Metro-North tests new air filtration to combat COVID

Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road will pilot a new air filtration system inside rail cars that could to help combat the spread of coronavirus, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced.

The MTA said it is the first transit agency in North America to test the improved filtration, which is to be incorporated into trains’ existing ventilation systems. The system uses an electrical field to generate a wave of ionized particles intended to destroy airborne viruses, including COVID-19, plus bacteria and other potentially harmful substances.

“As more and more customers return to MetroNorth trains, they want to be confident that we are doing everything that we can to keep them safe and healthy,” Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi said in a statement Thursday. “If the pilot proves successful, not only does this new air purification technology kill COVID-19, it kills any virus including the standard flu or bacteria that cause the common cold and even particulate matter like diesel fumes. The benefits provided by this new system would last well after the pandemic has ended.”

About one-third of the air traveling through the ventilation system is fresh air pulled from above the roof of the cars, according to MTA officials. The system entirely replaces the air inside a car about every five minutes.

Westminster, Md.-based Knorr Brake Co., a manufacturer of braking, door, and HVAC systems for mass-transit rail, developed the technology.

Installation started with ventilation units on a MetroNorth car on Oct. 7. The technology is to be installed in a LIRR car by the end of the month. The railroads will evaluate performance and determine whether or not to expand the technology fleetwide.

“I am excited that MetroNorth and the Long Island Rail Road are taking the lead by piloting this cuttingedge technology that could have a significant role in fighting this pandemic,” said MTA Chief Innovation Officer Mark Dowd.

Researchers with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will also study the technology’s effectiveness.

MTA officials said the ventilation improvements fit into their “COVID Response Technology” initiative. Announced in July, the program partners with industry to focus on technological advances to make public transit safer during the pandemic.

The MTA also is exploring the use of ultraviolet light for disinfecting subway surfaces. That also could be expanded.

In addition, the MTA said it has increased cleaning and disinfecting of cars and stations to “unprecedented” levels since the start of the pandemic. Those measures have coincided with the installation of hand-sanitizer dispensers and vending machines selling personal protective equipment in stations, and floor decals to assist with social distancing.