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As long as the existing system is fully funded and properly maintained, there is no pressing need to replace anything. The original signal system worked fine f

As long as the existing system is fully funded and properly maintained, there is no pressing need to replace anything. The original signal system worked fine for a century and could continue working fine for another century, as long as maintenance is being done. I would suggest that what the system needs more than the new signal system is expansion; there were actually more transit lines the last time the system had to handle this many passengers. One of the things that 2nd Ave. subway does -- in a small but meaningful way -- is increase the number of trains that can operate in Midtown during peak hours, because it creates a new branch line for trains to terminate on (capacity at terminals is a limiting factor in some cases; this is why 71st-Continental is used as a terminal, despite the fact that the 4-track line continues to 179th St., and why several E trains terminate at 179th or Kew Gardens during peak hours.). The 2nd Ave. subway would also have helped to reduce crowding on the Lexington Ave. line if it had been built to 125th St., where there is a Metro-North station. That is an unfunded plan at the moment, and there would likely be opposition from the wealthy Upper East Side residents to such an extension (not just the extra crowding, but also the poorer people who live in East Harlem taking the train).

lr4444lr 9y ago
As long as the existing system is fully funded and properly maintained, there is no pressing need to replace anything. The original signal system worked fine for a century and could continue working fine for another century, as long as maintenance is being done I'm not saying you're definitively wrong, because I don't know from where you get your information, but that is simply not what I've heard from every other source. What I've read is that the signal system and the track structure is antiquated[0], equipment dating almost a century old, which is the cause of most delays and prevents safe running of trains at more frequent intervals, and that certain components of the track are so old that no one manufactures their replacements anymore, so the agency cannibalizes out of commission lines for parts. If you've got something to link that suggests otherwise, I'd be glad to read it and expand my horizons. I don't deny that increasing track coverage with new lines is very important too. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/nyregion/new-york-subway-signals.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/nyregion/new-york-subway-...
- betterunix2 9y ago
  My information comes from a family member who operates the antiquated equipment. As long as it is being maintained, it works exactly as designed. It is a very well engineered system. What happened in the past few years is that the MTA allowed maintenance schedules to slip, hence the problems. (Edit: to be clear, yes, there are limits to what the old system can do and modernization can improve a few things. Those shortcomings are not really what is causing the problems that we are experiencing lately. Modern equipment will also require maintenance and will fail when that maintenance is not performed.)

lr4444lr 9y ago

As long as the existing system is fully funded and properly maintained, there is no pressing need to replace anything. The original signal system worked fine for a century and could continue working fine for another century, as long as maintenance is being done I'm not saying you're definitively wrong, because I don't know from where you get your information, but that is simply not what I've heard from every other source. What I've read is that the signal system and the track structure is antiquated[0], equipment dating almost a century old, which is the cause of most delays and prevents safe running of trains at more frequent intervals, and that certain components of the track are so old that no one manufactures their replacements anymore, so the agency cannibalizes out of commission lines for parts. If you've got something to link that suggests otherwise, I'd be glad to read it and expand my horizons. I don't deny that increasing track coverage with new lines is very important too. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/nyregion/new-york-subway-signals.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/nyregion/new-york-subway-...

betterunix2 9y ago
My information comes from a family member who operates the antiquated equipment. As long as it is being maintained, it works exactly as designed. It is a very well engineered system. What happened in the past few years is that the MTA allowed maintenance schedules to slip, hence the problems. (Edit: to be clear, yes, there are limits to what the old system can do and modernization can improve a few things. Those shortcomings are not really what is causing the problems that we are experiencing lately. Modern equipment will also require maintenance and will fail when that maintenance is not performed.)