information:extraction
Communications-based train control

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the MTA began automating the subway by installing CBTC, which supplements rather than replaces the fixed-block signal system; it allows trains to operate more closely together with lower headways. The BMT Canarsie Line, on which the L train runs, was chosen for pilot testing because it is a self-contained line that does not operate in conjunction with other lines. CBTC became operational in February 2009. Due to an unexpected ridership increase, the MTA ordered additional cars, and increased service from 15 trains to 26 trains per hour, an achievement beyond the capability of the block system. The total cost of the project was $340 million.

After the success of the BMT Canarsie Line automation, the IRT Flushing Line, carrying the 7 and < 7 > trains, was next chosen to get CBTC. Estimated to cost US$1.4 billion, the project was completed in November 2018. By 2018, CBTC was in the process of being installed on several other routes as well, particularly the IND Queens Boulevard Line (E, F, < F >, M, and R trains) and IND Culver Line (F, < F >, and G trains). The total cost for the entire Queens Boulevard Line is estimated at over $900 million, and the Queens Boulevard CBTC project was completed in 2022. Funding for CBTC on the IND Eighth Avenue Line is also provided in the 2015–2019 capital plan, and the IND Crosstown Line and IND Fulton Street Line were also being equipped with CBTC as of 2022. The widespread installation of CBTC includes retrofitting many newer subway cars and replacement of older cars.

Eventually, the MTA has plans to automate a much larger portion, using One Person Train Operation (OPTO) in conjunction with CBTC. At the current pace of installation, it would take 175 years for CBTC to be installed at a cost of $20 billion. The Flushing line operated at almost 30 trains an hour using the signal system installed when the line was built, but after the CBTC installation it became possible that an additional two trains per hour could be operated. In March 2018, New York City Transit Authority president Andy Byford announced a new plan for resignaling the subway with CBTC, which would only take 10 to 15 years, compared to the previous estimate of 40 years. This would cost $8 to $15 billion.

The New York City Subway uses a system known as Automatic Train Supervision (ATS) for dispatching and train routing on the A Division (the Flushing line and the trains used on the 7 and < 7 > services do not have ATS.) ATS allows dispatchers in the Operations Control Center (OCC) to see where trains are in real time, and whether each individual train is running early or late. Dispatchers can hold trains for connections, re-route trains, or short-turn trains to provide better service when a disruption causes delays.