METROPOLITAN Transportation Authority (MTA) has announced Siemens Mobility and LK Comstock (LKC) as preferred bidders for a contract to implement CBTC on New York City’s Fulton and Liberty Subway lines. The value of the deal is around $US 390m and involves the introduction of digital signalling covering 23 stations and 65 track-km.
Starting at Jay Street-MetroTech, the Fulton Line runs through central Brooklyn and then connects with the Liberty Line, which begins at Euclid Avenue and terminates at Ozone Park, Queens. A train express services run for a significant part of their route on both the Liberty and Fulton lines, while local C train services use the Fulton Line for their entire route in Brooklyn.
Siemens will deploy its Trainguard MT CBTC system to integrate nine Subway interlockings across the two separate lines. This includes replacing track circuits with axle-counters, as well as introducing 5G-based radio communications to enable real-time, optimised train control, supporting headways of up to 90 seconds between trains.
LKC will decommission all redundant signalling and associated equipment, and will then install a distributed antenna system with supporting fibre optic cabling to enable the introduction of a public 5G network.
Once the modernisation process is complete, Siemens will take on a 25-year maintenance contract with options for two additional five-year extensions.
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