The New York subway system runs on 100-year-old technology

MTA/YouTube

An MTA employee tracks trains by hand.

But every day, hundreds of trains run through the largest subway network in the world on century-old technology. When things go wrong - as they have been doing more and more often - the delays pile up.

Let us not forget that we're heading into one of the most challenging times of year for the NYC system: cold and slush and ice and snow are all big challenges for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority

The MTA, a state agency responsible for the New York City subway, is fighting a budget battle to get the funds it desperately needs to update the century-old system. To garner public support, the agency took to YouTube earlier this year, uploading video of the antiquated signaling system and what's being done to update it.

A crucial element of the MTA's capital plan is Communications Based Train Control (explained below). The technology is revolutionary for a system as old as New York City's, and installing it on just one subway line took six years and $288 million to complete.

Scroll down to learn what's being done to improve a subway system that remains largely unchanged since its inception in 1904.

[An earlier version of this post was written by Graham Rapier.]