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MTA New York City Transit's ambitious maintenance program, FASTRACK, began its third round on the Sixth Avenue line last evening. FASTRACK entails the partial closure of a subway line to train service on four consecutive nights for seven continuous hours (10 p.m. to 5 a.m.) With no trains running along the lines from 57 St to 14 St, maintenance crews were able to work on or near the tracks without the need to stop work every few minutes to allow a train to move through the area. This is a safer work environment for employees and a more efficient way of maintaining and cleaning New York City's enormous subway system that runs around the clock.

More than 800 Transit employees were able to inspect and perform maintenance work in stations, on tracks, signals, switches and associated components. Work crews were able to replace rails and cross ties and scrape track floors, resulting in the removal of dirt and debris. In subway stations, paintable surfaces not reachable during normal train operation were scraped, primed and painted. Workers were also able to clean lighting fixtures, change bulbs and repair platform edges while performing high-intensity station cleaning. These maintenance activities improve train safety, performance and efficiency while also providing a better station environment.

Major successes from last night’s maintenance effort include performing signal maintenance work, servicing 13 switches, beginning the inspection of two interlockings (an arrangement of signals and track switches that govern train movement on and between adjoining tracks), generating 1,623 bags of debris and removing 17,100 pounds of scrap material and debris. In addition, key track components were replaced including 11 running rails, 180 tie plates, nine tie blocks and 164 friction pads. Maintenance crews corrected 596 third rail defects, scraped and cleaned 2,355 feet of track under and around the third rail, installed 130 linear feet of handrail, sealed 35 square feet of leaks, and repaired 45 linear feet of benchwall (an extension of the station platform that is located in tunnels and used by maintenance personnel and for emergency egress). Track drain cleaning also took place.

In the subway stations environment, with an eye toward customer safety and convenience, workers replaced seven platform edge signs and 140 station lights and painted four stairway K-A rails (street level railings, usually green, at station entrances/exits) and four stairway copings (the concrete base, usually black, of K-A rails). Preventative maintenance was performed on six cameras and eight monitors on Closed Circuit Television systems and 140 linear feet of no longer used electrical conduit was removed. Three escalators and two elevators also received scheduled maintenance.

How this impacts service?

Reliable service - service you can depend on to get you to where you need to go when you need to get there - requires regularly scheduled maintenance to critical components customers never see. Pumps, signals, track, and power are just some of the vital system equipment we are focusing on so that we can continue providing our riders with train service that is safe and reliable.