Fidler Questions ‘L’ Train Safety

City Council Members Lew Fidler, Transportation Committee Chair-
person John Liu and five other Council Members, all of whom have stops on the Canarsie subway line in their districts, yesterday joined representatives of the Transit Workers Union on the steps of City Hall in calling for oversight hearings on the safety of the MTA plan to install a computer operated train system on the ‘L’ route.

The MTA is installing the $285 million automated system on the
line, which operates between Rockaway Parkway in Canarsie and Eighth Avenue and West 14 Street in Manhattan. The unmanned system will control the speed of trains and set the distance between trains, as well as start and stop them.

"Once installed," Fidler said, "the computer will start and stop the trains, not live train operators. The system has apparently not been tested other than in the laboratory."

An MTA spokesperson recently told the Canarsie Courier that even when the "L" line is totally computerized, a human operator, who can override the system in case of emergency, will be at the controls at all times. Eventually, the entire city transit system is scheduled to operate with automated technology, which transit officials have said will increase service

The south Brooklyn politician added, "My constituents are going to be asked for a huge leap of faith. They will be asked to get on a train run by computer technology. Before that happens, I want to be absolutely certain that this is as safe as possible. And while the MTA says that there
is no present plan to remove conductors from the trains...the operative word being ‘present’ there are a
myriad of reasons to keep conductors on our trains."

"Passengers would be placed at risk if conductors were taken off trains, and even more so if operators were reduced to understudies for computers that run the trains," added TWU President Roger Toussaint. "In the post 9/11 world, after the horrific events TWU Madrid, we need to be certain that there is a crew on board who truly know how the trains run, how the subway system works, professionals who can be counted on to help riders in the eventuality that something goes wrong or that someone does wrong" added Toussaint.

Council Members Fidler, Liu, Diana Reyna, Erik Dilan, Margarita Lopez, Charles Barron and Christine Quinn are co-sponsoring a resolution calling for hearings on the issue.

"This is clearly another example of misplaced budget items and total disrespect and disregard for working class communities. Our children and parents’ safety is low on the totem pole of MTA’s priorities. Conductors have always been the eyes and ears of neighborhoods. We must make sure they continue to do so," stated Barron.

"I don’t want my constituents, nor any New Yorker, to be a guinea pig when safety is an issue may well be that the computer based train will improve service. We know that it is the MTA’s plan to eventually install this system throughout our subway system. Before they do that we believe that the Council has an absolute obligation to make size that the system will not jeopardize lives and that the conductors will remain on the trains long term," concluded Councilman Fidler.

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