The New York City's Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has launched an iOS app that will help riders to plan their trips to the minute. The development comes as a great step for the largest subway system in the U.S. that has always lagged behind its peers in adopting new technologies.

The app named MTA Subway Time provides the iPhone and iPod touch users with up-to-the-minute arrival times for seven of the system's 24 lines using train location data, the Apple Insider reported.  MTA Subway Time app for iOS is currently available as a free download through the App Store.

The iOS app taps into the system and provides commuters with arrival times for trains on the Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4, 5, 6 lines. In addition, the app provides information on the 42nd Street Shuttle, known internally as the "A Division" as well. New Yorkers will be able to track their train details for two more lines - the L line between Brooklyn and Manhattan's 14th Street and the No. 7 line between Queens and Midtown Manhattan - shortly as these are currently being upgraded to be included in the new system. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the aforementioned seven lines use updated signals attached to the centralized computers which can transmit location and speed data for every train in motion.

The MTA had plans to built Android and Windows versions of the app, however, the apps on those platforms will be made by third-party developers. The WSJ report also mentioned that the MTA had shelled out more than $228 million over 11 years to install the new signals.