LIRR service at Grand Central could be delayed (again)

Plus: a rat on a train! [FORWARD TO A FRIEND]( [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [DONATE]( [WNYC Politics Brief] Key safety approval could delay the start of LIRR service at Grand Central Plus: The MTA has released a limited-edition Dolly Parton MetroCard. The city says it's launching its largest street cleaning effort in decades. And a video game where you just ... operate a municipal bus network. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- [Kathy Hochul and Janno Lieber standing in the new LIRR terminal at Grand Central] Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of Gov. Kathy Hochul Transit officials have insisted since 2014 that East Side Access, the project to bring Long Island Rail Road service to Grand Central Terminal, would be completed before the end of 2022. But a crucial safety approval from the federal government [could push back that timeline to March 2023]( piling onto years of delays. In a letter obtained by Gothamist, the MTA told the Federal Railway Administration last month that a mandatory safety feature that automatically prevents trains from entering the wrong tunnels would not be installed on time, and asked for an exemption to the requirement. The safety technology will not be in place on the MTA’s trains "before LIRR’s commencement of its East Side Access passenger service and the opening of the Grand Central Madison tunnels," the MTA’s letter said. The MTA told the FRA that there are other ways to prevent trains from going off course in the tunnels, like automated signs that light up, or audible warnings in train cabs. The agency also noted that because Amtrak and LIRR trains use different types of power, electricity could be automatically cut if trains are on the wrong track. The FRA is expected to decide later this month whether to grant the waiver allowing the MTA to launch East Side Access without the safety technology. The federal agency is also in the process of reviewing several other aspects of the project before giving it final approval to open to the public. A delay would be a major embarrassment to the agency, which has insisted the project is on time and on budget, at least since MTA Chairman Janno Lieber took over the project as head of capital construction in 2017. On Tuesday, MTA spokesman Tim Minton said the agency expects the feds will approve the exemption. But FRA official Gabe Neal said this week that the technology is very much required. He said railroads around the country use it to automatically stop a train before hitting avalanches, flooded tracks or rockslides. "It would be left up to the human element to prevent an oversized train from going into the tunnel it can’t fit into," said Neal. [Read more here](. — Reporting by Stephen Nessen --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- Dolly Parton is the latest celebrity to get her own run of limited-edition MetroCards [Dolly Parton in a pink outfit with a guitar, singing] Jack Fordyce/Shutterstock The MTA announced Wednesday it's releasing [50,000 limited-edition Dolly Parton MetroCards]( which are now available at the 42nd Street-Grand Central and Times Square stations, as well as 34th Street-Herald Square and Penn Station. Parton, who's currently promoting a new greatest hits album, joins the elite club of musicians on MetroCards, which includes David Bowie and the [Notorious B.I.G.]( She could also be the last celebrity to get her own MetroCard. By the end of next year, the MTA expects to completely phase out the payment system, with 37% of riders already using OMNY, according to the transit agency's October board meeting. [Read more here](. — Reporting by Stephen Nessen --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- Here's what else is happening Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday the city will spend $14.5 million to clean up its dirtiest streets. An additional 200 sanitation workers will be hired to carry out what the mayor called the largest cleanup effort in decades. ([Gothamist]( The real estate developer that was supposed to build skyscrapers around Penn Station — and thus help finance the train station's renovation — is backing off. Newly disclosed emails show that Vornado Realty Trust thinks "now is not a good time" to develop in the area around Penn Station. Property tax revenue from new buildings was going to be a key component of the state’s plan to finance the $22 billion overhaul of the station and surrounding area. ([Gothamist]( Cash will no longer be accepted at the Lincoln Tunnel next month as the Hudson River crossing converts to fully cashless tolling. Starting Dec. 11, the Port Authority will close its final cash tollbooths and proceed to bill drivers either through their E-Z Pass readers or via bills in the mail. ([AM New York]( The federal government gave NJ Transit and the PATH more than $2 billion for resiliency projects after Hurricane Sandy, but only a small portion of that work has actually been completed. Glass and concrete awnings over a pair of PATH station entrances and a flood barrier outside a major maintenance facility are basically complete. A slew of other projects are still under construction. ([NJ.com]( Andy Byford is back in the U.S. and looking for a job. The former New York City Transit boss, who left the job for London in Feb. 2020 after "constant undermining and interference" from then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has moved back to the States and said he's weighing job opportunities in the transit business. ([New York Post]( If you're looking to spice up your weekend, try playing City Bus Manager, a tycoon-style computer game where you design and operate a realistic city bus network. Yes, the company behind this is German. ([Streetsblog USA]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- And Finally: Feet up! [a rat under a subway seat]( [@vverawang/TikTok]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential election coverage and more. 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