MTA identifies dozens of traffic chokepoints in NYC subway system as top candidates for improvements

A new report takes the deepest look yet at some of the biggest traffic chokepoints in New York's subway system.

The MTA says it has identified dozens of places where upgrades could help cut delays.

A new MTA analysis examined more than 70 bottleneck locations where trains often get stuck. Many happen where multiple lines share the same tracks or where track layouts limit train speeds.

Some 25 locations, many in Brooklyn, have been identified as the top candidates for improvements.

One of those locations is Myrtle Avenue, where riders say delays have been part of the commute for years.

"It's overwhelming to get to places," rider Priscilla Suarez said.

The MTA says not every project will happen right away, but plans include modernizing track switches, upgrading interlockings and redesigning how trains move through busy junctions.

"Our tower operators are operating a decades-old manual interlocking," said MTA Senior Planner Liam O'Connell Sr. "The smallest of issues, like any one of these trains arriving in the junction just a minute or two late or early, can lead to cascading delays."

The report also notes that much of the subway system was built by three separate companies before they were combined into the subway system riders know today.

"The MTA has been playing catch-up since it got started," said Danny Pearlstein, policy and communication director for the nonprofit Riders Alliance. "People have a lot of skepticism about the MTA ... and it's really all about how much time transit takes out of our day, and this is a project to give us back more time."

The biggest payoff may not be measured in miles of track, but in minutes returned to riders.

MTA officials say work has already started on two critical spots: DeKalb and Nostrand Junction.