Results tagged “londonunderground”

Governor David Paterson is expected to nominate Jay Walder to head the MTA. (Former executive director Eliot Sander resigned in May.) The Daily News calls him a "transit executive who has held high-level posts in London and New York" and City College's Robert Paaswell, director of the University Transportation Research Center at City College, says, "His knowledge of both the MTA and how to bring a large system well-planned into this century are without peer."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg met with London's mayor-elect Boris Johnson yesterday, and the pair shared pleasantries and some gifts, one of which was maybe not so pleasant.

Mayor Bloomberg returned from London convinced more than ever that NYC needs to emulate the British capital's "Ring of Steel" surveillance system, which places cameras throughout the city to observe and help identify people in real time. He said that the danger of terrorism necessitated a similar system in New York, where plans are underfoot to install thousands of cameras and license plate readers in downtown Manhattan. "In London, they have two or three cameras on every single subway car, they have two or three cameras on every single bus."

A look at some noteworthy television programs this week:

Virgin Vacations created a list of the 11 Top Underground Transit Systems in the World, complete with photographs and YouTube videos to give readers a sense of what mass transit might be like on their trip. The number 1 underground transit system is the oldest - the London Underground. After that, it's the Paris Metro. Then the Moscow Metro. Then Madrid, Tokyo, and Seoul, until you finally see New York City's subway coming in at number 7.

Highlights: Offers express services that run on separate tracks from local trains. The MTA is currently testing out LED displays in subway stations to let commuters know when the next train is expected to arrive. 24 hour service. Unique and distinct artwork (mosaics) throughout the system.

a crime), but it can be upgraded for live video transmissions. Also, the Transit Authority hopes to use video footage to disprove accident claims. And we're sure there are a number of driver-bus rider altercations. The MTA hopes they will be able to roll out the program to all of its 4500+ buses, but we wonder if they'll put in bodega-style dummy cameras to deter crime.

Terror tips can count: The NYPD and FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force let London authorities know about Mohammed Sidique Khan, one of the men who bombed a London Underground station last summer, before the bombings. British authorities may have not kept on Khan's trail because he didn't seem to be part of a radical group, and Senator Charles Schumer is alikening this missed opportunity to our country ignoring that memo that said bin Laden wanted to attack us.

On the top of our list of things we like to know but then wish we didn't know: The London Underground as announced that they rejected the subway surveillance system that the MTA will be putting into our subways. Hmm, that makes our new hi-tech deal seem, well, not that special. The NY Post says that the London Underground felt that things like the "intelligent video cameras" which are supposed to notice unattended bags don't work as well as "standard cameras and human observation." Well, Gothamist supposes that having cameras and humans to observe would be the first thing the MTA would need - the MTA's employees and resources seem to be spread way too thin. The article does address what was our first question: "And while the [London Underground's] extra manpower and cameras couldn't prevent July's terrorist attacks, they did help identify suspects within hours." What's interesting are the stats: There are 6,000 closed-circuit cameras on both train cars and in the stations on the Underground, and almost all of London's 8,000 buses are wired, whereas our buses are far from wired and all subway stations will get cameraas by 2008 (though 1,000 cameras are being installed shortly at key locations).

After the NY Times reminded everyone that the MTA had only spent $30 million out of $600 million that it committed to upgrading subway security over the past few years (this was something that City Councilman John Liu had been outraged about back in March), New Yorkers wondered if the MTA was really concerned with subway security. Gothamist is totally pissed off about the MTA's feet dragging, but we can only assume that the $600 million was a made up number, since the MTA can barely get more money from the state to maintain its facilities. Anyway, the Times article pointed out that DC and Boston transit systems have "employed sensors to detect the presence of biochemical agents in their subway systems," while Houston has live closed circuit surveillance and Atlanta has upgraded its radios to connect with the police. But the big pee-your-pants quote was from a Rand Corporation (spooky already) counterterrorism expert, Brian M. Jenkins:

"Apart from Israel, there is no public that has been trained to be more vigilant than London's," he said, citing the Irish Republican Army's repeated attacks on the London Underground since the 1970's. "It didn't prevent the bombings this week, and that's the reality...

Continue reading "SOS: Secure Our Subways"

During the morning rush hour, a series of explosions have blasted in downtown London, killing at least two people and casualties (which include both the wounded and dead) were hovering near a hundred. The front of a double decker bus was sheared off in one explosion, while a number of explosions (anywhere from three to seven) hit between six Underground stations (Edgware Road, King's Cross, Liverpool Street, Russell Square, Aldgate East, Moorgate). People may still be trapped underground near the King's Cross station (here's an evacuation picture), which sounds awful as the London Underground tunnels are incredibly narrow and very deep underground. Prime Minister Tony Blair feels it's "reasonable" to suspect the explosions are terror-related, and he will be leaving the G8 conference in Scotland to check on the scene; the conference, however, will go on. Here's more from BBC News, and Londonist's breaking news updates show that the Underground explosions were related to "power surges" at first.

The new line's cost will be about $16.8 billion dollars, with $3.8 billion of it for the first segment, between 96th and 63rd Streets. The Times notes that the first segment of the line would benefit the most riders immediately - 202,000 - while the whole line would expect to carry just over half a million riders a day. The Post reports on what the new station will be like - "sleek, brightly lit stations equipped with climate-control ventilation and built with no columns along the platform." MTA Capital Construction president Mysore Nagaraja said, "These will be 21st century stations. There will be no columns, which will provide for better circulation of riders [on and off trains]." Besides Gothamist wondering if there would be anything besides a 21st century station in 2005, Gothamist has to agree that a columnless subway platform would be easier. Think the London Underground, DC Metro, or Hong Kong MTR.