New York City Subway Totally Explained

   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 and also known as MTA New York City Transit. It is one of the most extensive public transportation system in the world, with 468 reported passenger stations, 229 miles of routes translating into 656 miles (1056 km) of revenue track, and a total of 842 miles (1355 km) including non-revenue trackage. The subway is also notable for being among the few rapid transit systems in the world to run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Among the ten busiest systems in the world in terms of annual passenger traffic, it's the only one to hold such a distinction, setting it apart from cities such as London, Paris, Tokyo, and Moscow.
   Though it's 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.
   Currently, the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway in the Upper East Side of Manhattan is being built to provide relief to the overcrowded IRT Lexington Avenue Line.

Overview

Subway stations are located throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. All services pass through Manhattan, except for the Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown Local, 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.)
In 2005, the New York City Subway hit a 50-year record in usage, with ridership of 1.45 billion. In September 2006, average weekday ridership was 5,076,000, the highest figure since such numbers were first recorded in 1970. According to the United States Department of Energy, energy expenditure on the New York City Subway rail service was 3492 BTU/passenger mile (3684 kJ/passenger km) in 1995. This compares to 3702 BTU/passenger mile for automobile travel. This is, however, a national average, and city driving is very inefficient compared to highway.
Many lines and stations have both express and local service. These lines have three or four tracks: normally, the outer two are used for local trains, and the inner one or two are used 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.

History

An underground transit system in New York City was first built by Alfred Ely Beach in 1869. His Beach Pneumatic Transit only extended 312 feet (95 meters) under Broadway and exhibited his idea for a subway. The tunnel was never extended, and was demolished when the BMT Broadway Line was built in the 1910s.
   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 isn't usually considered part of the subway proper.
   By the time the first subway closed, 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.
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. 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.

Construction methods

A unique feature of the New York City Subway is the variety of methods used in constructing subway tunnels. 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.

Lines and routes

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.
   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 route, since it doesn't 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.
   Though all but a few subway stations are served on a 24-hour basis, some of the designated routes don't run during the late night hours or use a different routing during those hours. In addition to these regularly scheduled changes, because there's no nightly shutdown for maintenance, tracks and stations must be maintained while the system is operating. In order to accommodate such work, services are sometimes re-routed during the overnight hours or on weekends.
   The current color system depicted on official subway maps was proposed by R. Raleigh D'Adamo, a lawyer who entered a contest sponsored by the Transit Authority in 1964. D'Adamo proposed replacing a map that used only three colors (representing the three operating entities of the subway network) with a map that used a different color for each line. D'Adamo's contest entry shared first place with two others and led the Transit Authority to adopt a multi-colored scheme. (D'Adamo subsequently earned a master's degree in transportation planning and engineering from Polytechnic University and worked for transit authorities, including a stint at the MTA, and was responsible for organizing and building what today is the Westchester County Bee-Line bus system.) However, the lines are not referred to by color (for example, Blue line or Green line), although the colors are often assigned through their groups ( and are blue whereas the,, and are green). A Division (IRT) consists of:
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Route	Line







	42nd Street Shuttle

B Division (BMT/IND) consists of:
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Route	Line













	Franklin Avenue Shuttle
	Rockaway Park Shuttle

Projected B Division service:

Route	Line
	Second Avenue Subway (in design as of 2007; won't be used until the line opens south of 72nd Street)

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

Car types and details

The NYC subway uses two sizes of cars - the A division, listed above, uses narrower cars that have three sets of doors on each side, used in chains of up to 11; the B division, listed above, uses wider cars that have four sets of doors on each side, in chains of up to 10.
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 LCD signs while the front service sign remained as a rollsign, while the rebuilt R32 cars had rollsigns on the sides, but a digital light display in the front. All cars built since 1992, including the R110A, R110B, R142, R142A, R143, R160A, and R160B 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 for door closings, stations, and other general messages in lieu of conductor announcements, although live conductor announcements can still be made. The recordings began in the late 1990s and featured Bloomberg Radio on-air speakers, who volunteered at the request of their employer and future city mayor Michael Bloomberg. Voices include Jessica Gottesman (now at 1010 WINS radio), Charlie Pellett, and Catherine Cowdery. With regards to why certain messages are voiced by males and others by females, 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's a lucky thing because a lot of psychologists agree that people are more receptive to orders from men and information from women".

Stations facilities and amenities

General

Station and concourse
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, which is currently stored in a 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 via stairs, escalator, or elevator. Platforms
Due to the large number of transit lines, one platform or set of platforms often serves more than one line, unlike other metro systems (except for the London Underground). A passenger needs to look at the signs hung at the platform entrance steps and over each track to see which trains stop there and when, and at the arriving train to see which train it is. There are a number of platform configurations possible. On a 2-track line, a station may have one center platform used for trains in both directions, or 2 side platforms, one for a train each direction. For a 3-track or 4-track line, local stops will have side platforms and the middle one or two tracks won't stop at the station. For most 3- or 4-track express stops, there will be two island platforms, one for the local and express in one direction, and another for the local and express in the other direction. In a 3-track configuration, the center track can be used toward the center of the city in the morning and away from the center in the evening, though not every 3-track line has that express service.
In a few cases, a 4-track station has an island platform for the center express tracks and two side platforms for the outside local tracks. This occurs only at three station near major railway stations where the next station along the line is also an express station with the more common platform configuration. The purpose of splitting the platforms is to prevent through riders from adding to the station's crowding by transferring from local to express or from express to local. This occurs at Atlantic Avenue on the 2/3/4/5 Lines with adjacent express station Nevins Street, and 34th St.-Penn Station on both the 1/2/3 Lines and A/C/E Lines, with adjacent express stations at 42nd Street. This doesn't occur at Grand Central on the 4/5/6 Lines, which has no adjacent express station. Almost everywhere expresses run, they run on the inner one (of 3) or two (of 4) tracks, and locals run on the outer two tracks. There is one notable 6-track station, DeKalb Avenue, in which northbound locals and some expresses stop at one island platform serving two tracks (with locals on the inside track), southbound locals and some expresses stop at another island platform serving two tracks (also with locals on the inside track), and some expresses pass through on two central tracks with no platform.

Artwork

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. The Arts for Transit program oversees art in the subway system. Permanent installations, such as sculpture, mosaics, and murals; photographs displayed in lightboxes, and musicians performing in stations encourage people to use mass transit. In addition, commissioned posters are displayed in stations and "art cards", some displaying poetry, are in many of the trains themselves in unused advertisement fixture slots. Some of the art is by internationally-known artists such as David Hockney.(External Link

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Accessibility

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.

Restrooms

Restrooms are rare in the subway system. Any establishments built in the past have since been closed to the public and have been converted to storage spaces or for employee use only. However, there are a few major stations that have operating restrooms, including on the concourse of the A, C, and E lines of Times Square, Chambers St., Jamaica-179 St., Roosevelt Avenue, and Lexington Avenue-59th St. and Atlantic Ave. stations.

Retail

Occasionally on some platforms are found newspaper stands, selling all manner of items including newspapers and food. The MTA has also been installing retail spaces within paid areas in selected stations, including Times Square and at 42nd St.-Bryant Park, on the concourse of the B, D, F, and V lines.

Connections

Connections are available at designated stations to Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, New Jersey Transit and PATH.

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. A typical New York City Subway train consists of 8 to 10 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 A Division lines inherited from the IRT (designated with numbers, plus the 42nd Street Shuttle) are shorter and narrower than the trains that operate on the B Division lines inherited from BMT/IND (designated with letters). The A Division and B Division trains operate only in their own division; operating in the other division isn't allowed. This is mainly because the IRT sections have narrower tunnel segments, tighter curves, and tighter platform clearances than the BMT/IND sections. A Division trains would have an unacceptably large gap between the platform and train if they were allowed in the B Division, while B Division trains wouldn't fit in the A Division tunnels and stations. The safety train stop mechanism between divisions is also incompatible, it being located on opposite sides of the track and train in each division. Service and maintenance trains, however, are comprised of A Division cars and don't carry passengers, and these can operate on either division.
   The system maintains two separate fleets of cars, one for the IRT lines, another for the BMT/IND lines. All 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 whereas IRT equipment is approximately 8 feet 9 inches (~2.67 m) wide and 51 feet 4 inches (~15.5 m) long.
   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; for example: R32. This number is the contract number under which the cars were purchased. Cars with nearby contract numbers (for example: 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 (for example cars, wheels, other parts).
   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 isn't 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 Subway 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, R160A, and R160B have been added into service.

Fares

Token and change

From the inauguration of IRT subway services in 1904 until the unified system of 1948 (including predecessor BMT and IND subway services), 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. When the New York City Transit Authority was created in July 1953, the fare was raised to 15 cents and a token issued. Until April 13, 2003, riders paid the fare with tokens purchased from a station attendant, which were changed periodically as prices changed. 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. The last iteration of tokens featured a hole in the middle, and after they were phased out, many became featured in home made jewelry.
Of course, many sought to circumvent the tokens in order to ride for free. 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 didn't 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".
There was some controversy in the early 1980s when 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. Connecticut authorities initially agreed to change the size of their tokens, but later reneged, and the problem went unsolved until 1985 when Connecticut discontinued the tolls on its turnpike. At that time, the MTA was paid 17.5 cents for each of more than two million tokens that had been collected during the three year "token war". 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.

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. Also all underground stations would have cell-phone accessibility.

Technology

Train arrival times In 2003, the MTA signed a $160 million contract with Siemens Transportation Systems 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. The MTA threatened to drop Siemens, but about a month later Siemens announced they'd fixed the problem. The signs should begin operation later in 2007.
A different system has been developed and installed successfully on the L line and is currently under testing.

Paypass trial The MTA also signed a deal with Mastercard in the first few months of 2006 to test out a new RFID card payment scheme. Customers had to sign up at a special Mastercard website and had to use a Mastercard Paypass credit or debit card/tag to participate. Participating stations included:

IRT Lexington Avenue Line from 138 St. in the Bronx, to Borough Hall, Brooklyn,
23rd St.-Ely Avenue in Queens for the E line,
and 45th Road-Court House Square for the 7 line. Originally scheduled to end in December of 2006, the MTA extended the trial due to "overwhelming positive response".

Automation 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're each quite short and thus remain unused. A segment from 99th St to 105 St will serve as layup tracks for the first phase of the Second Av Subway, now under construction.
In the mid-2000s, the MTA began a 20-year process of automating the subway. Beginning with the BMT Canarsie Line and the IRT Flushing Line , the MTA has plans to eventually automate a much larger portion, using One Person Train Operation (OPTO) in conjunction with Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC). Siemens Transportation Systems is 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.)

Safety & security

Photography

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. However, due to strong response from both the public and from civil rights groups, the rule of conduct was dropped. In November 2004, the MTA again put this rule up for approval, but was again denied. However, police officers still confronted people who were not authorized personnel and either confiscated their film/cameras or issued them a Disorderly Conduct summons.
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

Terrorism

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 don't justify the NYPD subjecting millions of innocent people to suspicionless searches in a way that doesn't identify any person seeking to engage in terrorist activity and is unlikely to have any meaningful deterrent effect on terrorist activity."

Passenger safety

Passenger accidents occur infrequently on the transit system. Platform gaps between the train and the platform typically range from 3-5 inches (7-13 centimeters). The maximum gap width on a straight platform is 6 inches (15 centimeters). Slips and falls have also declined. However, people do get minor injuries attempting to slip through the train doors as conductors are closing them.

Criticisms

Capacity constraints

Several subway lines have reached their operational limits in terms of trains and passengers, according to data released by the Transit Authority. All but one of the "A" Division Lines, and the E and L lines are at capacity; crowding on the Lexington Avenue trains exceeds design limits. Crowding on subway lines results in delays and if congestion-based pricing for automobile travel to Manhattan is implemented, subway crowding is predicted to worsen. The Second Avenue Subway will begin to relieve pressure on the Lexington Avenue line when its first segment opens for business in 2013, but no such relief is planned for other crowded lines. Because new subway construction can require years to plan and complete, the Transit Authority must turn to increased bus service to manage demand in the short run.

Subway flooding

Service on the Subway system is occasionally interrupted due to both minor rain and major storms. Rainwater can disrupt signals underground and electricity from the third rail may have to be shut off. Since 1992, $357 million has been used to improve 269 pump rooms. As of August 2007, $115 million has been earmarked to upgrade the remaining 18 pump rooms. The project is expected to be completed in 2010. Despite these improvements, the transit system continues to experience flooding problems.
On August 8, 2007, after slightly more than 3 inches of rain within an hour the subway system flooded and was disrupted again halting the morning rush. A similar incident occurred in the morning in September 2004. This is the third incident in the calendar year 2007 in which rain disrupted service. The system was hampered by pumps and drainage which could only handle rainfall at a rate of 1 and 1/2 inches per hour, and the little warning as to the severity of the storm. In late August 2007, MTA Engineer Phil Kollin announced new plans to create a system that would pump water away from the third rail. This new pumping system is scheduled to be in place by 2009.

Public relations

The MTA has had numerous events that promote increased ridership of their transit system.

Ms. Subways 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).

Subway series Subway series is a term attributed to any World Series contest between New York City teams, called thus as opposing teams can travel to compete merely by using the subway system. Subway series is a term long used in New York, going back to series between the Brooklyn Dodgers or New York Giants and the New York Yankees in the 1940s and '50s.

2012 Olympics bid In cooperation with the City of New York, the MTA posted the NYC2012 logo on train cars in 2005 to garner support for the Olympic bid.

External results

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