91-496: The IRT Dyre Avenue Line (formerly the IND Dyre Avenue–East 174th Street Line ) is a New York City Subway rapid transit line, part of the A Division . It is a branch of the IRT White Plains Road Line in the northeastern section of the Bronx , north of East 180th Street . As of 2013, it has a daily ridership of 34,802. The line is the only remaining portion of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway (NYW&B). The NYW&B opened in 1912, providing service from
182-532: 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
273-678: A 1929 expansion plan included a line along Morris Park Avenue, Wilson Avenue and Boston Road to Baychester Avenue, fed by the IND Second Avenue Line . When the IND Concourse Line was being built, the City, as part of the 1929 expansion plan, planned the line to be extended further east via Burke Avenue and Boston Road to Baychester Avenue. However, due to the Great Depression, money for the line ran out, and as
364-497: 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
455-628: 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 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
546-769: 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
637-542: 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
728-750: A result the integration of the NYW&;B line was seen as a cheaper way to serve the Northeast Bronx. In 1939, after abandonment, the plan was to integrate the former NYW&B to Dyre Avenue into the IRT system branching off the IRT Pelham Line as the Westchester and Boston Line . It was later decided to only utilize the line north of the East 180th Street station, even though the line continued to
819-481: 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. Interborough Rapid Transit Company The Interborough Rapid Transit Company ( IRT )
910-531: A station opened at East 180th Street, where passengers could connect with the IRT White Plains Road Line and go into Manhattan and various surface lines. Express trains stopped within the Bronx only at Pelham Parkway and East 180th Street. The NYW&B was abandoned on December 31, 1937 due to bankruptcy . Plans were made for a parallel subway line even before the NYW&B's abandonment;
1001-482: 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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#17327646500421092-547: 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, 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
1183-497: 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
1274-573: Is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the boroughs of Manhattan , Brooklyn , Queens , and 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
1365-489: 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
1456-554: Is currently in the process of demolition. The other portion has been extended to the northern end of Pelham Parkway in conjunction to the signal modernization project on the line. The north end of the line is a simple two-track stub just below the Bronx County line, which is used to store trains, with crossover tracks south of Dyre Avenue terminal. The south end is a flying junction (the Dyre Avenue Flyover), into
1547-688: Is entirely elevated except for a short portion approaching its East River tunnel and its terminal at Flushing–Main Street (the whole Manhattan portion of the line is underground). The Flushing Line has had no track connection to the rest of the IRT since 1942, when service on the Second Avenue El was discontinued. It is connected to the BMT and the rest of the system via the BMT Astoria Line on
1638-406: 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
1729-427: 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
1820-554: 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
1911-577: 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
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#17327646500422002-600: 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
2093-548: 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
2184-592: The A Division or IRT Division of the Subway. The first IRT subway ran between City Hall and 145th Street at Broadway , opening on October 27, 1904. It opened following more than twenty years of public debate on the merits of subways versus the existing elevated rail system and on various proposed routes. Founded on May 6, 1902, by August Belmont, Jr. , the IRT's mission was to operate New York City's initial underground rapid transit system after Belmont's and John B. McDonald 's Rapid Transit Construction Company
2275-706: 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
2366-549: 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
2457-719: 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,
2548-672: 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
2639-612: 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
2730-564: The Third Avenue Elevated to use on the line. On March 19, 1941, a trailing point was built in from the existing White Plains Road Line to the former Track 3 of the NYW&B just north of the East 180th Street station, near the original IRT tower, and under the present Bronx River Parkway bridge. This granted access to the newly BOT-owned line for construction purposes, specifically re-electrification and signaling. The first train, an official train consisting of four cars with
2821-492: The United States Supreme Court . The IRT ceased to function as a privately held company on June 12, 1940, when its properties and operations were acquired by the City of New York. Today, the IRT lines are operated as the A Division of the subway. The remaining lines are underground in Manhattan, except for a short stretch across Harlem at 125th Street and in northern Manhattan. Its many lines in
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2912-509: 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; 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
3003-570: 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,
3094-410: 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
3185-450: 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
3276-415: 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,
3367-524: 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
3458-506: The Bronx are predominantly elevated, with some subway, and some railroad-style right-of-way acquired from the defunct New York, Westchester and Boston Railway , which now constitutes the IRT Dyre Avenue Line . Its Brooklyn lines are underground with a single elevated extension that reaches up to New Lots Avenue , and the other reaching Flatbush Avenue via the underground Nostrand Avenue Line . The Flushing Line , its sole line in Queens ,
3549-542: 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,
3640-635: The Dyre Avenue Line at East 180th Street and the Penn Central (former New Haven Railroad) was discontinued on August 12, 1975, and the third rail was removed south of the station in 1979, where retired IRT subway cars were stored, and as of 1979 the physical connection between the line and what is now the Amtrak Northeast Corridor / CSX was permanently removed. The elevated structure between East 177th and Lebanon Streets
3731-423: The Dyre Avenue Line to Dyre Avenue. The line is still operated as a shuttle late nights. In 1986, the New York City Transit Authority launched a study to determine whether to close 79 stations on 11 routes, including the entire Dyre Avenue Line, due to low ridership and high repair costs. Numerous figures, including New York City Council member Carol Greitzer , criticized the plans. The siding connection between
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3822-710: The Harlem River Terminal paralleling the New Haven Railroad (NHRR) right-of-way. However, a track connection to the NHRR was built in 1955 for equipment and material transfer and interchanges, including new car deliveries. The R17s were delivered via this connection in 1955, and the R33/R36s were delivered via the connection in February 1964. The New York City Board of Transportation (BOT) bought
3913-542: The Harlem River to White Plains and New Rochelle (eventually to Port Chester). Service ended in 1937, and the line within New York City was acquired by the city in 1940, with shuttle service between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street beginning the following year with IRT elevated cars. Through-service to Manhattan began in 1957, and the stations on the line were upgraded. The following services use part or all of
4004-493: The IRT Dyre Avenue Line: It is served by the 5 train, which makes all stops. The line has three tracks for most of its length. A fourth track briefly joins south of Eastchester–Dyre Avenue and between Pelham Parkway and Morris Park . The southbound revenue track is a test track for new A Division trains. The fourth track (a trackbed for most of its length) was extended to test subway automation on
4095-531: The Mayor and City officials, departed from East 180th Street at 11:21 AM on May 15, 1941. Trains on the line were shuttles , with a paper transfer to the IRT White Plains Road Line at East 180th Street. When the city began operating the line it was considered as part of the IND Division internally, with IND crews operating the line, because the city takeover of the IRT and BMT required that new lines be part of
4186-610: The NYW&B within the Bronx north of East 180th Street in April 1940 for $ 1,800,000 and rehabilitated the line. The line was converted to accommodate IRT cars, and the 11,000 Volt AC power supply and the catenary were replaced by 600 Volt DC power supply via the third rails. Signals from the BMT Fulton Street Line were installed on the line. The Board of Transportation rehabilitated twenty old surplus gate cars, numbered 1580–1587, 1589–1600, and 107, that were operating on
4277-615: 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
4368-420: The alignment of NYW&B Track 2, track Y4. Third rail was installed north of East 177th Street, where the siding also swung over to the alignment of NYW&B track 4, track Y2 so as to line into the existing Y2 track at the local side of the station. In March 1954, the old gate cars were replaced by Hi-V cars. In October 1956 several Steinway cars were assigned to service on the line, and continued to serve
4459-526: 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
4550-461: The city-operated IND system. The line was known as the IND Dyre Avenue–East 174th Street Line . However, to the riding public the line was advertised as an IRT line. Shuttle trains consisting of two cars operated on the line and there was no late night service when the line opened in 1941. The fares were collected in the stations during rush hours, and by conductors on the trains when ridership
4641-410: 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
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#17327646500424732-425: 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
4823-502: 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 a subway. The tunnel was never extended for political and financial reasons. Today, no part of this line remains as
4914-482: 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
5005-400: 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),
5096-534: The former Track 3, now Y1, at East 180th Street station. By this time some middle trackage had been restored as “Y3 and Y4” through Morris Park station and south of Dyre Avenue. The Y4 siding was later extended from Morris Park toward, but not to, Pelham Parkway by July 1971. On March 28, 1955, the NYCTA contracted with the New Haven Railroad (NHRR) for the installation of a non-electrified siding coming off NHRR track 1 below East 177th Street and using what would have been
5187-559: 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
5278-551: The last wooden MUDC cars and many Hi-V Steel subway cars were scrapped and burned. The tracks south of East 180th Street were used to hold the cars before the cars were disposed of. On February 27, 1962, the Transit Authority announced a $ 700,000 modernization plan of the Dyre Avenue Line. The plan included the reconstruction of the Dyre Avenue station, and the extension of the platforms of the other four stations on
5369-463: 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
5460-421: The line and was initially used for layup and storage. In the late 1990s, the southbound express track was extended from south of Dyre Avenue and connected to the stub end track at Pelham Parkway. The southbound track at Dyre Avenue is in the position of the southbound express track, as the southbound local track is no longer present. The current platform is built over the northbound express track. Small portions of
5551-411: The line to 525 feet (160 m) to accommodate ten-car trains. At the time, the line was served by 9-car trains during the day, and 3-car shuttles overnight. Between 1954 and 1961, ridership on the line increased by 100%, owing to the development of the northeast Bronx. The Dyre Avenue station was rebuilt as part of the plan in 1963–1964. A 525 feet (160 m)-long concrete island platform was built atop
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#17327646500425642-638: The line until through service began. The Dyre Avenue Line was connected directly to the White Plains Road Line north of East 180th Street for $ 3 million and through service began on May 6, 1957. The connection was originally supposed to open in 1950. Two days prior, on May 4, 1957, the operation of the line was transferred from the IND Division to the IRT Division, making it the IRT Dyre Avenue–East 174th Street Line . The project
5733-463: The line's former northbound express track, and the wooden northbound platform was removed following the project's completion. Two new staircases were installed to the platform. A canopy was installed, covering the center of the platform, in addition to fluorescent lighting. The preexisting entrance to the station was sealed off, replaced by a new entrance on the station's west side. A new change booth and restrooms were installed. Previously, trains had used
5824-403: 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
5915-469: The lines of the former Manhattan elevateds have since been dismantled. In 1913, as a result of massive expansion in the city, the IRT signed the Dual Contracts with Brooklyn Rapid Transit (BRT) in order to expand the subway. The agreement also locked the subway fare at 5 cents for forty-nine years. The IRT unsuccessfully attempted to raise the fare to seven cents in 1929, in a case that went to
6006-608: The local tracks of the IRT White Plains Road Line (with crossovers to the express track). The Dyre Avenue Line was originally part of the four-track main line of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway , an electrified commuter line that connected White Plains and Port Chester, New York to a station at the Harlem River adjacent to the IRT Third Avenue Line . The NYW&B opened on May 29, 1912. Soon
6097-774: 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 , was in use in 1864 as a steam railroad called the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road . The first underground line of
6188-477: 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 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
6279-406: The northbound side platform as the terminal with the southbound platform unused. Remnants of the side platforms still exist. On April 18, 1965, IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line trains and IRT Lexington Avenue Line trains swapped their northern routings, with Broadway–Seventh Avenue 2 trains running via the IRT White Plains Road Line to 241st Street, and Lexington Avenue 5 trains running via
6370-475: The original side platforms remain on both sides of Dyre Avenue station. South of Dyre Avenue station, the southbound track moves over to the local position and the southbound express track begins. The northbound express track was used for storage but this use has largely been made redundant by the expansion of Unionport Yard . A small portion of this track also exists between Baychester and Dyre Avenue stations. The portion between Baychester and Dyre Avenue stations
6461-404: 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
6552-504: 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
6643-477: 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
6734-403: 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
6825-744: 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
6916-508: 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
7007-407: 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 the underground portions of the subway had yet to be built, several above-ground segments of
7098-490: 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
7189-683: The upper level of the Queensboro Plaza station. Source: Trunk lines include: Branch lines include: There were three Brooklyn lines built by the IRT: The only line in Queens is the Flushing Line ( 7 <7> trains), under 50th Avenue, and over Queens Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue . (of the East and Harlem Rivers, from south to north) Several pieces of pre-unification IRT equipment have been preserved in various museums. While some of
7280-721: 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
7371-538: 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
7462-625: Was awarded the rights to build the railway line in 1900, outbidding Andrew Onderdonk . The Manhattan Railway Company was the operator of four elevated railways in Manhattan with an extension into the Bronx . On April 1, 1903, over a year before its first subway line opened, the IRT acquired the Manhattan Railway Company by lease, gaining a monopoly on rapid transit in Manhattan. The IRT coordinated some services between what became its subway and elevated divisions, but all
7553-458: Was dismantled in the early 2000s, and housing was built on part of the former rail line's right-of-way in 2013. In 2003–2004 the former NYW&B elevated structure was demolished south of Lebanon Street. The former right-of-way was redeveloped with new buildings, and parking lots. Between 2006 and 2008, the earthen embankment from East 177th Street south to East 172nd Street at the Amtrak ROW
7644-586: 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
7735-407: Was light. The signs for stations on the Dyre Avenue Line used IND signs, with white letters on a green background. During its first year as a subway line, 637,148 riders used it. Plans for restoring the old line north into Westchester County failed. For a few years, the line retained the 11,000-volt catenary on the express tracks in case service to Westchester was resumed. After the Dyre Avenue line
7826-534: Was opened using the outer tracks (tracks Y1 and Y2), and once it was certain that service to Westchester would not be revived, the superfluous trackage from NYW&B days was removed, along with the catenary supports, for the World War II scrap drive of 1943. The connecting switch from the White Plains Road Line was not regularly used to bring in extra equipment or lay up a train on the Dyre Avenue Line itself until November 1952, and then only via new switches and
7917-402: Was operated by Seventh Avenue express trains between 5:30 AM and 8:30 PM. Between 8:30 and 1:15 shuttle trains operated from East 180th Street to Dyre Avenue, and in the early morning hours no trains operated over the line. On June 27, 1956, late-night shuttle service was implemented on a six-month trial basis. In 1957-1960, on the grounds of the former Starlight Amusement Park grounds the former
8008-416: Was started in 1949 but was delayed because the necessary subway cars for the service were not available. With the connection, the line became part of the IRT Division. Night service would continue to be operated by a shuttle. At this time, the old NYW&B station was closed and the trackage through the former station was made non-revenue, and it remains in part as a siding designated Track Y1A. Through service
8099-421: Was the private operator of New York City 's original underground subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City . The IRT was purchased by the city on June 12, 1940, along with the younger BMT and IND systems, to form the modern New York City Subway . The former IRT lines (the numbered routes in the current subway system) are now
8190-410: 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
8281-566: Was totally excavated and all that fill was removed to provide flat ground for redevelopment. The section between East 177th Street and East 174th Street was redeveloped into the Bronx Greenway– Starlight Park . A catenary signal gantry from the NYW&B was preserved and is located inside the park. New York City Subway July 3, 1868 ; 156 years ago ( 1868-07-03 ) (first elevated, rapid transit operation) [REDACTED] The New York City Subway
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