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from the they-don't-make-things-like-they-used-to dept.
James Somers wanted to find out why the New York subway's F train still doesn't have countdown clocks to tell you when the next train is arriving. He never expected it to be so complicated.
The New York subway signaling system was one of the earliest attempts to automate a large, complex and chaotic mechanism. It was designed to keep the trains running while making collisions impossible - and it did a pretty good job of that, considering the technology that was available at the time. When it was built in the early part of the 20th century, it was the state of the art - the problem is, much of that system hasn't been updated since then. In the case of the F train, there are no countdown clocks at the station because literally nobody has clear knowledge of the train's position besides the people on the train. (Many other lines do have the clocks.)
Somers' lengthy article examines the nuts and bolts of the signaling system, and also tries to figure out why it's taking so long to bring it up to date - a combination of politics, bureaucracy, and a need to support legacy technology while transporting 5 million people a day.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Saturday November 14 2015, @07:09PM
they work well when the trains are running on schedule - but if they're running on schedule I can just look up that schedule on the PDFs I download from their website.
There are many reasons the trains are delayed; quite commonly some irreverent youth commits a petty crime on the light rail then the whole system is held up while the transit police protect and serve him. When that happens the countdown clocks all over all four lines bear no relation to reality.
What I'd like to see are countdown clocks whose reports are based both on where the trains are, and whether they are actually moving.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]