New-York tribune., 1907-12-23
NEW SUBWAY RECORD.
MORE TRAINS THAN EYER.
Nefr DispatcEing arrangement end
Police Are Great Hid.


officials Of the Interbororgh Rapid Transit Com
many are much pleased the results being Oh
Gained from the arrangement for .rain dis
Matching which has been installed at the Grand
central Station following conferences between
Theodore P. Shonts and members and engineers OF
tbe Public Service Commission. The subway spe-
ciaI police squad plays an important part in this
rev scheme. Through the special officers and an
effort 10 the length of train stops at sta
Mons an average service of thirty express trains an
hour is maintained row, the officials say something
heretofore impossible.
william r. WILCOX chairman of the Public Ser
vice Commission. in ;he earlier stages of the Inter
borough Metropolitan inquiry examined witnesses
fully in regard the effect system of policing the
subway would have. Mr.. Wilcox expressed himself
as much interested in this question. In fact the
officials say that in the morning and evening rush
hours more trains are being than were
called for in the last order of the Public Service
Commission. When this was called to the atten-
tion Of official OF the Public Service Commission
yesterday afternoon. he said: THE Interboroush
Rapid Transit Company refers 10 the last final
order issued hy the commission which applied to
The lighter summer travel. The commission has
prepared another order which. however has not yet
been made final, but which will require a material
increase in the number Of trains over those re-
CURED by ;ts former order
II was possible last winter 70 operate an aver
sge Of only tHenty-three trains hour. Before
the subway squad was put TO work this winter this
average had crept to tventy-six or twenty
seven. Now al the height of the rush trains are
sent through on a two-minute headwsy and at
intervals higher rate has been reached
The new dispatching arrangement installed by
Mr. Shonts is along lines recommended 10 the Pub
lie Service Commission by Bion ]. Arnold who in
vestgated the subway service.
the Grand Central there is 8 dispatcher for
uptown trains and another for downtown trains.
Each he's stop watch with which he registers the
length Of stops of all trains On a sheet before
him he records the schedule time OF the trains the
actual time of arrival and the length of the stop
His instructions limit the stop TO forty-ive
seconds less unless it is necessary to prolong
Il TO allow passengers TO get of His elevated
station gives him clear of the whole length
the train. and when he sounds the starting gong
the special officers close the doors and the train
proceeds promptly. II is sometimes necessary TO
rroong the stop beyond the limit OF fortyve sec
onds, when there is unusually large number OF
persons getting off when il is necessary TO ex-
tend the loading time 10 prevent the platform from
becoming overcrOwded. but. 10 compensate for
these delays. it is often possible to get train
away IN less than forty-hre seconds
With an average stop Of forty-five seconds. s.
he maintained. 1t sometimes happens that all
the persons who want 10 board q train are unable
10 do So though great number is ever thus de-
Ieyed.
Even these individual delays are disappearing as
the MESSENGERS learn distribute themselves along
1he <tIl length of the train instead of ping UP
around the centre cars. Frequently on the front
and rear of a train all the persons who
want to get of and all who want to get on have
done SO while on the centre cars persons are still
f-S-,-r To syprn m
The length Of stop has been cut TO thirty-one sec
onds but II frequently has TO be extended to a
minute and ten seconds Between o-5o ana 90
O'Clock on one Of the heaviest evenings last week
exactly thirty expresses were sent away from the
Grand Central Station In the hour between S;ao
and $40 O'Clock thirty-three trains were put
through. The record so far is seventeen trains IN
thirty minutes, which was accomplished In the
evening rush a few days but the conditions at
that time were unusually favorable TO rapid train
movement.
These results have been accomplished in the face
or the heaviest travel the subway has ever known
On December 9 the subway carried 6f5,lG pas
sansers which was s,enO more than had ever used
II in one day before. Just week later this new
record was broken, with total Of es'os2 pas
se-pe-s When the subway vas built its extreme
ospacity was estimated by experts to be SorO
PASSENGERS q day. ard IL was thought that before
that figure was reached another subway "oUio "o
IN operation.
r+a effect of the new ARRANGEMENT has been TO so
even M the loads by increasing the travel on the
local trains that is less congestion AZ "otfl
street, Persons bound from downtown TO local sta-
lions between z2d and I'D streets have found ths'
they lose time by changing at Grand Central Inc
,o~sr trains which are also governed by the dis
-afcners ct Grand Central are operated In the
-rysh hours on q headway of one minute ano foTiY
secords which is the limit Of operation through
e1th street.
win rhe oneration Of the Brooklyn extension
--btcl, viii begin early in January ano through
-rl,srf there will better distribution OF Inc
mad and with the better educaton OF tle pas
sensers it is expected that an average OF thirty
-hree eznress trains hour can be operated
,to,-., .be rush periods. The subway police have
,roxe5 So successful in handling the CROWDS WIN
,i-s-ra NJ discomfort and in eZpediting the move
,ns-+ of trains that their NUMBER mas oeeh III
creased from twenty-five 10 forty-t"o-
-hs elevated squad also has been increased from
,-e,.v@xe men 20 thirty-three. and with this
z,r-,er.>d force an effort viii be made, beginning
rhts week 10 expedite the movement or trains on
In. Third avenue line II the same way that such
a,isxsc-crv results have been accomplished in the
subway.