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MTA Rings In First Monday Of 2020 With 'Citywide Signal Meltdown'
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jan 6, 2020
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jan 6, 2020
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It's the first Monday of the year, marking the official hand-off from lingering holiday cheer to Bad Winter. On the off chance you somehow forgot, the MTA is here to remind you of all that cold crushing drudgery that lies ahead. Like how sometimes it snows half an inch and half the transit system is brought to its filthy knees.
According to the MTA, major delays afflicted the E, M, F, N, R, D, B, Q, C, 2, 5, and 7 this morning—a full 12 of the system's 22 lines. A signal problem at 36th Street in Brooklyn and a switch malfunction at 36th Street in Queens appeared responsible for much of the torment. The new CBTC signals on the 7 train—a $600 million communication system that no one thought to make moisture-resistant—also failed near Grand Central. It remained hobbled as of noon.
Throwback to the 2010s!
A spokesperson for the MTA said the incident is under investigation and that a statement is forthcoming.
"This morning's citywide signal meltdown is an unacceptable reminder of how far Governor Cuomo still has to go to fix the subway," the Riders Alliance's Danny Pearlstein said in a statement. "Once again this new year, New Yorkers look to our governor to put transit reliability at the top of his agenda."
He continued, "Congestion pricing is coming, the MTA has a plan to modernize signals, and the governor needs to make it all happen on time. To get the job done, he'll need to keep a laser-like focus on the core infrastructure that matters most to New Yorkers."
On Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered a speech on transportation for the Association for Better New York, a real estate and development group, in which he touted his plans to buy the block south of Madison Square Garden, transforming the area into an Empire Station Transit Complex.
The governor did not elaborate on how that project would be funded and did not mention the signal issues.
UPDATE 4:45 p.m.: The MTA addressed their disastrous morning on Monday afternoon, explaining that the 7 train issues were the result of "completely unacceptable" human error, and not related to the line's ongoing signal problems—as initially indicated.
“A transponder in an area of weekend track work on the 7 line that is designed to confirm the precise locations of trains was re-installed in the wrong location after work concluded before the morning rush hour," Sally Librera, Senior VP of Subways at the MTA, said in a statement. "That caused trains to not connect properly to the transponder, resulting in slow speed operation as a safety precaution. Many customers therefore experienced severe delays as a result. This was a case of human error, not weather or equipment, and was completely unacceptable to our customers and to us."
She continued, “Simultaneously an unrelated switch issue caused delays on the E/M/F/R Queens Boulevard line. Because some riders had switched from the 7 line to the E/F/M/R line, their trips were impacted twice. The Long Island Rail Road cross-honored MetroCards to provide alternative transportation."
The 7 train issue was corrected by 2:30 p.m., the official added. A post-incident review is underway.
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Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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