As the season for cold and snowy weather approaches, MTA New York City Transit and MTA Bus Company are ready for winter operations. NYCT is leaning on lessons from the 2013-2014 winter that brought 14 significant storms and more than 50 inches of snow.
This year’s weather plan has been updated to include new snow-fighting equipment for the Department of Buses; new improved cold-weather and communications equipment; increased planning and collaboration with the Department of Sanitation; and more alerts and checks on service for quicker and more proactive operations planning.
“We never know what each winter will bring, so New York City Transit has to be prepared for anything,” said NYCT President Carmen Bianco. “This year we have invested in more equipment such as new all-season tires to make our bus fleet more safe and better prepared to handle snow and icy roads, and improved technology that tracks our buses and lets us tailor service route by route rather than make blanket service changes.”
Snow and ice-busting equipment is ready to keep hundreds of miles of outdoor subway track and third rail clear of snow and ice. The Department of Buses, meanwhile, is testing the effectiveness of all-season tires on the bus fleet.
“We have expanded the testing and evaluation of all-season tires on our buses,” said Darryl Irick, Senior Vice President of Buses for New York City Transit and President of the MTA Bus Company. “We are looking for the ability to maintain traction in slick and snowy conditions without installing and removing chains, which took a lot of time with the huge number of significant storms last season. We also closely monitor our bus service and adjust it according to the conditions around the city. Our goal is to keep our services running as long as it is safe for our customers and employees.”
The Department of Buses also is working closely with the Department of Sanitation on the maintenance and operation of snow removal equipment. Predetermined routes have been mapped for 28 pieces of snow-fighting equipment to quickly reach highly trafficked locations for buses such as terminals, lay-over spots and facilities.
Bus managers now have new technology that tracks service when it falls below minimum expected levels on any route, allowing them to make decisions more quickly. Department of Buses also prepares special “winter weather schedules” that can substitute for service curtailments on a route-by-route basis.
Winter preparation for NYCT subways has been influenced in the aftermath of a Christmas 2010 blizzard, which stranded trains on outdoor trains. It prompted the agency to rethink its approach to operating service during crippling storms and resulted in a shift away from the philosophy that NYCT would deliver service until it is no longer possible.
NYCT has nearly 220 miles of outdoor track that are vulnerable to snowy and icy conditions, such as snow drifts that can cause stalling when they reach certain heights. Routes at ground level and in open cuts are particularly vulnerable to heavy drifting snow and freezing wet weather that can leave a coating of ice on the third rail.
“There is a point beyond which it is no longer prudent to send trains onto the outdoor sections of the lines,” explained Joe Leader, Senior Vice President, Department of Subways. “During a storm of rapid snow and ice accumulations, we cannot ensure that we can clear the right-of-way quickly enough to prevent stalled trains and trapped customers. But by modifying our operations we can clear the roadbed effectively, allowing us to restore service much more quickly.”
In addition to deploying thousands of workers across the system when a major storm is forecast, Subways uses specialized equipment to move snowfall – some of it developed in-house – and technology such as snowplows, jet-powered snow blowers to clear the yards, snow throwers on mainline tracks, and modified deicers, which are retired subway cars that spray de-icing fluid on the third rail.
Forecasts of accumulating snow or sub-freezing temperatures require NYCT to store subway trains indoors. Idle trains that are stored in yards or along unused outdoor tracks are instead stored along underground express tracks. Use of these tracks for storage purposes requires early suspension of express service in some locations.
“New York’s mass transit system is vital to keeping the city going – and we’re doing everything necessary to make sure that the system runs as smoothly as possible through the cold winter months,” Governor Cuomo said. “By activating this winter operation plan, the MTA is doubling down on its preparations for inclement weather and taking important steps to help buses and trains avoid delays and keep commuters safe.”
During any types of emergency, including weather, the MTA posts information on service disruptions or changes and urges customers to monitor mta.info.
