Category Archives: Subway

W Train’s Last Ride a Party

Posted on June 29, 2010 by TJ

Lest the W train think it barely registered in our consciousness, a batch of hardy New Yorkers turned its last ride into a party last weekend, reports the NY Times. Running from Astoria to lower Manhattan and back, the Dubya … Continue reading →

Posted in MTA, Subway | 1 Comment

The Work-From-Home Dilemma

Posted on May 5, 2010 by TJ

As companies cut costs and wireless technology improves, we’ve seen a handful of co-workers get pushed into permanent work-from-home status. The company shaves off some overhead, and the worker avoids commuting costs–and hassles–as he or she sets up the home … Continue reading →

Posted in LIRR, Metro North, New Jersey Transit, Stench Bench, Subway, Telecommuting | 6 Comments

THE TRAINJOTTING READER: The Works of Jonathan Lethem

Posted on April 30, 2010 by TJ

I’ve found myself reading a bit of Jonathan Lethem lately. Lethem is a terrific writer, and has found his niche writing about Brooklyn boys with no mothers. If you think I’m lying about that, the guy even wrote a book … Continue reading →

Posted in Grand Central, Hastings, Subway, Trainjotting Reader | Tagged , | Leave a comment

‘Pigs’ and ‘Hogs’ on the Subways and Commuter Rails

Posted on April 27, 2010 by TJ

So widespread is the practice of New Yorkers behaving badly on public transportation that we have two separate user-generated websites dedicated to their transportation transgressions, a.k.a. “trainsgressions”. (And so widespread are camera-equipped smartphones that we now have armies of citizens … Continue reading →

Posted in Seat, Subway | 1 Comment

Straphanger Joe Says There’s No ‘Sub’ in ‘Subliminal’…But There Still is in ‘Subway’

Posted on April 7, 2010 by TJ

Party in the Bottle   It used to be the advertisements were subliminal for alcohol. If you looked carefully at the ice in the glass of scotch in the ad, you’d see a naked or half-naked woman, or a man … Continue reading →

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Describing the Moscow Subway Bombings

Posted on March 30, 2010 by admin

A couple Russian novelists take a shot at describing the horror that befell commuters as the Moscow subways were bombed in two places yesterday. The essays appear in today’s NY Times Op-Ed section. Sergey Kuznetsov writes “Moscow Under Attack”. Peter … Continue reading →

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A Token of Our Appreciation

Posted on January 21, 2010 by TJ

Nearly seven years since the subway token was rendered essentially worthless, the former symbol of loud, sweaty, in-your-face Noo Yawk is still very much in demand, reports AMNY’s Urbanite blog. Heather Haddon writes: Straphangers who have held onto the iconic … Continue reading →

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Straphanger Joe Says There Are No Stupid People, Just Stoopid Ads

Posted on January 11, 2010 by TJ

Stoopid   We taught my son that stupid was a bad word. We didn’t want him calling things (“Stupid game” or “Stupid dog” or “Stupid anthill”) or people this word so we told him it was a baaaaaad word.   … Continue reading →

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The Season of (For)giving

Posted on December 22, 2009 by TJ

It being that time of year when New Yorkers are nice and all, I sign off for the Christmas holidays with this bit of seasonal cheer from the New York Times’ Metropolitan Diary. Dear Diary: One night in late October, … Continue reading →

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W and Z Trains One Step Closer to Extinction

Posted on December 15, 2009 by TJ

The W and Z trains will go the way of automats and guys calling strangers “Mac” if planned transit cuts gain final approval. So will free transit rides for students. The NY Times says the cuts are necessary after the … Continue reading →

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