NYCT wraps up FASTRACK maintenance on Grand Concourse

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
image description
A copper bond is joined to the rails.
NYCT/Marc A. Hermann

Last week, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit's (NYCT) FASTRACK maintenance program came to the Grand Concourse Line with hundreds of subway maintenance workers going into tunnels and stations to complete repairs ranging from clearing track drains to replacing worn sections of rail.

This was FASTRACK’s fourth appearance on the Bronx segment of the D line from the 161 St.-Yankee Stadium station to the 205 St. station.

FASTRACK was introduced in January 2012, devoting four straight weeknights to perform maintenance work in tunnels, stations and on tracks, completely suspending service within a given line segment for a seven-hour period between. This gives free access to the system, allowing an army of maintenance workers to perform dozens of tasks without the concern of having to “clear up” to allow trains to pass.

Beginning November 4, maintenance crews completed numerous tasks each night during a seven-hour work window.

Joseph Leader, senior vice president for the Department of Subways, said, “Decreasing the time for maintenance activities while improving service reliability and most importantly increasing the level of safety for workers who no longer have to share tracks with moving trains is a great way to describe FASTRACK.”

Work included generating 8,075 bags of debris, removing 44,000 pounds of scrap and debris, cleaning 73,350 linear feet of track and replacing 591 friction pads, 1,168 plates, five tie blocks and 28 sections of rails.

Additionally, workers cleared 329 defects and scraped and cleaned 19,115 feet of track under and around the third rail; serviced eight switches, 184 signals, tested 192 signals and five switches and supported the Track Department on 12 rail/switch maintenance jobs; repaired/replaced 190 linear feet of no handrail, cleaned 2,750 feet of track drain, repaired two sections of structural steel, sealed 181 leaks and replaced 452 light bulbs;
optimized picture on 24 monitors and serviced 32 cameras; scraped 33,100 square feet of paintable station surface area, primed 2,000 square feet and painted 29,000 square feet; removed 600 square feet of track graffiti, repaired/replace nine square feet of platform tile and repaired 107 linear feet of rubbing board.

The next FASTRACK will take place on the A, C, B and D lines affecting service on the West Side of Manhattan and in Harlem, Washington Heights and the Bronx for four consecutive weeknights from November 18 to November 22.

 

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