New Signals Blamed For Snarled Bergen Street Subway Service: MTA

COBBLE HILL, NY — "Relatively new" signals that were installed more than a decade ago caused recent rush-hour delays and crippled subway service out of the Bergen Street subway station, the MTA said.

Higher-tech signals put in the Bergen Street station in 2006 were the culprit behind the March 15 snafu that snarled F, G, A, C, D, E and M service, according to an agency investigation released this week.

March's meltdown lasted about four hours, delayed hundreds of trains, left one train stuck in between stations for more than an hour and prompted an investigation from the agency, according to the MTA and NBC 4.

Officials blamed the delays on the first-of-its-kind computer signal interlocking system, which controls train movement, that failed along with its back-ups and power supply.

The station also can't be accessed by other subway lines, so MTA specialists had trouble getting to it from other boroughs for repairs during the rush hour jam, the investigation found.

Workers first installed the new interlocking system in 2006 after the station's previous controls were destroyed by a fire in 1999, the New York Times reported at the time.

Since then, the signals, manufactured by Thales, caused at least four major delays in a two-month period, including one on April 6 that shut off F train service for that evening's commute, the Times reported.

To prevent future messes, the MTA said it would put specialized staff at the Bergen Street station 24/7 in case of future failures, make tweaks to its power draw and get spare parts from Thales.

"We’re working hard to give New Yorkers the transit system they expect and deserve and minimize experiences like the one many of you had on March 15," the agency wrote in the investigation. "It won’t be easy or happen immediately but know that we won’t stop until we have your trust to get you where you’re going."

Image: Maria Cormack-Pitts/Patch