A Stronger Transit System Will Greet Joaquin, but It's Not Storm-Proof

Transportation Nation | Oct 1, 2015

Although the National Hurricane Center said the chances of Hurricane Joaquin hitting the New York City area are decreasing, preparations are getting underway, particularly at transit agencies, which suffered billions of dollars' worth of damage during Sandy in 2012.

Out of the nine subway tunnels that flooded during Sandy, two have been overhauled and made more resilient. The MTA has also installed submarine cable so that if the tunnel floods, it will be more resilient to salt water. And the MTA has five pump trains instead of the three it had during Sandy.

NJ Transit also has new preparations for future storms. During Sandy, the agency stored trains in the Meadowlands, which flooded. Now, if the agency needs to move trains, it will send them to yards in Linden and Garwood, which theoretically shouldn't flood.

In this interview, WNYC's Jami Floyd talks with WNYC's Kate Hinds about how the area's transit network is better off than it was three years ago.

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