lines bringing in thousands of people to the harbor for the fireworks show that night.
Between 2200 and 2300 hours the various trains lines shut down for the night, stranding passengers from a return trip to their home stations & vehicles.
The problem with the middle seat is that many people would rather stand than sit in it, so TPTB realized that they simply had to get rid of it completely.
But most New Yorkers are very decent. They only appear rude because pretty much anybody approaching them is a panhandler or scamster. My recommendation for tourists looking for directions and such is to approach a NYPD officer as they will definitely help you out.
1. Long Island Railroad (118 million annual riders)
—
You mean trips.
Right?
Noted that the only railroad I’ve experienced was Grand Funk Railroad.
I grew up there so the attitudes were normal. But to see it through the eyes of a child who for the most part was used to people being pleasant, made me realize leaving NY was definitely the right choice.
The double decker cars cannot get into the Park Ave tunnel so the Metro North is out of luck. I believe the LIRR extension into Grand Central will allow them however.
Eating a cold sandwich should be OK. Pack it at home and eat it on the ride home
This was in the days before Uber and Lyft so those people were really challenged finding a way home.
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards for fire safety are a limiting factor in the operation of GCT — especially for the lowest platforms. A full passenger load that is discharged from a train of double decker cars may not be able to evacuate within the two key time limits established by the NFPA code for train stations: 4 minutes to clear the platform and 6 minutes to get every passenger from a train out of the station entirely.
Bravissimo. Excellent analysis. Your analysis should be printed on every window at train stops.
“This level of detail is only attained by train geeks and I am one of them.” For sure. Only a train geek, train buff, and train expert can make such an analysis. Yes, cooked food on a train or subway is unethical and disrespectful.
FYI. Rome, Italy, also has super lengthy escalators going down to the subway.
Also,in the last year or so I've taken Metro North trains from Connecticut into Manhattan...on weekdays. The trains,going in and coming back,were no more that 10% full...as was the parking lot.
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