183-409: [REDACTED] The Times Square–42nd Street station is a major New York City Subway station complex located under Times Square , at the intersection of 42nd Street , Seventh Avenue , and Broadway , in Midtown Manhattan . The complex allows free transfers between the IRT 42nd Street Shuttle , the BMT Broadway Line , the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and the IRT Flushing Line , as well as to
366-532: A cross-platform interchange between local and express services. Some four-track lines with express service have two tracks each on two levels and use both island and side platforms. Since the majority of the system was built before 1990, the year the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) went into effect, many New York City Subway stations were not designed to be accessible to all. Since then, elevators have been built in newly constructed stations to comply with
549-497: A Vignelli-style interactive subway map, "The Weekender", an online map that provides information about any planned work, from late Friday night to early Monday morning. In October 2020, the MTA launched a digital version of the map showing real-time service patterns and service changes, designed by Work & Co . Several privately produced schematics are available online or in printed form, such as those by Hagstrom Map . Out of
732-604: A connection between the two mezzanines. The PSC approved the construction of a large concourse above the BRT station in 1917. The concourse would only have cost an extra $ 1,400, but the station's general contractor refused to build the concourse because of a dispute over the price of cast-iron columns. A. W. King was hired to install finishes in the Times Square station in July 1917. The Broadway Line station opened on January 5, 1918, as
915-769: A letter or a number and "lines" have names. Trains display their route designation. There are 28 train services in the subway system, including three short shuttles . Each route has a color and a local or express designation representing the Manhattan trunk line of the service. New York City residents seldom refer to services by color (e.g., "blue line" or "green line") but out-of-towners and tourists often do. The 1 , C , G , L , M , R , and W trains are fully local and make all stops. The 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , A , B , D , E , F , N , and Q trains have portions of express and local service. J , Z , 6 , and 7 trains vary by direction, day, or time of day. The letter S
1098-650: A lower level of the 50th Street station, and merges to the south, taking E trains onto the local tracks. An unused southbound-only lower level at 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal was formerly accessed only from the southbound track from the Queens Boulevard Line. Plans for the 7 Subway Extension required partially demolishing the lower level to make room for the new IRT Flushing Line tracks. The four-track line continues south under Eighth Avenue to 14th Street , where it turns southeast under Greenwich Avenue and south under Sixth Avenue , above
1281-446: A lower level than the two existing stations at Times Square. It would have two upper mezzanines connected by passageways: a mezzanine east of Seventh Avenue extending to Broadway, and one west of Seventh Avenue. Escalators would connect these upper mezzanines with the lower mezzanine, and a provision would be made to permit the installation of an escalator to the east of Seventh Avenue. There would be two entrances at street level at each of
1464-446: A main entrance on the south side of 42nd Street between Seventh Avenue and Broadway. The site of the new entrance was occupied at the time by an "interim" retail space. Originally, the MTA had proposed consolidating 11 separate entrances to the complex into one full-time main entrance and four part-time entrances. The new main entrance opened in July 1997. It features a bright neon and colored glass flashing sign with train route symbols and
1647-527: A mezzanine from 12 to 60 feet (3.7 to 18.3 m); razing a 120-foot-long (37 m) passageway that contained a "mixing bowl" of stairs and elevators; and refurbishing the 700-foot-long (210 m) passageway leading from the IND station to the rest of the complex. The cost of renovating the station had exceeded $ 257.3 million by 2004. The mezzanine above the BMT Broadway Line , which formerly housed
1830-554: A minor overhaul in the late 1970s when the MTA fixed the station's structure and the overall appearance, and it repaired staircases and platform edges, removed pedestrian ramps, and replaced lighting. By the 1970s, city officials planned to raise funds for a renovation of the Times Square station complex, using sales-tax revenue from materials used in the construction of the New York Marriott Marquis hotel. As part of
2013-431: A new entrance with a 15 foot (4.6 m) wide stairway covered by a canopy. The staircase would lead from the shuttle mezzanine to street level, blocking portions of the station's original finishes. A new control area would be installed at the bottom of the stairway. To further increase capacity, 21 columns were eliminated; other columns at the station were thinned, requiring the underpinning of roof beams; and 142 columns in
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#17327796416092196-634: A physical connection with the IND Eighth Avenue Line were underway. On March 1, 1927, the opening of the line was set for March 15, the third time an opening date was set for the line. Work had been postponed given the amount of work that remained to be completed. The opening of the line was about a year behind the April 29, 1926, date specified in the contract. The delay was the result of surprisingly difficult construction. The Board of Transportation had withheld retained percentages, as allowed in
2379-706: A pilot program to reduce high crime in the New York City Subway system, in May 1981, the MTA spent $ 500,000 to install CCTV screens at the Columbus Circle subway station. The MTA expanded the experiment to the Times Square–42nd Street station in 1983. The cameras were deactivated in 1985 after further tests showed that their presence did not help reduce crime. The MTA considered transferring 220 CCTV cameras from these stations to token booths at
2562-602: A pilot program, the BOT installed three-dimensional advertisements at the Times Square station in late 1948. The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), the BOT's successor, announced plans in 1956 to add fluorescent lights across the entire Times Square station complex. The Flushing Line platforms at Times Square, as well as platforms at all other stations on the Flushing Line with the exception of Queensboro Plaza , were extended in 1955–1956 to accommodate 11-car trains. One of
2745-406: A portion of West 42nd Street in 1981. As part of the redevelopment, in 1988, the state and NYCTA announced that they would spend $ 125 million on renovating the Times Square subway complex. The project would have included an underground rotunda with stores, connecting several office buildings; new subway entrances inside these buildings; and elevators. The project excluded renovation of the platforms or
2928-627: A possible connection to the Second Avenue Subway ), Rutgers Street–East Broadway (with a connection to the IND Rutgers Street Line ), and a station in the Lower East Side (possibly Pitt Street and Grand Street ). This portion would have been about 1.95 miles (3.14 km) long and would have cost about $ 13 million. Crossing to Williamsburg , the line was to have stops at Havemeyer Street and Union Avenue,
3111-493: A public authority presided by New York City, was created in 1953 to take over subway, bus, and streetcar operations from the city, and placed under control of the state-level Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1968. Organized in 1934 by transit workers of the BRT, IRT, and IND, the Transport Workers Union of America Local 100 remains the largest and most influential local of the labor unions. Since
3294-667: A record shop named Record Mart, was renovated with a large oval balcony looking over the trackway. In 2004, four unisex stall bathrooms were opened on the mezzanine between the IRT and BMT lines; they are staffed and maintained by employees of the Times Square Alliance, the local Business Improvement District . Record Mart reopened in 2007 on the south side of the IRT/BMT corridor, and when it closed permanently in 2020, it had been Manhattan's oldest operating record store. During
3477-593: A roughly H-shaped system. The original alignment under 42nd Street would become a shuttle service, and a new set of platforms would be built for the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. In December 1913, the PSC began soliciting bids for the construction of the Seventh Avenue Line tunnel between 42nd and 30th Streets, including two express stations at 34th and 42nd Streets. The new IRT line was to cross
3660-457: A single fare to enter the subway system and may transfer between trains at no extra cost until they exit via station turnstiles; the fare is a flat rate regardless of how far or how long the rider travels. Thus, riders must swipe their MetroCard or tap a contactless payment card or smartphone on an OMNY reader upon entering the subway system, but not a second time upon leaving. IND Eighth Avenue Line The IND Eighth Avenue Line
3843-482: A station, passengers may use station booths (formerly known as token booths) or vending machines to buy their fare, which is currently stored in a MetroCard or OMNY card. Each station has at least one booth, typically located at the busiest entrance. After swiping the card at a turnstile, customers enter the fare-controlled area of the station and continue to the platforms. Inside fare control are "Off-Hours Waiting Areas", which consist of benches and are identified by
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#17327796416094026-431: A subway. The tunnel was never extended for political and financial reasons. Today, no part of this line remains as the tunnel was completely within the limits of the present-day City Hall station under Broadway. The Great Blizzard of 1888 helped demonstrate the benefits of an underground transportation system. A plan for the construction of the subway was approved in 1894, and construction began in 1900. Even though
4209-497: A yellow sign. A typical subway station has waiting platforms ranging from 480 to 600 feet (150 to 180 m) long. Some are longer. Platforms of former commuter rail stations—such as those on the IND Rockaway Line , are even longer. With the many different lines in the system, one platform often serves more than one service. Passengers need to look at the overhead signs to see which trains stop there and when, and at
4392-415: Is 60 feet (18 m) below street level and runs roughly west–east under 41st Street. The Times Square–42nd Street and 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal stations are both fully wheelchair-accessible. However, the ramp between the two parts of the complex is not wheelchair-accessible. There are several mezzanines throughout the complex, connected by several ramps and stairs. The primary, upper mezzanine
4575-941: Is a rapid transit line in New York City , United States , and is part of the B Division of the New York City Subway . Opened in 1932, it was the first line of the Independent Subway System (IND); as such, New Yorkers originally applied the Eighth Avenue Subway name to the entire IND system. The line runs from 207th Street in Inwood south to an interlocking south of High Street in Brooklyn Heights , including large sections under St. Nicholas Avenue , Central Park West , and Eighth Avenue . The entire length
4758-489: Is approximately 8 feet 9 inches (2.67 m) wide and 51 feet 4 inches (15.65 m) long, whereas B Division equipment is about 10 feet (3.05 m) wide and either 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) or 75 feet (22.86 m) long. The different lengths for the B Division fleet are necessary because 75-foot cars can not be used over the BMT Eastern Division . Cars purchased by
4941-671: Is near the level of the shuttle platforms and consists of four passageways in a trapezoidal layout, arranged under 42nd Street, Broadway, 41st Street, and Seventh Avenue. An oval-shaped cut is on the Broadway side of the main mezzanine, below which are the northern ends of the BMT platforms. A pair of escalators to the Flushing Line is at the southwestern corner of this mezzanine. Some parts of the mezzanine have glass-tiled walls, while other parts are clad with white ceramic tile topped by mosaic bands. " Music Under New York " controls various spots within
5124-406: Is no nightly system shutdown for maintenance, tracks and stations must be maintained while the system is operating. This work sometimes necessitates service changes during midday, overnight hours, and weekends. When parts of lines are temporarily shut down for construction purposes, the transit authority can substitute free shuttle buses (using MTA Regional Bus Operations bus fleet ) to replace
5307-511: Is present on the east side of the tunnel. It has been proposed to use this to bring Long Island Rail Road Atlantic Branch trains to Lower Manhattan as part of the Lower Manhattan-Jamaica/JFK Transportation Project . The four tracks continue south under Church Street, with two separate but connected stations at World Trade Center at the end of the local tracks and Chambers Street on
5490-427: Is smaller than the peak of the system. In addition to the demolition of former elevated lines, which collectively have resulted in the demolition of over a hundred stations, other closed stations and unused portions of existing stations remain in parts of the system. Many stations in the subway system have mezzanines . Mezzanines allow for passengers to enter from multiple locations at an intersection and proceed to
5673-488: Is the 42nd Street Shuttle platform, which runs in a northwest–southeast direction under 42nd Street east of Broadway, and is 20 feet (6.1 m) below street level. The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line station runs 40 feet (12 m) under Seventh Avenue. The BMT Broadway Line station runs in a true north–south alignment 50 feet (15 m) under Broadway. The deepest station, serving the IRT Flushing Line ,
Times Square–42nd Street station - Misplaced Pages Continue
5856-487: Is underground, though the 207th Street Yard , which branches off near the north end, is on the surface. Flying junctions are provided with the IND Concourse Line , IND Sixth Avenue Line , and IND Queens Boulevard Line . Most of the line has four tracks, with one local and one express track in each direction, except for the extreme north and south ends, where only the two express tracks continue. Internally,
6039-554: Is used for three shuttle services: Franklin Avenue Shuttle , Rockaway Park Shuttle , and 42nd Street Shuttle . Though the subway system operates on a 24-hour basis , during late night hours some of the designated routes do not run, run as a shorter route (often referred to as the "shuttle train" version of its full-length counterpart) or run with a different stopping pattern. These are usually indicated by smaller, secondary route signage on station platforms. Because there
6222-577: The 142nd Street and Myrtle Avenue junctions, whose tracks intersect at the same level, as well as the same-direction pairs of tracks on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line at Rogers Junction . The 7,700 workers who built the original subway lines were mostly immigrants living in Manhattan. More recent projects use tunnel boring machines , which increase the cost. However, they minimize disruption at street level and avoid already existing utilities. Examples of such projects include
6405-600: The 472 stations , 470 are served 24 hours a day. Underground stations in the New York City Subway are typically accessed by staircases going down from street level. Many of these staircases are painted in a common shade of green, with slight or significant variations in design. Other stations have unique entrances reflective of their location or date of construction. Several station entrance stairs, for example, are built into adjacent buildings. Nearly all station entrances feature color-coded globe or square lamps signifying their status as an entrance. The current number of stations
6588-477: The 63rd Street Lines , opened in 1989. The new South Ferry station was built and connected to the existing Whitehall Street–South Ferry station in 2009. The one-stop 7 Subway Extension to the west side of Manhattan, consisting of the 34th Street–Hudson Yards station, was opened in 2015, and three stations on the Second Avenue Subway in the Upper East Side were opened as part of Phase 1 of
6771-706: The Chicago "L" plans all stations to be accessible in the 2030s, the Toronto subway will be fully accessible by 2025, and Montreal Metro plans all stations to be accessible by 2038. Both the Boston and Chicago systems are as old or older than the New York City Subway, though all of these systems have fewer stations than the New York City Subway. Newer systems like the Washington Metro and Bay Area Rapid Transit have been fully accessible from their opening in
6954-467: The D full-time express service between the Concourse Line ( 145th Street ) and Sixth Avenue Line ( 59th Street–Columbus Circle ) junctions, and the E runs local from the Queens Boulevard Line junction at 50th Street south to World Trade Center . The A, C, and E are colored blue on signs because they run via Eighth Avenue through Midtown Manhattan , while the B and D are orange since they use
7137-483: The IND Eighth Avenue Line a block west at 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal . The complex is served by the 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 , N and Q trains at all times, the W train during weekdays; the R and 42nd Street Shuttle (S) trains at all times except late nights; and <7> trains during rush hours in the peak direction. It is the southern terminal for the 3 train during late nights and
7320-549: The IND Sixth Avenue Line was completed in 1940, the city went into great debt , and only 33 new stations have been added to the system since, nineteen of which were part of defunct railways that already existed. Five stations were on the abandoned New York, Westchester and Boston Railway , which was incorporated into the system in 1941 as the IRT Dyre Avenue Line . Fourteen more stations were on
7503-719: The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line , which ran directly underneath the World Trade Center . Sections of the tunnel, as well as the Cortlandt Street station, which was directly underneath the Twin Towers, were severely damaged. Rebuilding required the suspension of service on that line south of Chambers Street. Ten other nearby stations were closed for cleanup. By March 2002, seven of those stations had reopened. Except for Cortlandt Street,
Times Square–42nd Street station - Misplaced Pages Continue
7686-720: The IRT subway debuted in 1904, the typical tunnel construction method was cut-and-cover . The street was torn up to dig the tunnel below before being rebuilt from above. Traffic on the street above would be interrupted due to the digging up of the street. Temporary steel and wooden bridges carried surface traffic above the construction. Contractors in this type of construction faced many obstacles, both natural and human made. They had to deal with rock formations and groundwater, which required pumps. Twelve miles of sewers, as well as water and gas mains, electric conduits, and steam pipes had to be rerouted. Street railways had to be torn up to allow
7869-640: The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as a local station on the city's first subway line , which was approved in 1900. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. As part of the Dual Contracts between the IRT and the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms opened in 1917, followed by
8052-683: The Long Island Rail Road and JFK International Airport , presented several alternatives that would utilize the Cranberry Street Tunnel instead of building a new East River Tunnel. These alternatives would have required that C trains be rerouted through the Rutgers Street Tunnel . In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks , World Trade Center station was temporarily unusable as a terminal for
8235-637: The New York City Board of Estimate approved the Washington Heights Line , an extension of the Broadway Line to Washington Heights. The line was to have four tracks from Central Park West at 64th Street under Central Park West, Eighth Avenue, Saint Nicholas Avenue , and private property to 173rd Street, and two tracks under Fort Washington Avenue to 193rd Street. South of 64th Street, one two-track line would connect to
8418-502: The New York City Board of Transportation informed the New York State Transit Commission that work on the Times Square station was sufficiently completed to enable the start of train service beginning on February 19, 1927, with the completion of work to a point between Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue. Plans for the construction of an extension of the line to between Eighth Avenue and Ninth Avenue to provide
8601-549: The New York Public Service Commission (PSC) proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway. As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $ 1.5 million (equivalent to $ 49.1 million in 2023) spent on platform lengthening, $ 500,000 (equivalent to $ 16.4 million in 2023)
8784-612: The R142 , R142A , R143 , R160 , R179 and R188 were placed into service. These cars are collectively known as New Technology Trains (NTTs) due to modern innovations such as LED and LCD route signs and information screens, as well as recorded train announcements and the ability to facilitate Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) . As part of the 2017–2020 MTA Financial Plan, 600 subway cars will have electronic display signs installed to improve customer experience. Riders pay
8967-644: The extension of the IRT Flushing Line and the IND Second Avenue Line . Since the opening of the original New York City Subway line in 1904, multiple official and planning agencies have proposed numerous extensions to the subway system. One of the more expansive proposals was the " IND Second System", part of a plan to construct new subway lines in addition to taking over existing subway lines and railroad rights-of-way. The most grandiose IND Second Subway plan, conceived in 1929,
9150-410: The 1970s. In November 2016, the New York City Subway had 6712 cars on the roster. A typical New York City Subway train consists of 8 to 11 cars, although shuttles can have as few as two, and the train can range from 150 to 600 feet (46 to 183 m) in length. The system maintains two separate fleets of cars, one for the A Division routes and another for the B Division routes. A Division equipment
9333-450: The 1980s, make the current fleet of subway cars graffiti-free, as well as order 1,775 new subway cars. By the early 1990s, conditions had improved significantly, although maintenance backlogs accumulated during those 20 years are still being fixed today. Entering the 21st century, progress continued despite several disasters. The September 11 attacks resulted in service disruptions on lines running through Lower Manhattan, particularly
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#17327796416099516-415: The 2020–2024 Capital Program. This would allow one of every two to four stations on every line to be accessible, so that all non-accessible stops would be a maximum of two stops from an accessible station. In 2022, the MTA agreed in a settlement to make 95 percent of subway and Staten Island Railway stations accessible by 2055. By comparison, all but one of Boston's MBTA subway stations are accessible,
9699-417: The 41st Street passageway. Times Square was named for The New York Times . The Times headquarters , built by Times owner Adolph S. Ochs , housed the original subway station (now the shuttle platforms) in its basement. Four separate stations comprise the Times Square complex, which is connected to the 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station of the IND Eighth Avenue Line. The shallowest station
9882-618: The 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station was reopened within fare control on December 11, 1988. Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864. Development of what would become the city's first subway line started in 1894, when the New York State Legislature passed the Rapid Transit Act. The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons ,
10065-524: The ADA. (Most grade-level stations required little modification to meet ADA standards.) Many accessible stations have AutoGate access. In addition, the MTA identified "key stations", high-traffic and/or geographically important stations, which must conform to the ADA when they are extensively renovated. Under plans from the MTA in 2016, the number of ADA accessible stations would go up to 144 by 2020. As of May 2024 , there were 145 ADA-accessible stations. Over
10248-595: The BMT platform. The MTA started soliciting bids from platform-door manufacturers in mid-2022; the doors are planned to be installed starting in December 2023 at a cost of $ 6 million. Designs for the platform doors were being finalized by June 2023. As part of a pilot program, a Knightscope K5 robotic police officer was deployed at the station in September 2023; the NYPD had removed the robot by February 2024. A bombing at
10431-612: The Board of Estimate approved the construction of the line, and in July Chairman Delaney sent letters to 450 real estate owners outlining the planned route and requested their consent for the construction of the project, of which the Board needed 50%. On August 23, 1930, bids on the construction of the connection (bellmouths) between the Eighth Avenue Line and the proposed Worth Street Line were put up for bid by
10614-603: The Board of Transportation. These bellmouths were constructed to allow work on the Worth Street Line to be done without interrupting service on the Eighth Avenue Line. This route was expected to the first line of the IND Second System to be built. At the time it was anticipated that the line would open a year or so after the completion of the Eighth Avenue Line under the East River to Brooklyn. However,
10797-494: The Broadway Line platforms in 1918 and the Flushing Line platforms in 1928. The original platforms were also reconfigured to serve the shuttle. The complex has been reconstructed numerous times over the years. The free transfer between the IRT and BMT opened in 1948, while the transfer to the IND station was placed within fare control in 1988. The complex was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. In
10980-442: The Broadway Line stubs at 57th Street, and another would continue under Eighth Avenue to 30th Street at Penn Station , with provisions to continue downtown. Mayor John Hylan instead wanted to build an independent subway system, operated by the city. The New York City Board of Transportation (NYCBOT) gave preliminary approval to several lines in Manhattan, including one on Eighth Avenue, on December 9, 1924. The main portion of
11163-665: The Bronx . It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority , an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 27, 1904, the New York City Subway is one of the world's oldest public transit systems, one of the most-used, and the one with the most stations, with 472 stations in operation (423, if stations connected by transfers are counted as single stations). The system has operated 24/7 service every day of
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#173277964160911346-631: The C's route. The B and the C, which both ran local along Central Park West, switched northern terminals on March 1, 1998, ending the connection between the C and the Bronx. Instead of alternating between three different terminals depending on the time of day, all C service now terminated at 168th Street. A report for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation looking at the Lower Manhattan Rail Link , an idea to connect Lower Manhattan with
11529-544: The City of New York since the inception of the IND and 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 , or R26 through R29 , or R143 through R179 ) may be relatively identical, despite being purchased under different contracts and possibly built by different manufacturers. From 1999 to 2019,
11712-662: The Concourse Line, forcing A trains to run local north of 145th Street . The E was added to the local tracks south of 50th Street on August 19, 1933, when the IND Queens Boulevard Line opened. The final major change came on December 15, 1940, when the IND Sixth Avenue Line opened. The AA was brought back as a non-rush hour local service, becoming the BB and switching to the Sixth Avenue Line at 59th Street–Columbus Circle during rush hours. The CC
11895-480: The Contract I station walls (now used by the shuttle). One street stair rises to the southeast corner of Broadway and 42nd Street. A block to the south, one stair goes into a building at the northwest corner of 41st Street and Seventh Avenue, and two street stairs go to the southeast corner. An exit-only stair rises to the southwest corner of 41st Street and Broadway. Two sets of exits on 40th Street are separate from
12078-463: The Dual Contracts' "H system" was put into service, and the former main line platforms became part of the 42nd Street Shuttle. Initially, a temporary wooden platform was placed over track 2 of the original subway, and black bands were painted on the walls to guide passengers to the shuttle platforms. The Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line station was the site of a 1928 wreck that killed 16 people,
12261-655: The E. C service was suspended until September 24, 2001. Local service along Central Park West was replaced by the A and D, and the E was extended from Canal Street to Euclid Avenue replacing C service in Brooklyn. On January 23, 2005, a fire at the Chambers Street signal room crippled A and C service. C service was suspended until February 2 and was replaced by the A, B, D, E, and V trains along different parts of its route. Initial assessments suggested that it would take several years to restore normal service, but
12444-422: The Eighth Avenue Line, is the busiest station complex in the system, serving 65,020,294 passengers in 2019. The IRT platforms have been connected to each other as a transfer station as the lines opened: first between the 42nd Street Shuttle and the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line in 1917, then the transfer was incorporated with the Flushing Line in 1927. On December 24, 1932, a 600-foot-long (180 m) passageway
12627-434: The IND Eighth Avenue Line. The line would have branched off of the line's local tracks at the intersection of Church Street and Franklin Street to the south of the Canal Street station and would have turned southeast into Worth Street . This route would have traveled in a two-track tunnel. It would have probably stopped at Foley Square ( Lafayette and Centre Streets, on the north side of Federal Plaza), Chatham Square (with
12810-403: The IND station with the rest of the complex. The passageway is located above the mezzanines at either end. It is stair-free but contains steep ramps at both ends, which are not ADA-compliant. Exits to the 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station, on Eighth Avenue between 40th and 44th Street, are signed as serving the A, C, E, and 7 trains. Several exits are signed as serving most or all of
12993-491: The K designation was discontinued and merged into the C, which now ran at all times except late nights. The C ran from Bedford Park Boulevard to Rockaway Park during rush hours, 145th Street to Euclid Avenue during middays, and from 145th Street to World Trade Center during evenings and weekends. The A now ran express in Brooklyn during middays, and the B was extended to 168th Street during middays and early evenings. On May 29, 1994, weekend C service between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.
13176-840: The Knickerbocker Hotel entrance. The Dual Contracts were formalized in March 1913, specifying new lines or expansions to be built by the IRT and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT). As part of the Dual Contracts, the Public Service Commission planned to split the original IRT system into three segments: two north–south lines, carrying through trains over the Lexington Avenue and Broadway–Seventh Avenue Lines, and an east–west shuttle under 42nd Street. This would form
13359-416: The Lower East Side, would have been the line's terminal. Construction was expected to begin in 1937 and be complete by 1944. In 1938 the cost of the line was pegged by the BOT to be $ 16.73 million. Even though these bellmouths were never used and the line was never completed, the bellmouths are still visible south of Canal Street adjacent to the local tracks. Other provisions were built in anticipation of
13542-454: The New York State Transit Commission opened up the contract for the extension for bidding. The extension would take a slightly different route than the one specified in the Dual Contracts. The original proposal had the line constructed under 42nd Street to a point just to the east of Broadway, which would have forced riders transferring to the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to walk a long distance. The Times Square station would be designed at
13725-539: The Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900, in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line. In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations. Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway. The present shuttle station at Times Square–42nd Street
13908-482: The Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer. It called for a subway line from New York City Hall in lower Manhattan to the Upper West Side , where two branches would lead north into the Bronx . A plan was formally adopted in 1897, which called for the subway to run under several streets in lower Manhattan before running under Fourth Avenue , 42nd Street , and Broadway . A previous proposal had called for
14091-467: The Sixth Avenue Line through Midtown Manhattan. The following services use part or all of the Eighth Avenue Line. The trunk line's bullets are colored blue: The Eighth Avenue Line begins as a two-track subway under Broadway at 207th Street in Inwood . A flying junction just to the south brings two tracks from the 207th Street Yard between the main tracks, merging after Dyckman Street . The subway leaves Broadway to pass under Fort Tryon Park to
14274-615: The abandoned LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch (now the IND Rockaway Line ), which opened in 1955. Two stations ( 57th Street and Grand Street ) were part of the Chrystie Street Connection , and opened in 1968; the Harlem–148th Street terminal opened that same year in an unrelated project. Six were built as part of a 1968 plan : three on the Archer Avenue Lines , opened in 1988, and three on
14457-481: The adverse effects of the station renovation. To further mitigate damage done to portions of the original station, certain features were repaired and restored, including the original southwest platform and control area wall finishes, the original cast iron columns, the ceiling plaster ornamentation, and the cast iron guard rails. In addition, the east platform walls that were located within back-of-house space were protected. The damaged Knickerbocker marble lintel located at
14640-591: The already-approved Washington Heights Line—the mostly-four track line north of 64th Street—was included, but was to continue north from 193rd Street to 207th Street. South of 64th Street, the plan called for four tracks in Eighth Avenue, Greenwich Avenue , the planned extension of Sixth Avenue , and Church Street . Two tracks would turn east under Fulton Street or Wall Street and under the East River to Downtown Brooklyn . A groundbreaking ceremony
14823-526: The arriving train to identify it. There are several common platform configurations. On a double track line, a station may have one center island platform used for trains in both directions, or two side platforms , one for each direction. For lines with three or four tracks with express service, local stops will have side platforms and the middle one or two tracks will not stop at the station. On these lines, express stations typically have two island platforms, one for each direction. Each island platform provides
15006-421: The bridge, as well as two commuter rail tracks. However, when the lower level was added in 1962, it instead carried a roadway. The two main tracks from Fort Washington Avenue enter Broadway near 172nd Street, curving and running underneath a public school (PS173M) at 174th Street, and other private property, and the yard tracks in a double-decker tunnel. A few blocks later, the lower tracks separate to straddle
15189-487: The complex's entrances on 43rd Street was closed in 1957 to make way for a Times Square visitor center. This entrance was rebuilt next to the information center after numerous protests, and it reopened in July 1958. A new entrance at the southwest corner of Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street opened in 1964, and a shopping arcade within the basement of the Rialto Building was closed in July 1967. The BMT station received
15372-410: The complexity of the system (Manhattan being the smallest borough, but having the most services), but they do show major city streets as an aid to navigation. The newest edition took effect on June 27, 2010, and makes Manhattan bigger and Staten Island smaller, with minor tweaks happening to the map when more permanent changes occur. Earlier diagrams of the subway, the first being produced in 1958, had
15555-586: The concourse area were relocated away from the car doors. The cost of this project was estimated to be $ 28.93 million. The new control area provided an additional 5,000 square feet in mezzanine space, while the new entrance provided an additional 450 square feet of space. The entrance's canopy has 238 triangular glass frames that replicate the crystals part of the New Year's Eve Crystal Ball. Eighteen new CCTV cameras, ten new turnstiles, two emergency exit gates, and four new digital information screens were installed in
15738-422: The construction of a two-level subway structure. In January 1929, the city paid money awarded to adjacent property owners for property taken and awarded contracts for 15 feet (4.6 m)-wide sidewalks and a 60 feet (18 m)-wide roadway. The sidewalks had been 10 feet (3.0 m) wide and the roadway had been 20 feet (6.1 m) wide. New buildings were built on the west sides of Church Street. The east side of
15921-405: The construction of that section, Despite protests from IRT officials, who said their bid was more expensive because it included additional safety measures, the commission refused to re-award the contract to the IRT. The construction of the new junction included rebuilding the roof, moving pillars, and demolishing part of the original subway tunnel's wall. The new tunnel had been excavated northward to
16104-495: The construction of the line was delayed due to the city's lack of funding after 1932. The Board of Transportation resumed efforts to build the line after a study of existing conditions in the area was completed, and on the basis that funding would be provided from government and private sources. The plans were truncated to a three-stop crosstown line entirely within Manhattan. Stops would have been located at Foley Square, Rutgers Street, and Lewis Street. The Lewis Street stop, located in
16287-401: The construction of these buildings. The station underwent total reconstruction in stages starting in 1994. Phase 1 rebuilt the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms with a new mezzanine, stairs, and elevators, and was completed in 2002. Phase 2, finished in 2006, rebuilt the Broadway Line, Flushing Line, and Eighth Avenue Line portions of the station. In 1995, the MTA announced it would build
16470-422: The contract, penalizing the contractor, and trying to incentivize it to speed up work. No retained percentages were provided to the contractor until February 1927. The Flushing Line was extended to Times Square on March 14, 1927. A pedestrian passageway under 41st Street, connecting the Independent Subway System (IND)'s 42nd Street station with the IRT and BMT stations at Times Square, opened on December 24, 1932;
16653-425: The correct platform without having to cross the street before entering. Inside mezzanines are fare control areas, where passengers physically pay their fare to enter the subway system. In many older stations, the fare control area is at platform level with no mezzanine crossovers. Many elevated stations also have platform-level fare control with no common station house between directions of service. Upon entering
16836-742: The damaged equipment was replaced with available spare parts, and normal service resumed on April 21. The 2015–2019 Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Plan called for five of the Eighth Avenue Line's stations, along with 28 others, to undergo a complete overhaul as part of the Enhanced Station Initiative . The stations receiving renovations are 34th Street–Penn Station , 72nd Street , 86th Street , Cathedral Parkway–110th Street , and 163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue . Updates included cellular service, Wi-Fi, USB charging stations, interactive service advisories and maps, improved signage, and improved station lighting. As part of
17019-499: The early 21st century, the shuttle station was reconfigured. Excluding closed platforms, the Flushing Line and shuttle stations have one island platform and two tracks, while the Broadway Line and Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line have two island platforms and four tracks. All platforms and most of the station complex is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 , except for the IND passageway, which has steep ramps at both ends. The Times Square–42nd Street complex, including
17202-405: The entire length of the subway to use Broadway, but the "awkward alignment...along Forty-Second Street", as the commission put it, was necessitated by objections to using the southernmost section of Broadway. Legal challenges were resolved near the end of 1899. The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont Jr. , signed the initial Contract 1 with
17385-584: The exceptions being the G train, the Franklin Avenue Shuttle , and the Rockaway Park Shuttle . Large portions of the subway outside Manhattan are elevated, on embankments , or in open cuts , and a few stretches of track run at ground level; 40% of track is above ground. Many lines and stations have both express and local services. These lines have three or four tracks. Normally, the outer two are used by local trains, while
17568-417: The existing IRT line by June 1915, and workers were laying tracks for the new tunnel by 1916. The Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line station opened on June 3, 1917, as part of an extension of the IRT to South Ferry . A shuttle service ran between Times Square and Penn Station until the rest of the extension opened a year later on July 1, 1918. Afterward, the shuttle ran from Times Square to South Ferry. On August 1,
17751-409: The express (outer) tracks lower below the local tracks, forming another double-decker tunnel, this time under St. Nicholas Avenue . North of 145th Street , the lower (express) tracks rise into the center, and the three-track IND Concourse Line enters St. Nicholas Avenue below the four-track Eighth Avenue Line. 145th Street is a two-level transfer station, with two island platforms on each level. To
17934-728: The express stations (at Fulton, 14th, 42nd, and 59th Streets) were built with long mezzanines so that passengers could walk the entire length of the mezzanines without having to pay a fare. It was proposed to develop the mezzanines of these four stations with shops, so that they would become retail corridors, similar to the underground mall of the under-construction Rockefeller Center . The new subway required 800 cars and 1,500 staff. In June 1932, The New York Times reported that seven-car express trains would run between 168th and Chambers Streets, while five-car local trains would run between 207th and Chambers Streets. Both express and local trains would run at intervals of four to twelve minutes depending on
18117-554: The express tracks east under Fulton Street to Jay Street–Borough Hall in Brooklyn, was opened for the morning rush hour on February 1, 1933, with the exception of the station at High Street , which opened on June 24, 1933. Initially, only the Fulton Street entrance was open; the Adams Street entrance would open later once its escalators were completed. The Jay–Smith–Ninth Street Line opened on March 20, 1933, extending
18300-665: The express tracks. The two express tracks turn east under Fulton Street , crossing the East River through the Cranberry Street Tunnel into Cranberry Street in Brooklyn. Cranberry Street leads to High Street , from which the line turns south into Jay Street, straddled by the two-track IND Sixth Avenue Line from the Rutgers Street Tunnel . The Eighth and Sixth Avenue Lines end, becoming the IND Fulton Street Line and IND Culver Line , at crossovers (currently unused) allowing trains to switch between
18483-630: The first subway line was completed in 1908, the station was served by local trains along both the West Side (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street ) and East Side (now the Lenox Avenue Line ). West Side local trains had their southern terminus at City Hall during rush hours and South Ferry at other times, and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street. East Side local trains ran from City Hall to Lenox Avenue (145th Street) . To address overcrowding, in 1909,
18666-482: The five-cent fare of the time, or 10¢ ($ 3 in 2023 dollars ). In 1940, the city bought the two private systems. Some elevated lines ceased service immediately while others closed soon after. Integration was slow, but several connections were built between the IND and BMT. These now operate as one division, called the B Division . Since the former IRT tunnels are narrower, have sharper curves, and shorter station platforms, they cannot accommodate B Division cars, and
18849-400: The former IRT remains its own division, the A Division . Many passenger transfers between stations of all three former companies have been created, allowing the entire network to be treated as a single unit. During the late 1940s, the system recorded high ridership, and on December 23, 1946, the system-wide record of 8,872,249 fares was set. The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA),
19032-435: The four-track IND Sixth Avenue Line . The two-level West Fourth Street–Washington Square station allows easy transfers between the two lines. Just to the south are track connections between the local tracks of each line, not used by current normal service patterns. The Sixth Avenue Line turns east into Houston Street after passing the connections. Canal Street , under Sixth Avenue, is the last normal four-track station on
19215-476: The guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The 42nd Street Shuttle became ADA-accessible, the shuttle was reconfigured from three tracks to two tracks, and the trains became six cars long. A new platform, 28 feet (8.5 m) wide and located between tracks 1 and 4, was built along the section of the shuttle that runs under 42nd Street, which is located within a straight tunnel. The whole project
19398-559: The hurricane included the restoration of the new South Ferry station from 2012 to 2017; the full closure of the Montague Street Tunnel from 2013 to 2014; and the partial 14th Street Tunnel shutdown from 2019 to 2020. Annual ridership on the New York City Subway system, which totaled nearly 1.7 billion in 2019, declined dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic and did not surpass one billion again until 2022. When
19581-706: The inner one or two are used by express trains. As of 2018 , the New York City Subway's budgetary burden for expenditures was $ 8.7 billion, supported by collection of fares, bridge tolls, and earmarked regional taxes and fees, as well as direct funding from state and local governments. Alfred Ely Beach built the first demonstration for an underground transit system in New York City in 1869 and opened it in February 1870. His Beach Pneumatic Transit only extended 312 feet (95 m) under Broadway in Lower Manhattan operating from Warren Street to Murray Street and exhibited his idea for an atmospheric railway as
19764-689: The latter of which would have had connections to the IND Crosstown Line and a major junction to the IND Houston Street Line , the IND Utica Avenue Line, and a connection to the Rockaways. In March 1930, public hearings were held by the BOT concerning the construction and planning of this line. At the March 12 hearing, the project's construction was endorsed by east side civic organizations. In June 1930,
19947-463: The line at the beginning of 2017. 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 City, routings change often, for various reasons. Within the nomenclature of the subway , the "line" describes the physical railroad track or series of tracks that a train "route" uses on its way from one terminal to another. "Routes" (also called "services") are distinguished by
20130-416: The line beyond Jay Street–Borough Hall. When the subway opened in 1932, express ( A ) and local ( AA ) trains served the line; expresses did not run during late nights or Sundays. Expresses and late night/Sunday locals were sent south into Brooklyn on February 1, 1933, and, when the IND Concourse Line opened on July 1, 1933, the C was added to the express service, while all locals became CC trains to
20313-426: The line is chained as Line "A", with tracks A1, A3, A4, and A2 from west to east, running from approximately 800 at the south end to 1540 at the north end (measured in hectofeet). The whole line is served at all times by the A train, which runs express except during late nights. The C provides local service south of 168th Street while the A runs express. In addition, the B provides weekday local service and
20496-414: The line. Crossovers in each direction, beyond the station, take C and late night A trains between the local tracks to the north and the express tracks to the south. As the subway turns from Sixth Avenue into Church Street , the southbound local track passes under the express tracks, bringing E trains to the east. At this point, a bellmouth originally intended for the never-built IND Worth Street Line
20679-403: The lines and leased them to the companies. 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 but stayed within the core of the city due to its small startup capital. This required it to be run 'at cost', necessitating fares up to double
20862-400: The longest station along the line at 1,115 feet (340 m), was expected to be a major express station with large platforms, so the platforms were staggered away from each other in order to avoid going under property lines. Additionally, several workers died in cave-ins during construction. In the summer of 1926 the BOT held a public hearing and agreed upon the details of the construction of
21045-427: The main mezzanine areas and are signed as only serving certain services. At 40th Street and Seventh Avenue, one stair goes into a building at the southwest corner, and one street stair goes to the southeast corner. These serve a mezzanine above the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms and are signed as serving the 1, 2, 3, 7, and S trains. One street stair rises to each of the corners of 40th Street and Broadway, serving
21228-538: The mezzanine for performers. Near the south end of the BMT platforms, there is a smaller mezzanine overhead, which leads to exits at 40th Street. Under the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms, but above the Flushing Line platforms, is a lower mezzanine level extending from west to east. This mezzanine connects to a steep ramp that leads to the passageway to the IND Eighth Avenue Line platforms. A 600-foot-long passageway under 41st Street connects
21411-483: The new control area. Two new mosaics by Nick Cave, titled "Equal All" and "Each One", were installed as part of the project. The northern section of the original west platform wall dating from 1904 was removed, and One Times Square 's owner Jamestown Properties built elevators connecting the station to the street. The wall was broken into sections and moved to the New York Transit Museum to mitigate
21594-421: The new staircase entrance and Jamestown paid $ 10 million for the elevator. In the late 2000s, the MTA began construction on an extension of the IRT Flushing Line to 34th Street, which would require demolishing the lower level of the 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station. By January 2010, the lower level platform was being demolished as part of the Flushing Line extension, which slopes down through where
21777-488: The north end of Fort Washington Avenue , which it follows to roughly 175th Street before turning southeast under private property. The small 174th Street Yard lies under Broadway, with two tracks exiting to the south under that roadway. When the George Washington Bridge was designed in the 1920s, provisions were made for a lower deck that would carry these two tracks north from the yard and across
21960-512: The northern terminal of a shuttle service running south to Rector Street . Through service began operating in July 1919 when the line was extended northward. The Dual Contracts also included completing and opening the Steinway Tunnel as part of the new Flushing subway line . The tunnel, running under the East River with trolley loops on both the Manhattan and Queens sides, had sat unused since 1907, when test runs had been performed in
22143-542: The northwest and southwest corners of Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street. The southwest-corner entrance at 5 Times Square has both escalators and stairs . The northwest-corner entrance in 3 Times Square only has stairs because the MTA allowed the building's developer Rudin Management to pay $ 1.3 million instead of adding two escalators. The second phase cost $ 91 million. This phase included converting 7,000 sq ft (650 m) of storage rooms to offices; widening
22326-467: The northwestern corner of Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street through the Rialto Building, on the site of the Rialto Theatre . The city government took over the BMT's operations on June 1, 1940. At midnight, a ceremony commemorating the transfer, with five hundred people in attendance, was held at the Times Square station. The last BMT train had left the 57th Street station five minutes earlier. When
22509-420: The number of sharp corners would be reduced. In addition, there would be new elevators to make the station compliant with the for Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 , new escalators , and wider corridors and stairs. William Nicholas Bodouva & Associates designed the materials for the renovation. Slattery Skanska, a firm owned by Slattery Associates and Skanska , received an $ 82.8 million contract for
22692-428: The old lower level platform was. On September 13, 2015, the Flushing Line was extended one stop west from Times Square to 34th Street–Hudson Yards . In February 2022, the MTA announced that the IRT Flushing Line platforms would receive platform screen doors as part of a pilot program. The announcement came after several people had been shoved onto tracks, including one incident that led to the death of Michelle Go on
22875-485: The original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from City Hall to 145th Street on the West Side Branch. Prior to the subway station's opening, Times Square had been renamed from Long Acre Square to give the station a distinctive name. Within three years of the line's opening, the Times Square station was the city's third-busiest subway station, and its busiest local station, with 30,000 daily riders. After
23058-565: The original line from Vanderbilt to Fifth Avenue. The contractors had completed the tunnels to Fifth Avenue by May 1923, and the Fifth Avenue station opened on March 22, 1926, as the temporary western terminus of the line. In fall 1926, it was announced that the line would be completed by January 1, 1927. In June 1926, the Ascher Company was awarded a contract to complete the Flushing Line's Times Square station. On February 8, 1927,
23241-400: The original subway tunnel at a flat junction near 45th Street, necessitating that the new station be placed between 40th and 42nd Streets. The PSC awarded a $ 2.2 million contract to an IRT subsidiary, and the Board of Estimate approved the contract the next month. The next contract to be awarded was for the section between 42nd and 44th Streets. The Oscar Daniels Company submitted a low bid for
23424-412: The passageway included an entrance on 41st Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. Passengers had to pay an additional fare to transfer to and from the IND. In Fiscal Year 1937, the express-track side of the southbound Broadway–Seventh Avenue platform was extended 6.5 feet (2.0 m) to the south to provide ample space at the center door of ten-car trains. In addition, the IRT opened a new entrance to
23607-476: The passageway under 41st Street. Park Tower Realty, which had committed to developing four buildings in the redevelopment, would have paid for 60 percent of the project's cost, while the New York City Transit Authority would have provided $ 45 million and the city would have provided $ 10 million. The project was canceled in August 1992 after Prudential Insurance and Park Tower Realty was given permission to postpone
23790-404: The perception of being more geographically inaccurate than the diagrams today. The design of the subway map by Massimo Vignelli , published by the MTA between 1972 and 1979, has become a modern classic but the MTA deemed the map flawed due to its placement of geographical elements. A late night-only version of the map was introduced on January 30, 2012. On September 16, 2011, the MTA introduced
23973-568: The plan said it would cause large amounts of confusion, as Times Square was a "natural" transfer point. In February 1914, the PSC ordered the BRT to make the Broadway Line's 42nd Street station an express station. The change was made at the insistence of Brooklynites who wanted an express station in the Theater District of Manhattan. The BRT station was to have two small mezzanines above the platforms, one each at 40th and 42nd Streets, but local civic group Broadway Association advocated for
24156-497: The platforms were lengthened at Spring Street and Canal Street to 660 feet (200 m) to allow E trains to run eleven-car trains. The E began running eleven-car trains during rush hours on September 8, 1953. The extra train car increased the total carrying capacity by 4,000 passengers. The lengthening project cost $ 400,000. Southbound E trains began stopping at the lower level of the 42nd Street station during rush hours on March 23, 1970, to reduce delays by relieving congestion on
24339-486: The project was originally scheduled to be awarded in June 2018. This was delayed by several months because of changes to the project schedule and cost. The construction duration was expected to be extended by three months, and the cost would increase by $ 25 million, because of additions to the original construction plan. A construction contract was awarded in March 2019, with an estimated completion date of March 2022. The shuttle
24522-549: The proposed IND Eighth Avenue Line . On November 22, 1921, the Powers-Kennedy Contracting Corporation was awarded a contract to construct the extension on a low bid of $ 3,867,138, below the estimated cost of over $ 4 million. This low bid was the narrowest margin ever recorded for any large city contract, beating out the next highest bidder by 0.7 percent. While the contractor was provided four years to complete work, engineers expected to reduce
24705-437: The record, over 6.2 million, was set on October 29, 2015. The system is also one of the world's longest. Overall, the system contains 248 miles (399 km) of routes, translating into 665 miles (1,070 km) of revenue track and a total of 850 miles (1,370 km) including non-revenue trackage . Of the system's 28 routes or "services" (which usually share track or "lines" with other services), 25 pass through Manhattan,
24888-479: The renovations, 72nd Street was closed from May 7, 2018 to October 4, 2018, and 86th Street was closed from June 4, 2018 to October 26, 2018. In addition, the Cathedral Parkway–110th Street station was closed from April 9, 2018 to the week of September 2–4, 2018, and 163rd Street was closed from March 12, 2018 to September 27, 2018. The IND Worth Street Line was a proposed major expansion of
25071-446: The rest of the station complex, and was closed in 1989 due to very low usage. A street stair to the northeastern corner of 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue, by One Times Square , was closed around 1998–2000. Two stairs to the northeastern corner of 41st Street and Seventh Avenue were closed during the same time, as were stairs to both western corners of that intersection. In 2019, a stair to the southwestern corner of 43rd Street and Broadway
25254-447: The rest reopened in September 2002, along with service south of Chambers Street. Cortlandt Street reopened in September 2018. In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy flooded several underwater tunnels and other facilities near New York Harbor , as well as trackage over Jamaica Bay . The immediate damage was fixed within six months, but long-term resiliency and rehabilitation projects continued for several years. The recovery projects after
25437-477: The routes proposed over the decades have never seen construction, discussion remains strong to develop some of these lines, to alleviate existing subway capacity constraints and overcrowding, the most notable being the proposals for the Second Avenue Subway . Plans for new lines date back to the early 1910s, and expansion plans have been proposed during many years of the system's existence. After
25620-403: The routes that would normally run on these lines. The Transit Authority announces planned service changes through its website, via placards that are posted on station and interior subway-car walls, and through its Twitter page. Current official transit maps of the New York City Subway are based on a 1979 design by Michael Hertz Associates . The maps are not geographically accurate due to
25803-575: The second worst in New York City history (the worst being the Malbone Street Wreck in Brooklyn, which killed at least 93). Also planned under the Dual Contracts was the Broadway Line of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT; after 1923, the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation or BMT). The Broadway Line station was planned as a local station, with the express station to be located between 47th and 49th Streets. Opponents of
25986-493: The services in the complex. There are two exits inside buildings on 42nd Street west of Seventh Avenue: the north side within 3 Times Square and the south side within 5 Times Square. On the south side of 42nd Street between Seventh Avenue and Broadway, there is an elevator and escalator bank inside the Times Square Tower. The street level fare control at this site features restored original "Times Square" mosaics from
26169-426: The south, the Concourse Line tracks rise and merge with the Eighth Avenue Line, carrying the B onto the local tracks and the D onto the express tracks. The resulting four-track line continues south under St. Nicholas Avenue and Eighth Avenue (Frederick Douglass Boulevard), which becomes Central Park West at 110th Street . Most of the line under Central Park West is built on two levels with both local tracks to
26352-426: The southern mezzanine above the Broadway Line platforms. Those entrances are signed as serving the N, Q, R, W, and S trains. There are several closed exits throughout the station complex. Until 1981, there was a stair to the southeastern corner of 41st Street and 8th Avenue. Another stair rose to the south side of 41st Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the passageway between the Eighth Avenue Line station and
26535-480: The station on October 12, 1960, injured 33 passengers. In September 2009, Najibullah Zazi and alleged co-conspirators planned suicide bombings on subway trains near this station and the Grand Central–42nd Street station , but the plot was discovered before they could carry it out. There was also a bombing on December 11, 2017, during the morning rush hour, when a pipe bomb device partially detonated in
26718-497: The station's platforms. On August 28, 1977, late night AA service was eliminated. The A began making local stops in Manhattan during late nights, when the AA was not running. On May 6, 1985, the IND practice of using double letters to indicate local service was discontinued. The AA was renamed the K and rush hour CC service was renamed C. This change was not officially reflected in schedules until May 24, 1987. On December 10, 1988,
26901-586: The station's renovation in December 1998. Bovis Lend Lease and CTE Engineers served as construction managers for the first two phases of the project. The renovation of the complex began when the entrances at the northwest and southwest corners of 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue were temporarily closed in May 1999. Phase 1 of the project cost $ 85 million and entailed expanding the main entrance on 42nd Street by 10 feet (3.0 m); making passageways as much as 6 feet (1.8 m) wider; and constructing new entrances in nearby office buildings. New entrances were added on
27084-461: The stations with the most crime. On August 1, 1988, the passageway between the IND Eighth Avenue Line station and the IRT/BMT complex was finally placed within fare control. The two previously-separate stations had the highest crime rates in the system at the time. The Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), an agency of the New York state government, had proposed redeveloping the area around
27267-512: The street south of Eighth Street), and to provide access to the Holland Tunnel . The construction of the extension was completed in 1930. The city condemned entire lots, displacing 10,000 people, to build the extension and used leftover land for parks. The stations on the line were built with 600 feet (180 m) long platforms, but they had provisions to lengthen them to 660 feet (200 m) to accommodate eleven-car trains. Four of
27450-413: The street was not affected by the construction. $ 9,631,760 was awarded to 161 property owners whose property had been taken. 168,888 square feet of land had to be acquired to widen Church Street between Park Place and Canal Street. In 1926 construction began on the extension of Sixth Avenue south from Carmine Street to Canal Street, to allow for the construction of the Eighth Avenue Line (which runs under
27633-408: The subway line under Church Street . As part of the construction of the line, Church Street was widened from being 40 feet (12 m) wide to being 90 feet (27 m) wide to accommodate the subway underneath and was connected with a southern diagonal extension of Sixth Avenue, which was 100 feet (30 m). Had the street not been widened the construction would have cost an additional $ 7 million for
27816-508: The subway system runs on surface or elevated tracks, including steel or cast-iron elevated structures , concrete viaducts , embankments , open cuts and surface routes. As of 2019 , there are 168 miles (270 km) of elevated tracks. All of these construction methods are completely grade-separated from road and pedestrian crossings, and most crossings of two subway tracks are grade-separated with flying junctions . The sole exceptions of at-grade junctions of two lines in regular service are
27999-490: The system's opening. After the New York City Board of Aldermen renamed Longacre Square to Times Square, in April 1904, the Rapid Transit Commission agreed to rename the subway station at Broadway and 42nd Street as the "Times Station". As late as October 26, 1904, the day before the subway was scheduled to open, the walls and ceilings were incomplete. The Times Square station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of
28182-483: The then-nearly-complete tunnel. The route, traveling under 41st and 42nd Streets in Manhattan, was to go from Times Square through the tunnel over to Long Island City and from there continue toward Flushing . The section of the tunnel between Grand Central–42nd Street and Queens had opened on June 22, 1915. In July 1920, the PSC announced it would extend the Flushing Line two stops west to Times Square, with an intermediate station under Bryant Park. On November 9, 1921,
28365-462: The third phase of the station's renovation, the shuttle platform would have been relocated 250 feet (76 m), and a new island platform for the shuttle would have been created. By 2004, the work was planned to be completed in 2006 at a cost of $ 85 million. Although planning had been completed in 2006, the project was delayed due to a lack of funding. As part of the 2015–2019 Capital Program, the MTA scheduled some improvements to make it accessible under
28548-478: The time needed to do so to as little as three years. Since work on the project had to be completed underneath the foundations of several large buildings, such as theatres, and the north end of the New York Public Library, the contractor had to provide a $ 1 million bond. Powers-Kennedy started excavating the line westward from Grand Central in May 1922. The Flushing Line extension was to run beneath
28731-482: The time of day. The new IND subway line also used a five-color pattern of tiles to facilitate navigation for travelers going away from Manhattan; the colors of the tiles changed at each express station. The majority of the Eighth Avenue Line, from Chambers Street north to 207th Street , was opened to the public just after midnight on September 10, 1932, after three days of operation on a normal schedule but without passengers. The Cranberry Street Tunnel , extending
28914-451: The train arrived at Times Square, BMT president William S. Menden handed over his company's properties to Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia , who then gave them to New York City Board of Transportation chairman John H. Delaney. The city government then took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940. The Board of Transportation operated the New York City transit system until the creation of the New York City Transit Authority in 1953. As part of
29097-516: The two, located between High Street and Jay Street–MetroTech . Both the A and C trains continue along the Fulton Street Line. As early as March 1918, soon after the BMT Broadway Line opened to Times Square–42nd Street , plans were being considered for an extension of that line beyond the stubs at 57th Street–Seventh Avenue to the Upper West Side and Washington Heights via Central Park West (Eighth Avenue). On August 3, 1923,
29280-625: The underground portions of the subway had yet to be built, several above-ground segments of the modern-day New York City Subway system were already in service by then. The oldest structure still in use opened in 1885 as part of the BMT Lexington Avenue Line in Brooklyn and is now part of the BMT Jamaica Line . The oldest right-of-way, which is part of the BMT West End Line near Coney Island Creek ,
29463-542: The union's founding, there have been three union strikes over contract disputes with the MTA: 12 days in 1966 , 11 days in 1980 , and three days in 2005 . By the 1970s and 1980s, the New York City Subway was at an all-time low. Ridership had dropped to 1910s levels, and graffiti and crime were rampant. Maintenance was poor, and delays and track problems were common. Still, the NYCTA managed to open six new subway stations in
29646-511: The west and only local stations. The two northbound tracks are above the two southbound tracks. Approaching 59th Street–Columbus Circle , where Central Park West becomes Eighth Avenue, the subway again spreads out into a single four-track level. A flying junction south of 59th Street takes B and D trains east under 53rd Street , merging with two tracks from 57th Street to become the four-track IND Sixth Avenue Line . The two-track IND Queens Boulevard Line , also in 53rd Street, curves south into
29829-448: The west platform control area were replicated. To reference portions of the original tracks located at tracks 2 and 3, the granite paving for the shuttle platform was modified with a veneer steel rail. These 60 foot (18 m) long sections are located on the new platform between tracks 1 and 4. Finally, a plaque describing the history of the station was installed underneath the replicated Knickerbocker lintel. The construction contract for
30012-511: The western corners of 41st Street and Broadway, and two entrances at the northeastern corner of 41st Street and Seventh Avenue. The project was expected to reduce crowding on the 42nd Street Shuttle by enabling riders to use the Queensboro Subway to directly access Times Square. 24,000 of the estimated 100,000 daily shuttle riders transferred to and from the Queensboro Subway. The line was to extend as far as Eighth Avenue to connect with
30195-401: The western terminal for all 42nd Street Shuttle trains. A free passageway from the shuttle platform to the 42nd Street–Bryant Park/Fifth Avenue station, served by the 7 , <7> , B , D , F , <F> , and M trains, is open during the day from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. The present shuttle platforms were built for
30378-554: The word "Subway", as well as an elevator and escalators. In July 1998, the MTA started accepting bids for the renovation of the Times Square station. The first phase would include renovating the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms, part of the Broadway Line platforms, and the mezzanine, while the second phase would cover the rest of the station. The goal was to reduce congestion and improve rider access, comfort and safety by improving visual lines and increasing pedestrian capacity. The main corridor would be widened 15 feet (4.6 m) and
30561-721: The work. The foundations of tall buildings often ran near the subway construction, and in some cases needed underpinning to ensure stability. This method worked well for digging soft dirt and gravel near the street surface. Tunnelling shields were required for deeper sections, such as the Harlem and East River tunnels, which used cast-iron tubes. Rock or concrete-lined tunnels were used on segments from 33rd to 42nd streets under Park Avenue ; 116th to 120th Streets under Broadway ; 145th to Dyckman Streets (Fort George) under Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue ; and 96th Street and Broadway to Central Park North and Lenox Avenue . About 40% of
30744-488: The yard tracks at 168th Street . The local/express split begins here, with the local tracks coming from the yard and the express tracks coming from Inwood. Contrary to standard practice, the two local tracks are in the center and the two express tracks are on the outside. Except during late nights, the local service ( C ) ends at 168th Street, reversing direction on the yard tracks; the A runs to 207th Street at all times, express except during late nights. South of 168th Street,
30927-533: The year throughout most of its history, barring emergencies and disasters. By annual ridership, the New York City Subway is the busiest rapid transit system in both the Western Hemisphere and the Western world , as well as the eleventh-busiest rapid transit rail system in the world. The subway carried 2,027,286,000 unlinked, non-unique riders in 2023. Daily ridership has been calculated since 1985;
31110-538: The years, the MTA has been involved in a number of lawsuits over the lack of accessibility in its stations. The Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association filed what may have been the first of these suits in 1979, based on state law. The lawsuits have relied on a number of different legal bases, but most have centered around the MTA's failure to include accessibility as a part of its plans for remodeling various stations. As of January 2022 , ADA-accessibility projects are expected to be started or completed at 51 stations as part of
31293-447: Was closed as part of the shuttle modernization project. Many of the station's entrances were historically constructed within other buildings. New York City Subway July 3, 1868 ; 156 years ago ( 1868-07-03 ) (first elevated, rapid transit operation) [REDACTED] The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the boroughs of Manhattan , Brooklyn , Queens , and
31476-504: Was constructed as part of the route segment underneath 42nd Street and Times Square, which extended from Park Avenue and 41st Street to Broadway and 47th Street. Construction on this section of the line began on February 25, 1901. Work for that section had been awarded to Degnon-McLean. By late 1903, the subway was nearly complete, but the IRT Powerhouse and the system's electrical substations were still under construction, delaying
31659-406: Was expected to cost $ 235.41 million. The Times Square shuttle platform was extended 360 feet (110 m) east to allow for a second point of entry at Sixth Avenue, with a connection to the IND Sixth Avenue Line , as well a second connection to the IRT Flushing Line via its Fifth Avenue station . The entire Times Square station was rehabilitated with congestion mitigation measures. A wider stairway
31842-484: Was extended to 168th Street to allow A trains to run express. Beginning April 30, 1995, C service was extended to 168th Street during middays as construction on the Manhattan Bridge cut B service from Manhattan. On November 11, 1995, midday service was cut back to 145th Street after B service to 168th Street was restored. The change was made to reduce crowding on the C and to reduce passenger confusion about
32025-434: Was held at St. Nicholas Avenue and 123rd Street on March 14, 1925. Most of the Eighth Avenue Line was dug using a cheap cut-and-cover method, where the street above was excavated. Still, the construction of the line was difficult, as it had to go under or over several subway lines. At 59th Street–Columbus Circle , workers had to be careful to not disrupt the existing IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line overhead. 42nd Street ,
32208-930: Was in use in 1864 as a steam railroad called the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road . The first underground line of the subway opened on October 27, 1904, almost 36 years after the opening of the first elevated line in New York City (which became the IRT Ninth Avenue Line ). The 9.1-mile (14.6 km) subway line, then called the "Manhattan Main Line", ran from City Hall station northward under Lafayette Street (then named Elm Street) and Park Avenue (then named Fourth Avenue) before turning westward at 42nd Street . It then curved northward again at Times Square , continuing under Broadway before terminating at 145th Street station in Harlem . Its operation
32391-481: Was installed from the shuttle mezzanine to street level, and a new control area was installed at the bottom of the stairway. The cost of this part of the project is $ 30 million. In conjunction, a second project added access to the Times Square complex. As part of the project, the eastern platform was closed to public access, and the exit to 43rd Street was closed, covered over, and turned into an emergency exit, starting on October 19, 2019. This entrance would be replaced by
32574-535: Was kept only during rush hours to provide local service south past 59th Street. Additionally the C became a rush hour-only service, replaced by a full-time D over the express tracks between the Concourse and Sixth Avenue Lines. This created the pattern that has remained to this day, with five services during normal hours: the A express, B part-time local via Sixth Avenue (then BB), C local (then AA and CC), D express via Sixth Avenue, and E local from Queens. In 1953,
32757-412: Was leased to the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), and over 150,000 passengers paid the 5-cent fare ($ 2 in 2023 dollars ) to ride it on the first day of operation. By the late 1900s and early 1910s, the lines had been consolidated into two privately owned systems, the IRT and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT, later Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation , BMT). The city built most of
32940-465: Was opened, connecting the IND Eighth Avenue Line 's 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station and the IRT platforms, with a new entrance at West 41st Street between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue. The passageway was located outside a fare control, and passengers had to pay an extra fare to transfer between the IND and the IRT station. The free transfer between the IRT and BMT was added on July 1, 1948. The block-long passageway that runs west to
33123-417: Was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent. Platforms at local stations, such as the Times Square station, were lengthened by between 20 and 30 feet (6.1 and 9.1 m). The northbound platform was extended to the north and south, while the southbound platform was lengthened to the south, necessitating a reconfiguration of
33306-439: Was temporarily closed in mid-2020 for this work. The new platform opened on September 7, 2021, along with the passageway to the 42nd Street–Bryant Park station. This made the shuttle station ADA-accessible; though the passageway was not yet accessible, elevators were planned for its Bryant Park end. The new $ 40 million station entrance, including the new elevator, formally opened on May 16, 2022. The MTA spent $ 30 million to construct
33489-410: Was to be part of the city-operated IND, and was to comprise almost 1 ⁄ 3 of the current subway system. By 1939, with unification planned, all three systems were included within the plan, which was ultimately never carried out. Many different plans were proposed over the years of the subway's existence, but expansion of the subway system mostly stopped during World War II . Though most of
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