Why New York Subway Lines Are Missing Countdown Clocks (2015)
We don&#x27;t need countdown clocks, we need door-to-door commutes at 200kph with no stops or train changes. The Boring Company should be able to drill around and under.<p>The Subway is like something from a bygone era:<p>&gt; All track on the New York subway (and on most American rail) is broken into sections, here about 1,000 feet long. An electric current is constantly running in a loop through each section. When a train enters a section, it short-circuits the loop, which allows the system to know that the section is occupied. The signals behind it automatically turn red.<p>&gt; Fixed-block signaling systems, in use since the late 1800s, keep trains from getting too close to one another. The neat thing about subway signals, as opposed to the ones you find on the road, is that they actually force you to stop. When a signal is red, a footlong metal T called (appropriately) a “train stop” protrudes above the track; each train car has a corresponding “trip cock” on its wheel frame connected to the emergency brakes. If you were to drive by a stop signal the train stop would hit the trip cock and you’d screech to a halt.