MTA kicks off six-year, $1 billion transit upgrade project

The authority is replacing the roughly 90-year-old train signals on the A and C line with modern technology.

1 minute read

October 25, 2026, 9:00 AM PDT

By Zachary Whalen


A woman descends into Spring Street station in NYC.

The MTA has already added modern signals to several of its lines, which are some of the most reliable in the city. | Dee Dee Thompson

The Metropolitan Transit Authority is kicking off a six-year project to replace the A and C line’s roughly 90-year-old train signals. The $1.9 billion project will install communications-based train control technology that will allow subway trains to operate faster and more reliably. 

“The signals used by train operators and dispatchers to direct trains on the A and C trains date back to the 1930s. The MTA workers who manage those systems often have no way to know a train's exact position,” Ramsey Khalifeh writes for Gothamist.

The MTA has already added modern signals to several of its lines, which are some of the most reliable in the city. 

Thursday, October 22, 2026 in Gothamist

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 20, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A pencil rendering of Foundry Park, which shows skyscrapers and public green spaces.

Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment

The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.

October 23, 2026 - Chicago Sun Times

A row of tiny homes in Denver

Denver is solving homelessness. Why aren't the rest of us?

Since 2023, Denver's street homeless population has decreased by 64%, proving that effective tools exist to support those in need of housing.

October 14, 2026 - New York Times

A woman descends into Spring Street station in NYC.

MTA kicks off six-year, $1 billion transit upgrade project

The authority is replacing the roughly 90-year-old train signals on the A and C line with modern technology.

4 seconds ago - Gothamist

A hub for the NW pipeline, in front of a massive forest with the leaves on the trees turning orange.

Developers may expand largest gas pipeline network in Northwest

Pipeline giant Williams has proposed new expansions for its Northwest Pipeline from the Colorado Rockies through Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

1 hour ago - Oregon Capital Chronicle

An MBTA bus picks up people from a bus stop.

MBTA is using AI to catch drivers who park illegally

The transit agency is working in partnership with Hayden AI, and hopes the technology will improve transit safety across its network.

2 hours ago - Mass Transit