With a wintry blast that may dump as much as 12 inches of snow in parts of the metropolitan region, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is hard at work to ensure safe, reliable service this weekend. MTA New York City Transit, Metro-North Railroad, Long Island Rail Road, and MTA Bridges and Tunnels are once again preparing. Personnel will be ready to drop salt and clear platforms and stairs of snow but customers are urged to use extreme caution while navigating the system, especially on outdoor platforms and stairs.
The MTA follows well-established plans to keep the region’s transit services up and running during harsh winter weather conditions. MTA personnel will continue to monitor the U.S. National Weather Service and have direct access to a customized weather prediction service that provides regularly updated weather forecasts. From forecast to clean-up, North America’s largest mass transit provider will respond accordingly with an army of dedicated workers and a fleet of heavy equipment built for snow-fighting duty.
“We will make every effort to keep our services up and running so that our customers can get to where they need to be,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast. “We have a tremendous investment in equipment, manpower and experience. However, we will only provide service as long as it’s safe to do so. There may come a point throughout the winter months when it is no longer prudent to roll out buses or send trains onto some outdoor sections of the lines.”
NYCT Subways
The Incident Command Center will be activated Friday night at 8 p.m. Personnel will be stationed to communicate with outlying local storm fighting centers, coordinating the overall snow-fighting effort. NYCT has refined procedures at the Incident Command Center upgrading a tool for tracking field reports on snow removal and station conditions, as well as a database of essential resources such as salt, sand, and generators to enable better collaboration and response time.
To prevent subway trains from being blocked in yards, they will be moved and stored underground in anticipation of heavy snow or ice. This will impact service on lines with express service. In addition, all scheduled weekend work has been canceled. However, if the storm tracks south and snow accumulation is minimal, NYCT may proceed with some work.
The Department of Subways has a yellow-hued fleet of snow and ice-busting equipment designed to keep outdoor tracks, switches and third rails clear of snow and ice. Super-powered snow throwers, jet-powered snow-blowers, and de-icing cars – retired subway cars modified with tanks and other specialized equipment to spray de-icing fluid on the third rail — are ready for immediate deployment. Based on the current forecast, workers will be held after their regular shifts and additional personnel will be brought in prior to the beginning of the storm. Approximately 1,000 track workers will be deployed during the storm in addition to 800 station workers to keep stairs and platforms clear of snow. Personnel will have access to 262,500 pounds of calcium chloride and 200,000 pounds of sand to melt snow and ice.
