Excuse Me, Sir — What Time Will The 3:10 To St. George Arrive?

I don’t know — ask the fancy new electronic doodad:

A Staten Island City councilman has earmarked half-a-million dollars to install a device that would indicate arrival times for a train that is almost always punctual.

While South Shore Republican Vincent Ignizio calls his plan good customer service, a handful of commuters call it a waste of valuable tax dollars.

Ignizio has set aside $500,000 of his fiscal 2008 capital budget for the plan, which he assured will improve the morning commute for riders who often end up running in heels and business suits to catch a departing Staten Island Railway train.

“It’s all about ensuring that people have a better commute and one they’re more informed about. It’s arming them with info,” Ignizio said. “The point is you can look up, see the train’s coming, see if you have time to grab a cup of coffee, a bagel, in real time.”

The city only has a time-tracking device for one subway line, the L line, but the equipment is still undergoing tests. Ignizio said the technology eventually will be installed throughout the city and his plan would ensure the Island does not lag behind.

Still, a handful of South Shore commuters at the Eltingville station criticized Ignizio’s proposal as a waste of valuable tax dollars, since the rail is routinely on time.

The agency that runs it, New York City Transit, boasts 98.6 percent punctuality, according to its most recent statistics.

. . .

. . . Billy Shott of Great Kills, doubted the device’s practicality.

“The schedules are right there,” he said, waving toward the timetable encased in plastic at the platform entrance. “I think that’s a waste of money, and it’s just something the kids are going to break.”

. . .

To be sure, Ignizio acknowledged the reliability of the rail, as well as the availability of schedules posted in the stations.

But the councilman defended his plan as a guarantee the Island would not be overlooked in the future.

“This technology is going to be unveiled system wide within the constraints of budget funding and in priority order,” Ignizio said. “I don’t want Staten Island to be last on the list, so I put my money where my mouth is.”