NYCT targets higher speeds, functional signals on subway system

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) yesterday announced a multidisciplinary team of engineers and other safety-focused officials working closely with union representatives have begun to correct antiquated speed limits and continue to repair faulty speed-regulating signals throughout the subway system.

The efforts are part of the agency's "Save Safe Seconds" campaign that's designed to improve subway performance and safety.

During the weekend of Dec. 8-9, NYCT increased five speed limits between 36th and 59th streets in Brooklyn from 15 mph to 20 or 30 mph. A safety committee has approved 29 additional speed increases throughout the system that will be rolled out in the coming weeks, NYCT officials said in a press release. The approved changes generally will increase speeds from 10 or 20 mph to new limits reaching 40 mph and above, they said.

The team also continues to test and repair speed regulating signals, with 95 percent of 2,000 such signals tested since an initiative began in late August. About 267 faulty timer signals have been discovered and 30 of them have been fixed so far, NYCT officials said.

"Subway cars have come a long way in safety and performance since the system's speed limits were first put in place up to a century ago, and some speed-regulating signals have become miscalibrated over time, forcing trains to go slower than they need to," said NYCT President Andy Byford. "We're taking a fresh look, with no compromise to safety, at how to reduce delays and get people to their destinations sooner."