MTA releases new full-year data for NYCT subway, Metro-North Railroad, LIRR

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has released the 2019 full-year statistics for the New York City Transit (NYCT), the Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR).

The statistics for NYCT show continued performance improvements on the subway thanks to the sustained success of both the Subway Action Plan and the Save Safe Seconds initiative. Weekday on-time performance (OTP) surpassed 80 percent for the seventh consecutive month in December 2019, and there were improvements on all other metrics tracked by the agency as well. Average full-year OTP also exceeded 80 percent in 2019 for the first time since 2013.

“Thanks to the relentless hard work of our team, I’m tremendously proud to say that improvements are now the norm on the subways,” said MTA NYCT President Andy Byford. “I look forward to maintaining our upward trend in 2020 as we continue work on our Fast Forward Plan to modernize every aspect of our transit system and implement our part of the historic, unprecedented $51.5 billion MTA 2020-2024 Capital Program.”

Average weekday OTP in 2019 was 80.3 percent, a nearly 20 percent increase over 2018 when it was 67.1 percent. December 2019’s weekday OTP jumped 10.5 percent compared to December 2018. Customer-focused metrics such as Additional Platform Time, Additional Train Time and Customer Journey Time Performance also improved compared to last year, demonstrating that the incremental gains from the Safe Save Seconds campaign continue building to tangible service improvements felt by customers across the system, according to NYCT.

NYCT also met its internal subway delay reduction target for the 16th month in a row, leading to the number of weekday delays decreasing by 25 percent year over year. For the month of December 2019, weekday major incidents fell 7.7 percent to 48. And for the full year, the number of major incidents decreased by nearly one-third, from an average of 68 per month in 2018 to 45.5 per month in 2019.

“We are working hard to deliver improved service for our customers, and these gains in operational metrics reinforce the progress we are making,” said Sally Librera, NYCT’s senior vice president of the Department of Subways. “Customers can trust that we are committed to raising the bar even higher in 2020.”

December 2019 subway highlights include:

• Additional Platform Time, which measures the average added time customers wait for trains compared to the schedule: Time savings of six seconds, or a 7.7 percent drop from last year.
• Additional Train Time, which measures the average added time customers spend on a train compared to the schedule: Time savings of 14 seconds, or a drop of 20 percent from last year.
• Customer Journey Time Performance: 83 percent of customers completed their journeys within five minutes of the schedule, compared to 80.2 percent last year.

A contributing factor to the reduction in delays has been the progress made in reducing track debris fires, which are down since NYCT started attacking this problem with new equipment in 2017. This has included clearing debris at using new platform-based mobile vacs and vacuum trains that move around the system picking up trash. In 2019 compared to 2018, track debris fires were down significantly, to 262 from 341.

NYCT also recently announced new data showing that in addition to trains keeping on schedule better, trips are taking less time on every line in the system.

Compared to 2018 and 2017, trains are taking less time to go from terminal to terminal on every line of the subway system today, shaving minutes off many trips. Overall, ‘A’ Division trains (the numbered lines) are running close to 4 percent, or about two and a half minutes, faster than last year, and close to 6 percent, or about three and a half minutes, faster than in 2017. On the ‘B’ Division (lettered lines), trains are running about 2 percent, or about one and a half minutes, faster than 2018, and close to 3 percent, or about two minutes, faster than in 2017.

There are signs that the recent trend in improving performance is attracting customers back to the subway system. Preliminary full-year data shows subway ridership slightly higher in 2019 than in 2018 for both weekdays and weekends (one percent for each). After several years of decreases, average weekday subway ridership increased year-over-year for six consecutive months and exceeded six million riders on two weekdays in November (the latest month with full data).

In terms of customer satisfaction, NYCT’s Customers Count survey saw a 9.4 percentage point improvement in satisfaction for the 4th quarter of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018. During that time, satisfaction increased on more than half the lines in the system and did not decrease on any line.

Metro-North's 2019 statistics

The Metro-North Railroad’s OTP increased 4.3 percent in 2019, rising to 94.4 percent, the best performance in six years. The railroad recorded 55 percent fewer train cancelations, 41 percent fewer trains delayed more than 15 minutes and 63 percent fewer trains operating with less than their normal complement of cars. Trains traveled 64 percent more miles before experiencing any type of mechanical malfunction and causing a delay. The improved metrics come at a time that the railroad provided more service, with 0.5 percent more trains scheduled.

The improved performance measures follow progress under the Metro-North Way Ahead plan, a roadmap that details actions to enhance safety, service, infrastructure, communications and transform customers’ day-to-day commuting experience.

“We are very pleased to report significant and improved train performance, while continuing to improve safety for employees and customers,” said Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi. “This year we improved our on-time performance for 13 consecutive months while operating more service than the prior year. That is only made possible by the dedication and commitment of our workforce who rise to the challenge every single day. On behalf of our customers, I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation.”

Under the Metro-North Way Ahead Plan, which was put into place in October 2018, the railroad has concentrated resources on enhancing safety, service, infrastructure and customer communication.

In 2019, Metro-North installed more than 50,000 new cross ties, 28 new switches and over eight miles of new continuously welded rail; surfaced almost 111 miles of track; and replaced five railroad grade crossings. Metro-North cut in a new cab signal system at all Port Jervis Line interlockings, renewed the components of the Cos Cob moveable bridge, reduced the number of switch failures by 67 percent, replaced 20 substation roofs, installed 1,800 feet of fencing alongside the tracks and removed 90 tons of debris and garbage from the tracks.

In addition to these infrastructure milestones, Metro-North made major enhancements to safety and customer amenities such as:

• Positive Train Control: Metro-North made advances toward completing its implementation of the Positive Train Control (PTC) safety system. In 2019, Metro-North activated PTC to cover the Hudson Line from Marble Hill to Poughkeepsie, the Harlem Line from Southeast to Wassaic and the entire Danbury Branch in Connecticut. Now, 41 percent of Metro-North trains operate daily in full PTC mode. The railroad says it is on pace to meet full implementation by December 2020.
• Modernized customer information at Grand Central: Metro-North completed the installation of new state-of-the-art “big boards” at Grand Central Terminal that are brighter and easier to read. They can be nimbly updated in response to service changes and maintain the Terminal’s historical integrity. The railroad is also more than halfway toward completion of the departure board installation at each track at Grand Central.
• Customer ambassadors expand: Metro-North extended its customer ambassadors program beyond Grand Central. Customer ambassadors are now stationed at Croton-Harmon, Fordham, Harlem-125th Street, New Rochelle, Stamford and White Plains. The ambassadors help provide customers with train service information and assist those who need extra help boarding trains.

LIRR’s 2019 statistics

The LIRR’s OTP increased two percent in 2019, rising to 92.4 percent, the best performance in three years. The LIRR recorded 44 percent fewer train cancellations and terminations, 29 percent fewer trains delayed more than 15 minutes and 25 percent fewer trains operating short. Trains traveled 4.3 percent more miles before experiencing any type of mechanical malfunction. The improved metrics come at a time that the railroad operated 1.2 percent more trains to service the highest ridership reached in modern day history, 91.1 million passengers, an increase of 1.3 million from 2018’s total of 89.8 million riders. These milestones also occurred while undertaking the largest system expansion in over 100 years and extensive state of good repair work.

The improved performance measures follow progress made under the LIRR Forward plan to identify and combat the root causes of safety risks and train delays.

“There’s a renewed sense of enthusiasm at the railroad for doing everything we can to put ourselves in a stronger position to respond to Mother Nature and other external factors that affect our operations,” said LIRR President Phil Eng. “This is about proactively hardening infrastructure to reduce the risk of failures that impact our customers. It’s about challenging industry to find new ways to effectively solve longstanding problems. It’s also about hard work of our employees. I thank our workforce for rising to the challenge and dedicating their full energies each and every day.”

Under the LIRR Forward Plan, which was put into place in April 2018 to stabilize the systems infrastructure, the LIRR became the first railroad in the country to upgrade all its railroad crossings with flexible delineators and reflective pavement markings – virtually eliminating the number of motorists errantly turning onto tracks after mistaking them for a roadway. The railroad became the first in the world to begin using a laser to eliminate slippery autumn leaf slime from tracks, preventing many seasonal operational problems, according to the MTA.

During 2019, the LIRR continued these strides under LIRR Forward by rebuilding 13 priority switches, including the recently replaced Nassau Switch, which is one of the most highly trafficked areas with over 200 train traverses every day. Railroad crews also repaired about 1,700 rail joints, replaced insulation of 30 switches and 8,000 feet of overhead cable replacement, installed 14 third rail heaters and doubled the number of wheel truing machines to four.

Additionally, over the last 19 months there were several other measures that have been taken under LIRR Forward to improve performance. Workers fanned throughout the railroad have replaced 170,186 feet of rail, completed 225 miles of trackside vegetation clearance, added show prevention covers to 76 switches, renewed 298 track circuits and performed 116 miles of rail grinding. Lastly, because utility poles are at risk of falling on tracks during weather events, the LIRR worked with PSEGLI to accelerate the replacement of over 218 utility poles.

In 2019, the LIRR also completed 2,015 miles of rail safety tests performed by a Sperry Rail Car, a train car fitted with ultrasonic and induction test equipment and is designed to detect internal defects inside the running rails that are not readily visible. The amount of mileage brings up testing to four times the amount required by the FRA and doubles the frequency completed in 2018 which was 953 miles. Defects that are found during testing are corrected immediately by LIRR track maintenance workers.

Other 2019 safety and customer amenity accomplishments include:

• Threshold Plates: The LIRR installed 3,329 new threshold plates on the M7 electric trains this past year, covering about 98 percent of the fleet. The replacements reduce doors being misaligned and getting stuck, resulting in delays for customers.
• Positive Train Control: This past year, the LIRR moved closer to completing its integration of a PTC system into its infrastructure. PTC is a system designed to enhance railroad safety by preventing train-to-train collisions, over speed derailments, unauthorized operation of trains into work zones and the movement of a train through a switch left in the wrong position. In 2019, PTC was activated on more than 100 miles of track, including the entire Far Rockaway, Long Beach, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson and West Hempstead Branches. The railroad says it is on pace to meet full implementation by December 2020.
• New M9 Rail Cars Enter Service: The LIRR’s next fleet of rail cars, the M9s, built by Kawasaki Rail Car, Inc., entered passenger service Sept. 11, 2019. The new cars incorporate and improve upon the most successful and popular features of the MTA’s two recent electric car fleets, the LIRR’s familiar M7s electric cars and the M8 cars serving Metro-North’s New Haven Line. A total of 202 cars are expected to be put into service.
• Amenities in the cars include electrical outlets on both sides of the car in each row of the seats, four to six additional seats per married pair, automatic pocket doors in between train cars that open with the press of a button, digital displays that tell riders which car they’re in and another digital display on the exterior of the front car of the train will tell passengers waiting on platforms the train's destination. Other features include energy-efficient LED lighting and increased window tint to reduce glare. The cars are fully equipped for PTC, a major safety enhancement that will reduce the potential for human error to contribute to train-to-train collisions or derailments. They have cameras in the train engineer’s cab, facing into the cab to monitor the engineer’s alertness and facing forward to show the tracks ahead, and cameras in passenger area of the cars to serve as a deterrent to criminal activity.
• MyLIRR.org: Since January 2019, riders have been able to see exactly where their trains are, in real time, thanks to myLIRR.org. The online tool uses real-time GPS tracking to allows commuters to pull up the location of their train and see whether it’s late or on time. It also provides information such as the car length of a train and whether it's diesel or electric. The tool continues be updated such as recently added arrows on trains indicating direction and the addition of blue bubbles around trains when the reported location is approximate. The web-based technology is eventually expected to be folded into MTA smartphone apps.