Subway crimes spiked this January compared to the same month last year — and the number of robberies more than doubled, police said Monday.

There were 261 major felonies recorded in the subway system this January — as opposed to 201 in January 2019, according to NYPD data shared at the MTA’s board monthly transit committee meeting.

Of the 75 robberies reported, the NYPD made 58 arrests, Transit Bureau Assistant Chief Vincent Coogan said. Last January there were only 35 robberies with 31 arrests, according to the NYPD.

Coogan tried to downplay the rising numbers — but admitted that crime is typically lower in the first quarter of the year.

“We are catching the people who commit these robberies, even though there is an increase,” Coogan told board members.

“We did pick up earlier this year, but there were historically low numbers for the past few years.”

Most of the spike came from two transit districts spanning Willimasburg, Ridgewood, Cypress Hills, East New York and Canarsie, he said.

“We deploy our people to where the crime is happening. We reassigned them to Brooklyn. The crime has now subsided, so we feel that worked,” Coogan said.

One straphanger who testified at Monday’s meeting said he’d been spooked by a recent experience where his cellphone was stolen right out of his hands on an E train in Queens.

“I don’t feel safe riding the subways,” Jason Anthony Pineiro told board members. “I don’t feel safe because there’s no security cameras on the mezzanines or platforms.”

Asked what the department thinks is behind the spike, an NYPD spokeswoman noted that “there are a small number of habitual transit recidivists who have been repeatedly arrested by our officers, but are issued desk appearance tickets and then commit further offenses.”

She pointed specifically to serial subway scammer Charles Barry — who was arrested for the 141st time last week,