Overview
- The MTA began active construction on Thursday, October 22, 2026, starting with replacement of aging switches and about 250 feet of track between 104 Street and 99 Street in Queens.
- The work will install Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC), a digital signaling system that tracks each train’s exact location and speed so dispatchers can safely shorten headways and run trains more often.
- The program covers roughly 42 miles of track and 23 stations between High Street in Brooklyn and Ozone Park–Lefferts Blvd in Queens, serving about 350,000 weekday riders on the affected corridor.
- Officials say the project is effectively paid for with New York State congestion‑pricing revenue and is the largest combined signal and track replacement the state has authorized for the MTA.
- The MTA points to past CBTC rollouts that raised on-time performance and speeds on other lines and expects phased work to continue over years with a target completion in the early 2030s as part of wider signal upgrades.