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Commuters rejoice or nightmare? Grand Central

JustinRP37
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JustinRP37 Member Level: 3G EVDO

JustinRP37

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While commuting to work this morning on MetroNorth, the railroad put a copy of their monthly newsletter on all the seats. Interestingly enough, they officially stated that cell service is coming to the Park Avenue tunnel. This tunnel is the main artery between Grand Central and the outdoor world, and all MetroNorth trains travel through it. Interestingly enough, the big carriers have contracted Ericsson to provide the cell coverage throughout the tunnel and public WiFi in the terminal. AT&T, Sprint, T-mobile, and Verizon are all funding the project and it will take up to two years to complete. This announcement will soon be posted on MTA.info under the MetroNorth Mileposts section, but I was able to find an earlier report here: http://gothamist.com...g_to_grand.php

 

Will this be a good thing for commuters or will it turn out to be annoying with people screaming "I'm in the tunnel can you hear me?" into their phones? Only time will tell!

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JustinRP37 Member Level: 3G EVDO

JustinRP37

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The link should work now. The period at the end screwed up the link. Anyway, Sprint is part of this. I think it will be a good thing too, as long as people do not abuse it. Will be nice to be able to stream radio now in the tunnels and continue to work if needed.

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S4GRU Member Level: LTE Advanced

S4GRU

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The link should work now. The period at the end screwed up the link. Anyway, Sprint is part of this. I think it will be a good thing too, as long as people do not abuse it. Will be nice to be able to stream radio now in the tunnels and continue to work if needed.

 

I have been a victim of links with punctuation directly after them. :doh:

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

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Deval Member Level: LTE Advanced

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Is it really that difficult to deploy cells in transit tunnels? I don't understand why subway coverage isn't widespread.

 

If you've ever seen the NY subway system, the infrastructure there is probably order than both of us. I can imagine how hard it would be to run antennas and repeaters throughout the stations without affecting service.

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JustinRP37 Member Level: 3G EVDO

JustinRP37

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Is it really that difficult to deploy cells in transit tunnels? I don't understand why subway coverage isn't widespread.

 

I am not signal guru, but the tunnels have metal framing (steel probably?), which probably absorbs a good deal of the signal. Also, within the tunnels, space is limited, so fitting the required equipment might also be tough in some areas. Another planning nightmare is that the system runs 24/7 365 (unless there is a hurricane), which means there is not a lot of down time to deploy the network. Sure there is the FastTrack program that suspends a select line at night for a few nights, but this is mainly for track and station work. The MTA also requires any outside contractor to attend training to work in the tunnels. Thus, cell operators were probably not in any hurry to install below ground.

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Deval Member Level: LTE Advanced

Deval

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I am not signal guru, but the tunnels have metal framing (steel probably?), which probably absorbs a good deal of the signal. Also, within the tunnels, space is limited, so fitting the required equipment might also be tough in some areas. Another planning nightmare is that the system runs 24/7 365 (unless there is a hurricane), which means there is not a lot of down time to deploy the network. Sure there is the FastTrack program that suspends a select line at night for a few nights, but this is mainly for track and station work. The MTA also requires any outside contractor to attend training to work in the tunnels. Thus, cell operators were probably not in any hurry to install below ground.

 

Stupid FastTrack screwing up my weekends on the 7 train.

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jaybiz81 Member Level: 1x Advanced

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Is it really that difficult to deploy cells in transit tunnels? I don't understand why subway coverage isn't widespread.

 

I know part of it is finding the room to store the equipment, especially in NYC where the system is so old and was never designed for the amount of telecommunications and electrical components we have. You can see this in pictures of the original tunnels, without 4,247 pipes per station, and current looks of stations. There isn't a lot of available space underground to build new telecommunications rooms. And, those rooms need to be air conditioned, as they discovered with the countdown clocks shutting down in extreme heat.

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JohnnyAwesome Member Level: 1x Advanced

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Stupid FastTrack screwing up my weekends on the 7 train.

 

Not to make this a MTA NYCT Discussion but the weekend work on the 7 is to Install "Communications Based Train Control" when the R188 comes out the 7 will be computer controlled for hopefully more trains during rush hour.

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Deval Member Level: LTE Advanced

Deval

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Not to make this a MTA NYCT Discussion but the weekend work on the 7 is to Install "Communications Based Train Control" when the R188 comes out the 7 will be computer controlled for hopefully more trains during rush hour.

 

I just hope that means more local trains. I've been at the 40th street / Lowery St. station and had to skip a few trains because they were packed.

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