The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has amended its five-year capital plan to budget for light diesel “scoot” trains on the Montauk and Greenport branches of the the Long Island Rail Road, a move that could make life much easier for commuters on the East End come 2014.
New York State Assemblyman , I-Sag Harbor, said the trains were part of the MTA's capital plan when it was designed in 2009, but actual funding for the proposal was never identified until now. The amendment calls for $37.2 million to purchase five new trains for the LIRR, which will serve as shuttles for intra-Island commuting.
Thiele said the proposed “diesel multiple unit” trains come in sets of two cars and are lighter, more cost effective and have smaller engines than typical LIRR trains. When ridership is heavy, another pair of cars can be added to a train to accommodate the additional riders. The LIRR could purchase more in the future if the first fleet of shuttles is successful, according to Thiele.
Shuttle trains were successful during the reconstruction of County Road 39 in Southampton, Thiele said. But these trains will be different, as they will be cheaper to run.
Thiele predicted that the new shuttle service will help boost the number of jobs in the East End tourism and second-home industries. “Transportation alternatives that make it easier to get here and easier to move from hamlet to hamlet will foster the growth of our local economy,” he said.
The train shuttles are a step toward an East End rail-bus network pushed by Five Towns Rural Transit, a nonprofit advocacy group that hopes to solve the area’s congestion woes. A study completed in 2009 by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center on behalf of the towns of Southampton, East Hampton, Riverhead, Southold and Shelter Island looked at the feasibility of such a commuter network. It recommended that service run for approximately 18 hours per day in season, and 14 hours per day off-season, with the “seasons” each defined as roughly 182 days per year.
apparently being forced to become a year-round western Suffolk community! Well, perhaps we are already here, since we invite in individuals from all over the world and also those that cross our borders! How good does this get for the taxpayers, the schools, the faith based groups and the business groups?? Yes, left out the "green jobs" group too!!! The train will bring more workers out East and where are the jobs???? Rest my case!
I didn't realize that the METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY, considered the rural twin forks to be METROLPOLITAN!. So $37 million to purchase 5 trains for how many commuters? A few hundred? A thousand? It can't be much more than that. That's one expensive commute! How much is the additional yearly operating cost of such an investment? No worries, an MTA tax on all of us will take care of it. Oh yes it's all brought to us by the MTA. The organization that always needs more taxpayer dollars to plug its own deficits and career public servant Fred Thiele. Jacques Ditte Nemo Me Impune Lacessit
the bus route and the Sunday route -- and I was told that this was for the elderly however, later admitted by our Leg. Rep. from Suffolk County --For the workers to come out to the East End!!! So who is watching the "hen house"!!! Private interests??
This sounds like a good idea, but financially, pardon the pun, but it's a train wreck.
Please, we already know that this will be a further increase on our roads,since most people require a car to get around. In my opinion, there is so many new incentives coming down the road, I believe, we should stop for a moment and realize the impact/cost of this idea.
Make too much sense so forget about morons like Thiele to like it.
Yes, it might be easy to replace the LIRR with buses, but did you want the bigger tax bill that will come with it? I sure don't! On average in this country in 2010 according to the National Transit Database it costs 40 cents per passenger mile to move people on commuter rail systems, like the LIRR. The LIRR comes in at 48 cents per passenger mile. On average it costs 90 cents per passenger mile to move people by bus in this country; Suffolk County's SCT buses come in at 93 cents per passenger mile. Nassau Country comes in at 79 cents per passenger mile. NYC's MTA manages a whopping $1.25 per passenger mile.
Seeing as how we drivers only manage to cover 51% of the costs of our highways via fuel taxes & other fees, it's no wonder that the LIRR can't charge enough to cover its costs. And those local streets in most states are paved with property taxes, not fuel taxes. The subsidy to us drivers is far greater than any subsidy to the LIRR. Heck, according to the data from the National Transit Database, in 2010 LIRR riders actually managed to cover 46.12% of their costs, just below what we drivers are managing on only the highways.