NYCT Signal System Modernization Program

As part of its ongoing signal modernization program, NYCT is upgrading its signal system to Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) technology. Since 2015, SYSTRA has been the prime consultant representing NYCT throughout the procurement, design, and construction phases (including installation, testing and commissioning, and deployment) of I2S-compliant CBTC modernization (GoA2 level automation) projects.

Our work involves three lines: Queens Boulevard West (QBL CBTC), Eighth Avenue (Eighth Avenue CBTC), and Queens Boulevard East (QBL East CBTC).

SYSTRA is directing the development and evolution of the common NYCT CBTC specifications for the Automatic Train Supervision (ATS) and Automatic Train Control (ATC) subsystems, which will guide all future procurements of NYCT’s CBTC Signal Modernization Program. SYSTRA has also provided revisions to the interoperable CBTC specifications (I2S), qualification of an additional vendor for future CBTC projects, and safety assurance according to Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) regulations and CENELEC standards.

In 2015, our international expertise was brought to bear on New York City’s mass rapid transit system when we began working with NYCT, supporting the design, developing specifications, and providing construction management support for the installation, testing, and commissioning of its CBTC system. In early 2022, the team celebrated the implementation of CBTC in its final configuration on the Queens Boulevard Line (QBL West) express tracks. This is the largest and most complex CBTC project the MTA has completed and the first time interoperability between two suppliers was established in the US, making NYCT and Paris Metro the only agencies in the world to implement CBTC interoperability.

2022- SYSTRA USA continues to be integral to CBTC deployment in the US, working with NYCT and a third supplier to implement CBTC on QBL’s east end.