Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Subway Video Screens to Show Real Time Train Motion
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 23, 2008
Modified Oct 23, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 23, 2008
Modified Oct 23, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Two flat-screen monitors are being installed on the L train platform at the Myrtle-Wyckoff station in Brooklyn that will show the locations of trains in real time. Icons on the screens will indicate which direction the train is headed and how close is it to the station, with a long view of the entire L line, as well as a close-up view of nearby stations. According to NY1, riders will also see trains that are being held and trains that aren't picking up passengers.
The information will be updated every 15 seconds using the L line’s computerized operating system, which is the most technologically advanced in the subway system. If the pilot program works, officials say they'll be installed at other stations on the L and eventually city-wide. (The consoles cost about $15,000 per station to install.) Wilson Milian, director of technology projects at the transit agency, tells the Times, "There’s no end to the possibilities." Milian envisions a crazy utopian future where this train information could be displayed on the Internet! And, naturally, Milian wants the screens to display ads.
The real-time screens could conceivably be a big improvement on the electronic signs installed on L train platforms last year, which are supposed to tell you how many minutes until the next train arrives. It seems those signs use a computer program to estimate train movement based on a set schedule, not the real-time information from the L that the new Myrtle-Wyckoff consoles will utilize.
Photo courtesy Badison.
Tagged
information
l train
MTA
myrtle-wyckoff
new
nyc transit
screens
subway
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Queens man found dead, police say, and injured woman is his mother, neighbors say
Police are investigating a related incident in which a 62-year-old woman was found injured beneath the Van Wyck Expressway.
By
Charles Lane
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 7:39 p.m. ET
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
News
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
By
Carol Chen
National Grid customers in NYC will see higher gas bills this winter
By
Rosemary Misdary
Bruce Blakeman joins Gov. Hochul in support for expanding NY rape law
By
Jon Campbell
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .