NYCT unveils plan to address overcrowded subways

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) yesterday revealed a series of steps the agency is pursuing to alleviate crowding on the subway system.

The agency is deploying additional platform control personnel, utilizing cameras to monitor crowding and performing additional measures focused on reducing dwell time for trains, NYCT officials announced in a press release. NYCT will channel initial efforts toward the 6, 7 and F lines, which have undergone a worsening of spacing between trains, they said.

"The subject of subway service reliability and how we respond to the observed increase in delayed trains is a critical one. As our ridership continues to increase, and six million weekday riders becomes a routine event, the impact of service interruptions becomes magnified," said NYCT President Carmen Bianco in a statement.

To allow real-time response to crowding, feeds from the cameras will link platforms directly with the system's Rail Control Center. That, in turn, will expedite the decision-making process, NYCT officials said.

In addition, quick-response teams stationed along strategic segments of the lines will be able to efficiently respond problems associated with signals, track or the third rail.

Looking ahead, NYCT officials hope to address crowding through communications-based train control, an automatic train control system that allows more trains to run per hour. Investing in additional subway cars is another component of the agency's future projects.