Introduction
The New York City subway system was commissioned in 1904 and is currently ranked among the world’s largest, most sophisticated, and oldest urban railway systems. The NYC subway system comprises 26 services that operate on more than 35 different lines. Furthermore, the subway system has 472 stations and a total track length of 728 miles. The system serves approximately 5.7 million people each week through its two separate divisions that are made up of incompatible tunnel, station and rolling stock dimensions. The subway plays a significant role in the economy of New York City and the lifestyle of its citizens. Studies show that more than 60 percent of all individuals entering the Manhattan Central Business District during peak hours (7 to 10 am) use the NYC subway system. Other Individuals entering Manhattan CBD using buses and commuter rails from Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Lower Hudson Valley reach their final destination using the NYC subway system. The NYC subway system, therefore, has offered affordable and reliable transportation means to millions of schools and jobs. Unfortunately, the efficiency of the NYC subway system has considerably declined over the years because of the deterioration of its facilities and services. Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), therefore, has invested $37.3 billion to upgrade and expand the NYC subway system.
Need for NYC Modernization
MTA has decided to modernize and expand the NYC subway system because of the negative effects of its reduced efficiency to the economy of New York City. The deterioration of the subway comes as a paradox considering that it is currently experiencing a historical peak of ridership. Notably, the NYC subway system received 1.76 billion passengers in 2016, where the number reduced to 1.65 billion in 2017 (Lynch, 2019). The rise in the number of riders per annum has been led to a drop in its performance efficiency. According to an investigative report released by The New York Times in 2017, the NYC subway took the last position in the performance efficiency rating out of 21 subway systems across the globe.
It is important to note that the NYC subway system and Mexico City Metro received almost an equal number of riders in 2017. The NYC subway system served 1.65 billion passengers at a performance efficiency of 65 percent this year. The Mexico City Metro, on the other hand, served 1.61 billion riders at a performance efficiency of 71 percent (Nudelman & Garfield, 2017). The low-performance efficiency of the NYC subway system has caused delays and congestion hence putting pressure on the available old stations. The old infrastructure and management of the subway system have also depicted weaknesses with compliance to the 21st Century standards and emergency response effectiveness. In 2017, for example, a train broke down in one of the underground tunnels for almost one hour without air-conditions hence endangering the lives of people aboard. In the same year, a fire broke out in a number of the subway line and injured nine people. The decline in performance efficiency of this subway is associated with long periods of underinvestment in workforce improvement, capacity augmentation, modernization, and maintenance of its infrastructure.
The main objective of MTA, therefore, should not be limited to restoring the NYC subway system to its former state. MTA should instead focus on upgrading the system to the modern standard. Numerous subway systems across the world have depicted reliability and performance efficiency even with a high number of riders. The subway systems in Hong Kong, Seoul, Berlin, Singapore, and Taipei have almost 100 performance efficiency because of the modernization of their infrastructure and workforces.
Process of NYC Subway Modernization
In 2017, MTA outlined its plan to transform the NYC subway system. The transformation process would include the construction of new lines, refurbishing of subway stations, modernization, and integration of the latest technology in the railway sector. The transformation of the subway is in line with the recommendations outlined in the Fourth Regional Plan report prepared by the Regional Plan Association (RPA). The MTA plan and that proposed by RPA have similar objectives since they focus on the modernization of urban infrastructure through improved accessibility, upgrade of the station, improved service delivery, and preventive maintenance. MTA plan hence details ten investment priorities for modernizing the existing NYC subway system.
Firstly, the MTA investment plan focuses on upgrading the infrastructural components of the subway system. Although MTA observes that the previous upgrading efforts have improved the quality of the tracks and cars, crucial infrastructural elements of the subway are still in a poor state. The poor state of these infrastructural elements has led to the decline in its performance efficiency in recent decades. MTA observes that the subway infrastructural elements such as communication systems, ventilation, power supply, signal, and tracks are exposed to high risks of failure. The elements with lower efficiencies include subway shops (46%), high-priority ventilation (60%), power supply (62%), tunnel lighting (70%), communication (72%), signals (74%) and stations (78%). MTA targets to reinstate these infrastructural elements of the subway through quick repairs. MTA is using a component-based approach to ensure that the process of repair elevates these infrastructural elements to the 21st Century standard. The component-based approach will ensure that the latest technology is integrated with these elements.
Preventive maintenance is the third strategy of the MTA investment plan. MTA investment plan also includes the implementation of preventive maintenance strategies of the NYC subway. Preventive maintenance, in this case, aims at extending the life of the subway facilities. Notably, the process involves the replacement or repair of components that are still in their functional states but at the same time, approaching the end of their lives. MTA transit professionals successfully integrated preventive maintenance with the upgrade strategies of the NYC subway system in 1999. This preventive maintenance strategy increased the life of railway cars through the prevention of frequent breakdowns. Notably, the MTA transit professionals named the time interval between subsequent car repairs the Mean Distance Between Failures (MDBF). The adoption of preventive maintenance enabled MTA to reduce MDBF by 40,000 miles. Although MTA eventually dropped the preventive maintenance strategy in 2010 because of the inadequacy of funds, the practice was adopted again in 2017 for signals, tracks, and rolling stock.
Thirdly, the MTA investment plan aims at upgrading the control systems of the trains. The upgrade is based on the fact that the expansion of New York City has strained the conventional signaling system in the subway. More than 25 percent of the signaling system in the subway is in deplorable conditions after more than 80 years of negligence by the MTA. MTA has begun upgrading the signaling system of the subway to the modern technology known as Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC). The CBTC adoption started in 1999, although it has occurred at a slow pace ever since. MTA, however, increased the speed of CBTC adoption in 2017, where seven lines were already equipped with this technology hence leaving 33 lined with the outdated signaling system. The adoption of CBTC in the seven lines of NYC subway has depicted its significance in the modern system. Notably, CBTC has increased the capacity, resilience, flexibility, and safety of the subway. CBTC has, most importantly, increased the efficiency and reliability of the subway hence solving the problem of delays and congestion in the stations. The CBTC technology is expected to completely substitute conventional signaling technologies such as legacy analog interlocking signals and auxiliary way-side signaling system (AWS) in the future (Barone, 2018).
Fourth, MTA has the objective of reducing the station dwell time. MTA has observed that station huge station dwell time has led to congestion hence leading to discomfort and making management problematic. MTA professionals observe that conventional designs of the New York subway stations are inadequate for the growing number of riders. MTA has indicated that most of the stations in the NYC subway are below the capacity rider capacity hence delaying the processes of boarding and disembarking from the trains. The MTA plan plans to deal with dwell time problem through construction new entrances and exits that are larger than the original ones. MTA also plans on constructing less circuitous and larger mezzanines and corridors, and platforms that are less cluttered.
The fifth strategy in the MTA plan is to simplify the service delivery processes at the subway. MTA considers that private companies were involved in the design of the NYC subway with the main objective of facilitating transferability to riders. Notably, the NYC subway is among many metro systems that were designed to have a collection of independent lines. However, the design is prone to delays during instances where services merge or cross. MTA hence targets to increase the utility of the lines through the simplification of subway operation, thus eliminating crossing or merging of lines.
The sixth strategy of the MTA investment plan is to standardize the services offered at the subway. This will be achieved through assigning of trains with CBTC technology to a specific line. The flexibility generated by CBTC signaling technology targets to increase the capacity of trains by 5 to 10 percent.
The seventh strategy in the MTA investment plan is increasing the loading capacity of trains. MTA can achieve this by increasing the minimum individual standing space from three feet to five feet. The strategy aims at enabling people to carry luggage and travel with their families. Moreover, the strategy also aims at providing comfort to passengers using walkers or wheelchair.
MTA also aims at expanding the railway terminals. MTA professionals are aware that the terminal’s physical layout limits the movement of the train. The movement of the train in this case includes the entrance and turning around in a terminal. MTA is aware that stub-end tracks in many subway terminals restrict acceleration of trains hence leading to time wastage.
MTA also targets to correct junction and track geometry problems. Notably, the NYC subway lines are linked using 40 junctions to allow for the services merging and divergence. The subway also contains 174 curves that reduce the speed and number of trains. Although the correction of junction designs and track geometry problems is expensive, the cost-benefit analysis procedure has shown that the investment in the procedure is worthwhile.
Finally, MTA intends to boost the power and yard capacity in the NYC subway. MTA has observed that the number of riders in increasing with the expansion of the town. MTA wants to acquire more land for the construction of new stations and lines. MTA has also invested in technologies that ensure power recycling and conservation, such as battery technology.
Conclusion
NYC subway acts as the backbone of New York City’s economy. However, the expansion of the population in the city has made modernization of the subway system inevitable. Although the modernization of the NYC subway system has been criticized because of the high cost involved, the cost-benefit analysis procedure has evidenced its long-term benefits. The modernization of the subway system is simplified by existence of up-to-date technology such as CBTC, which have been proved to be effective in modernized subways across the globe.
References
Barone, R. (2018). Save Our Subways: A Plan to Transform New York. New York City: Regional Plan Association.
Lynch, M. (2019). Infograph: The NYC subway versus subways around the world. TimeOut.
Nudelman , M., & Garfield , L. (2017). New York City's subway is falling apart — here's how it compares to other cities around the world. Business Insider .