NEW YORK CITY—“Now is the time to think big and transform our network so it works big for all New Yorkers,” the MTA's New York City Transit president Andy Byford wrote in the executive letter introducing the MTA “Fast Forward” plan to overhaul and modernize the city's public transportation.
In the first five years, the plan will upgrade signal systems on five lines. The MTA says the Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) state-of-the-art signal systems up the efficiency, allowing trains to run more closely together and more reliably, increasing capacity and safety. The plan also upgrades power where needed. This will benefit three million daily riders, according to the MTA. It includes work on portions of the lines where the 4, 5, 6, A, C, E, F, M, R and G routes run.
This initial phase will also complete repair work at more than 150 stations, and add over 650 new subway cars, 1,200 CBTC-modified cars, 2,800 new buses and a new fare payment system. The MTA will also redesign bus routes in all five boroughs. More than 50 new stations will be made accessible with the goal of ensuring accessible station are within every two stops.
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Betsy Kim
Betsy Kim was the bureau chief, East Coast, and New York City reporter for Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. As a lawyer and journalist, Betsy has worked as the director of editorial and content for LexisNexis Lawyers.com, a TV/multi-media journalist for NBC and CBS affiliated TV stations in the Midwest, and an associate producer at Court TV.
