New York City Bringing Rail into the 21st Century

In this article, the author describes the manner in which the New York City subway system was improved from its dilapidated state in the late 1970s, by the introduction of new subway cars and new subway car technologies. The subway's parent agencies, New York City Transit (NYCT) and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), were compelled to begin a multi-stage revitalization plan due to bad press and increasing political pressure. The new cars that are currently in use are brightly lit, use digitized voice announcements, have airbag suspension, and advanced climate-controlled environments. The new cars are more reliable than was even previously anticipated, with three times the contractually agreed upon distance between failures in addition to a great improvement in failure rates from other agency rail vehicles. Another useful improvement is the reduced energy load of the new cars.