MTA New York Metropolis Transit President Demetrius Crichlow.
Marc A. Hermann / MTA
We discuss rather a lot about “state of good repair” right here at New York Metropolis Transit, and for good motive. The subway system is 120 years outdated and desires common upkeep and renewal to maintain working nicely, particularly for the tracks.
There are 850 miles of metal rails snaking from Van Cortlandt Park to Far Rockaway. To repair broken sections, staff used to have to hold picket observe ties over their shoulder to put in replacements separately. Immediately the method – managed by Chief Upkeep Officer Dom Gallo — is very technical, and rather more environment friendly.
It begins in East New York at our Linden Store. There, led by Superintendent Rameshwar Sambhu and Upkeep Supervisor Ronnie DeMaria, we fabricate and assemble each single foot of rail, each swap, and each observe tie that goes into the subway system. That’s an enormous operation, requiring 36 flatbed vehicles, 26 trailers, three cranes, and fixed use of labor trains, overseen by Upkeep Supervisor Kenneth Schulze.
Professional welders like 34-year MTA veteran Rob Frantzen use their abilities to arrange each aspect of metallic rail. They carry out work generally known as “frog welding” as a result of, by repairing and rebuilding switches, they allow trains to “jump” from one observe to a different safely. This method permits us to rebuild some switches three or 4 instances. Welders additionally create super-long segments of constantly welded rail – as much as 390 toes lengthy — which can be loaded onto feeder tables and fabricated separately in our welding plant.
NYC subway riders board and depart a 6 prepare in Manhattan on March 12, 2025.Picture by Dean Moses
Renewing the subway system’s 168 miles of elevated tracks is particularly advanced. Elevated observe is made up of 39-foot-long picket panels, every purpose-built for its phase. All the pieces from curves to elevation modifications should be thought of within the design, like items of a jigsaw puzzle.
Earlier than work begins, our sketching staff diagrams the observe, marking exactly the place each beam, plate, and rail ought to go. Then, the staff on the sawmill churns out tailored picket ties. All the pieces comes collectively within the store, the place plates are drilled into the ties, rail is laid down, and each phase of the panel is knitted collectively. Cranes then load every panel onto a flatbed for drivers like James Salerno to ferry to their vacation spot.
Final 12 months, crews put in 960 of those observe panels, probably the most we’ve ever accomplished. That’s roughly 37,500 toes of name new, extra dependable elevated observe. This 12 months, we’re decided to boost the whole increased but by working extra effectively than ever. Simply final week, Monitor Building Superintendent Stanley Summer season’s staff changed sections of observe on the F line close to Kings Freeway and Superintendent Roydell Brathwaite’s staff changed sections of observe on the two line close to 233rd Avenue within the Bronx.
The perfect half? We do that work through the center of the day and on weekends, decreasing delays and restoring full service for weekday rush hours with time to spare. To proceed enhancing security and repair, it’s vital we maintain our tracks in good working order – and because of the efforts of a whole bunch of colleagues to resume the system, we’re doing simply that.
Demetrius Crichlow is president of New York Metropolis Transit.
