Cites his February Report on Delays in Repairing and Funding
NYC Transit that Jeopardize Safety and Security

View A Review of MTA New York City Transit “State of Good Repair” Capital Expenditures

In response to a published report indicating that emergency alarm boxes failed during the horrific accident that took the life of a New York City transit worker, New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. repeated his call for more funds and greater action from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to bring New York City Transit to a “State of Good Repair.”

Thompson declared: “In light of this terrible tragedy, we must re-double our efforts to ensure that the MTA acts immediately to bring our subways up to date.  As I pointed out in a February 1st report, critical safety features such as these alarm boxes, as well as track lighting and fan plants, are outmoded and must be replaced.

“Because of unequal funding and serious delays in repair, in some cases the MTA projects that these features will not be up-to-date for 20 years.  This is simply inexcusable,” Thompson said.

In the report, “A Review of MTA New York City Transit ‘State of Good Repair’ Capital Expenditures,” the Comptroller’s Office noted that “key components of the emergency alarm call box system that are used to shut off third rail power in an emergency are no longer manufactured and must be replaced.”

Additionally, the report pointed out that:

• Essential passenger safety equipment, such as fan plants, which remove smoke from tunnels in the event of fire and other emergencies, will not be in a State of Good Repair until 2028, 21 years later than projected in 1992. More than 40 percent of the B Division (lettered train routes) continues to operate with mostly original, 70-year-old signal system equipment and mid-20th century antiquated track switches, and older emergency fans do not meet current safety standards.

• As of 2006, only 55 percent of tunnel lighting – another critical safety item – had achieved a State of Good Repair, and full State of Good Repair will not be reached until 2022. In many locations, there still is inefficient, 1930s-era incandescent tunnel lighting original to the system.

• Service reliability has been reduced by outmoded signal systems and track switches.

The MTA reduced New York City Transit’s share of the MTA Core Capital Program, which includes spending for State of Good Repair, Normal Replacement, and System Improvement projects, from 77.5 percent in the 1992-1996 MTA Capital Plan to 75.5 percent in the 2000-2004 and 2005-2009 MTA Capital Plans. That two percentage point reduction is worth $600 million over 10 years.

In nearly every investment category, from rolling stock to track and structures, projected dates in the 1992-1996 Capital Plan for achieving State of Good Repair at the commuter railroads - Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad - have been largely met in direct contrast to NYC Transit’s record. This is due in part to the commuter railroads receiving a disproportionately large share of MTA Core Capital spending.

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