February 22, 2010

Arrived at 145th St. Station at 7:25 or thereabouts...the new neon sign is flashing that an express train is approaching...of course it doesn't say whether it's upstairs (A) or downstairs (D). The D is pulling in downstairs...we all rush downstairs, the conductor announces to watch the closing doors...we all grab a seat or stand delighted that we have managed to catch the express...then nothing. The doors don't close, the train doesn't move, the bell doesn't chime,...but we hear the sound of the A express arriving way upstairs....we sit, sit, sit...finally an announcement that we are being held in the station ... the sound of the A doors closing...the train pulls out and we continue to wait on the D express....

February 19, 2010

145th Street and St. Nich. I came down to the A/C platform as the A train was pulling out. Now we have neon signs announcing trains. There is a message saying that a Brooklyn bound train is arriving in 4 minutes on the express track. Then a voice comes over the PA repeating the same message but adding that there is a Brooklyn bound train at 161st Street. Now the problem is that there are 2 express tracks -- a D train express track downstairs and an A train express track. Unfortunately, the announcements do not specify which express track -- the A or the D....It's the same situation as before...we stand on the stairwell straining to hear whether the train will come upstairs or down....What was the first train to come into the station? A C local going downtown. What train was next? A B local arrived on the downtown express track headed north...How long did the next A take to arrive about 5 minutes. It's amazing how difficult it is for the MTA to get the logistics of something like announcing the train schedule! Is it that hard?