No, this is the issue. A sick passenger on union sq on N Q R in a rush hour means for twenty minutes trains are stopped. A sick passenger on the L, means trains are stopped in both directions. It takes hours for the train service to get back to normal. This happens nearly daily. If we still had Gothamist, we would have still had daily articles about what caused the delay.
No, it is an issue. In any case, a new signal system would allow the subway to recover from a sick passenger much quicker, and allow it to run many more trains per hour than it currently does, which would cover many sins. The decrepit signals are a far bigger issue, and a far more solvable one (how do you solve sick passengers?)
> and a far more solvable one (how do you solve sick passengers?)
You move them off the train ( 2 minutes ) and let the train continue moving.
Improving signal system won't fix delays. The article is about what about makes commute terrible. MTAs customer does not give a flying f!ck about why there are the delays. MTA customer wants to have no delays. MTA's solution? Contractless payments! New L cars with folding seats!
Subway in NYC runs on electricity. It is not possible to run more trains on most of the lines than already run. MTA got a stupid grant from feds of several hundred million dollars to upgrade one of the L substations. It will add two or maybe three additional trains in the rush hour when trains already come every 3-4 minutes. No improvement in switching infrastructure would fix it. A train stopping for twenty minutes on Bedford St would affect the system for hours because of the idiotic 8th St design.
Oh how about someone having an episode in a tunnel, followed by a dumb-ass passenger pulling emergency brake. In a tunnel. Guess what happens? The conductor has to check every car before the train moves forward even though he or she knows where the emergency brake was pulled. So you now have a sick passenger in a tunnel and entire system again stops. Fun, huh? But sure, through the magic of signal system improvement we will totally address dumb design ideas.
