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AsidesMTA TechnologyQueens

Flushing Line CBTC completion delayed by six months

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on November 11, 2013

The target date to wrap the MTA’s installation of communications-based train control along Flushing Line has been delayed six months until mid-2017, the agency said in documents released this weekend. As part of the update to the Capital Program Oversight Committee, the MTA noted that the $550 million project remains on budget, but due, in part, to complications from Sandy, the project’s substantial completion date has been pushed back from the fourth quarter of 2016 to the second quarter of 2017.

According to the documents, two issues could further impact this date. The first concerned the availability of test tracks for the CBTC-enabled R188s. These cars were due to be tested on the Rockaway Test Track, but this stretch of railbed was damaged during Sandy. The delay in repairing the test track has pushed back the date for final delivery of the R188s from February 2016 to August 2016.

Second, the MTA fingers “G.O. Availability” as a concern. As CBTC work means many weekends without 7 train service into and out of Queens, the agency has been working with community leaders along the Flushing Line to better plan outages. As the Board materials say, though, “if track outages for this project are delayed/denied, the project’s milestones will be delayed.” In other words, if the MTA can’t schedule G.O.’s, it can’t perform the work on time. I’ll continue to follow this story, but for now, the expected completion date is slipping.

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MetroCard

A glimmer of progress for MTA’s next-gen fare payment plans

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on November 11, 2013

After years of starts and stops, seemingly endless pilot programs, a clean slate and a vow to move forward with something by 2020, the MTA’s plan to replace the MetroCard with a next-generation fare payment technology may finally be moving forward. In what can best be described as baby steps, the MTA, in a document to be presented to the Board’s Capital Program Oversight Committee later this week, has unveiled some thoughts on the MetroCard’s eventual replacement. It will be an account-based system relying on open architecture and contactless technology based upon payment industry standards, and it should arrive some time around 2020.

The document presents the MTA’s strategic framework and approach to new fare payment media and is the culmination of efforts that started in January when the agency admitted that it needed a plan. Their current projections for the MetroCard system say the technology will become prohibitively expensive to maintain by the end of the decade, and their current plan for a next gen fare payment system involves systemwide use by 2020.

First, the MTA has its sights set on a contactless fare payment technology — similar to those in place the world over and even in Chicago, to mixed reviews, and in the late planning stages in Philadelphia. The MTA also notes that the technology will support multiple forms of payment media. This means that the agency is eying a system that includes mobile payment capabilities, smart chips embedded in credit and debit cards and a “transit only” tap and ride available for those who don’t have or want to use one of the other options.

Next, the agency addresses technological implementation. The goal here is to reduce reliance on vending machines, which are “relatively costly to procure, operate and maintain” while making “minimal changes to fare arrays.” In other words, turnstiles aren’t going to be replaced by entry gates any time soon, and the MTA wants to outfit existing infrastructure with new card reader technology instead. On buses — which, as part of the BusTime installations, already have the technology infrastructure to accept a mobile payment system — fare readers would likely be adjacent to, but not integrated with, the farebox.

The other two pieces to the puzzle concern back-end support rather than customer-facing technology. Ideally, the new system will be account-based in which value would be stored on an account rather than on a card. This would require a significant investment in station infrastructure, but the MTA believes it can tap into Help Point intercoms, On The Go consoles and the Transit Wireless network to assist in this area. Finally, the new fare system would integrate across the MTA’s internal agencies so that the same account can be used to buy the equivalent of a 30-day MetroCard and LIRR or Metro-North tickets as well.

As I read through the presentation, I couldn’t help but think that it doesn’t say that much. In a sense, it’s talking in circles around aspects of a plan that have been on the table for years, and it still seems like the MTA is spinning its wheels a bit. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get this point, and it’s hard to say if this latest represents significant forward progress from the May 2011 white paper on the MetroCard replacement.

This time around, the MTA hopes to award a design contract by early 2014 and seems committed to developing a solution from 2015-2020. We’ve been down this road before though, and it still seems as though the MTA is trying too hard to reinvent the wheel. Maybe they need to, but without real forward progress, the costs to maintain the current MetroCard system will simply continue to climb.

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Service Advisories

Weekend work affecting 14 subway lines

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on November 8, 2013

Spend some time this weekend listening to the Second Ave. Sagas podcast or check out Jose Martinez’s report on subway cell service. Here are your service advisories. Note that the work impacting the F train is due to Sandy-related inspections of the Rutgers St. Tunnel by the Capital Program Management team.


From 3:30 a.m. Saturday, November 9 to 10 p.m. Sunday, November 10, there are no 4 trains between Woodlawn and 161st Street-Yankee Stadium due to track panel installation at Burnside Avenue.Customers may take the D train and free shuttle buses instead.

  • 4 service operates between Utica Avenue/New Lots Avenue and 161st Street-Yankee Stadium.
  • Transfer between 4 and D trains at 161st Street-Yankee Stadium.
  • For service to and from 167th Street, 170th Street, Mt Eden Avenue, 176th Street, Burnside Avenue, 183rd Street, Fordham Road and Kingsbridge Road, use nearby D stations instead. Walk or take a crosstown bus between 4 and D stations.

Take free shuttle buses to and from Bedford Park Blvd, Mosholu Parkway and Woodlawn. Free shuttle buses connect with Bedford Park Blvd D station.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, November 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, November 11, Brooklyn Bridge-bound 6 trains run express from Parkchester to 3rd Avenue-138th Street due to ADA upgrades at Hunts Point Avenue.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, November 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, November 11, there is no 7 train service between Times Square-42nd Street and Queensboro Plaza due to CBTC work south of Queensboro Plaza.

  • Customers should use E, F, N, and Q service between Manhattan and Queens.
  • Free shuttle buses operate between Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue and Queensboro Plaza.
  • In Manhattan, the 42nd Street S shuttle operates overnight.
  • Q service is extended to Ditmars Boulevard from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.


From 5:30 a.m. Saturday, November 9 to 10 p.m. Sunday, November 10, there is no A train service between Howard Beach-JFK Airport and Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue due to track panel work at Lefferts Blvd. and Rockaway Blvd. and track tie renewal and maintenance at Grant Avenue. A trains operate between Inwood-207th Street and Howard Beach-JFK Airport or Lefferts Blvd. Rockaway Park shuttle operates between Rockaway Park and Far Rockaway. Free shuttle buses operate in two segments:

  1. Non-stop between Howard Beach-JFK Airport and Far Rockaway via the Nassau Expressway.
  2. Between Howard Beach-JFK Airport and Rockaway Parkway stopping at Broad Channel.

Customers may transfer between trains and free shuttle buses at Howard Beach-JFK Airport, Far Rockaway or Rockaway Park.

(Nights)
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, November 8 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, November 9, from 11:45 p.m. Saturday, November 9 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, November 10, and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, November 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, November 11, Brooklyn-bound A trains run express from 168th Street to 125th Street due to track tie renewal south of 168th Street.

(Nights)
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, November 8 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, November 9, from 11:45 p.m. Saturday, November 9 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, November 10, and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, November 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, November 11, Brooklyn-bound A trains run express from 59th Street-Columbus Circle to Canal Street due to track tie renewal north of 59th Street-Columbus Circle.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, November 9 to 5 a.m. Monday, November 11, Brooklyn-bound A trains run local from 125th Street to 59th Street-Columbus Circle due to track tie renewal north of 59th Street-Columbus Circle.


From 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, November 9 and Sunday, November 10, C trains run express in both directions between 59th Street-Columbus Circle and Canal Street due to a Sandy-related structural survey.


From 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, November 9 and Sunday, November 10, Euclid Avenue-bound C trains run express from 168th Street to 125th Street due to track tie renewal south of 168th Street.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, November 9 to 5 a.m. Monday, November 11, Coney Island-bound D trains run local from 145th Street to 59th Street-Columbus Circle due to track tie renewal north of 59th Street-Columbus Circle.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, November 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, November 11, Jamaica-bound F trains are rerouted via the A line from Jay Street-MetroTech to West 4th Street due to a Sandy-related structural survey.


From 9:45 p.m. Friday, November 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, November 11, Jamaica-bound F trains are rerouted via the M Line from 47th-50th Sts to Queens Plaza due to station work at Lexington Avenue-63rd Street for the Second Avenue Subway Project.


From 5:45 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, November 9 and Sunday, November 10, there are no J trains between Hewes Street and Essex Street due to Williamsburg Bridge maintenance and rail renewal and track inspection between Essex Street and Marcy Avenue. J service operates in two sections:

  1. Between Jamaica Center and Hewes Street
  2. Between Essex Street and Chambers Street, every, 15 minutes.

Free shuttle buses provide alternate service between Hewes Street and Essex Street, stopping at Marcy Avenue.


From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, November 9 and Sunday, November 10, L trains run every 12 minutes between Rockaway Parkway and Myrtle-Wyckoff Avs due to CBTC work south of Broadway Junction. The last stop for some L trains headed toward Rockaway Parkway is Myrtle-Wyckoff Avs. Customers should transfer at Myrtle-Wyckoff Avs to a Rockaway Parkway-bound L train in order to continue their trip.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, November 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, November 11, M trains skip Forest Avenue in both directions due to station renewal work. Free loop shuttle buses provide alternate service between Forest Avenue and Fresh Pond Road.


From 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, November 9 and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, November 10, Q service is extended to Ditmars Blvd due to the 7 suspension between Manhattan and Queens.

(Rockaway Park Shuttle)
From 5:30 a.m. Saturday, November 9 to 10 p.m. Sunday, November 10, there is no shuttle train service between Broad Channel and Beach 90th Street due to track panel work at Lefferts Blvd. and Rockaway Blvd. and track tie renewal and maintenance at Grant Avenue. (See A entry.)

(42nd Street Shuttle)
From 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m., Saturday, November 9, Sunday, November 10 and Monday, November 11, the 42nd Street Shuttle operates overnight due to the 7 suspension between Manhattan and Queens.

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AsidesNew York City Transit

Coming in June: Service increases on eight lines

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on November 8, 2013

The MTA dropped their latest board committee materials this afternoon, and buried in the 281-page Transit Committee pdf is word of a service increase due to arrive in June. Already, the MTA has announced plans to increase G and M train service, and now we learn that the 2, 3, 4, 5, A, E, F and L lines will see modest bumps in service as well.

The details small, but the changes can reduce waiting times during specific time frames, particularly along the West Side IRT lines. The 2 and 3 trains will see three new weekday round trips each while A service will be increased by two round trips. The rest will see one additional round trip per weekday while Saturday and Sunday L service will be bumped up by four round trips each. In terms of wait times, the changes on the 2 and 3 will reduce average headways from 5.5 minutes to 4.6 during the 8 p.m. to 11 p.m window, and the weekend L train headways will drop from 6.3 and 7.1 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 5.2 and 5.7 minutes respectively. Those are significant reductions during high-volume times from an agency that has long since resisted adding service.

According to the board materials, the service increases are driven by customer demand and the need to meet “MTA Board-adopted loading guidelines.” The changes will cost $4.3 million annually and are in line with the 2014 projected operating budget. The Board need not take any action as this is an informational update, but straphangers will enjoy increased service come June.

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PANYNJ

This is why we can’t have (more) nice things

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on November 8, 2013

Nice hallway. (Photo via flickr user Noel Y.C.)

Do you see that photo atop this post? It’s a very nice photo of a very nice hallway, and unfortunately, I have’t had the opportunity to check out this hallway on my own yet. The hallway, you see, is the first major part of Santiago Calatrava’s PATH hub to open in Lower Manhattan, and it may be the world’s most expensive hallway.

The corridor — the so-called World Trade Center West Concourse — reopened for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks toward the end of October. It provides an underground walkway beneath the West Side Highway from the PATH station to the Brookfield Place Pavilion and the ferry terminal. No longer will pedestrians have to cross over the Vecsey Street bridge; rather, they can use this gilded underground walkway instead. Eventually, this marble-lined passageway will connect to the PATH terminal and the east corridor, but the PATH building won’t be fully completed until 2015.

“The World Trade Center will be more than a place to work or visit,” Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye said in a statement. “This will also be an unparalleled destination in a premier business location in the heart of a world-class city. This vital connection is another major step toward fulfilling our vision of creating a vibrant, dynamic and transit-oriented World Trade Center site.”

So how much does this passageway cost? As Stephen Smith, now writing for Next City, found out earlier this week, the price tag on what amounts to an underground corridor was “approximately” $225 million. Smith notes that for the same amount of money, some European cities can build subway stations and a few kilometers of tunnels, but in New York, $225 million nets an ornate walkway of a few hundred feet. When nothing else gets built after the PATH train, East Side Access and the first phase of the Second Ave. Subway all see the light of revenue service, this will be why.

Smith offers up a short history lesson as well on the $4.5 billion PATH hub. It was all, he writes, Eliot Spitzer’s fault:

The station and passageway were designed by budget-busting starchitect Santiago Calatrava, and narrowly escaped a cost-cutting attempt back in 2008. Eliot Spitzer’s Port Authority chief, Anthony Shorris, wanted to scrap the elaborate underground elements of the subway station — including this passageway, as well as others that have yet to open — in an effort to keep the project within its then-budget of around $2.5 billion. But Spitzer’s prostitution scandal forced him to resign, and when David Paterson assumed office, he and his Port Authority chief were more concerned with opening the World Trade Center memorial by the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The cost-cutting plan went out the window.

I’ve said a lot over the years about the excesses of the Calatrava PATH Hub and the need for Port Authority oversight and a realignment of spending priorities. Nowhere, though, is this point more obvious than in this hallway. Someone, somewhere decided that a quarter of a billion dollars would be best spent in an underground passageway that runs for a few hundred feet under a road that’s busy, but not that busy, to prove a point. When politicians and planners start to bemoan that it’s too expensive to build and that projects are too costly for New York City, remember this hallway for it is the beginning of the end.

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MTA Economics

(Still) Coming Soon: A restaurant in GCT’s Vanderbilt Hall

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on November 7, 2013

Vanderbilt Hall may soon host a restaurant. (Photo via flickr user Bitch Cakes)

As the 100th anniversary of Grand Central continues, the historical rail terminal is still set to see some new restaurants in some of its unique spaces. Nearly 18 months after we first learned that the MTA was looking to lease out additional spaces, Crain’s New York once again reports that the restaurant planned for part of Vanderbilt Hall will soon become a reality. The MTA will not reveal any details about interested parties, but sources told Crain’s that a deal is in progress.

As reports last year noted, the Vanderbilt Hall area contains approximately 12,000 square feet of space and is currently used for everything from squash games to ice rinks to holiday markets. The restaurant lease will likely take over one half of that space, and the other half will serve as a rotating event area. The annual holiday market, for instance, will continue but may be only half the size. Per reports last year, the restaurant will be open seven days a weekand will not be a chain. We’ll know more soon.

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TWU

Report: Proposed workrule shift could move station agents out of booths

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on November 7, 2013

If the MTA has its way, station agents would no longer sit inside token booths but would instead serve multiple roles within their assigned stations. (Photo by Benjamin Kabak)

For years, the MTA has engaged in an aggressive move to shutter former token booths and reduce the number of full-time staff who sit in these glass cubes occasionally dispensing a MetroCard, a map or a scowl at some straphanger. Even as I’ve supported the effort, it’s still jarring to see the outline of a former booth and no personnel at the entrance to, say, the Bay Ridge-bound Union St. station on 4th Ave., and now the MTA wants to take staffing reassignments to the next logical level.

According to a report in the Daily News, in discussions with the TWU over the union’s next contract, the MTA has proposed doing away with agents in booths entirely at 25 stations and essentially reassigning these employees to serve instead as roving station assistants. It’s a workrule change that has long faced strident union opposition but would do much to make helpers in the subway far more visible while eliminating a position that serves little use these days.

Pete Donohue has the story:

Subway riders will have no choice but buy MetroCards at vending machines under a proposed pilot program that would eliminate all booth positions at 25 stations, The Daily News has learned. Instead of a clerk behind the glass, each station would have a transit worker carrying out a wider-range of duties that might include such tasks as crowd control on platforms, emptying garbage cans and waiting with an ill rider for an ambulance to arrive, according to union and management sources.

Workers in this new role would not handle cash or sell fares but they would still provide riders with travel directions and information, sources said. “The idea is an employee can do a lot more for customers outside of the booth than inside,” an MTA official said.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority brass outlined the proposal in broad terms recently during contract negotiations with Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents bus and subway workers. An MTA spokesman declined to comment because the proposal was part of closed-door contract talks.

As Donohue notes, such a move would represent a major sea change in employee operations as currently “the MTA can’t assign a worker in one job title to duties now proscribed to another title.” The union publicly isn’t interested in this measure because it would obviously reduce staffing levels considerably. It would though lead to a cleaner subway system and a more productive workforce as the vast majority of station agent workhours are spent idle.

Where this idea goes from here is anyone’s guess. For the MTA to realize its net-zero labor projections, the TWU can either accept a shift in workrules, reductions in benefits or a smaller workforce. The union is unlikely to fight against its members’ best interests, and this proposal certainly isn’t something the rank-and-file will embrace even if it has the potential to be a big gain for riders and the MTA.

It’s a positive sign though that the MTA is even talking about this move. Since the end of the token era, station agents have had fewer and fewer responsibilities as station environments receive less and less attention. Shifting workrules to create a more productive and passenger-friendly labor force should be embraced.

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Podcast

Episode 8 of ‘The Next Stop Is…’ on platforms, Sandy and subway maps

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on November 6, 2013

NextStopis It’s time once again for another new episode of the Second Ave. Sagas’ podcast “The Next Stop Is…” This week, Eric Brasure and I discuss the recent Straphangers’ Campaign report on station platform conditions, tackle the latest front in the schematic vs. geographic transit map debate, and consider how Sandy has affected transit. We also had a chance to respond to a few reader questions as well.

This week’s recording again runs close to 30 minutes, and as always, it’s the perfect length for your subway ride home this evening. You can grab the podcast right here on iTunes or pull the raw MP3 file. If you enjoy what you hear, subscribe to updates on iTunes as well and consider leaving us a review.

We’ll be back with a new episode in two weeks, and we’re always happy to hear from you. So if you have a topic you’d like me to cover, leave a comment, drop me a note or find me on Twitter or Facebook.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

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Public Transit Policy

A transit ‘to do’ list for an incoming mayor

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on November 6, 2013

It’s going to take some time to get used to the idea of Mayor Bill de Blasio. It’s the first time New York City has had a new chief executive since 2001, and times, for better or worse, sure have changed. In a sense, with Michael Bloomberg on the way out, de Blasio will have a clean slate, but that doesn’t mean he can’t learn from and adopt the good ideas of his predecessor. Particularly in the transit and transportation realms, de Blasio would be wise to take a page from the Bloomberg playbook.

As de Blasio and his family celebrate the night away a few blocks away from my apartment, I’d like to offer up a list of suggestions for New York City’s 109th mayor. These aren’t exhaustive or exclusive ideas, but they are paths de Blasio should take if he wants to improve access for everyone in New York City — a key part of the campaign rhetoric that landed him in Gracie Mansion.

1. Invest in transit; pay attention to the MTA

Over the final years of his reign, Mayor Bloomberg seemed content to punt on the MTA. He got into a name-calling fight with then-MTA Chair Joe Lhota in the aftermath of Sandy and seemed out of the loop when it came to the MTA’s recovery efforts. But he wasn’t a disinterested bystander during the majority of his tenure. He ushered in the 7 line extension, fought hard for congestion pricing and has led, via his DOT appointees, an effort, albeit a slow one, to bring Select Bus Service to the city.

De Blasio should pick up the mayor’s zeal for transit and push forward on it. He shouldn’t necessarily fight for city control of the MTA, but he shouldn’t ignore transit. His board appointees can be strong advocates for the city, and de Blasio himself can fight for transit investments and expansion projects by putting the city’s money on the line. The subway is New York City’s, and its mayor can lead the charge to make sure the subways are better tomorrow than they are today.

2. Keep SBS but bring on real Bus Rapid Transit

New York’s approach to bus rapid transit is this half-hearted thing called Select Bus Service which is a bunch of basic operational upgrades disguised as something better. While other U.S. cities implement dedicated lanes, signal prioritization and various other hallmarks of bus rapid transit, we get pre-boarding fare payments, painted lanes with lax enforcement and no flashing lights because some Staten Islanders threw a fit. De Blasio has the opportunity to reshape the streets, and his Department of Transportation should take a good long look at a real BRT network instead of today’s Select Bus Service.

3. Keep — and expand — the borough taxi program

A few days ago, Dana Rubinstein wrote a comprehensive piece on de Blasio’s close ties to the taxi industry, and it’s one that should raise some eyebrows. In it, our future mayor expresses skepticism over the green borough taxi program, and Rubinstein draws connections to his close association with the upper echelons of the cab industry. In a Jill Colvin piece, de Blasio said, “If we’re going to make any changes to it, we better damn well make sure we don’t disrupt that which works now.”

We could debate for hours whether or not the current taxi system “works,” but the borough cabs should remain and expand. They’ve been quite popular in areas where yellow cabs are scarce or non-existent, and they calm the need to rely on private cars while generating revenue — in the form of medallion sales and metered fees — for the city. It’s a win-win for everyone but medallion owners, and they don’t need the help from Gracie Mansion.

4. Expand bike lanes, safe streets and pedestrian plazas

One of Mayor Bloomberg’s and Janette Sadik-Khan’s signature moves have been the popular pedestrian plazas, an expanded bike lane network and safe streets initiatives. A vocal minority have objected to some of these efforts on spurious grounds, and the truth remains that they make our city’s streets safer while encouraging local business. Times Square’s pedestrian makeover, for instance, has led to record-high rents in the area, and plazas in Jackson Heights and Fort Greene have been popular with residents and business alike. Meanwhile, though, children — and all New Yorkers — continue to suffer injury and death at the hands of reckless drivers.

Nearly two weeks ago, de Blasio raised a few eyebrows when he apparently waffled on street safety, but this is an issue that requires strong leadership. The new mayor should come out in favor of continuing measures that save lives while making the city more pleasant for pedestrians, those who drive the economy and make New York the vibrant urban area it is. From Day One, he can set the tone with his DOT Commissioner, and all eyes will be on him to keep making progress.

5. Solve the Penn Station Problem

I’ve written extensively on Penn Station lately but still have no answers. Madison Square Garden remains an obstacle; inter-agency cooperation remains an obstacles; costs remain an obstacle. Mayor de Blasio is uniquely positioned to lead an effort to come up with a master plan for Penn Station while encouraging the various interests to work together. It could be his lasting contribution to New York City but will take a considerable about of work, effort and leadership to see through.

Honorable Mentions: Expand CitiBike, consider a Red Hook/waterfront light rail system, pay some attention to Vision 42, ponder the 7 line to Secaucus, Phase 2 of the Second Ave. Subway.

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Second Avenue Subway

Second Ave. Sagas: Scenes from future stations

by Benjamin Kabak
written by Benjamin Kabak on November 5, 2013

One day, this will be the northern end of the Q train at 96th Street and Second Avenue. Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin

When last I had the opportunity to venture underground at Second Ave., in April of 2011, the future subway looked something like this. ADI, the tunnel boring machine, had completed her runs, but with December 2016 at the time over five years away, a new subway line was only vaguely taking shape.

Fast forward to today, and while we still have 38 months to go, it’s beginning to look a lot like New York’s own underground version of the impossible dream will come true. The MTA yesterday released a brand new set of images from the construction zone, and the progress is significant. Atop this post is an image from 96th St. — nearly the same view as the one I snapped two and a half years ago — and you can now see a station platform and track bed clearly taking shape. (Here is another view.)

Things are looking a bit rougher around the edges at 86th St., but you can see waterproofing well under way and track beds taking shape. Notice the difference in design too between the Second Ave. Subway and our standard-issue early-to-mid 20th century tunnels: With two deep-bore tubes, passing trains will see each other only in stations.

For more on the world underneath the city, browse over to this Vanity Fair long read. MTA Capital Construction President Michael Horodniceanu loves himself the Second Ave. Subway, but East Side Access, unsurprisingly, gets more muted praise from those involved.

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