a Success On the Washington Heights/
Inwood Line

We brought our FASTRACK maintenance program to Upper Manhattan this week with hundreds of Transit workers descending into tunnels and stations on the Washington Heights/Inwood Line to repair and replace items from chipped concrete to worn track.

Introduced in January 2012, the FASTRACK program targets subway lines in segments and has been highly successful in significantly reducing the time for maintenance tasks while improving the level of safety for repair crews, who no longer have to share tracks with trains moving through the work area.  In addition to addressing critical maintenance, workers also have the chance to do such jobs as high-intensity station cleaning and station painting, chores that are impossible to do with customers waiting for trains.

Beginning last Monday, February 25, an army of workers were deployed along the more than 2.4-mile long Washington Heights/Inwood Line as train service was suspended for four consecutive nights at A stations in Upper Manhattan.  Repair crews took full advantage of the seven-hour work window between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

 “Once again, thanks to FASTRACK, our maintenance forces had uninterrupted access to do preventative maintenance and repair work on subway components in tunnels and stations,” said Joseph Leader, Vice President and Chief Maintenance Officer for the Department of Subways. “Because train service is suspended when we are doing work, it is a safer environment for maintenance crews.” 

Highlights of the work completed during Washington Heights/Inwood Line FASTRACK:

• Track – Generated 12,603 bags of debris, removed 89,300 pounds of scrap and debris, scraped and cleaned 18,300 linear feet of track, replaced six tie blocks, installed 808 plates, 23 running rails, 205 friction pads.  Generated 29,745 pounds of scrap debris.

• Third Rail Operations - cleared 317 identified defects, scraped and cleaned 4,930 feet of track under and around the third rail.

• Signals – Serviced 75 signals, and supported Track Department on rail and switch jobs.

• Infrastructure – Repaired/replaced 220 linear feet of handrail, cleaned 2,850 linear feet of track drain, repaired 75 square feet of bench wall, scraped and cleaned 1,550 linear feet of track trough, performed maintenance at one pump room and sealed 76 leaks. 

• EMD - Optimized pictures on 22 Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) monitors and 14 CCTV cameras, completed inspecting, servicing, and 160 public address system speakers.

• Station Environment – Replaced 24 platform edge, 1,800 tunnel light bulbs, painted 450 linear feet of rubbing board and repaired an additional 560 linear feet, scraped 34,300 square feet of paintable station surface area, primed 16,800 square feet and painted 13,700 square feet.

The next FASTRACK will take place in Queens beginning Monday, March 18, as MTA New York City Transit brings this repair and maintenance blitz to the Queens Boulevard Line.  The Lines will be shut down from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m., for four consecutive weeknights from Monday, March 18 to early Friday morning, March 22.  There will be no train service between 5 Av-53 St/21 St-Queensbridge and Roosevelt Av.

Be sure to check our website for complete details; posters and brochures will also be available at affected stations.

Accomplishments:

Monday, February 25, 2013

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Wednesday, February 27, 2013