State Public Transportation Safety Board's investigation into the collision concluded that the most likely cause of the accident was the train operator falling asleep while operating the train, which led to his overrunning the stop sign and colliding into the bumper block. Reconstruction Planning In 1998, MTA officials announced that the Times Square station would be renovated and that the entire complex would become compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The project was to be split into two phases, each lasting four years; the renovation of the 42nd Street Shuttle platforms would occur during the second phase of renovations. However, the curved platforms at Times Square made it very difficult to convert to ADA standards, and the shuttle platform renovation project was delayed. Although planning was completed in 2006, the project was delayed due to a lack of funding. In 2014 and 2015, the MTA commissioned WSP to undertake constructibility and feasibility studies to increase capacity on the shuttle and to make it ADA-accessible. NYCT called for a plan that would include a wider center platform to accommodate two six-car trains to the east of the existing station. WSP developed a plan that allowed the shuttle to be reconstructed without any need to excavate along 42nd Street. The initial study, TO-1, only called for the elimination of 36 columns along platform edges to align with train doors, and for the elimination of 20 columns in the concourse area. This plan would have kept the remaining platform columns, which are located every . NYCT considered using platform screen doors to separate trains from the platforms. NYCT then asked WSP to engage in a study, TO-3, to look into eliminating all platform edge columns while keeping the station open with minimal impacts. Funding and approval Initially, $1 million in funding for a study to develop the requirements for a second program to automate the shuttle was included in the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Program. However, this study was removed from the program in the July 2017 amendment to the Capital Program. Funding for the renovation of the Times Square shuttle platforms and the reconfiguration of the shuttle was provided as part of the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Program. Improving access to Times Square will cost $28.93 million, while the reconfiguration project will cost $235.41 million. The contract for the construction of the project was originally scheduled to be awarded in