That&#x27;s one way to spin it. But as a regular subway rider, that&#x27;s not how I read it. I wouldn&#x27;t say that crippled is a good way to describe not having countdown clocks. Instead I&#x27;d call crippled the status quo subway system -- subject to frequent breakdowns and delays due to an ancient signaling and control system in poor repair.<p>CBTC, without the unnecessary legacy system kept around who-knows-why and without the overstaffing kept around because of union contracts, should be the desired end state. And there&#x27;s no great reason it has to take another 175 years or cost another $20B. To bring that end state modestly closer I&#x27;m happy to wait a little longer for arrival clocks -- YMMV.<p>To me this story is one of poor political oversight, terrible middle and upper management both in terms of day-to-day operations and in terms of bidding&#x2F; working with contractors, and overly powerful public sector unions. To anyone familiar with the MTA none of these come as any real surprise.