New York City Subway

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New York City Subway

Locale	New York City
Transit type	Rapid transit
Began operation	first section of subway: October 27, 1904 first elevated operation: July 3, 1868 first railroad operation: October 9, 1863[1]
System length	656 mi (1056 km) (revenue) 842 mi (1355 km) (total)
No. of lines	26
No. of stations	468
Daily ridership	5,076,000 (avg. weekday, 2006, including Staten Island Railway)[2]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) (standard gauge)
Operator	New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA)

The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as MTA New York City Transit. Together with its bus operations, it is one of the most extensive public transportation systems in the world, with 468 reported passenger stations.^[3] There are 656 miles (1056 km) of revenue track, and a total of 842 miles (1355 km) including non-revenue trackage.

Though it is known as "the subway", implying underground operations, about 40% of the system runs on above-ground right-of-way (the system is almost entirely underground in Manhattan, as well as portions in the other boroughs), including steel or cast iron elevated structures, concrete viaducts, embankments, open cuts and surface routes. 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.

Contents 1 History 2 Overview 2.1 Stations 2.2 Trains 2.3 Fare 2.4 Construction 2.5 Lines and routes 2.6 Future plans 2.6.1 Operations 2.6.2 Stations 2.6.3 Technology 2.7 Security 3 Rolling stock 4 Trivia 5 See also 6 Footnotes 7 External links

[edit] History

Main article: History of the New York City Subway

The first underground line of the subway opened on October 27, 1904, almost 35 years after the opening of the first elevated line in New York City, which became the IRT Ninth Avenue Line. The oldest structure still in use today opened in 1885 as part of the Lexington Avenue Line, and is now part of the BMT Jamaica Line in Brooklyn. The oldest right-of-way, that of the BMT West End Line, was in use in 1863 as a steam railroad called the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road. The Staten Island Railway, which opened in 1860, currently utilizes R44 subway cars, but it has no links to the rest of the system and is not usually considered part of the subway proper.

By the time the first subway opened, the lines had been consolidated into two privately owned systems, Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT, later Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation, BMT) and Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT). The city was closely involved: all lines built for the IRT and most other lines built or improved for the BRT after 1913 were built by the city and leased 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. In 1940, the two private systems were bought by the city; some elevated lines closed immediately, and others closed soon after. Integration was slow, but several connections were built between the IND and BMT, and they now operate as one division called the B Division. Since the IRT tunnel segments and stations are too narrow to accommodate B Division cars, as well as curves too sharp for B Division cars, the IRT remains its own division, A Division. C Division consists of non-revenue maintenance cars, built to IRT specs in order to provide maintenance to all of the subway system.^{[citation needed]}

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

In 1934, the BRT, IRT, and IND transit workers unionized into Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union. Since then, there have been three union strikes. In 1966, transit workers went on strike for 12 days, and again in 1980 for 11 days.^[4] On December 20, 2005, transit workers again went on strike over disputes with MTA regarding salary, pensions, retirement age, and health insurance costs. That strike lasted just under three days.

[edit] Overview

Subway stations are located throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. All services pass through Manhattan, except for the Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown Local (G), which connects Brooklyn and Queens directly without entering Manhattan, the Franklin Avenue Shuttle and the Rockaway Park Shuttle. Although four of the subway system's stations close late at night and/or on weekends, the New York City subway is among the few rapid transit systems in the world that operate 24 hours a day, along with PATH (connecting New Jersey with Manhattan) and PATCO (linking Philadelphia with southern New Jersey). (Two individual lines of the Chicago 'L' also run at all times.)^[5]

In 2005, the New York City Subway hit a 50-year record in usage, with ridership of 1.45 billion.^[6] In September 2006, average weekday ridership was 5,076,000, the highest figure since such numbers were first recorded in 1970. ^[7]

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

[edit] Stations

A typical subway station has waiting platforms ranging from 500 to 600 feet (153 to 183 m) long to accommodate large numbers of people. Passengers enter a subway station through stairs towards station booths and vending machines to buy their fare, currently via the MetroCard. After swiping the card at a turnstile, customers continue to the platforms. Some subway lines in the outer boroughs and northern Manhattan have elevated tracks with stations to which passengers climb up.

Many stations are decorated with intricate ceramic tile work, some of it dating back to 1904 when the subway first opened for business. The subway tile artwork tradition continues today.
Most stations are not handicapped accessible. The exceptions are newly constructed or extensively renovated stations called "key stations", as required by the ADA. See New York City Subway accessibility for more details.

[edit] Trains

A typical subway train has from 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) long. As a general rule, trains on the lines inherited from the IRT (designated with numbers, plus the 42nd Street Shuttle) are shorter and narrower than the trains that operate on the BMT/IND lines (designated with letters). Since the original IRT sections—with narrower tunnel segments, tighter curves, and tighter platform clearances than the BMT/IND sections—are integral parts of the modern A Division, these lines do not run the wider B Division (BMT/IND) cars, although all of the sections of the IRT built under the Dual Contracts could technically handle B Division cars. A Division trains cannot run in revenue service on B Division routes due to the large gap that would result between the platform and train. All service and maintenance trains, however, are comprised of A Division cars, as these can fit the tunnels of all lines.

[edit] Fare

From the beginning until 1948, the fare for a ride on the subway of any length was 5 cents. On July 1, 1948, the fare was increased to 10 cents, and since then has steadily risen. In 1994, the subway system introduced a fare system called the MetroCard, which allows riders to use cards that store the value equal to the amount paid to a station booth clerk or to a vending machine. The MetroCard was enhanced in 1997 to allow passengers to make free transfers between subways and buses within two hours; several MetroCard-only transfers between subways were also added. The token was phased out in 2003. The same year, the MTA raised the basic fare to $2 amid protests from passenger and advocacy groups such as the Straphangers Campaign. In 2005, the MTA increased the prices of unlimited Metrocards, but left the base fare at $2.00.

[edit] Construction

Subway tunnels were constructed using a variety of methods. When the IRT subway debuted in 1904, typical tunnel construction was the cut-and cover method. The street was torn up to dig out the tunnel below, then the street was rebuilt above. This method worked well for soft dirt and gravel near the street surface. However, thicker sections made of bedrock required tunnel boring machines.

In the early 21st century, plans resurfaced for a major expansion, the Second Avenue Line. This line had been planned as early as the 1920s but has been delayed several times since. Construction was started in the 1970s, but discontinued due to the city's fiscal crisis. Some small portions remain intact in Chinatown, the East Village, and the Upper East Side, but they are each quite short and thus remain unused.^[8]

In the mid-2000s, the MTA began a 20-year process of automating the subway. Beginning with the BMT Canarsie Line (L), the MTA has plans to eventually automate a much larger portion, using One Person Train Operation (OPTO) in conjunction with Communications-based Train Control (CBTC). Siemens Transportation Systems Group will be building the CBTC system. (A 1959 experiment in automating the 42nd Street Shuttle in New York City ended with a fire at 42nd Street–Grand Central on April 24, 1964.)

[edit] Lines and routes

Main articles: New York City Subway nomenclature and List of New York City Subway lines

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

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

For example, the "D train," "D route," or "D service," though it can be colloquially called the "D line," runs over the following "lines" on its journey:

• In the Bronx, the Concourse Line;
• In Manhattan, the Eighth Avenue Line, Sixth Avenue Line, and Chrystie Street Connection;
• In Brooklyn, the Fourth Avenue Line and West End Line.

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

Trains are marked by the service label in either black or white (for appropriate contrast) on a field in the color of its mainline. The field is enclosed in a circle for most services, or a diamond for special services, such as rush-hour only expresses on a route that ordinarily runs local. Rollsigns also typically include the service names and terminals. When the R44 and R46 cars were rebuilt the rollsigns on the side of the cars were replaced with electronic signs while the front service sign remained as a rollsign. All cars built since 1992, including the R110A, R110B, R142, R142A, R143, and R160, are equipped with digital signs on the front, sides, and interior (except for the R110B, which has rollsigns on the front). These newer cars also feature recorded announcements in lieu of conductor announcements, although live conductor announcements can still be made.

New Yorkers usually refer to each line by the designator and the word train, i.e. the "A train", which can be used to refer to both a single train, "I'm on an A train", or the route, "take the A train." New Yorkers may often shorten the expression to simply the line's designation. For example: "Take the A to the 1" would mean to "Take the A train and transfer to the 1 train." The lines are not referred to by color (e.g., Blue line or Green line), although the colors are often named through their groups ("Take the A-C-E" or "4-5-6", etc).

A Division (IRT) consists of:

Route	Line
	Broadway–Seventh Avenue Local
	Seventh Avenue Express
	Seventh Avenue Express
	Lexington Avenue Express
	Lexington Avenue Express
	Lexington Avenue Local
	Flushing Local/Express
	42nd Street Shuttle

B Division (BMT/IND) consists of:

Route	Line
	Eighth Avenue Express
	Sixth Avenue Express
	Eighth Avenue Local
	Sixth Avenue Express
	Eighth Avenue Local
	Sixth Avenue Local
	Crosstown Local
	Nassau Street Express
	Canarsie Local
	Nassau Street Local
	Broadway Express
	Broadway Express
	Broadway Local
	Franklin Avenue Shuttle
	Rockaway Park Shuttle
	Sixth Avenue Local
	Broadway Local

Projected B Division service:

Route	Line
	Second Avenue Subway (in design as of 2006)

C Division consists of non-revenue operations, including track maintenance and yard operations.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Future plans

[edit] Operations

Pending legislation would merge the subway operations of MTA New York City Transit with Staten Island Railway to form a single entity called MTA Subways.^[9] The Staten Island Railway operates with R44 subway cars on a fully grade-separated right-of-way, but is typically not considered part of the subway, and is connected only via the free, city-operated Staten Island Ferry.

[edit] Stations

In August 2006, the MTA revealed that all future subway stations, including ones built for the Second Avenue subway, the No. 7 line extension, and the new South Ferry station, will have platforms outfitted with air-cooling systems.^[10]

[edit] Technology

In 2003, the MTA signed a $160 million contract with Siemens AG to install digital next-train arrival message boards at 158 of its IRT (numbered line) stations. These signs were to be different from the current LED signs that are only capable of displaying the current date and time. However, many problems arose with the software used in Siemens programming, and the MTA stopped payment to the company in May 2006. ^[11] The MTA threatened to drop Siemens, but about a month later Siemens announced they had fixed the problem. The signs should begin operation later in 2007.^[12]

A different system has been developed and installed successfully on the L line. ^[13]

[edit] Security

After the September 11th attacks in New York, the MTA was extremely wary of anyone taking photographs or recording video inside the system. The MTA proposed banning all photography and recording in a meeting around June 2004.^[14] However, due to strong response from both the public and from rights-interests groups, the rule of conduct was dropped. In November 2004, the MTA again put this rule up for approval, but was again denied. ^[15] However, police officers still confronted people who were not authorized personnel and either confiscated their film/cameras or issued them a Disorderly Conduct summons. ^[16]

Currently, the MTA Rules of Conduct, Restricted Areas and Activities section states that anyone may take pictures or record video, as long as no flash or tripod is used:

Section 1050.9 Restricted areas and activities.

Photography, filming or video recording in any facility or conveyance is permitted except that ancillary equipment such as lights, reflectors or tripods may not be used. Members of the press holding valid identification issued by the New York City Police Department are hereby authorized to use necessary ancillary equipment. All photographic activity must be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this Part. Full section

On July 22, 2005, in response to bombings in London, United Kingdom, the New York City Transit Police introduced a new policy of randomly searching passengers' bags as they approached turnstiles. The NYPD claimed that no form of racial profiling would be conducted when these searches actually took place. The NYPD has come under fire from some groups that claim purely random searches without any form of threat assessment would be ineffectual. "This NYPD bag search policy is unprecedented, unlawful and ineffective," said Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the NYCLU. "It is essential that police be aggressive in maintaining security in public transportation. But our very real concerns about terrorism do not justify the NYPD subjecting millions of innocent people to suspicionless searches in a way that does not identify any person seeking to engage in terrorist activity and is unlikely to have any meaningful deterrent effect on terrorist activity."^[17]

[edit] Rolling stock

Main article: New York City Subway rolling stock

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

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

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

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

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

The MTA has also been incorporating newer subway cars into its stock in the past decade. Since 1999, the R142, R142A, R142S, R143, have been added into service. The R160A and R160B cars have undergone testing since 2005 and is expected to enter into normal operating service in 2007.

[edit] Trivia

• In 2002, an average of 4.5 million passengers used the subway every weekday, as of 2006, the average weekday ridership was 5,076,000 riders.
• According to the United States Department of Energy, energy expenditure on the New York City Subway rail service was 3656 BTU/passenger mile (2397 kJ/passenger km) in 1995. This compares to 3702 BTU/passenger mile (2427 kJ/passenger km) for automobile travel.^[18]
• Until the replacement of the metal token, a popular scam was to jam the token slot in an entrance gate with paper. A rider would innocently drop a token in, be frustrated when it did not open the gate, and have to spend another token to enter at another gate. The token thief would then race out from hiding, and suck the token from the jammed slot with their mouth. This could be repeated many times so long as no police officers spotted the activity. Often token booth attendants would coat the token slots with soap to discourage "token suckers".^[19]
• In the early 1980s, enterprising transit riders discovered that tokens purchased for use in the Connecticut Turnpike toll booths were of the same size and weight as New York City subway tokens. Since they cost less than one third as much, they began showing up in subway collection boxes regularly.^[20] Eventually, Connecticut authorities agreed to change the size of their tokens.^[21] The MTA was paid 17.5 cents for each token when over two million were redeemed at the end of 1985.^[22]
• For the 75th anniversary of the subway in 1979 (also called the Diamond Jubilee), a special token with a small off-center diamond cutout and engraved images of a 1904 subway car and kiosk were issued. Many were purchased for keepsakes and were not used for rides.
• Train-announcement voices beginning in the late 1990s were recorded by Bloomberg Radio on-air personalities, who volunteered at the request of their employer, future city mayor Michael Bloomberg. Voices include Jessica Gottesman, later of 1010 WINS radio, Charlie Pellett, and Catherine Cowdery. MTA spokesperson Gene Sansone said in 2006 that, "Most of the orders are given by a male voice, while informational messages come from females. Even though this happened by accident, it is a lucky thing because a lot of psychologists agree that people are more receptive to orders from men and information from women".^[23]
• From 1941 to 1976, the transit authority sponsored the "Miss Subways" publicity campaign. It was resurrected in 2004, for one year, as "Ms. Subways". Featuring young models, entertainers and others, the monthly campaign, which included the winners' photos and biographical blurbs on placards in subway cards, numbers actress Mona Freeman, and prominent New York City restaurateur Ellen Goodman (née Ellen Hart).

[edit] See also

• 2005 New York City transit strike
• Graphical New York City Subway timeline
• Transportation in New York City
• List of rapid transit systems
• New York City Subway in popular culture

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• MTA NYC Transit Subways (official site with maps and schedules)
• www.nycsubway.org (a thorough treatment of the current system and history, including historic and track maps)
• Abandoned Stations (a thorough treatment of the history of the abandoned subway stations)
• Google-hack map of NYC subway system.

v • d • e Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Bus	NYC Transit • MaBSTOA • Long Island Bus • MTA Bus
Heavy rail	New York City Subway • Staten Island Railway
Commuter rail	Long Island Rail Road • Metro-North Railroad
Roads	MTA Bridges and Tunnels
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Fleet	New York City Subway • New York City Bus, MaBSTOA, and MTA Bus
Other	Fares • MetroCard • New York City Transit Authority • NYC Subway History

v • d • e New York City Subway
Services	1 2 3 • 4 5 6 • 7 • A C E • B D F V • G • J M Z • L • N Q R W
Shuttles (S)	42nd Street • Franklin Avenue • Rockaway Park
Unused/defunct	8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • BB • CC • DD • EE (8 Avenue) • EE (Broadway) • GG • H • HH (Court Street) • HH (Rockaway Park) • JJ • K (Broadway) • K (8 Avenue) • KK • LL • MJ • P • QB • QJ • QT • RJ • RR • T • TT • U • X • Y • JFK Express BMT: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 Shuttles (S/SS): 63rd Street • Bowling Green • Culver • Grand Street • Other
Planned	7 Subway Extension • Fulton Street Transit Center • Second Avenue Subway
Divisions	A Division (IRT) • B Division (BMT • IND)
Lists	Inter-division connections • Inter-division transfers • Lines • Services • Stations • Terminals • Yards
Miscellaneous	Chaining • History • Fares • MetroCard • Nomenclature • Rolling stock • IND Second System
Other NYC transit	Rail: AirTrain JFK • Amtrak • LIRR • Metro-North • NJT (rail) • PATH • Staten Island Railway Other: NJT (buses) • MTA buses • NYCT buses • Roosevelt Island Tramway

v • d • e Currently operating heavy rail rapid transit systems in the United States
MBTA Blue, Orange, and Red Lines | MTA New York City Subway and Staten Island Railway | PATH | SEPTA Market-Frankford and Broad Street Lines | PATCO Speedline | Baltimore Metro Subway | Washington Metro | MARTA | Miami Metrorail | Tren Urbano | RTA Rapid Transit Red Line | Chicago 'L' | BART | LACMTA Purple and Red Lines