Lights at the end of the MTA’s tunnels getting brighter, greener

The MTA will soon be replacing all of the signals in the subway system. (Photo courtesy of flickr user larryosan)

So let’s talk signals. You, the daily subway rider, know them more as an annoyance than as anything else. Earlier this week, those pesky signals at 59th Street caused massive delays up and down the IND lines.

Like much of the subway system, the signals are aging, and the MTA is looking to replace them while jumping on the ever-popular green bandwagon. After six years of development working along side Dialight, the worldwide leader in LED technology, the MTA is ready to get moving on this project. This week, the MTA awarded Dialight a $1.8 million contract to retrofit the subway signals. LEDs Magazine – seriously, they have industry publications for everything — has more:

Dialight Corporation has been awarded a $1.8 million contract to provide LED trackside signals for the New York City subway system. The contract calls for retrofitting 13,400 incandescent units with LED modules, thereby completing conversion of all of the system’s more than 50,000 signals.

The LED signals are saving the city nearly $1 million a year in utility bills and maintenance. They are designed to retrofit two 16-watt incandescent bulbs with a robust module based on the latest high-flux LED and driver technology. With a projected service life of 10 years, the LED modules provide energy savings of 85 percent.

So the MTA is saving money and contributing to the drive toward an energy-efficient society. Is everyone at MTAHQ feeling ok? (Just kidding, guys.)

The Dialight folks praised themselves for the new LED lights. “The new signals are being well received by the city’s transit workers, who have indicated they are performing extremely well, and that the saturated colors of the LEDs are much more visible, resulting in greater safety on the tracks,” Business Development Manager Laura Hoffmann said.

While I like what I’m hearing — lights that are easier to see, greater track safety, saving money through energy efficiency — I can’t help but wonder how the city plans on replaces 13,400 lightbulbs. I’m going to have to go with weekend service delays and more irate passengers. But it will all pay off in the long run. The lights at the end of the tunnel will be brighter.