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April 1, 2022 • Schneps Media
LOCAL NEWS
F train repairs scheduled
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
The MTA is making moves to
upgrade its ancient subway
signals along three more
lines, including much of the 6th
Avenue Line which the F train
services in Manhattan.
The MTA wants to hire engineering
consultants to design and
plan so-called communicationbased
train control, or CBTC, on
the next batch of subway lines, according
to board documents published
on March 25 for this week’s
monthly agency meetings.
The proposed contract describes
the stretches of track eyed
for new signals in terms of the
former Independent Subway System,
or IND, one of three rail networks
that were consolidated into
the MTA.
The next CBTC re-signaling is
coming to the following lines:
• Fulton Line: A and C trains,
from High Street to Euclid Avenue
in Brooklyn
• 6th Avenue Line: F trains,
from York Street in Brooklyn
along 6th Avenue in Manhattan,
to north of 21 St-Queensbridge
in Queens
• Crosstown Line: G train, between
Court Square in Queens
through Hoyt-Schermerhorn
in Brooklyn
The MTA’s Construction and
Development subsidiary wants to
contract firms Atkins and HTNB
for $18 million over two years to
provide general engineering consultant
services related to modernizing
the three lines, according
to the board documents.
CBTC replaces the subway’s
Depression-era signaling system,
which does not actually let transit
workers know where exactly
trains are at any given time.
The new setup tells officials at
the subway nerve center, the Rail
Control Center, where trains are
within inches, allowing the agency
to run them closer together
safely and increase frequency
of service.
The older signals, which also
act as traffic lights for trains, can
also get stuck in the stop position,
sometimes stalling subways
for hours until repair crews can
get underground to reset them
by hand.
“Train delays still happen because
red lights get stuck and
won’t turn green,” said Danny
Pearlstein, the policy and communications
director with the transit
advocacy group Riders Alliance.
“There are other things that can
go wrong with our antiquated signal
system, but the fact is a lot of
the equipment belongs in a museum
and we’re still depending on it
to get home at the end of the day.”
FILE PHOTO/KEVIN DUGGAN
BY ESTHER WICKHAM
NYC Ferry installed a new
system to improve accessibility
for deaf and hardof
hearing passengers.
After consulting with disability
rights advocates at New
York Lawyers for the Public
Interest and Disability Rights
New York, the new signage was
added at the East 34th Street
ferry landing.
“We are pleased that NYC
Ferry has taken this step to improve
the accessibility of the
ferry system for all New Yorkers.
This new sign will ensure that
people who are Deaf or hard of
hearing have the same ability to
use the ferry as all other riders,”
Christopher Schuyler, Senior
Staff Attorney for the Disability
Justice program at New York
Lawyers for the Public Interest,
said. “This change will benefit
everyone, both with disabilities
and without.”
Before this new system, the
East 34th Street NYC Ferry
landing only provided verbal announcements
onboard, which
was difficult for deaf or hard-ofhearing
passengers. Now those
passengers will be notified of
the ferry’s arrival both verbally
and non-verbally.
“As we continue to create new
ferry connections and shorten
commutes for New Yorkers, we
thank New York Lawyers for
the Public Interest and Disability
Rights New York for their collaboration
with NYC Ferry to bring
new signage to the East 34th
Street landing that improves
accessibility at this important
NYC Ferry hub,” an NYC Ferry
spokesperson said.
Antiquated Sixth Avenue Line set to get major signal upgrade
Ferry to add
signage for
hard-ofhearing
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
An F train pulls into the 34 Street – Herald Sq Station.