Transit Authority
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Q: I ride the A train, a huge train that carries thousands of passengers. Will the A lose its conductors, as the L train will this month?
A: In the short term the answer is no. New York City Transit is removing the 71 conductors who work on the L. At a hearing a few weeks ago of the City Council, where concerns were expressed that removing the conductors would be dangerous, transit officials said the overarching reason for the step is to save money.
New York City Transit expects to save $4.6 million a year by removing conductors from the L, a spokesman for the agency, Charles Seaton, said. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to remove conductors from the G line in December and from the 7 line in the fall of 2006. While the overall goal is to make all subway trains “conductorless,” the agency is said to have no plans at this time to remove conductors from any other lines.
Mr. Seaton said trains can be operated by a single employee – as the shuttle trains currently are – if two conditions are present: a straight platform, which allows the motorman to view passengers in the rear, and a “double wide” cab, which allows the driver to look out either side of the train.
