MTA To Revamp Signal Inspections In Wake Of Report
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While the MTA says it's going to overhaul the way it inspects and maintains subway signals after learning that reports were falsified for years, the new changes could mean added disruptions for straphangers. NY1's John Mancini filed the following report.The subway's Signals Division has been plagued by false inspections for a decade. And now after a stunning report by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's inspector general, officials say the system itself is broken.
"This is a deep-seated issue that needs to get rooted out," said New York City Transit President Thomas Prendergast.
The MTA admits workers felt pressured to say they had done inspections even when they hadn't. But now giving them time to do the job right could mean riders may soon see new disruptions. Bigger parts of lines could be shut down for more hours to do the work.
"Maybe for some of the more difficult tests, that take a long time to set up, pick one Saturday a month and do it at night, starting after five or six o'clock at night, look at things like that," suggested Prendergast.
The search for a whole new approach comes after supervisors and union workers said they feared they couldn't meet productivity goals. So they falsely reported doing inspections on schedule. Now the MTA is looking at whether to greatly expand the size of inspection teams, which include maintainers and flagmen who warn of approaching trains.
"Maybe not having two-person teams anymore. Maybe having two or three flaggers. But assigned with 20 people. So you get productivity with twenty people," said Prendergast.
As frightening as the idea of workers faking safety reports sounds, officials insist riders have not been put in danger. Even the inspector general, who was at a briefing for MTA board members, agrees.
"I've read the reports, I have heard from the engineers of New York City Transit and I stand by the conclusion of the president of New York City Transit that the system is safe," said MTA Inspector General Barry Kluger.
Officials point to what they call the fail-safe nature of the signal system. Trains are blocked mechanically from running red signals. Malfunctions are read as stop signals. And that safety net could be part of the problem.
"I think the fact that we have this fail-safe system in signals has led to some complacency in terms of the rigor of this maintenance process," said MTA Board Member Doreen Frasca.
So far, faked reports have not been connected to any accidents.
Both the internal probe and the inspector general's investigation are ongoing.