Keep the B Train Local? Fuggetaboutit!

If you don’t remember, a reader previously suggested that the B train remain local after construction is completed.  As expected, since we now have two trains running local on the same track, most of us didn’t agree and were not afraid to voice our opinions against it.

So, the reader, named Auxil, turned to Transit Sam for his thoughts on the manner.

Basically, he told Transit Sam the way he saw it – that there were now two trains making making the same stops, therefore picking up more people as a result of the more frequent service.

Transit Sam politely responded, making some important points why Auxil’s idea was a bad one. One point Transit Sam made was that the riders south of Prospect Park (such as us), sit through more dreadful stops on a local B than the express B that we all know and loved (Well, that MOST of us loved, right Auxil?).

According to Transit Sam, “running the B as a local adds about 12 minutes to the commute from Brighton Beach to Prospect Park and according to NYC Transit, it would also cost more to operate.”

As for Auxil’s belief that there’s more frequent service if there’s two trains running local, well that’s practically a myth. Transit Sam says that waiting for Q after a local B is only a minute less than when the B ran express.

Transit Sam ended his response with an interesting statement- “The Brighton Line is more attractive to customers because it has four tracks and enough riders to fill express trains — a combination enjoyed nowhere else in the country.”

Yet one of the many reasons we need our express B train back.  Oh, how it’s been so long…