MTA unveils 'Fast Forward' plan to rescue the ailing subway

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled an ambitious plan on Wednesday to rescue New York's crumbling subway, promising to modernise the century-old system over roughly a decade after years of worsening delays had pushed riders to the brink.

The blueprint, dubbed "Fast Forward," was the signature initiative of Andy Byford, the transit chief recruited from London and Toronto to turn the system around. At its heart was a commitment to replace the subway's antiquated signals — some dating to the 1930s — on the busiest lines within a decade, a job officials had previously said could take half a century.

The plan also promised to make scores of stations accessible to riders with disabilities, to overhaul the bus network and to modernise the fare system. The decrepit signals were widely blamed for the congestion and breakdowns that had made the "Summer of Hell" a byword for the system's decline.

The central question, left unanswered, was how to pay for it. The plan carried an estimated price tag in the tens of billions of dollars, and officials pointed to congestion pricing — tolling drivers entering the busiest parts of Manhattan — as a potential funding source, setting up a political fight in Albany.

Riders and advocates welcomed the vision but greeted it with caution, having heard grand promises before. For a system that millions depend on every day, the plan offered a roadmap out of crisis — if the money and the political will could be found.