More so-called “safe haven” beds that provide shelter and on-site social services will also be made available.

“This is not about arresting people, this is about arresting a problem. We’re going to correct the conditions,” Mr Adams said.

“It is cruel and inhumane to allow unhoused people to live on the subway, and unfair to paying passengers and transit workers who deserve a clean, orderly and safe environment. The days of turning a blind eye to this growing problem are over.”

However the measures drew immediate criticism from some advocates for homeless people who  said the plan would criminalise mental illness and homelessness.

Shelly Nortz, the deputy executive director for policy for the Coalition for the Homeless, said: “Repeating the failed outreach-based policing strategies of the past will not end the suffering of homeless people bedding down on the subway”.

Peter Malvan, a homeless advocate with the Urban Justice Center’s Safety Net Project, said the measures would not not solve chronic shortages of shelters and housing options for the city’s homeless population.

“Forcing people off the trains into the freezing cold does not help the homeless. Policing does not get people safely housed,” he said . “This approach is wrongheaded, unlawful and is a frightening path to criminalisation.”