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Tuesday, September 4, 2012

MTA New York City Transit's FASTRACK maintenance initiative took place on the Lexington Avenue line for the third time last night. FASTRACK entails the partial closure of a subway line to train service on consecutive weeknights for seven continuous hours, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. With no trains running along the lines from Grand Central-42 St to Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr, maintenance crews had access to subway tracks and station platforms, without having to stop work every few minutes to allow a train to move through the area. This is a safer work environment for employees and a more efficient way to maintain and clean New York City's massive subway system that runs around the clock.

More than 800 Transit employees were able to inspect and repair signals and switches, repair and replace track rails and cross ties, and scrape track floors, resulting in the removal of dirt and debris. Workers were also able to perform escalator and elevator maintenance, repair water damage, clear drains and clean stations. In subway stations, paintable surfaces not reachable during normal train operation were scraped, primed and painted, light fixtures were cleaned and light bulbs were replaced and platform edges were repaired. These maintenance activities improve train performance and efficiency while also providing a pleasant and inviting station environment.

Key accomplishments from last night's maintenance effort include servicing four switches, beginning repair work on three signals and completing repairs to a signal stop's air line at 14 St-Union Square. The night's activities also included removing 850 bags of debris, resulting in the removal of 26,100 pounds of scrap and debris, and scraping 815 linear feet of track trough (the space between the track rails). For a quieter, smoother and safer ride, three track rails, 192 tie plates, and 40 tie blocks were installed and 256 track defects were corrected. Maintenance crews also installed 70 linear feet of handrail, repaired 25 leaks, cleaned the bench wall (elevated walkway along the side of tunnels used by maintenance crews) and cleared drains. In addition, workers cleaned 1,550 linear feet of "no clearance signs," and scraped 610 linear feet of track under and around the third rail.

For a more pleasant, safer and easier-to-navigate station environment, workers replaced seven platform edge signs, 4,000 square feet of paintable surface was scraped, 2,300 square feet was primed and 2,600 square feet was painted. Also, 15 square feet of tactile warning (ADA) tiles were replaced, nine stair treads (the horizontal surface of a stairway) were replaced and 1,200 linear feet of tunnel lighting was repaired. With customer safety in mind, at 33 Street, crews replaced a camera and monitor that are part of the Closed Circuit Television system (CCTV) and the system was optimized for clarity. The CCTV system at 14 St-Union Square, was also optimized for clarity. To keep elevators and escalators in good operating condition, maintenance was performed on four machines on the Lexington Avenue line.

How this impacts service?

Reliable service - service you can depend on to get you to where you need to go when you need to get there - requires regularly scheduled maintenance to critical components you never see. Pumps, signals, track, and power are just some of the vital system equipment we are focusing on so that we can continue providing our riders with train service that is safe and reliable.