Major Roosevelt Island Tram Overhaul To Begin 2nd Week Of February, Only 1 Tram Cabin In Service For At Least 10 Weeks Says RIOC - MTA Says No Disruption In Weekend Roosevelt Island F Train Service Thru April 19

This is not going to be fun. Be prepared for Roosevelt Island Tram service disruption starting second week of February. According to this announcement today from the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC):

The Roosevelt Island Tram is scheduled to undergo two major maintenance projects that will reduce operating service to one cabin only beginning the second week of February and continuing for at least 10 weeks, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) announced Thursday.

Track cable relocation, phase 1 of the work, is a safety requirement of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for aerial tramways and gondolas operating in the United States.

As per the safety regulations (ANSI B77.1), the Tram is required to relocate its track cables after a pre-determined amount of time. RIOC’s Tram contractor Leitner-Poma, who totally rebuilt the Tram’s infrastructure nine years ago, will perform the work.

The timeline is subject to change depending on weather conditions and the conditions found within the equipment during the relocation. During that time, one cabin will be taken out of service, starting with the North cabin.

“Much like a car that has recommended maintenance at pre-determined intervals, we are that point with the Roosevelt Island Tram,” said RIOC CEO and President Susan Rosenthal.

“We apologize in advance for the inconvenience this may cause. But this effort is to create the safest transportation system possible and to extend its service life into the future,” Rosenthal said of the Tram that since 2016 has transported more than 10 million commuters. “We appreciate your patience and assistance with this important maintenance project.”

Track cables are basically the “road” that the Tram cabin runs on. Each track cable does have movement with every trip of the tram to allow for expansion and contraction, but for the most part the cables are fixed in a single location on each tower. Over time, this location is subject to more wear and bending actions than the other locations, which is the reason the cable is periodically relocated.

Each track cable also contains fiber optic lines inside the core which the Tram uses for communications and controls. This fiber optic line must be cut and re-terminated following the track relocation.

There will be periods of shutdown for both cabin systems during the actual movement of the rope, during tensioning and during the fiber optic changeover, but the plan is to conduct this work late at night and during normal overnight shutdown periods.

Leitner-Poma crews will be working seven days per week to complete the work as quickly as possible.

The second phase of work consists of four gearbox overhauls (inspecting and replacing internal parts such as the gears, bearings, seals and oil changes). This work will start as soon as Phase 1’s track cable relocation is complete. The schedule may change depending on the construction of needed parts and the impact of the federal government shutdown of the overseas import of those parts.

The duration of Phase 2 is estimated to last four to six weeks. During that repair, the Tram will be running daily on a one-cabin reduced capacity.

WHY ARE GEARBOX OVERHAULS NEEDED?

Each cabin is pulled by an assembly of two gearboxes. Due to the age of the gearboxes and following the gearbox failure on the North tram last August, Kissling AG, the original gearbox manufacturer and a leader in the industry, has recommended to proceed right away with the overhaul of all four gearboxes.

To help facilitate Island residents’ commutes during this period, RIOC will operate Red Bus shuttles between 59th-Street-and- Second-Avenue in Midtown Manhattan and Roosevelt Island during the weekday afternoon peak commute. Exact schedules will be released before the repairs begin.

In discussions this week with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the New York City subway and bus system, RIOC officials received assurances that there will be no disruptions to the subway’s F Train line that services Roosevelt Island, including weekends through April 19.

Additional service will be provided via the E Train line, weeknights March 18 – March 22 and March 25 – March 29; and all four weekends March 23 – April 25.

RIOC has also asked NYC Ferry officials to consider expanding ferry service – to and from Roosevelt Island, Queens and Manhattan - during the weekday peak periods and weekends; and is awaiting their response.

More information about this project, updated Red Bus shuttle schedules and project timelines will be posted at rioc.ny.gov. Please forward additional questions or inquiries to RIOC’s Public Information Officer Alonza Robertson at alonza.robertson@rioc.ny.gov.

The Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Common Council discussed the Tram service disruption during its January 9 meeting. Here's the discussion initiated by new Common Council member Justin Ellis looking for ideas to improve transportation options during the Tram service outage.



Remember what it was like last summer when only one Tram Cabin was in operation during the Tram Station Platform renovations.

Hopefully, the Tram tourist crowds will be less this winter than last summer.

UPDATE 4;30 PM - RIOC adds:

Why Offer the Red Bus Shuttle During the Afternoon Rush Only?

Some people has asked us about running the shuttle during the morning hours too. Our Transportation Department has found that due to morning rush-hour vehicle the free shuttle can only make two roundtrips trips (which equates to about 68 seated passengers) from Roosevelt Island to Manhattan via the 59th Street Bridge. That’s not an efficient use of resources.

As a transportation alternative, the Q102 MTA bus makes the route to Roosevelt Island every 20 minutes and takes riders directly to Queens Plaza where they are able to make transfer connections to three different train lines and two other buses headed directly to Manhattan.

In the afternoon, the shuttle can make up to five roundtrips from Midtown Manhattan. We hope that Roosevelt Island seniors, individuals with disabilities or in wheelchairs, and parents or caregivers with young children (strollers etc.) will use the service in addition to all else needing a ride.

Also, please note that though the Tram will be operating on a one-cabin basis, it will “load and go” to make as many trips as possible during peak times to decrease wait times. When we have two operational cabins, we typically wait until actual departure schedule times (no matter if we were full or had small amounts of passengers).