Train to Belmont may discontinue

[oddsmaven]

The Long Island Railroad posted some flyers on service cutback...one of the items was to announce the recommendation to cancel service to Belmont which I believe had been making two runs on Belmont racing days...they indicated that they would only run the train on Belmont Stakes Day in the future.

[Tom]

This train don't carry no gamblers, this train;
This train don't carry no gamblers, this train;
This train don't carry no gamblers,
Liars, thieves, nor big shot ramblers,
This train is bound for glory, this train.

;)

[Stevie Belmont]

Well if that's true, there will be a lot of people not going to Belmont this year. What a joke...:ThmbDown:

[Spectacular Sid]

It's a pleasant little walk from the Floral Park station...about half an hour. Just consider it time spent on a treadmill at the gym.

[Grits]

And, if the majority of rail employees of the Long Island Railroad who retired early, declaring, and getting without question, full disability, though it hasn't interferred with their golf games at fine clubs on Long Island, the railroad, certainly, may not have had to make such a tremendously effective cost cutting move as this one. Wouldn't want to hinder the dole. What can one say, but . . . more theft.

[takeout]

This will fit it nicely with that new “got to cash your tickets in ten days” rule. ;)

[Zman179]

Well if that's true, there will be a lot of people not going to Belmont this year. What a joke...:ThmbDown:

Well I wouldn't go that far. The Belmont train does have a few customers, but it is definitely a money losing venture for the LIRR. Besides, with that 30 minute wait for the last train, you'd probably make it into the city faster by taking the N6 bus to the F train at 179 St. That N6 is a very fast bus, plus you'd save about $5.

It's a pleasant little walk from the Floral Park station...about half an hour. Just consider it time spent on a treadmill at the gym.

You're going way to far. If you get off at Queens Village the walk is only 20 minutes to the grandstand (I've done it many times) and the fare is $1 less each way.

[weegee]

Please tell me the route you take to walk from the Queens Village station to the grandstand. I'm not familiar with the area and I can see myself getting lost.

Money-losing or not, it's going to inconvenience a lot of people enough to keep them from going to Belmont. With NYRA required to meet benchmarks of attendance and handle, it's in their best interests to find some solution.

[the little guy]

Please tell me the route you take to walk from the Queens Village station to the grandstand. I'm not familiar with the area and I can see myself getting lost.

Money-losing or not, it's going to inconvenience a lot of people enough to keep them from going to Belmont. With NYRA required to meet benchmarks of attendance and handle, it's in their best interests to find some solution.


It's very easy and I have done it over one hundred times. You walk down Springfield Avenue, where the train leaves you off, approximately four blocks to Hempstead Turnpike. Take a left onto Hempstead and you hit Belmont in less than one half a mile. The walk takes about 15 minutes total.

We are obviously looking into this developing situation. I will try to keep people updated.

[weegee]

Thank you so much, tlg! It's another reason why I'm a fan of yours.

[Nacumi]

I'm quite sure that if the NY Dems' legislative troika (Paterson/Silver/Smith)
push through the grand redevelopment plan for a Belmont slots parlor and luxury hotel/conference center/shopping, you'll see lots of LIRR trains back on that scheduled stop. We don't want the tourists to have to change trains or walk 20 minutes, do we? We want them deposited directly at the top of the stretch, er, at the casino entrance. ;)

[OTM Al]

The casino happens, I wouldn't be surprised to see the subway extended out there. Just hope they build it before they realize revenues won't be near the numbers being thrown around

[Zman179]

The casino happens, I wouldn't be surprised to see the subway extended out there. Just hope they build it before they realize revenues won't be near the numbers being thrown around

That will never happen in our grandchildren's lifetimes. If the MTA is having difficulties getting the Second Avenue Line built, which was first drawn up in the mid-1950's, will serve a few million passengers per week and won't be finished until 2015, then what shot is there of an F line extension?
The more likely result will be the refurbishment of the Aqueduct Racetrack station (alongside the track and not the North Conduit Av station) as well as a new southbound platform being built.

[OTM Al]

Big difference is out there the line is above ground and far far cheaper to build than burrowing underground for the 2nd avenue line. Of course cheaper is relative today and it probably won't happen, but it would be nice.

[Spectacular Sid]

Thank you so much, tlg! It's another reason why I'm a fan of yours.

Is there an official TLG fan club?

[The Hawk]

Well if that's true, there will be a lot of people not going to Belmont this year. What a joke...:ThmbDown:

Weren't there already a lot of people not going to Belmont? ;)

[lurker]

I have used the Bellerose station. It's closer to the track than the other stations mentioned. From the station its about a 9 block walk to the track. There is a pedestrian only gate that puts you about 300 yards from the track parking lot bus.

[santanajimi]

Is there an official TLG fan club?

Please let me know if there is.....and how much it costs to join.

[samyn on the green]

I take the train out to Belmont (http://gregcalabrese.blogspot.com/2008/09/belmont-17th-septembertrip-report.html) a few times a year. On the weekdays the train is a ghost town, they could run a van out there and barely fill it up. It must be a huge waste for the MTA to run eight train cars from Penn St to Belmont.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zoiPyRqht7s/SNG10L4f-cI/AAAAAAAAANU/N_1hB-KM0b8/s1600-h/emptyLIRR.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zoiPyRqht7s/SNG10L4f-cI/AAAAAAAAANU/N_1hB-KM0b8/s1600/emptyLIRR.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zoiPyRqht7s/SNG10L4f-cI/AAAAAAAAANU/N_1hB-KM0b8/s1600-h/emptyLIRR.jpg

[Thomas Roulston]

That train service has grown steadily more unreliable as the years have passed (I first rode it in the late '70s).

So I would hardly even notice if they did away with it, since I hardly ever use it anymore.

[the little guy]

Here's an update from the NYRA website.


http://nyra.com/aqueduct/stories/Jan242009.shtml

[samyn on the green]

Well that is good news that you guys are fighting for the right to ride the train to the track.


A less imposing issue is that the A-train runs local on the weekends to Aqueduct. Sometimes I bring a banana to eat for lunch at the track. The ride is so fricking long I always have to make sure they are really green bananas. Here's an update from the NYRA website.


http://nyra.com/aqueduct/stories/Jan242009.shtml

[Thomas Roulston]

Last year I used the Q110 bus - which at least now is air-conditioned (I can remember when it wasn't).

[Zman179]

A less imposing issue is that the A-train runs local on the weekends to Aqueduct. Sometimes I bring a banana to eat for lunch at the track. The ride is so fricking long I always have to make sure they are really green bananas.

The A train isn't supposed to run local to Aqueduct on the weekends, but the constant track work and the weekend suspensions of the C train makes the A train run à la 1980's. I remember what Harvey Pack used to say about the A train:

"When you head out to Aqueduct on the weekends, it takes about an hour to get to the track. If you lost, to head back home it takes two hours."

[Zman179]

I take the train out to Belmont (http://gregcalabrese.blogspot.com/2008/09/belmont-17th-septembertrip-report.html) a few times a year. On the weekdays the train is a ghost town, they could run a van out there and barely fill it up. It must be a huge waste for the MTA to run eight train cars from Penn St to Belmont.

Realistically, the Belmont train is a waste of taxpayer money. They have to hire a full crew with a brakeman, conductor and engineer in order to serve, what, 100 people tops for two trips? Taking the F train to the N6 bus (or the E to the Q110) is definitely the way to go, it gets you there in nearly the same time as the train because the bad track conditions with a 5 mph speed restriction around Belmont practically negate any time savings. Plus you don't have to worry about adhering to a schedule with the subway & bus combo.

[Stevie Belmont]

The MTA is holding a public hearing today at 6 p.m. on the proposed cuts to LIRR trains going Belmont Park. The hearings will be at the NY Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, 333 Adams St., Brooklyn. If you can’t make you can call 212-878-7483. You can also write to Douglas Sussman, Director of MTA Community Affairs 347 Madison Ave. NY NY 10017 or comment at www.mta.info (http://www.mta.info/)

[samyn on the green]

Yeah you are dead right that the train is a waste of taxpayer funds. Not as much as the new billion dollar ballparks in the BX and Flushing.

I fervently disagree that the F/N6 combo is the same time or even close in trip time to the Belmont LIRR. The LIRR rolls express right from Penn to Queens Village. The only time the LIRR goes slow is that last 1/4 mile when the train leaves the main line for the Belmont rail spur.

That F train is pretty slow after forest hills, it mades every damn stop. Then you have to get off and wait for a Nassau bus. Realistically, the Belmont train is a waste of taxpayer money. They have to hire a full crew with a brakeman, conductor and engineer in order to serve, what, 100 people tops for two trips? Taking the F train to the N6 bus (or the E to the Q110) is definitely the way to go, it gets you there in nearly the same time as the train because the bad track conditions with a 5 mph speed restriction around Belmont practically negate any time savings. Plus you don't have to worry about adhering to a schedule with the subway & bus combo.

[cj's dad]

Why is it such a big deal to get to the track??

Trains, subways, cabs, car services, doesn't anyone in NY own a CAR !!

[bane]

I went to Belmont once and it was non racing day in March. The only problem I had was finding a way around that giant oval to the grandstand from
Bellerose.

[Thomas Roulston]

The worst part of the train-to-Belmont experience is on the return trip, when it often takes forever just to get to the point where the Belmont spur hooks up with the rest of the line.

I swear that I could have walked all the way to Penn Station in less time, on some occasions.

[BlueShoe]

If any of you watch the Aqueduct reruns,Jason B. mentions this situation almost every day,and encourages fans to help save the train.From comments on this forum and elsewhere,this effort would seem to have little chance.

[OTM Al]

Its a done deal. From DRF

Belmont Special axed by MTA

As expected, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority scrapped train service from Manhattan to Belmont Park as part of a plan that includes budget cuts and fare hikes. The lone exception is Belmont Stakes Day (June 6).

The "Belmont Special," as it was known, would run twice a day from the city with two trains heading back to the city - one after the seventh race, and one after the nightcap.

NYRA management has not yet finalized plans to compensate for the loss of the Belmont service, though it could announce something next week. One possible solution is to offer shuttle service from a nearby Long Island Rail Road stop such as Bellerose or Floral Park.

"That's an option we'll probably look at," Handel said.

[bane]

NYRA better work with LIRR so that people know that a shuttle exhist.