CBTC: Communications-Based Train Control

people know that the system is old but I don't think they realize just how old it is they see the beautiful old architecture in the stations and they think it's just historic just like seeing artifacts in a museum somewhere what our riders don't realize though is that in our system it's not just the architecture that's 100 years old it's a lot of the basic technology as well the infrastructure is old that's a copy 1001 Bravo did you get that as per control you compare that second at West 4th Street Tower we're still doing things really fast it works into place an antiquated eiei on the sidewalk the second Avenue violated the bylaw Joey found local train at 23 geology probably so here at the West 4th Street Tower we have a 1930s interlocking machine and indication panel while safe and reliable it's an old one its role is to provide safe train movements through and around the West 4th Street area the dispatcher follows the train movement he enters information into our ball sheets into what's called the itraq system as well a tower operated by using these levers and manipulating these levers are able to actually move the switches located on the tracks they're able to operate the signals make allowing them to go to the full danger position or to what's known as the clear position and allowing trains to move equally important though is train tracking and knowing where trains are and what service is being provided along the corridor so all of that goes on here in the West 4th Street Tower we're now located inside the relay room for the West 4th Street interlocking this interlocking plant is upwards of 80 years old reliability is certainly becoming more of an issue with the age is very hard to maintain in front of me here actual electromechanical relays that in many respects are the original equipment some of it has been refurbished and replaced however it is still 1930s and before technology and this equipment is not supported at all by the railroad industry we are fully self-sufficient and self-sustaining we have a signal shop that can replace the parts they rebuild these relays and then when any modernization is going on we try to make sure that we scavenge to retain the parts so that we can provide replacement for those that remain in service and this is most important the cabling that provides this connectivity between the interlocking machine and the relays as well as the equipment in the field on the actual tracks is the original cabling as well a lot of this cable is in cloth covered cable so there's a lot of risks if there was any small fire there's a lot of risk of us losing this entire interlocking machine because it would be so hard to contain the fire communications based train control or CBT see is a massive multi-decade project to modernize the subways traffic control system when CB TC is implemented the subway line becomes safer and more reliable it uses less energy and it allows us to run more trains per hour and increase service thanks to the MTA capital program we've implemented CBT see on the colossi line and are currently installing it on the flushing which will be ready for service in 2017 after that will be the Queens Boulevard line to understand the benefits of CB TC we need to talk though about traditional fixed block signaling on a fixed block signaling system the railroad is divided into blocks to keep trains a safe distance apart blocks are electrically distinct segments of the line and can vary in length depending on the speed limit and geometry of segments when a train is detected in any part of a block that block is considered occupied the signaling system dust keeps the train behind it at a safe distance by prohibiting movement into an occupy or buffer block this safe distance is enforced by stop arms which can activate the brakes of a train if it tries to move into one of these blocks it's a very safe system but there are many limitations first there's no precise location or speed control we never really know where the Train is and we're limited in our ability to control the speed of the train not knowing exactly where a train is means we can't safely operate them more closely together so we can't increase the number of trains when ridership or is it secondly the fixed block system is very complicated in terms of interest it takes a massive amount of wayside signals cables power and other ancillary equipment to operate the system implementing CB TC solves all of these issues c bt sieve uses a moving block system that is under centralized control with cVTC we continuously know every trains location direction of travel and speed this precision allows trains to travel together closely and with increased safety being able to reduce the space between trains means we can provide trains per hour when ridership warrants the wayside infrastructure needed for CB TC is also much simpler less maintenance is required because there are fewer things that go wrong converting a line to CB TC is a massive undertaking we have to retrofit both the train cars and the infrastructure of the line the colossi line CB TC project required all new trains and wayside infrastructure it was a billion-dollar project that took seven years to complete but now that it's implemented we have the capacity to support the continued population growth along that line the flushing line CB TC project is currently underway as well with cars being retrofitted at Corona shop and wayside upgrades taking place all up and down the line we are here at the corona maintenance shop this is the home for the are 188 subway cars which the CB TC equipment is installed on we're inside the subway car this is actually the operating cab of the subway car where the train operator controls the Train from these panels were installed they replace the older panel with the controller for power and brake and a dual display when the Train is in service you'll see various different colors on this screen you'll see this is a dynamic display where a point there will be following what the real train speed would be and you also see some other indications as CB TC establishes those speed limits what they are as well so right now we're we're basically looking at under car equipment for our 188 subway car and potted a CB TC equipment is this ti a which is a transponder interrogator antenna it detects or communicates with transponders that have mounted on the track and basically determines where the train is every time the train is moving and it goes over one of these transponders it gives information so now the system knows where the train is as you know the flushing line is heavily heavily written we have a huge population and the only time you can anything real worked on you have to have a shutdown and these full shutdowns allow everybody to piggyback whether it be the contractors or New York City Transit all maximize the areas that they can work in and get as much work they can done in that short amount of time how you doing I'm Andy LeBron oh I'm the resident engineer on the flushing signal contract and at the present we're south of Main Street Station what's going on here is there's a lot of work that's happening at the present time we have power cable work we have tracked Department out here doing rails all over a switch where we're wiring with grounding flowing conduits with testing we're also doing stationing where we know exactly where transponders are being installed on the trackway and we're going to have a few more shutdowns this year and a lot of work is going to be performed in that timeframe so you know be patient with us so now we appreciate it when you think about it it's amazing how a system that's over 100 years old can still operate 24/7 and carry so many people but this didn't happen by accident the subway was planned and built to keep New York growing for decades and today century later the city continues to grow and we're working hard to keep New York moving with a system that grows with it with cVTC we're building for the future

Channel: mtainfo

Views: 685,478

Keywords: mta, nyc, ny, transit, bus, train, railroad, bridges, tunnels, transportation, cbtc, subway, signals, technology, infrastructure

Id: Mjx3S3UjmnA

Length: 9min 25sec (565 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 20 2015

Reddit Comments

[u/NikkolaiV]

A real testament to old engineering, if you ask me...

[u/[deleted]]

I visited New York City from Sydney last year and could not believe how well it ran. You people do not know pain and suffering until you've tried to catch a train in Sydney. In New York I could not believe that there was a train literally every minute or two that took me exactly where I wanted to go. All that old tech may be antiquated, old, and Kinda stupid comma but if it's stupid and it works it ain't stupid.

[u/Chucklz]

I like the emphasis on "actual electromechanical relays" like they aren't completely commonplace anymore.

[u/CommentIncomplete]

Can't hack it.

[u/greenso]

The MTA plans to invest $4 billion meanwhile the governor keeps significantly reducing its budget. So I don't know what that means. Paying $2.75 for a ride ($5.50 to and from) is kind of ridiculous. Genuinely, where is that money going because that's a fuckton of it.

But yeah, it is great. 24/7 and they take you to just about anywhere you need to go in the city. Unless you want to venture in the depths of Brooklyn/Queens. Things do keep breaking down all the time though.

[u/Jackson_Cook]

NYC MTA - The world's biggest proponents of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

[u/sstrayer]

They were doing some underground plumbing in Philly recently and found wooden pipes.

[u/KakaLlama]

Some freight lines still use no technology. Its just the tracks, a train and a piece of paper that says you are authorized to move from milepost 1 to milepost 10; good luck. Hopefully that 100 year old bridge is still there when you come around the corner at 50mph.

[u/asparagusface]

one of the biggest subway systems in America.

It's the 4th biggest system in the world actually. Shanghai, Beijing, London, NYC.