18th
Introduction part dos
Hello again to all of you out there that have read my first blog. I have decided to state how I am conducting my data collection, why it works well and what I am basically doing with this data, and how I shall analyze it to make sense of it all.
As I have mentioned before, in my many years of riding our vast subway system, I have discovered that the MTA loves to decieve the public and keeps using the same stories and excuses over and over again, and the fact that my commutes, even though I leave my residence at the same time everyday and go to the same places, never, and I mean have never, taken the same amount of time.
As you may or may not know, all railroad organizations, like many other organizations, heavily rely on schedules. Schedules are necessary to maintain a safe and efficient operation along the entire system, and when it comes to transporting people in and around urban and suburban areas, these passengers rely on these schedules to make sure they arrive to their destination in a timely manner. The MTA posts schedules at its many bus stops, but usually only posts its subway schedules online. However, you do not need a schedule to know that the MTA is not very proficient at maintaning a good schedule.
When I am in the process of collecting data, this is how I organize it:
- I write down the time (in an hour, then minute, then second format) of when I arrive at the given station.
- Since I have noticed that service is quite lopsided on some days, if I am riding a line with frequent service, I note down how many trains are going in the opposite direction before my given train arrives.
- Once the train comes, I use the same format for writing down the time of when the train comes into the station and makes a complete stop.
- Once I get onboard the train, I take down the rolling stock number and note the condition of the car.
- When the train leaves, on my way to where I get off, I note how long the trip took, if there is a construction zone or not and the errors the train operator makes.
- And once I arrive, I note down what time I arrived at the station to see how long the trip took.
So, after reading these six steps, I can surely believe that in your mind, you’re telling yourself, how this this person possibly know what these errors of judgement are, and how can he know when they are committed. Well here is your answer folks! I have railfanned for years, and by trail and error, I can see how a train operators actions can cause delays on the trip and even might pose a safety threat in construction zone.
Well first, let me tell you what errors I look for while riding the rails:
- Making a brake error: A braking error occurs when a train operator unecissarily brakes the train for no apparent reason, and this usually occurs when they don’t know where to stop a train at a station and how the signals work.
- Speed errors: In some cases, the train operator either goes too slow or too fast in a given track area of the given line.
- Signal violations: A lot of train operators do not know how the signals of the subway sytem work and will violate signals along the way.
- Stop points: Sometimes, train operators do not stop a train at the proper point in the station. There are some stations folks that if over override the stop point, the front doors of the trian are going to be in the tunnel portal past the stations.
- Construction zone errors: when there are workers on a track, train operators must properly warn the workers once the train goes next to the warning lanters or flags and keep the train running under 15 MPH. In some cases, the train operators decide to slow down and blow the train horn even up to 300 feet past the warning lanters, which is a safety threat to the track workers. When the train passes the area of the workers, there is a green lantern or flag present to tell the train operator to go back to normal speed. These operators, sometimes, either accel the train too early or accel the train way past that green lantern or flag.
So there you have it folks. Now you know how I collect my data and what my goals are. Like I said before, delays cost time and money, and sometimes a very large amount of time and money, and I just love the fact that so many of these delays are preventable!
In a long story short, now all you who have read my first two blogs now know what my project is all about. So please, stay tuned, because shortly I will post some stories to talk about my points so far, how my data collection is going, what my overall data shows and I shall even post some pictures!
Take care folks!
Yours truly,
BrooklynBrightliner55
