April 27, 2018 By Nathaly Pesantez

The long-awaited completion date for the MTA’s signal upgrade work on the 7 line has once again been pushed back, according to a new report.

The new date for the system’s complete implementation is now set for sometime in November, months away from its June 30 deadline, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Thales Transport and Security, Inc., the contractor behind the project, recently told transit officials that the delay is due to ongoing design and software issues.

The prior June 30, or second quarter 2018 deadline, was announced in late 2017, and is one of several blown deadlines past the original 2016 completion date. Work on installing the modern, $585.9 million signal system began in 2011.

But Andy Byford, the new MTA New York City Transit Authority President, said the November deadline is unacceptable, according to the Wall Street Journal. He suggested that additional service outages could be implemented to get work done faster.

“I think customers would prefer to rip the band aid off and get on with it rather than have this slow creeping limp to the finish line,” Byford said.

The outages, however, would have to be done on days where there are no Mets games at Citi Field. Whether the outages would be on weekdays or weekends is unclear.

The contractor told the Wall Street Journal that it is studying the feasibility of moving the deadline forward, and that a revised deadline is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.