Subway Operations and Operations Planning Collaborations for Subway Service Improvements at NYC Transit

Peter G. Cafiero Chief Division of Operations Planning

John G. Gaul Vice President & Chief Officer, Service Delivery Department of Subways

New York City Transit

Internal & external factors present a challenging operating environment

Operating conditions

New York City Transit

Key challenges Operating at capacity more frequently

Hurricane Sandy

Harsh winters (10/11 & 13/14)

Aging infrastructure

Increased ridership

Increasing track access required for planned & unplanned work

Increasing delays

Decreasing wait assessment (regularity) Size & complexity

24/7 operations 1

Historically, Operations Planning & Operations tended to operate in silos Operations Planning Planning (long term)

New York City Transit

Operations Schedules & guidance

• Setting service frequency • Scheduling crews/trains

Execution • Daily operations • Maintenance & construction (w/ CPM, etc.)

Planning (short term) • Approve track access requests and create supplemental schedules

Feedback on schedule

Requests for track access

Analysis • Statistics & modeling • Report generation

Performance & incident data

Record keeping • Databases • Hard copy records

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Challenges have prompted investment in bridging Operations Planning and Operations Operations Planning Planning (long term) • Setting service frequency • Scheduling crews/trains

Collaborative efforts Schedule optimization • Revised running times

Special operating plans

Planning (short term) • Approve track access requests and create supplemental schedules

• Special events • Inclement weather

New York City Transit

Operations Execution • Daily operations • Maintenance & construction (w/ CPM, etc.)

System rebuilding • FASTRACK program

Service regulation Analysis • Statistics & modeling • Report generation

• Back to basics • Centralization

Operations analysis

Record keeping • Databases • Hard copy records

• Daily performance feedback • Real-time mgmt. tools

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Collaboration fostered by increased interaction, changing expectations

New York City Transit

Increased interactions

Changing culture & expectations

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Jointly accountability for results

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A culture of continuing improvement, not “That is how it has always been done” philosophy

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Vertical and horizontal communication within and across departments

Collaborative projects and incident critiques

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Joint service delivery meetings

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Planning analysts temporarily embedded in Rail Control Center

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Schedule Optimization

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Running time adjustments

New York City Transit

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First major analysis and changes to schedules since 1996

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Numbered line schedule changes completed based on full data from automated data systems – Changes in running time vary by time of day due to differing ridership, congestion and maintenance activity – Changes evened out service which had become uneven due to prior changes to individual lines (flat junctions caused unintended impacts on other lines) – Initial results are positive, showing improved throughput, on time performance, and wait assessment

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Lettered line changes in progress, based on data entered by dispatchers, as well as data from programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and a modest number of traditional manual observations

The number/letter line breakdown is a general rule, with a few exceptions (e.g., L trains have centralized data). 6

Special Operating Plans

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Barclays Center special event plans

New York City Transit

• Prior to the center opening, Operations Planning and Operations jointly developed plans for additional service after large events, and revised plans based on experience

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Hurricane planning has evolved and improved • Operations Planning and Operations jointly develops plans for: – Evacuation – Closure & protection of system – Restoration and reopening

Hurricane Sandy Service Timeline NYC

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Hurricane Landfall

All NYCT service suspended Operating personnel in safe locations

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• Operations Planning input used to prioritize during the storm – Operations Planning reports and data available to Operations staff – Operations Planning representative providing live support at the Incident Command Center

New York City Transit

NYCT Bus Service begins to curtail

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NYCT Subway Service begins to curtail

-8 -20 -18

NYCT Coastal Storm Service Plan begins

Evacuation!

-18 -42 -30

Mayoral evacuation order issued Evacuation Centers prepare for opening

-42 Timepoints not to scale

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Winter Operations Plans •

Objective: Lay out storm preparation, fighting, and service normalization strategy, including plan for underground fleet storage

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Operations Planning and Operations work together to schedule pre-positioning, operations around stored trains, and resumption of normal service

New York City Transit

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System Rebuilding

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FASTRACK

New York City Transit

• Objective: Maximize effectiveness for maintenance activities by removing service from all tracks  Improved safety  Lower cost  Simpler closure definitions (e.g., 10PM – 5AM each day, all tracks)  Minimized substitute bus service  Maximized use of alternative subway options

Example map from FASTRACK poster 12

Service Regulation & Delay Management

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Back to basics

New York City Transit

 Precise dispatching  Continuous headway regulation  Effective delay management  Dwell time control

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Dwell time control

New York City Transit

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Evolving service control organization

Decentralized

New York City Transit

Centralized

Numbered lines: 2006 ATS provided fully centralized monitoring and control

Lettered lines: Centralized monitoring being phased in

The number/letter line breakdown is a general rule, with a few exceptions. L trains have centralized control and 7 trains do not, though centralized 7 train control is planned.

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Evolving service control organization

New York City Transit

Operations Planning/Operations collaborative efforts on:  Organizational change management  Streamlining processes and procedures  Optimizing use of electronic performance data

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Operations Analysis / Capacity Utilization

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Daily performance feedback reports

New York City Transit

More details in next presentation1

Terminal OTP reports shared with Operations daily & interactive dashboard being built to trace individual trains

Illustrative mock ups only – not necessarily representative of actual performance. 1. Facilitating Subway Service Improvements with Near-Real Time Data Visualization and Reporting

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Real-time service management tools: Stringline chart • OP developed stringline chart to visualize service and intervals to help operations better regulate spacing between trains

New York City Transit

Trains held to close gaps

• Senior management and planners found stringlines useful for analysis • Embedded analysts discovered dispatchers found the display too complex for rapid decisionmaking, preferred a simple table

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Real-time service management tools: Largest gaps table

New York City Transit

• Automatically identify and prioritize largest gaps in the system (Adivision) for service managers to target • Currently under pilot testing at the Rail Control Center

Gaps can be filtered by dispatcher territory as well as line/direction

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Stringlines and gap tables are new and improved versions of much older ideas

New York City Transit

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Conclusions

New York City Transit

 Subway service is facing new challenges and NYCT is trying several new initiatives to combat declining performance

 Operations Planning & Operations are working collaboratively to maximize resources and eliminate barriers  Collaborative projects

 Regular OP/Service Delivery meetings & calls

 Extensive coordination and collaboration between groups within NYCT undertaken in a short time frame

 Significant steps taken to take advantage of the data by using it to improve performance  Schedule improvements  Real-time performance tools  Performance assessments

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