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June 17, 2009
Would the new MTA railyard actually accommodate fewer cars? Do the math
Atlantic Yards Report
Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner proposed to increase the storage capacity of the Vanderbilt Railyard. In the effort to save money, could he be renegging on his promises?
THE BAIT
According to Forest City Ratner's 2005 bid to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for the Vanderbilt Yard:
The new yard would have a modern signal system, new employee facilities, new lighting and an enclosure, new toilet servicing options, an improved track structure, and better rail access. And it would accommodate 76 rather than 72 cars.
THE SWITCH
However, to save money, Ratner is changing the deal to even fewer tracks:
While the MTA has not publicly released details about the seven-track replacement yard it has accepted, in place of the nine-track yard it was promised, a look at the chart and the schematic drawings suggests that storage capacity would go down.
Consider that the longest tracks planned in the new yard would accommodate ten cars. There would be two ten-car tracks and seven eight-car tracks, an improvement over the longstanding configuration of ten tracks, but with five of them accommodating only six cars.
However, a reduction to seven tracks, even if each accommodated ten cars, would mean that the new yard would fit 70 cars rather than the 76 promised. And 70 cars may be overoptimistic.
NoLandGrab: In otherwords, the most optimistic analysis of Ratner's latest proposal means that the LIRR railyard would have less storage capacity (70 cars) than it does now (72 cars). That's a net LOSS, not benefit.
Posted by lumi at June 17, 2009 5:32 AM