MTA To Make Repairs And Clear Lead Paint From Aging 7-Line
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Metropolitan Transit Authority officials announced their plans to repair the long-neglected 7-line train.
Transit Authority president Andy Byford and other officials spoke Tuesday morning, outlining their plan to repaint the subway line and clear stations of dangerous lead paint the MTA says has been left on the 7-line for years.
Painting will begin at 82nd street and progress towards Citi Field.
Last year, city lawmakers called out the MTA's handling of the lead paint on the 7-line.
"I'm surprised that it hasn't fallen down yet. It's rusted. Paint is falling down off of it," City Councilman Daniel Dromm told CBS2's Valerie Castro, regarding 7-line train trestles in Queens. "They found that the chips that are falling off of that trestle are 44 times greater than acceptable levels of lead paint poisoning."
Byford unveiled a $19 billion 10-year plan to overhaul the entire subway system in May.
He said in the next five years, a new signal technology and knock as communication-based train control will be installed on portions of the most heavily traveled subway lines.
Five years after that, the upgrades will be installed on parts of the 1, 2, 3, B, D, F, M, S, N, Q, R, and W lines.
Also part of the plan, the MTA is putting in seven times as many security cameras underground and plans to redesign the bus network to improve accessibility.
CBS2 asked the MTA if other lines have similar toxic problems or will be upgraded. Thus far, they haven't responded.