His rosy outlook may not match the opinions of most straphangers, but NYC Transit Authority boss Andy Byford was filled with optimism Monday over the agency’s “subway action plan.”
“The statistics show that we are turning the corner where we need to turn it,” Byford said during an MTA board meeting, adding, “We’ve been incredibly busy. We’ve been working away all summer.”
The NYCTA president said the agency has sealed more than 2,000 leaks and removed debris from 31,000 street grates in an effort to stop water from overflowing the drains in the aging subway tunnels.
Furthermore, he noted, more than 285 miles of track have been cleared of debris by mobile vacuums.
More than 11,000 signaling locations have been inspected, with 1,300 defects repaired, and more than 30 miles of continuous welded rails have been installed for a smoother ride.
Byford also said that major incidents — the meltdowns that cause massive delays — had decreased by 11.7 percent since the program was launched last year.
The subway action plan was implemented to address long-term modernization of the 113-year-old tunnels and improve a system that the MTA admits has been failing straphangers.
Source: Read Full Article