Overview

• Two blackouts at the West 4th Street substation this week halted service on seven subway lines by knocking out signal systems during peak heat and rain.
• Governor Kathy Hochul instructed the MTA to conduct a comprehensive review of the outages to identify operational failures and strengthen oversight of trackside power.
• Hochul blamed decades of underinvestment in aging electrical components for the meltdowns and demanded accountability from transit leaders.
• The MTA’s $68.4 billion 2025–2029 capital plan allocates $4 billion to upgrade power systems, targeting outdated substations and century-old wiring.
• MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber warned that cloth-covered wires and antiquated transformers must be replaced, and agency teams are probing root causes before rolling out planned upgrades.