New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is giving its system a makeover.

North America's largest transportation network is re-wording several of its signs to make them easier to understand.

The MTA serves a population of 15.3 million people across a 5,000-square-mile travel area surrounding New York City through Long Island, southeastern New York State and Connecticut.

Notices across its network are to give commuters a deeper level of detail, with seven new categories of status.

NYC Transit President Andy Byford said: "New Yorkers live in the 'right now' and deserve helpful information in the moment so they can make the right choices about their travel.

"These changes provide customers targeted, at-a-glance information to help them quickly understand exactly what's happening on their line.

"It's always our goal to improve the quality of our real-time information and this is another step forward in that ongoing process."

The new language will describe the specific changes being made to train service on an individual line basis.

For example, instead of reading 'Service Change' for Subway lines, it will use categories such as 'Part Suspended,' 'Trains Rerouted' or 'Express to Local' - and show exactly what line is impacted in that manner.

An MTA service status box for subways | Image: MTA

Other new terms to be used will include 'Stations Skipped' - where trains continuously skip a station in one direction or come through a station without stopping - 'Slow Speeds' where trains move at slower than normal speeds but make all normal stops, and 'Multiple Impacts' where multiple status options apply to a single disruption.

Currently, the only labels describing service issues are 'Delays,' 'Service Change,' and 'Planned Work.'

The MTA says these broad labels make it hard to know at a glance if a line is affected in locations where it diverges from other lines.

The new categories were developed based on customer feedback and international best practices.