MTA Puts $1.9bn Into CBTC Signalling On Brooklyn And Queens A/C Lines

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will spend $1.9 billion replacing 1930s-era signals with Communications-Based Train Control across 42 track miles of A and C service in Brooklyn and Queens — the largest signal modernization project in the agency's history, funded through congestion pricing revenue.

The work covers the Fulton and Liberty lines from High Street in Brooklyn to Ozone Park–Lefferts Boulevard in Queens, touching 23 stations that serve 350,000 riders each weekday. The corridor connects with seven other subway lines, 36 bus routes and the Long Island Rail Road. The MTA awarded the construction contract to L.K. Comstock & Railworks in December 2025 and expects completion in the second quarter of 2032.

Signal failures are the leading cause of subway delays, according to the MTA. Much of the network still runs on equipment whose components are no longer commercially manufactured, driving up maintenance costs. The legacy system divides track into fixed sections and registers only whether a train occupies each block. CBTC allows trains to run faster and closer together safely, which translates directly into more frequent service and shorter waits.

What does the change produce for riders?

The MTA points to measured results on lines already converted. After CBTC activation on the 7 line, on-time performance rose from 68% to 91%. Train speeds on the E line in Queens increased by roughly 10% following conversion. CBTC now runs across the full 7 and L lines and portions of the E, F, M and R routes on the Queens Boulevard and Culver lines.

The new equipment is also cheaper to maintain than the fixed-block hardware it replaces, the agency said.

Who said what

New York Governor Kathy Hochul tied the project directly to the tolling programme financing it. "Congestion pricing keeps delivering wins for New Yorkers," Hochul said. "Upgrading nearly 100-year-old signals does more than just modernize infrastructure that is long-overdue – it is a critical part of our plan to run better and more frequent subway service, shortening waits and slashing delays."

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber framed the investment against the age of the current hardware. "Signal issues are the number one cause of subway delays – no surprise considering the ancient relics we've been using to direct train traffic," Lieber said. "Thanks to this almost $2 billion project – the largest of its kind in MTA history – we are going to be able to run more A and C trains faster, safer and more reliably than ever before."

MTA Construction and Development President Jamie Torres-Springer said the agency will apply construction methods that cut per-mile signal modernization costs by 33% compared with the average of prior CBTC projects. "By using new construction methods that cut our per-mile costs by a third, we're proving that we can modernize the system better, faster and cheaper than ever before," he said.

New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said A and C riders can expect a system "that they can rely on for decades to come."

How the work begins

The first phase targets aging switches and more than 250 feet of specialized track between 104th Street and 99th Street in Queens. The scope also includes infrastructure to support future cell service for riders and work to keep existing assets in a state of good repair.

The Fulton-Liberty project extends earlier CBTC investments already serving A and C riders along Eighth Avenue between 59th Street in Manhattan and High Street in Brooklyn. Under the 2025–2029 Capital Plan, the MTA has committed a further $5.4 billion to modernize signals across more than 75 miles of track, covering the Broadway N/Q/R/W, Liberty Avenue A, Rockaway A/S and Nassau Street J/Z lines — the start of a systemwide shift away from fixed-block signalling that will run well past this contract's 2032 finish date.