THE FEAR OF TRAGIC STATIC
• Subway radios often fail in emergencies • Recent shooting shines light on longstanding woe
Everybody inside the No. 3 train car heard the gunshot as the subway rolled below Brooklyn.
Getting word to the outside that an off-duty MTA supervisor was shot during the July 17 fracas between two warring groups of riders proved to be a problem.
In the shooting's aftermath, transit workers reported several missed radio connections between the train crew and the Rail Control Center — the nerve center of subway operations where they can reach police.
The Daily News obtained a threeminute audio recording of the chaotic communication efforts, capturing a mix of radio static, dead air and cross talk between workers as they try in vain to answer what started as a simple query:
"Southbound to Sutter Ave. — state your problem, state your problem."
Lost in the noise were details crucial to first responders — like the car number where the shooting occurred shortly after 6 p.m. at the Sutter Ave.Rutland Road station in Brownsville. It was No. 1118, although it took three tries before the Rail Control Center could understand what was said. The answer was, “Did this incident happen on your train?”
Once it's finally relayed that the victim was an off-duty employee, the rest of the details become too fuzzy to make out.
"Off-duty employee — that's a copy,” says a transit worker, repeating the lone audible line.
Jose Lugo, a train operator and Transport Workers Union Local 100 official, said the MTA is risking the safety of workers and riders with its inattention to the issue. The problem is familiar to train crews long plagued by dead zones, heavy static and cross talk — even as subway stations are wired for Wi-Fi.
“We're talking about a billion-dollar company, and they can't even invest in communication?” asked Lugo. “Where's the priority there?”
Lugo — who wants to start tracking communication dead zones and problem spots in the Bronx, starting with the No. 4 train line — recounted a relatively minor May disruption made worse by poor radio quality.
A student under his supervision triggered a Bronx local No. 4 train's
emergency brakes at the Fordham Road station. Lugo made the required Rail Control Center call to explain why the train stopped and get instructions — and finally got through on the third call.
“It took me about six minutes to get control to understand why we’re not moving,” recounted Lugo. “It took so long that they had to make us go express.”
Crews who spoke to The News said the static and missed details waste precious seconds in emergencies and add risk to the job while lengthening the time needed to fix malfunctions. Trains are forced into a conga line while crews wait for the OK to move.
Riders, meanwhile, get incorrect or no information when there’s a communication breakdown.
“I’m a conductor playing Pinocchio, not knowing what to say to customers about what the delays are,” said John Ferretti, a conductor and union shop steward with experience on the No. 3 train. “The 3 line’s always been bad in that area.”
Tramell Thompson, a conductor on the letter lines, pinpointed a stretch between Kings Highway and Newkirk Plaza on the B and Q lines where the Rail Control Center is “going to have a hard time hearing. That’s a problem line right there.”
He recounted a bizarre incident in which a passenger urinated into his cab. Thompson was instructed to isolate the car at a Brooklyn station, then keep the train moving. He asked for the police, but he never received a response. The police eventually met him at the 14th St. station — in Manhattan.
“We rely on positive communication, so if you don’t respond back to an issue, I’m thinking you didn’t get the transmission,” Thompson said.
NYC Transit President Andy Byford, since starting in January, has made communications a key part of his effort to fix the subway, including it as one of the “foundations” in his Fast Forward 10-year modernization plan.
The police post a supervisor at the Rail Control Center around the clock to coordinate between the NYPD and NYC Transit.
NYPD spokesman Lt. John Grimpel said there were no communication problems on the department’s end in the July subway shooting. Police have yet to make an arrest or identify the suspect in the crime.
“We are unaware of any communication issues between the police and (NYC Transit) during the shooting incident,” Grimpel said. “In fact, the Transit Bureau obtained critical and timely information via the NYPD rail control supervisor that night.”
MTA spokesman Shams Tarek said that police response was “instantaneous and not impacted by any radio system issue.” He said the agency recently upgraded to a “more reliable and effective” radio system, with equipment checked daily. Byford also recently set up a confidential Employee Safety Call Center to get tips.
Byford initiated one investigation after hearing a complaint about a radio problem while riding in the cab with a train operator, according to Tarek.
“We expect our users to report any problems they encounter in the field,” said Tarek. “Transit personnel investigate all reports of radio equipment and signal issues, though usually the signal reports are unfounded, possibly due to transient interference.”