The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority has awarded Siemens Mobility, in collaboration with rail transit system electrical contractor L.K. Comstock (LKC), a contract to upgrade New York City Transit’s Fulton-Liberty Lines with advanced Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC), Siemens reported April 27.
“The nearly $390 million contract for Siemens Mobility will modernize 23 stations along 65 track kilometers [40 track miles] with Siemens’ CBTC System, Trainguard MT, in compliance with New York Subway Interoperability Interface Specifications (I2S), replacing century-old infrastructure in Brooklyn and Queens,” the supplier said. “This transformative project delivers the capacity for trains to run as close as 90 seconds apart. It leverages next-generation CBTC technology to fully integrate interlocking and train control functions including 5G-based wireless communication. The new technology will boost capacity, reduce waiting times, and provide the flexibility to meet future demand, ensuring seamless operations and preparing the network to serve New Yorkers for decades to come.”
Once the system upgrade is complete, Siemens Mobility said it will also take on a 25-year maintenance contract with the option for two additional five-year extensions.
Starting at Jay Street-MetroTech Station, the Fulton Line travels through Central Brooklyn and then connects to the Liberty Line, which begins at Euclid Avenue Station and concludes in Ozone Park, Queens, linking multiple subway lines along the way. The subway corridor was built in the 1930s and 1940s. The A (Express) train utilizes the Fulton-Liberty Lines for a significant portion of its route in Brooklyn and Queens, while the C (Local) train uses the Fulton Line for its entire route in Brooklyn (see maps above).
Siemens Mobility said it will deploy Trainguard MT to integrate nine subway interlockings across the two separate subway lines. The work, it noted, includes “replacing outdated track circuits with innovative axle counter technology, as well as introducing 5G-based radio communications to power real-time, optimized train control.”
As part of the signal modernization, LKC “will decommission all signaling and associated equipment that is replaced by [CBTC],” and that work includes “the installation and replacement of 24 new Special Work Portions, 94 switch machines, and constructing four new train control rooms,” according to Siemens Mobility. These upgrades, it noted, require more than 746 miles (1,200 kilometers) of cable to be installed by LKC throughout the tunnels and within the newly built facilities.
According to Siemens Mobility, this project introduces “5G commuter cellular service”; LKC will install a Distributed Antenna System and support fiber cabling in the underground tunnel portion of the project, which spans 62 track segments with work in 18 stations.
”Modernizing the Fulton-Liberty Lines is not just a technological milestone—it’s a commitment to delivering a better, more efficient, and frequent travel experience for millions of New Yorkers,” Siemens Mobility CEO Michael Peter said. ”With Siemens Mobility’s next-generation CBTC system, Trainguard MT, we have the power to enhance on-time performance and reduce train intervals to as little as 90 seconds, ensuring faster, more reliable service across the Fulton-Liberty Lines. We are grateful to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for their trust in Siemens Mobility to help shape the future of sustainable and efficient urban transit in New York.”
“L.K. Comstock is proud to partner with Siemens Mobility and the MTA to deliver this critical upgrade to one of New York City’s most heavily traveled corridors,” added LKC President Ben D’Alessandro. “Together, we are helping build a more resilient, higher-capacity transit system for the future.”
The MTA Board in December approved the design-build contract to upgrade subway signals on the A and C lines in Brooklyn and Queens. When this project is completed, more than 600,000 daily riders across the A and C trains will see “substantial upgrades to reliability, faster travel speeds, and better service,” MTA reported at that time. Previous CBTC installations on the 7, L and Queens Boulevard (E, F, M, R) lines, it noted, “have yielded significant improvements to on-time performance and train speed increases of up to 10%, all while upgrading operations and safety systems.”
MTA reported in December that the Fulton and Liberty Line signal upgrade project is “further evidence of the effectiveness of the MTA’s new CBTC-centric approach, which streamlines project delivery while maintaining the highest technical standards.” CBTC-centric projects are now more than 33% cheaper per mile than prior projects, “a major breakthrough as the MTA continues its ambitious plans to modernize signals throughout the system,” the transit agency said. Further funding from congestion pricing will go toward upgrading the signals on the 6th Avenue Line carrying the B, D, F and M, while the 2025-29 MTA Capital Plan includes CBTC upgrades on eight lines and more than 75 miles of track, MTA reported.
According to MTA, the project is being delivered as a bundle of two different subway segments: The Fulton Street Line, running from Jay Street-MetroTech in Brooklyn Heights to Euclid Avenue in East New York, is funded as part of the MTA’s 2020-24 Capital Plan and is made possible by Congestion Relief Zone revenues; the Liberty Street Line, running from Euclid Avenue to Ozone Park-Lefferts Boulevard in Ozone Park, is funded as part of the 2025-29 Capital Plan.
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