Latest news with #Crichlow
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
G train gets state-of-art, open gangway train — 3 more coming down the line
The first of four state-of-the-art subway trains went into service on the G train Tuesday, a substantial upgrade for the cross-borough line connecting Brooklyn and Queens. The train — which was taken out of service on the C line in order to be deployed on the G line — is one of the few in the system to have a so-called 'open gangway' design, in which all five cars are connected via an articulated section and passengers can move freely between them. The design, known internally as the 'R211T,' was first tested on the C line last year. NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said Tuesday that the design was particularly suited to the G train, where shorter trains stop in the middle of long platforms. 'Everyone that's taken the G train knows the experience of hustling down the platform to make that train,' Crichlow said. 'You get to the last car of the train, and then the train is just a little bit crowded in that one last car. 'No more,' he said. 'Open gangways are open from end to end.' Tuesday also marks the first time that an open gangway car was put into passenger service along a line with a significant elevated portion. Proponents of the design say open gangway cars could reduce incidents of subway surfing by eliminating easy access to the train's exterior. A second five-car R211T train is scheduled to begin running on the G line on Wednesday, and another two are due in service by June — all taken from the two 10-car trains that have up until now been running on the C line. Together, the four five-car trains will account for nearly a third of the 13 trains that typically wear the green 'G' bullet. But while a third of the G train fleet is set to soon be modernized, the remaining nine will continue to be some of the oldest in operation. Crichlow said Tuesday that the MTA is still trying to locate a mysterious track defect that's been wearing out the wheels on R160 train cars running on the E, F and R lines. As first reported by the Daily News, the MTA moved all the modern R160 cars off of the G line in January to backstop the E, F and R lines — which use a computerized signaling system — while those trains' wheels were being repaired. Since the G line is expected to continue using its older signaling system for at least another two years, the MTA has been running older R46 and R68 train sets to free up R160s for the E, F and R lines. In January, transit officials said the measure was temporary, and that the R160 cars would be back on the G by the end of March. Crichlow said Tuesday that that was unlikely. 'The plan at this point is just to introduce the two R211 open gangway [trains] and then within the next two months you'll have an additional two trains,' he said. 'Then the goal is, over the next capital program, the [new] R211s that we will be getting, a portion of them will come to the G line.' Sources familiar with the hunt to find the track defect confirmed to The News Tuesday that the efforts were ongoing, but the source of the wheel wear has yet to be found. The decision to send all 20 of the MTA's open gangway cars to the G train means they will no longer be operating on the C line, at least until more arrive. The transit agency announced last year that it had ordered 80 additional R211Ts as part of a 435-car purchase option from train-builder Kawasaki. Traditional 'closed gangway' R211A cars currently make up the bulk of service on the A and C lines.
CBS News
27-02-2025
- CBS News
MTA studying technology to identify dangerous subway track debris. How a smartphone might help.
The investigation into what sparked a fire on a subway train in Washington Heights earlier this week, injuring 18 people, is raising questions about preventative measures. Transit officials were back at the scene of Tuesday's fiery encounter on the 1 line searching for answers, after a train struck an unknown object on the track and third rail at the 191st Street Station. In a one-on-one interview with CBS News New York, MTA Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said the incident remains under investigation as the transit agency works to pinpoint where the debris came from and what it was. Cheap and small technology can do wonders, MTA says The MTA said on Thursday it has been studying technology that helps scan the tracks for debris as the train is moving. "Incidents like this, usually if it hits the third rail, especially if it's metal, it disintegrates," Crichlow said. It turns out a Google Pixel smartphone is one of several tools the MTA says could have potentially prevented such a dangerous situation. "It's telling us in advance, I found something out on the roadbed that could be of concern, please send a maintainer to take a look at this specific location," Crichlow said. Back in January, the MTA mounted the phones underneath cars used on the A line to detect irregularities on the rails. They were part of a brief pilot program into whether cheap and small technology, like a cellphone, could enhance the agency's inspections of more than 600 miles of tracks. "We would pick out segments of higher-than-normal noise levels and they would send that data to us. We would actually then go out and verify if it's a defective rail," said Robert Sarno, an MTA assistant chief track officer. Screenshots sent to CBS News New York by the MTA from Google shows a log of one trip as a train passed by 14th Street. The software creates rows of information into the kind of issues found, how many, and where it was discovered. Reporter Elijah Westbrook asked Crichlow if that form of technology could have prevented along the 1 line on Tuesday. "If this technology works, you could actually hear, the equipment would tell you that 'I passed this spot, and there's something on the tracks that rattling,'" Crichlow said. "It does provide information that could prevent something in a similar scenario."
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Yahoo
MTA tries to lock down parked subway trains amid spate of teen vandal break-ins
The MTA is taking steps to secure its subways — installing alarms and checking IDs — as teams of teen vandals continue to gain access to parked trains. NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow, in an email sent Monday to subway staff, said that security personnel would be scrutinizing employee IDs in the coming days 'in order to minimize the risk of unauthorized individuals entering our property,' according to a copy reviewed by the Daily News. The moves come as a group of teens was caught breaking into the No. 4 train's Moshulu Yard in Kingsbridge Heights early Saturday morning, sources with knowledge of the situation told The News. They were discovered by transit workers but fled the yard before police arrived, according to the sources. It was not immediately clear if the teens had broken into any trains. The same day, a photograph of R142 subway cars in the Moshulu Yard appeared on an Instagram account that has also posted footage of other recent break-ins and train takeovers. The Saturday intrusion came days after a teen was collared while breaking into the cab of a No. 2 train elsewhere in the Bronx, and a month after an apparently related crew took an R train on a joyride under Brooklyn. Asked Wednesday what steps were being taken to curb the incursions, Crichlow said his team was going beyond enforcing employee IDs. 'We put out a bulletin to all employees: challenge someone who doesn't have their pass displayed,' Crichlow said, but added that an alarm had been added to yard control towers. 'Our engineering team put together a quick-fix which essentially alerts the tower operator when there is an unauthorized move in the yard,' he said. The transit boss said his crews were also working on adding additional locks to train cabs, which are traditionally opened by a master key. MTA chairman Janno Lieber Wednesday called on the city's criminal justice system to take the issue more seriously. 'One of the people engaged in this had done it before — a week or two before,' Lieber said. 'The real issue we've got is most subway crime is committed by recidivists, by people who've done it much more than once or twice.'
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Woman gives birth on New York City subway train
MANHATTAN, N.Y. (WPIX) — A woman gave birth to a baby girl on board a subway train in New York City Wednesday. It happened on a southbound W train at the 34th Street–Herald Square subway station in Manhattan around 11:30 a.m., according to the MTA. The 25-year-old woman rode the train for about 25 minutes before she alerted other passengers that she was about to give birth, sources told Nexstar's WPIX. A witness said other passengers helped deliver the baby. A passenger reportedly cut the baby's umbilical cord with a pocket knife. Bull rider survives near-fatal 'freak accident,' seeks return to sport A video of the incident showed the mother on the floor of the train while passengers held the newborn wrapped in a blanket. Transit workers, police, and medics also responded to the scene. 'This is another example of New Yorkers coming together to help each other, assisted by caring transit workers and other responders, reflecting the best of the subway community and this city,' NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said. The mother and the newborn were taken to a hospital in good condition, according to Crichlow. 'We are thrilled that both mother and Baby W are doing well, and look forward to welcoming both of them back aboard for a lifetime of reliable — and hopefully less dramatic — rides,' Crichlow said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Special subway delivery: Woman gives birth to baby girl on New York City transit train
Special subway delivery: Woman gives birth to baby girl on New York City transit train 'Baby on board' took on a new meaning Wednesday when a 25-year-old woman gave birth to a baby girl on a New York City subway train. Mother and baby were taken to the hospital in good condition. Show Caption Hide Caption New York City subway conductor goes viral for comedy routine A New York City subway conductor has gone viral for making train riders laugh during their commute. In what has been described as "the miracle on 34th Street," a woman brought a baby girl into the world on the New York City subway. The 25-year-old woman gave birth on the train about 11:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday. Passengers notified the conductor, who stopped the train at the 34 Street-Herald Square subway station, NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said in a statement posted on the system's website. A NYC Transit train service supervisor and multiple NYPD officers responded to the car, where the woman gave birth and "they were rapidly joined by EMS which transported the baby girl and mother to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue in good condition," he said. Officers called EMS and got the mother, who was conscious and alert, and child into the ambulance, a New York Police Department spokesperson told USA TODAY. Great White Shark video: Footage shows gigantic 1,653-pound great white shark tagged near Florida-Georgia coast The hospital did not immediately respond to request for comment on the mom and baby girl's conditions. Names of the mother and baby were not released. However, Crichlow dubbed the newborn "Baby W," since she was born on the southbound W train. 'This is another example of New Yorkers coming together to help each other, assisted by caring transit workers and other responders, reflecting the best of the subway community and this city," Crichlow said in his statement. "We are thrilled that both mother and Baby W are doing well, and look forward to welcoming both of them back aboard for a lifetime of reliable – and hopefully less dramatic – rides.' This isn't the first child born on the New York City subway system, reported the Gothamist news site, which in reporting Wednesday's birth dubbed it the "miracle on 34th Street." In June 2012, a woman delivered a baby boy in the subway in Manhattan and in January 1993, a woman gave birth to seven-pound girl on a subway train at the Wall Street station. Follow Mike Snider on Threads, Bluesky and X: mikegsnider & @ & @mikesnider. What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
