Editing IRT Flushing Line (section)

====Automation of the line====
[[File:R188 7 train.jpg|thumb|The automation of the Flushing Line required the purchase of the [[R188 (New York City Subway car)|R188]] orders on the 7 route, which runs on the Flushing Line]]
In January 2012, the MTA selected [[Thales Group|Thales]] for a $343 million contract to set up a [[communications-based train control]] (CBTC) system as part of the plan to automate the line. This was the second installation of CBTC, following [[Signaling of the New York City Subway#Canarsie Line CBTC|a successful implementation on the BMT Canarsie Line]]. The total cost was $550 million for the signals and other trackside infrastructure, and $613.7 million for CBTC-compliant rolling stock.<ref name="rpa">{{cite web|url=http://library.rpa.org/pdf/RPA-Moving-Forward.pdf|title=Moving Forward: Accelerating the Transition to Communications-Based Train Control for New York City's Subways|website=rpa.org|publisher=[[Regional Plan Association]]|date=May 2014|access-date=September 12, 2016|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091527/http://library.rpa.org/pdf/RPA-Moving-Forward.pdf}}</ref> The safety assessment at system level was performed using the [[formal method]] [[Event-B]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Guéry|first1=Jérôme|last2=Reque|first2=Antoine|last3=Burdy|first3=Lilian|last4=Sabatier|first4=Denis|title=Abstract State Machines, Alloy, B, VDM, and Z |chapter=Formal Proofs for the NYCT Line 7 (Flushing) Modernization Project |date=2012|volume=7316|pages=369–372|doi=10.1007/978-3-642-30885-7_34|series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science|issn=0302-9743|isbn=978-3-642-30884-0}}</ref>

The MTA chose the Flushing Line for the next implementation of CBTC because it is also a self-contained line with no direct connections to other subway lines currently in use. Funding was allocated in the 2010–2014 capital budget for CBTC installation on the Flushing Line, with scheduled installation completion in 2016.<ref name="page11">[http://mta.info/mta/pdf/2010-14questions_and_answers_v2.pdf Pages 11–12] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302010603/http://mta.info/mta/pdf/2010-14questions_and_answers_v2.pdf |date=March 2, 2012 }}</ref> The [[R188 (New York City Subway car)|R188]] cars were ordered so the line would have compatible rolling stock. CBTC on the line will allow the {{NYCS trains|Flushing|type=service}} to run 7% more service, or 2 more trains per hour (tph) during peak hours (before retrofit, it ran 27 tph).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/infra_alt.html|title=MTA {{!}} Capital Programs Service Reliability|website=web.mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|language=en|access-date=September 3, 2017}}</ref> However, the system had been retrofitted to operate at 33 tph even without CBTC.<ref name=rpa/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NbYqQSQcE2MC|title=Rail Transit Capacity|access-date=May 20, 2014|isbn=978-0-309-05718-9|last1=Parkinson|first1=Tom|last2=Fisher|first2=Ian|year=1996|publisher=Transportation Research Board }}</ref>

The first train of R188 cars began operating in passenger service on November 9, 2013.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news|last=Mann|first=Ted|date=November 18, 2013|title=MTA Tests New Subway Trains on Flushing Line|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2013/11/18/mta-tests-new-subway-trains-on-flushing-line/|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=November 19, 2013}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/news/2013/11/18/new-subway-cars-being-put-test|title=MTA – New Subway Cars Being Put to the Test|work=mta.info|access-date=July 2, 2018|archive-date=May 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140515152907/http://www.mta.info/news/2013/11/18/new-subway-cars-being-put-test|url-status=dead}}</ref> Test runs of R188s in automated mode started in late 2014.<ref name=rpa/> However, the CBTC retrofit date was later pushed back to 2017<ref name=":02">{{Cite news|url=https://www.amny.com/transit/7-train-signal-upgrade-still-expected-to-be-completed-in-2017-mta-says-1.14080694|title=7 train signal upgrade on track for 2017: MTA|last=Barone|first=Vincent|date=August 21, 2017|work=am New York|access-date=August 23, 2017|language=en}}</ref> or 2018<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/nyregion/subway-signals-disruption.html|title=Fixing the Subway Requires Pain. But How Much, and for How Long?|last1=Santora|first1=Marc|date=August 21, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 23, 2017|last2=Tarbell|first2=Elizabeth|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> after a series of problems that workers encountered during installation, including problems with the R188s.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":1" /> The project also went over budget, costing $405 million for a plan originally marked at $265.6 million.<ref name=":02" /> The whole line was cutover to CBTC operation on November 26, 2018, with the completion of the segment from Hudson Yards to the north of Grand Central.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/181113_1400_CPOC.pdf|title=Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting November 2018|date=November 2018|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=November 26, 2018}}</ref>

Completely independent of the CBTC installation is the 7 Subway Extension, which features both CBTC signals and [[Signalling block system|fixed-block signaling]]. The extension also increased line capacity.<ref name=rpa/>