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New York City Subway

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New York City Subway
File:MTA New York City Subway logo.png
Overview
LocaleNew York, NY
Transit typeRapid transit
Number of lines27
Number of stations468
Daily ridership3,906,849 (2004)
Operation
Began operation1863 a (The subway opened in 1904 but a predecessor railroad opened in 1863)
Operator(s)New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA)
Technical
System length656 mi (1056 km) (revenue)
842 mi (1355 km) (total)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (standard gauge)

The New York City Subway system, a large rapid transit system operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York City, is one of the most extensive public transportation systems in the world. Depending on the method used to count stations, there are between 416 and 475 stations; the MTA reports 468. There are 656 miles (1056 km) of revenue track, with additional non-revenue trackage in shops and yards allowing for a total of 842 miles (1355 km) of track.

There is pending legislation that would merge the subway operations of MTA New York City Transit with Staten Island Railway to form a single MTA Subways. [1] The Staten Island Railway operates with R44 subway cars on a fully grade-separated right-of-way, but is typically not considered part of the subway, and is connected only via the free, city-operated Staten Island Ferry.

Though it is known as "the subway," implying underground operations, about 40% of the system runs on above-ground rights-of-way, including steel and occasionally cast iron elevated structures, concrete viaducts, earthen embankments, open cuts and, occasionally, surface routes. All of these modes are completely grade-separated from road and pedestrian crossings, and most crossings of two subway tracks are grade-separated with flying junctions.

History

Main article: History of the New York City Subway
An entrance to the elevated IRT Flushing Line in Jackson Heights, Queens.


While the first underground line of the subway opened in 1904, the first elevated line (the IRT Ninth Avenue Line) had opened almost 35 years earlier. The oldest structure that is still in use (albeit reinforced) opened in 1885 as part of the Lexington Avenue Line, and is now part of the BMT Jamaica Line in Brooklyn. The oldest right-of-way, that of the BMT West End Line, was in use in 1863 as a steam railroad called the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road. Subway cars (R44s) operate on the Staten Island Railway, opened in 1860, but that is not usually considered part of the Subway.

By the time the first subway opened, the lines had been consolidated into two privately-owned systems, Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT, later Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation, BMT) and Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT). The city was closely involved; every line built for the IRT, and most other lines built or improved for the BRT after 1913, was built by the city and leased to the companies (via the original Contracts 1 and 2 for the IRT subway, and the Dual Contracts for later extensions and widenings). The first line of the city-owned and operated Independent Subway System (IND) opened in 1932; this system was intended to compete with the private systems and allow some of the elevated railways to be torn down.

In 1940, the two private systems were bought by the city; some elevated lines closed immediately, and others closed soon after. Integration was slow, but several connections were built between the Template:IND (NYCS) and Template:BMT, and they now operate as one division, Division B. Due to the 's structure gauge being narrower, it has remained its own division, Division A.

The New York City Transit Authority was created in 1953 to take over subway (and bus/streetcar) operations from the city, and was placed under control of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1968.

In 1934, the BRT, IRT, and IND transit workers unionized into Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union. Since then, there have been three union strikes. In 1966, transit workers went on strike for 12 days, and again in 1980 for 11 days. [2] On December 20, 2005, transit workers again went on strike, over disputes with MTA regarding salary, pensions and retirement age, and health insurance costs. That strike lasted just under three days.

The subway system today

125th Street station on the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line

In 2002 an average of 4.5 million passengers used the subway every weekday.

A typical subway station has waiting platforms ranging from 400 to 700 feet (122 to 213 m) long to accommodate large numbers of people. Passengers enter a subway station through stairs towards station booths and vending machines to buy their fare, currently via the MetroCard. After swiping the card at a turnstile, customers continue to the platforms. Some subway lines in the outer boroughs and northern Manhattan have elevated tracks with stations to which passengers climb up.

Subway tunnels were constructed using a variety of methods. When the IRT subway first opened in 1904, typical tunnel construction was the cut-and cover method. The street was torn up to dig out the tunnel below, then the street was rebuilt above. Tunnel supports held the weight of the street and traffic above. This method worked well for soft dirt and gravel near the street surface. However, thicker sections made of bedrock required tunnel boring machines. It is fairly easy to determine the method of tunnel construction by looking at the shape of the tunnel. The cut-and-cover method usually results in a rectangular tunnel, while sections of bored tunnel, or deeper portions of tunnel that cross underneath rivers, are circular in shape.

Many lines and stations have both express and local service. These lines have three or four tracks: the outer two for local trains, and the inner one or two for express trains. Stations served by express trains are typically major transfer points or destinations. The BMT Jamaica Line uses skip-stop service on portions, in which two services operate over the line during rush hours, and minor stations are only served by one of the two. The IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line used skip-stop until May 27, 2005.

A simplified map, color-coded by services and showing major stations only

A typical subway train has from 8 to 11 cars (shuttles as short as two); the train can range from 150 to 600 feet (46 to 183 m) long. As a general rule trains on the lines inherited from the (the numbered lines) are shorter than the trains that operate on the other (Template:IND (NYCS)/Template:BMT) lines (those designated with letters), the result being two different divisions that cannot share trains.

Subway stations are located throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. All services pass through Manhattan, except for the Brooklyn-Queens Crosstown Local (G), which connects Brooklyn and Queens directly without entering Manhattan, the Template:NYCS service nb, and the Template:NYCS service nb. Although certain stations close overnight or on weekends, the New York City subway is the only rapid transit system in the world, with the exception of the PATH (which connects New Jersey with Manhattan), and parts of the Chicago 'L', that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. [3]

In 1994, the subway system introduced a fare system called the MetroCard, which allows riders to use cards that store the value equal to the amount paid to a station booth clerk or to a vending machine. The MetroCard was enhanced in 1997 to allow passengers to make free transfers between subways and buses within two hours; several MetroCard-only transfers between subways were also added. The world-famous token was phased out in 2003, the same year the MTA raised the basic fare to $2 amid angry protests from passenger and advocacy groups such as the Straphangers Campaign. In 2005, the MTA increased the prices of unlimited Metrocards, but left the base fare at $2.00.

The one major expansion that is being planned is the Second Avenue Line. This line had been planned as early as the 1920s but has been delayed several times since then. Construction was started in the 1970s, but discontinued due to the city's fiscal crisis. Some small portions remain intact in Chinatown, the East Village, and the Upper East Side, but they are each quite short and thus remain unused. [4]

In this rather old system, most stations are not handicapped accessible. The exceptions are new construction and "key stations", as required by the ADA. See New York City Subway accessibility for more details.

The MTA has recently begun a 20-year process of automating the subway. Beginning with the BMT Canarsie Line (Template:NYCS L), the MTA has plans to eventually automate a much larger portion, using One Person Train Operation (OPTO) in conjunction with Communications-based Train Control (CBTC). The benefits of automated subways include cost, safety, and reliability. Automated systems can be safer because all the trains are in radio communication with each other, and their speed and position are carefully controlled. This will also lead to fewer delays and better service. The new system will replace decades-old electronics that frequently fail due to flooding. Automated trains are not entirely new; they already exist in Vancouver, BC, Los Angeles and Paris. (An experiment in automating the 42nd Street Shuttle in New York City, which began in 1959, ended with a fire at Grand Central on April 24, 1964.) The New York system is significant because it will be replacing an extremely large subway that is already in place. Siemens Transportation Systems Group will be building the CBTC system.

On July 22, 2005, in response to recent bombings in London, United Kingdom, the New York City Police Department introduced a new policy of randomly searching passengers' bags as they approached turnstiles. The NYPD claimed that no form of racial profiling would be conducted when these searches actually took place. This has caused the NYPD to come under fire because these searches were deemed ineffectual if racial profiling was not used. "This NYPD bag search policy is unprecedented, unlawful and ineffective," said Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the NYCLU. "It is essential that police be aggressive in maintaining security in public transportation. But our very real concerns about terrorism do not justify the NYPD subjecting millions of innocent people to suspicionless searches in a way that does not identify any person seeking to engage in terrorist activity and is unlikely to have any meaningful deterrent effect on terrorist activity." (Source: North Country Gazette)

Lines and routes

File:Street Musician in NYC Subway.jpg
A busker plays at the Lexington Avenue-53rd Street station.
Times Square-42nd Street station entrance
Entrance to Broad Street station
Main articles: New York City Subway nomenclature, List of New York City Subway lines, and List of New York City Subway services

Many rapid transit systems run relatively static routings, so that a train line is more or less synonymous with a train route. In New York, routings change often as new connections are opened or service patterns change. The line describes the physical railroad line or series of lines that a train route uses on its way from one terminal to another.

Routes (also called services) are distinguished by a letter or a number. Lines have names.

For example, the D Train, D Route or D Service, though it can be colloquially called the D Line, runs over the following lines on its journey:

There are 26 train services in the subway system, including three short shuttles. Each route has a color, representing the Manhattan trunk line of the particular service; a different color is assigned to the Template:NYCS service nb route, since it does not operate in Manhattan, and shuttles are all colored dark gray. Each service is also named after its Manhattan (or crosstown) trunk line, and is labeled as local or express.

Trains are marked by the service label in either black or white (for appropriate contrast) on a field in the color of its mainline. The field is enclosed in a circle for most services, or a diamond for special services, such as rush-hour only expresses on a route that ordinarily runs local. Rollsigns also typically include the service names and terminals. When the R44 and R46 cars were rebuilt the rollsigns on the side of the cars were replaced with electronic signs while the front service sign remained as a rollsign. All cars built since 1999 are equipped with digital signs on the front and sides plus a new sign on the interior displays. The displays are installed on the car ceiling, towards each end of the car. They display the route indicator on left hand side at all times, while rotating through the destination, the next station and the time. When the train arrives at a station, the display changes to show the station name (e.g., "This is Bowling Green"). When the train stops and the doors open, the computer plays a recorded announcement stating the current station, transfers and connections, the route, the direction, the destination, and the next station. If the destination is in a borough that the train is not presently in, it will announce that borough (e.g., "This is a Brooklyn-bound L train"). If the train is within the borough, the announcement changes to the terminal station(e.g., "This is a Canarsie-bound L train").

New Yorkers usually refer to each line by the designator and the word train, i.e. the "A Train", which can be used to refer to both a single train, "I'm on an A train", or the route, "take the A train". New Yorkers may often shorten the expression to simply the line's designation. For example: "Take the A to the 1" would mean to "Take the A train and transfer to the 1 train."

Division A () consists of:

Division B (Template:BMT/Template:IND (NYCS)) consists of:

Division C consists of non-revenue operations, including track maintenance and yard operations.

Rolling stock

Main article: New York City Subway rolling stock

The New York City subway has the world's largest fleet of subway cars. Over 6,400 cars (as of 2002) are on the NYCT roster. Cars purchased by the City of New York since the inception of the Template:IND (NYCS) and for the other divisions beginning in 1948 are identified by the letter "R" followed by a number; e.g.: R32. This number is the contract number under which the cars were purchased. Cars with nearby contract numbers (e.g.: R1 through R9) may be virtually identical, simply being purchased under different contracts. Subway car models begin with the letter "R" and are followed by the last 2 or 3 digits of the contract number under which they were purchased. The "R" stands for Revenue service as originally used by the IND, however, others feel it now stands for Rolling Stock since the "R" is used on contracts for the purchase of anything that deals with subway and work cars (e.g. cars, wheels, other parts).

The system maintains two separate fleets of cars, one for the lines, another for the Template:BMT/Template:IND (NYCS) lines. All IRT equipment is approximately 8'9" (~2.67m) wide and 51' (~15.5m) long while all operating BMT/IND equipment is about 10 feet (~3.0 meters) wide and either 60 feet 6 inches (18.4 meters) or 75 feet (~22.8 meters) long.

Though the equipment of the two fleets can operate on the same tracks, the key impediment to interoperation is the fact that the original two subway contracts built for the IRT were built to a smaller profile. This is because the IRT chose to use equipment substantially the same size as that already in use on all the pre-existing elevated railway lines in the city. This profile was consistent with older lines in operation in Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago.

When the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company entered into agreements to operate some of the new subway lines, they made the decision to design a new type of car, 10 feet wide and 67 feet long, the subject of several patents, whose larger profile was more similar to that of steam railroad coaches, permitting greater passenger capacity, more comfortable seating and other advantages. The BRT unveiled its design to the public in 1913 and received such wide acceptance that all future subway lines, whether built for the BRT, the IRT or eventually, the IND, were built to handle the wider cars.

As a result, while most of the IRT lines could accommodate the larger BMT/IND equipment with modifications to the station platforms and trackside furniture, this is not deemed feasible, because the original, narrower, subway includes portions of both IRT Manhattan mainlines, as well as a critical part of the Brooklyn lines. This could be remedied, but at very great expense. On the other hand, it would be relatively easy to convert many of the Bronx lines for BMT/IND operation; some of the plans for the Second Avenue Line have included a conversion of the IRT Pelham Line.

7 train arriving

Trivia

  • According to the United States Department of Energy, energy expenditure on the New York City Subway rail service was 3656 BTU/passenger mile in 1995. This compares to 3702/passenger mile for automobile travel. [5]
  • According to a February 11, 2006, New York Daily News article, the New York City Subway hit a 50-year record in usage in 2005, with ridership of 1.45 billion. According to the article, "New subway cars and other upgrades have made tube travel more reliable and have helped lure more than 23 million new riders to the rails in 2005 compared with the year before" ("TRACK RECORD: 1.5B RODE SUBWAY" by Pete Donohue).
  • The article also cited the average fare as $1.27 per trip in 2005, which the transit authority claims is lower than the average fare in 1996.
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street scene with Oscar (in garbage can) and Big Bird (behind column) at 86th Street (IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line)

The subway is often seen as an integral part of the city and has had a place in popular culture for at least three quarters of a century. Many living in the area through the 1980s remember it for crime and graffiti, but these have since subsided.

Film

The New York City subway has been featured prominently in many films. One of its first color appearances is in the musical On The Town, which was also one of the first films to shoot on location. One of the characters takes a fancy on finding "Miss Turnstiles," a "typical rider" whose picture appears in many different poses on advertising placards. This is most likely derived from the "Miss Subways" publicity campaign by the transit authority. The campaign started in 1941 and was discontinued in 1976. It was resurrected in 2004 as "Ms Subways".

File:Spider-man 2, on train.jpg
Spider-Man 2

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New York City Subway.
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