[M II A II R II K]

New York Subway Riders’ Commutes Will Get Shorter

https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/new...ll-get-shorter

.....

- Rules put in place in the 1990s to prevent rear-end crashes on the New York City subway have had the unfortunate side effect of slowing train speeds to a crawl on many parts of the system. --- MTA NYCT President Andy Byford, who pledged that New York City subway riders would see real improvements in service by the end of this year, is making good on that pledge by identifying where overly restrictive speed limits and faulty timed signals slow down trains needlessly. The Times reports that this past summer, Byford formed a “speed unit” within the agency. The three-person team traveled over every mile of track in the system to identify places where trains could safely operate at higher speeds than were permitted.

- As Byford outlined his plans to speed up trains systemwide to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board this past Monday, the first of the speed unit’s recommended improvements were being put in place. Speed limits along five segments of the N and R subway lines under Brooklyn’s Fourth Avenue were raised from 10 mph to 20 to 30 mph, Railway Age reports. --- That article went on to note that 29 more speed limit hikes had also been approved and would be rolled out in the coming weeks. Those changes would raise speed limits currently in the 10 to 20 mph range to the 40 to 50 mph range. The speed unit also identified 267 places where “grade time signals” - signals that are timed to keep trains from exceeding a set speed, often found on steeper downgrades - were faulty or set to slow trains down more than needed.

.....