By Gus Saltonstall
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced on the final day of 2025 that an Upper West Side train stop was among 40 stations where LED lighting was installed in the past year.
The new LED lighting was recently installed within the 81st Street B and C train station.
“NYC Transit is committed to providing safe and reliable service, and that effort starts right when customers enter the system with brighter and cleaner stations,” said New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow, in a news release.
In the past year, the lights at the 110th Street Cathedral Parkway B and C train station were also converted to LED.
The 81st and 110th Street stations were among the last stops in New York City to receive LED lighting, as all 472 stations in the subway system have now been converted to the more modern lights. The conversion project began in January 2024 and included the replacement of more than 181,000 light fixtures throughout the subway system.
The MTA was able to complete the project ahead of its original target date of mid-2026. The new LED lighting is both more cost efficient and brighter than the old fluorescent lighting, which will also help provide clearer images from the around 15,000 security cameras across the train system.
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Okay.
Will IND information panels now display the correct information if all of the downtown bound locals are bypassing local stations?
One Friday evening back in Dec., the panels said the downtown express trains were running on the local track because of a stopped train at West 81st Street (the station pictured). But, in fact, there were no local or express trains running downtown — even though the “train approaching” boxes said there were. This went on for at least 30 minutes. I’ve never seen more than 30 people on those platforms along CPW — it was at least 150 that Friday — the 12th. Then customers got angry.
So, who cares about LED lighting, or a new customer service box at West 96th Street on the IRT, if the MTA can’t get basic service change announcements correct? The panels and boxes should have read: “No downtown trains” on that Dec Friday evening, then people wouldn’t have bothered to enter the station if they intended to travel downtown.
Calling 511 for a refund was useless. Polite support guy couldn’t text me my case number and didn’t manage a basic email I spelled out real clearly.
But isn’t LED lighting the devil’s handiwork, along with windmills? (Just thought I’d ask before someone else brings it up.)
LED lighting, according to the text, provides a brighter setting “for clearer images from the around 15,000 security cameras across the train system.” Can we assume that the priority and quick installation of this project was due to police surveillance, and very little to train performance and reporting?
Yes, I’d say we can — and never mind the factor of energy-efficiency.
Why “train station”? Isn’t “subway station” more appropriate? I would not have asked, but I see it in the rag on a regular basis. Thanks!
Isn’t it just a question of specificity? E.g., from less to more: train → subway → IND Sixth Avenue Line → (B), or train → commuter train → NJ Transit → Boonton Line, etc.
Most ‘native’ NYers call them ‘trains,’ not subways.’ I’ve noticed that over many many years.
Some of us still refer to them (yes, I know – it’s rare, but I’ve noticed over many many years) as the “Broadway IRT” stations.
It depends. Referring to the system overall, people say “subway,” as in “I’ll take the subway rather than the bus.” But regarding a specific route, it’s “train,” as in “Does the G train stop in Times Square?” [Answer: No.]
Spoken like a true ‘know it all’! 😏
I’m more concerned about the new plastic doors, especially when it involves adults with strollers or kids-in-tow. I watched all of the ‘what could go wrong,’ videos online, and glitches and injuries aside, riders have also had to use the emergency doors because they couldn’t get back OUT through the new plastic doors. To make matters worse, those doors are on timers which is a danger to everyone if there’s a real emergency. Point being, how is any of this an improvement?
Why were the UWS stations the last stations in the entire system to convert to the new lighting? That just shows MTA’s UWS priority.
I mean… Someone has to be last. We’re among the first getting newer trains, so it seems pretty fair that we were last for lights
Well, somehow it seems fitting to me that one of the last stations to get modernized is that of … well, dinosaur bones and fossils on the walls. 😉 Happy LED to all, y’all.
Regular cleaning and painting should be next
The installation of an elevator at 97th and Central Park West is projected to be completed in February 2026. What is the updated status? It will stop one level below street level for OMNY Card use and access to the uptown platform. Will it also serve the Downtown level? How?
Dear GoRangers and all:
Native NYer here– back in the 60s/70s (east sider then, sorry) the little cardboard rectangles providing schoolchildren with access to public transportation were called bus passes and train passes.
Subways were for grown-ups.