History of the New York City Subway
Encyclopedia
The New York City Subway
has a long history, beginning as many disjointed systems and eventually merging under City control.
The beginnings of the Subway came from various excursion railroads to Coney Island
and elevated railroads in Manhattan
and Brooklyn
. At that time, New York County (Manhattan Island and part of the Bronx), Kings County
(including the Cities of Brooklyn
and Williamsburg
) and Queens County
were separate political entities.
In New York, competing steam-powered elevated railroads were built over major avenues. The first elevated line was constructed in 1867-70 by Charles Harvey and his West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway company along Greenwich Street and Ninth Avenue (although cable car
s were the initial mode of transportation on that railway). Later more lines were built on Second
, Third
and Sixth
Avenues. None of these structures remain today, but these lines later shared trackage with subway trains as part of the IRT
system.
In Kings County, elevated railroads were also built by several companies, over Lexington
, Myrtle
, Third and Fifth Avenues, Fulton Street and Broadway. These also later shared trackage with subway trains, and even operated into the subway, as part of the BRT
and BMT
. Most of these structures have been dismantled, but some remain in original form, mostly rebuilt and upgraded. These lines were linked to Manhattan by various ferries and later the tracks along the Brooklyn Bridge
(which originally had their own line, and were later integrated into the BRT/BMT).
Also in Kings County, six steam
excursion railroads were built to various beaches in the southern part of the county; all but one (the Manhattan Beach Line) eventually fell under BMT
control.
In 1898, New York, Kings and Richmond Counties, and parts of Queens and Westchester Counties and their constituent cities, towns, villages and hamlets were consolidated into the City of Greater New York
. During this era the expanded City of New York resolved that it wanted the core of future rapid transit to be underground subways
, but realized that no private company was willing to put up the enormous capital required to build beneath the streets.
The City decided to issue rapid transit bonds
outside of its regular bonded debt limit and build the subways itself, and contracted with the IRT
(which by that time ran the elevated lines in Manhattan) to equip and operate the subways, sharing the profits with the City and guaranteeing a fixed five-cent fare.
At this time, the original subway (Contract 1) was built from City Hall
to the Bronx
, with the first part opening in October 1904; an extension to Atlantic Avenue at the LIRR
Flatbush Terminal (now Atlantic Terminal) in Brooklyn
was built soon after as Contract 2.
The subway system began during the War of Currents
when Thomas Edison
and his opponent, Nikola Tesla
, struggled over acceptance of direct current
or alternating current
as the standard way to deliver electricity. Alternating current became the standard for non railroad purposes, but New York City Subway adopted direct current as more suitable for urban railroad purposes. To this day, the New York City Transit Authority
converts alternating current to 600 volts direct current to power the trains, as do most earlier and later local transit railways around the world.
In Brooklyn, the various elevated railroads and many of the surface steam railroads, as well as most of the trolley
lines, were consolidated under the BRT
. Some improvements were made to these lines at company expense during this era.
The BRT, which just barely entered Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge
, wanted the opportunity to compete with the IRT, and the IRT wanted to extend its Brooklyn line to compete with the BRT. This led to the City's agreeing to contract for future subways with both the BRT and IRT.
The expansion of rapid transit was greatly facilitated by the signing of the Dual Contracts in 1913. Contract 3 was signed between the IRT
and the City; the contract between the BRT
and the City was Contract 4. The majority of the present-day subway system was either built or improved under these contracts, which not only built new lines but added tracks and connections to existing lines of both companies. The Astoria Line
and Flushing Line
were built at this time, and were for some time operated by both companies.
(ISS), the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad, or simply The Eighth Avenue Subway after the location of its premier Manhattan mainline
. After the City acquired the BMT
and IRT
in 1940, the Independent lines were dubbed the IND
to follow the three-letter initialisms of the other systems.
As the first line neared completion, New York City offered it for private operation as a formality, knowing that no operator would meet its terms. Thus the city declared that it would operate it itself, formalizing a foregone conclusion. The first line opened without a formal ceremony. The trains began operating their regular schedules ahead of time, and all stations of the Eighth Avenue Line
, from 207th Street in Washington Heights
to Hudson Terminal (now World Trade Center), opened simultaneously at one minute after midnight on September 10, 1932.
Magnificently engineered
, almost entirely underground, with ~670 foot (~204 m.) platforms and flying junction
s throughout, the IND system tripled the City's rapid transit debt, ironically contributing to the demise of plans for an ambitious expansion proposed before the first line of the first system was even opened.
and IRT
systems were taken over by the City of New York for operation by the City's Board of Transportation, which already operated the IND
system. In 1953 the New York City Transit Authority
, a state agency incorporated for the benefit of the city, now known to the public as MTA New York City Transit, succeeded the BoT.
A combination of factors had this takeover coincide with the end of the major rapid transit building eras in New York City. The City immediately began to eliminate what it considered redundancy in the system, closing several elevated lines including the IRT Ninth Avenue Line
and most of the IRT Second Avenue El in Manhattan, and the BMT Fifth and Third Avenue Lines and most of the BMT Fulton Street Line in Brooklyn.
Despite the unification, a distinction between the three systems survives in the service labels: IRT lines (now referred to as A Division
) have numbers and BMT/IND (now collectively B Division
) lines use letters. There is also a more physical but less obvious difference: Division A cars are narrower than those of Division B by 18 inches (~45 cm) and shorter by 9 to 24 feet (~2.7 to 7.3m).
The original IRT subway lines were built to modified elevated line dimensions. Whereas the IRT els were originally equipped with cars that were 47 feet (~14.3m) long, the cars designed for the IRT subway measure 51 feet 4 inches (~15.6m) long. Both sets of lines permitted cars not wider than 9 feet (~2.7m). The clearances and curves on these lines are too narrow and too sharp for any IND or BMT equipment. The later extensions of the IRT, constituting the bulk of the system, were built to BMT dimensions, and so are of a profile that could support the use of IND/BMT sized equipment. In other words, Division B equipment could operate on much of Division A if station platforms were trimmed and trackside furniture moved, thus letting Division A lines carry more passengers. However, there is virtually no chance of this happening because the older, narrower portions of Division A are centrally situated, such that it would be impossible to put together coherent through services. The most that can be reasonably hoped for is that some branch lines of Division A might be resized and attached to Division B lines. This was done with the BMT Astoria Line
in Queens
(which had formerly been dual-operated with normal IRT trains and special narrow BMT shuttles), and has been proposed for a connection of the Second Avenue Subway to the IRT Pelham Line
in the East Bronx
.
Because the Division A lines are of lower capacity for a given capital investment, all new extensions and lines built since World War II have been for Division B. Division A cars can travel on Division B lines when necessary, but are not used for passenger service on those lines due to the dangerously wide gap between the car and the station platform.
Even during World War II
, which gave a reprieve to the closure of most rail transit in the US, some closures continued, including the remainder of the IRT Second Avenue Line in Manhattan (1942) and the surviving BMT elevated services over the Brooklyn Bridge
(1944).
The originally planned IND system was built to the completion of its original plans after World War II ended, but the system then entered an era of deferred maintenance
in which infrastructure was allowed to deteriorate, and closures of elevated lines continued. These closures included the entire IRT Third Avenue Line
in Manhattan
(1955) and the Bronx (1973), as well as the BMT Lexington Avenue Line
(1950), much of the remainder of the BMT Fulton Street Line (1956), the downtown Brooklyn part of the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line
(1969) and the BMT Culver Shuttle (1975), all in Brooklyn
.
Only two new lines were opened in this era, the IRT Dyre Avenue Line
(1941) and the IND Rockaway Line
(1956). Both of these lines were rehabilitations of existing railroad rights-of-way rather than new construction. The former line was the City portion of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway
(an electrified commuter line closed in 1937) and the latter a line obtained from the Long Island Rail Road
. While the Rockaway Line is a long and substantial line, it consists mostly of a long right-of-way crossing Jamaica Bay
with a single station on Broad Channel island and two branches on a peninsula that is only several city blocks wide.
In 1951 a half-billion dollar bond issue was passed to build the Second Avenue Subway
, but money from this issue was used for other priorities and the building of short connector lines, namely a ramp extending the IND Culver Line
over the ex-BMT Culver Line at Ditmas and McDonald Avenues in Brooklyn (1954), allowing IND subway service to operate to Coney Island
for the first time, the 60th Street Tunnel Connection (1955), linking the BMT Broadway Line
to the IND Queens Boulevard Line
, and the Chrystie Street Connection
(1967), linking the BMT line via the Manhattan Bridge
to the IND Sixth Avenue Line
.
In the mid-1960s, $600,000,000 was made available to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
of New York City for the purposes of Subway expansion. $1,230,000,000 was spent to create three tunnel
s and a half-dozen holes as part of construction on the Second Avenue
and 63rd Street Line
s. Construction would cease in 1975 on account of the city's severe fiscal crisis; none of the sections were usable by the time federal payments were suspended in 1985.
Because the early subway systems competed with each other, they tended to cover the same areas of the city, leading to much overlapping service. The amount of service has actually decreased since the 1940s as many elevated railways were torn down, and finding funding for underground replacements has proven difficult.
Due to deferred maintenance, the condition of the subway system reached dangerous conditions as of the early 1980s. Talk of new construction was considered absurd at that point. However, during the mid-1980s, reconstruction began. Stations were refurbished and rolling stock was repaired and replaced. Around 2002, talk began to circulate about taking up the construction of the Second Avenue subway. Most New Yorkers regarded these plans with cynicism, since citizens were promised the line since well before the Third Avenue elevated was torn down in 1955. Funds have been set aside and environmental impact reports have been completed. A ceremonial Ground-breaking for the Second Avenue Subway was held on April 12, 2007 and contractor work to prepare the project's initial construction site at 96th St & 2nd Ave began on April 23, 2007.
was built in the 1980s, putting the east end of the BMT Jamaica Line underground. The BMT
and IND 63rd Street Line
s were completed in 1989, with the connection to the IND Queens Boulevard Line
opening on December 16, 2001.
New York City Subway
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, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
has a long history, beginning as many disjointed systems and eventually merging under City control.
Early steam and elevated railroads
- See also: Beach Pneumatic TransitBeach Pneumatic TransitThe Beach Pneumatic Transit was the first attempt to build an underground public transit system in New York City, USA.-History:In 1869, Alfred Ely Beach and his Beach Pneumatic Transit Company of New York began constructing a pneumatic subway line beneath Broadway...
The beginnings of the Subway came from various excursion railroads to Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
and elevated railroads in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. At that time, New York County (Manhattan Island and part of the Bronx), Kings County
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
(including the Cities of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
and Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
) and Queens County
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
were separate political entities.
In New York, competing steam-powered elevated railroads were built over major avenues. The first elevated line was constructed in 1867-70 by Charles Harvey and his West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway company along Greenwich Street and Ninth Avenue (although cable car
Cable car (railway)
A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping this cable as required...
s were the initial mode of transportation on that railway). Later more lines were built on Second
IRT Second Avenue Line
The IRT Second Avenue Line, also known as the Second Avenue El, was an elevated railway in Manhattan, New York City, United States, operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company until city takeover in 1940...
, Third
IRT Third Avenue Line
The IRT Third Avenue Line, commonly known as the Third Avenue El, was an elevated railway in Manhattan and the Bronx, New York City. Originally operated by an independent railway company, it was acquired by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and eventually became part of the New York subway...
and Sixth
IRT Sixth Avenue Line
The IRT Sixth Avenue Line, often called the Sixth Avenue Elevated or Sixth Avenue El, was the second elevated railway in Manhattan in New York City, following the Ninth Avenue Elevated. In addition to its transportation role, it also captured the imagination of artists and poets.The line ran south...
Avenues. None of these structures remain today, but these lines later shared trackage with subway trains as part of the IRT
Interborough Rapid Transit Company
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company was the private operator of the original underground New York City 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 in June 1940...
system.
In Kings County, elevated railroads were also built by several companies, over Lexington
BMT Lexington Avenue Line
The Lexington Avenue Elevated was the first standard elevated railway in Brooklyn, New York, operated in its later days by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation, and then the City of New York.The original line, as it existed at the end of 1885, traveled...
, Myrtle
BMT Myrtle Avenue Line
The Myrtle Avenue Line, also called the Myrtle Avenue Elevated, is a fully elevated line of the New York City Subway as part of the BMT division. The extant line is the final remnant of one of the original Brooklyn elevated railroads...
, Third and Fifth Avenues, Fulton Street and Broadway. These also later shared trackage with subway trains, and even operated into the subway, as part of the BRT
Brooklyn Rapid Transit
The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company was a public transit holding company formed in 1896 to acquire and consolidate lines in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It was a prominent corporation and industry leader using the single-letter symbol B on the New York Stock Exchange...
and BMT
Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation
The Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation was an urban transit holding company, based in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, and incorporated in 1923. The system was sold to the city in 1940 and today, together with the IND subway system, form the B Division of the New York City Subway...
. Most of these structures have been dismantled, but some remain in original form, mostly rebuilt and upgraded. These lines were linked to Manhattan by various ferries and later the tracks along the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
(which originally had their own line, and were later integrated into the BRT/BMT).
Also in Kings County, six steam
Steam railroad
Steam railroad is a term used in the United States to distinguish conventional heavy railroads from street railways, interurban streetcar lines, and other light railways usually dedicated primarily to passenger transport....
excursion railroads were built to various beaches in the southern part of the county; all but one (the Manhattan Beach Line) eventually fell under BMT
Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation
The Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation was an urban transit holding company, based in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, and incorporated in 1923. The system was sold to the city in 1940 and today, together with the IND subway system, form the B Division of the New York City Subway...
control.
The first subways
City of Greater New York
The City of Greater New York was a term commonly used originally to refer to the expanded city created on January 1, 1898 by the incorporation into the city of Richmond County, Kings County, Queens County, and the eastern part of what is now called The Bronx...
. During this era the expanded City of New York resolved that it wanted the core of future rapid transit to be underground subways
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
, but realized that no private company was willing to put up the enormous capital required to build beneath the streets.
Bond (finance)
In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
outside of its regular bonded debt limit and build the subways itself, and contracted with the IRT
Interborough Rapid Transit Company
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company was the private operator of the original underground New York City 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 in June 1940...
(which by that time ran the elevated lines in Manhattan) to equip and operate the subways, sharing the profits with the City and guaranteeing a fixed five-cent fare.
At this time, the original subway (Contract 1) was built from City Hall
City Hall (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
City Hall, also known as City Hall Loop, was the original southern terminal station of the first line of the New York City Subway, built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company , named the "Manhattan Main Line", and now part of the IRT Lexington Avenue Line...
to the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, with the first part opening in October 1904; an extension to Atlantic Avenue at the LIRR
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
Flatbush Terminal (now Atlantic Terminal) in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
was built soon after as Contract 2.
The subway system began during the War of Currents
War of Currents
In the "War of Currents" era in the late 1880s, George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison became adversaries due to Edison's promotion of direct current for electric power distribution over alternating current advocated by several European companies and Westinghouse Electric based out of Pittsburgh,...
when Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
and his opponent, Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
, struggled over acceptance of direct current
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
or alternating current
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
as the standard way to deliver electricity. Alternating current became the standard for non railroad purposes, but New York City Subway adopted direct current as more suitable for urban railroad purposes. To this day, the New York City Transit Authority
New York City Transit Authority
The New York City Transit Authority is a public authority in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City...
converts alternating current to 600 volts direct current to power the trains, as do most earlier and later local transit railways around the world.
In Brooklyn, the various elevated railroads and many of the surface steam railroads, as well as most of the trolley
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
lines, were consolidated under the BRT
Brooklyn Rapid Transit
The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company was a public transit holding company formed in 1896 to acquire and consolidate lines in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It was a prominent corporation and industry leader using the single-letter symbol B on the New York Stock Exchange...
. Some improvements were made to these lines at company expense during this era.
The Dual Contracts
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
, wanted the opportunity to compete with the IRT, and the IRT wanted to extend its Brooklyn line to compete with the BRT. This led to the City's agreeing to contract for future subways with both the BRT and IRT.
The expansion of rapid transit was greatly facilitated by the signing of the Dual Contracts in 1913. Contract 3 was signed between the IRT
Interborough Rapid Transit Company
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company was the private operator of the original underground New York City 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 in June 1940...
and the City; the contract between the BRT
Brooklyn Rapid Transit
The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company was a public transit holding company formed in 1896 to acquire and consolidate lines in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It was a prominent corporation and industry leader using the single-letter symbol B on the New York Stock Exchange...
and the City was Contract 4. The majority of the present-day subway system was either built or improved under these contracts, which not only built new lines but added tracks and connections to existing lines of both companies. The Astoria Line
BMT Astoria Line
The Astoria Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT division of the New York City Subway, serving the neighborhood of Astoria, Queens. It runs from Ditmars Boulevard to 39th Avenue along 31st Street. It then serves Queensboro Plaza along 27th Street. It was built as part of the Dual Contracts and...
and Flushing Line
IRT Flushing Line
The Flushing Line is a rapid transit route of the New York City Subway system, operated as part of the IRT Division and designated the 7 route...
were built at this time, and were for some time operated by both companies.
The Independent System
The City, bolstered by political claims that the private companies were reaping profits at taxpayer expense, determined that it would build, equip and operate a new system itself, with private investment and without sharing the profits with private entities. This led to the building of the Independent City-Owned Subway (ICOS), sometimes called the Independent Subway SystemIndependent Subway System
The Independent Subway System , formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad, was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of the New York City Subway...
(ISS), the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad, or simply The Eighth Avenue Subway after the location of its premier Manhattan mainline
IND Eighth Avenue Line
The Eighth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line in New York City, United States, and is part of the B Division of the New York City Subway...
. After the City acquired the BMT
Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation
The Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation was an urban transit holding company, based in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, and incorporated in 1923. The system was sold to the city in 1940 and today, together with the IND subway system, form the B Division of the New York City Subway...
and IRT
Interborough Rapid Transit Company
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company was the private operator of the original underground New York City 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 in June 1940...
in 1940, the Independent lines were dubbed the IND
Independent Subway System
The Independent Subway System , formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad, was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of the New York City Subway...
to follow the three-letter initialisms of the other systems.
IND Eighth Avenue Line
The Eighth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line in New York City, United States, and is part of the B Division of the New York City Subway...
, from 207th Street in Washington Heights
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
to Hudson Terminal (now World Trade Center), opened simultaneously at one minute after midnight on September 10, 1932.
Magnificently engineered
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, almost entirely underground, with ~670 foot (~204 m.) platforms and flying junction
Flying junction
A flying junction or flyover is a railway junction at which one or more diverging or converging tracks in a multiple-track route cross other tracks on the route by bridge to avoid conflict with other train movements. A more technical term is "grade-separated junction"...
s throughout, the IND system tripled the City's rapid transit debt, ironically contributing to the demise of plans for an ambitious expansion proposed before the first line of the first system was even opened.
Unification and contraction
In June 1940, the transportation assets of the former BMTBrooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation
The Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation was an urban transit holding company, based in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, and incorporated in 1923. The system was sold to the city in 1940 and today, together with the IND subway system, form the B Division of the New York City Subway...
and IRT
Interborough Rapid Transit Company
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company was the private operator of the original underground New York City 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 in June 1940...
systems were taken over by the City of New York for operation by the City's Board of Transportation, which already operated the IND
Independent Subway System
The Independent Subway System , formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad, was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of the New York City Subway...
system. In 1953 the New York City Transit Authority
New York City Transit Authority
The New York City Transit Authority is a public authority in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City...
, a state agency incorporated for the benefit of the city, now known to the public as MTA New York City Transit, succeeded the BoT.
A combination of factors had this takeover coincide with the end of the major rapid transit building eras in New York City. The City immediately began to eliminate what it considered redundancy in the system, closing several elevated lines including the IRT Ninth Avenue Line
IRT Ninth Avenue Line
The IRT Ninth Avenue Line, often called the Ninth Avenue El, was the first elevated railway in New York City. It opened in 1868 as the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, a cable-hauled line. It ceased operation in 1940....
and most of the IRT Second Avenue El in Manhattan, and the BMT Fifth and Third Avenue Lines and most of the BMT Fulton Street Line in Brooklyn.
Despite the unification, a distinction between the three systems survives in the service labels: IRT lines (now referred to as A Division
A Division (New York City Subway)
The A Division, also known as the IRT Division, is a division of the New York City Subway, consisting of the lines operated with services designated by numbers and the 42nd Street Shuttle. These lines and services were operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company before the 1940 city takeover...
) have numbers and BMT/IND (now collectively B Division
B Division (New York City Subway)
The B Division is a division of the New York City Subway, consisting of the lines operated with services designated by letters , in addition to the Franklin Avenue Shuttle and Rockaway Park Shuttle...
) lines use letters. There is also a more physical but less obvious difference: Division A cars are narrower than those of Division B by 18 inches (~45 cm) and shorter by 9 to 24 feet (~2.7 to 7.3m).
The original IRT subway lines were built to modified elevated line dimensions. Whereas the IRT els were originally equipped with cars that were 47 feet (~14.3m) long, the cars designed for the IRT subway measure 51 feet 4 inches (~15.6m) long. Both sets of lines permitted cars not wider than 9 feet (~2.7m). The clearances and curves on these lines are too narrow and too sharp for any IND or BMT equipment. The later extensions of the IRT, constituting the bulk of the system, were built to BMT dimensions, and so are of a profile that could support the use of IND/BMT sized equipment. In other words, Division B equipment could operate on much of Division A if station platforms were trimmed and trackside furniture moved, thus letting Division A lines carry more passengers. However, there is virtually no chance of this happening because the older, narrower portions of Division A are centrally situated, such that it would be impossible to put together coherent through services. The most that can be reasonably hoped for is that some branch lines of Division A might be resized and attached to Division B lines. This was done with the BMT Astoria Line
BMT Astoria Line
The Astoria Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT division of the New York City Subway, serving the neighborhood of Astoria, Queens. It runs from Ditmars Boulevard to 39th Avenue along 31st Street. It then serves Queensboro Plaza along 27th Street. It was built as part of the Dual Contracts and...
in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
(which had formerly been dual-operated with normal IRT trains and special narrow BMT shuttles), and has been proposed for a connection of the Second Avenue Subway to the IRT Pelham Line
IRT Pelham Line
The IRT Pelham Line is a rapid transit line on the New York City Subway, served by the 6 and <6> trains. It was built as part of the Dual Contracts expansion and opened in 1919. It is both elevated and underground, with Whitlock Avenue being the first elevated station...
in the East Bronx
East Bronx
The East Bronx is that part of the New York City borough of the Bronx which lies east of the Bronx River; this roughly corresponds to the eastern half of the borough...
.
Because the Division A lines are of lower capacity for a given capital investment, all new extensions and lines built since World War II have been for Division B. Division A cars can travel on Division B lines when necessary, but are not used for passenger service on those lines due to the dangerously wide gap between the car and the station platform.
Even during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, which gave a reprieve to the closure of most rail transit in the US, some closures continued, including the remainder of the IRT Second Avenue Line in Manhattan (1942) and the surviving BMT elevated services over the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
(1944).
The originally planned IND system was built to the completion of its original plans after World War II ended, but the system then entered an era of deferred maintenance
Deferred maintenance
Deferred maintenance is the practice of postponing maintenance activities such as repairs on both real property and personal property in order to save costs, meet budget funding levels, or realign available budget monies. The failure to perform needed repairs could lead to asset deterioration...
in which infrastructure was allowed to deteriorate, and closures of elevated lines continued. These closures included the entire IRT Third Avenue Line
IRT Third Avenue Line
The IRT Third Avenue Line, commonly known as the Third Avenue El, was an elevated railway in Manhattan and the Bronx, New York City. Originally operated by an independent railway company, it was acquired by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and eventually became part of the New York subway...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
(1955) and the Bronx (1973), as well as the BMT Lexington Avenue Line
BMT Lexington Avenue Line
The Lexington Avenue Elevated was the first standard elevated railway in Brooklyn, New York, operated in its later days by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation, and then the City of New York.The original line, as it existed at the end of 1885, traveled...
(1950), much of the remainder of the BMT Fulton Street Line (1956), the downtown Brooklyn part of the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line
BMT Myrtle Avenue Line
The Myrtle Avenue Line, also called the Myrtle Avenue Elevated, is a fully elevated line of the New York City Subway as part of the BMT division. The extant line is the final remnant of one of the original Brooklyn elevated railroads...
(1969) and the BMT Culver Shuttle (1975), all in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
.
Only two new lines were opened in this era, the IRT Dyre Avenue Line
IRT Dyre Avenue Line
The IRT Dyre Avenue Line is a New York City Subway rapid transit line as part of the A Division . It is a branch of the IRT White Plains Road Line serving passengers in the northeastern section of the Bronx...
(1941) and the IND Rockaway Line
IND Rockaway Line
The IND Rockaway Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway. It branches from the IND Fulton Street Line at Rockaway Boulevard, extending over the Jamaica Bay, into the Rockaways.-History:...
(1956). Both of these lines were rehabilitations of existing railroad rights-of-way rather than new construction. The former line was the City portion of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway
New York, Westchester and Boston Railway
The New York, Westchester and Boston Railway Company , known to its riders as "the Westchester" and colloquially as the "Boston-Westchester", operated as an electric commuter railroad in the Bronx and Westchester County, New York from 1912 to 1937...
(an electrified commuter line closed in 1937) and the latter a line obtained from the Long Island Rail Road
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
. While the Rockaway Line is a long and substantial line, it consists mostly of a long right-of-way crossing Jamaica Bay
Jamaica Bay
Jamaica Bay is located on the southwestern tip of Long Island in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, and the town of Hempstead, New York/hamlet of Inwood...
with a single station on Broad Channel island and two branches on a peninsula that is only several city blocks wide.
In 1951 a half-billion dollar bond issue was passed to build the Second Avenue Subway
Second Avenue Subway
The Second Avenue Subway is a planned rapid transit subway line, part of the New York City Subway system. Phase I, consisting of two miles of tunnel and three stations, is currently under construction underneath Second Avenue in the borough of Manhattan.A plan for more than 75 years, the Second...
, but money from this issue was used for other priorities and the building of short connector lines, namely a ramp extending the IND Culver Line
IND Culver Line
The IND Culver Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway, extending from Downtown Brooklyn south to Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, United States...
over the ex-BMT Culver Line at Ditmas and McDonald Avenues in Brooklyn (1954), allowing IND subway service to operate to Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
for the first time, the 60th Street Tunnel Connection (1955), linking the BMT Broadway Line
BMT Broadway Line
The BMT Broadway Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan, New York City, United States. , it is served by three services, all colored yellow: the on the express tracks and the on the local tracks...
to the IND Queens Boulevard Line
IND Queens Boulevard Line
The Queens Boulevard Line is a fully underground line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan and Queens, New York City, United States. The line provides crosstown service across Manhattan under 53rd Street and east through Queens to Jamaica...
, and the Chrystie Street Connection
Chrystie Street Connection
The Chrystie Street Connection is a major connecting line of the New York City Subway, and is one of the few connections between lines of the BMT and IND divisions...
(1967), linking the BMT line via the Manhattan Bridge
Manhattan Bridge
The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan with Brooklyn . It was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn and the Williamsburg bridges...
to the IND Sixth Avenue Line
IND Sixth Avenue Line
The Sixth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in the United States. It runs mainly under Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, and continues south through the Rutgers Street Tunnel to Brooklyn...
.
In the mid-1960s, $600,000,000 was made available to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S...
of New York City for the purposes of Subway expansion. $1,230,000,000 was spent to create three tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
s and a half-dozen holes as part of construction on the Second Avenue
Second Avenue Line
Second Avenue Line can refer to the following transit lines in New York City:*Second Avenue Subway *IRT Second Avenue Line...
and 63rd Street Line
IND 63rd Street Line
The IND 63rd Street Line is a rapid transit line of the IND division of the New York City Subway system. It runs from the IND Sixth Avenue Line at 57th Street east under 63rd Street and the East River through the 63rd Street Tunnel to the IND Queens Boulevard Line in Queens...
s. Construction would cease in 1975 on account of the city's severe fiscal crisis; none of the sections were usable by the time federal payments were suspended in 1985.
Because the early subway systems competed with each other, they tended to cover the same areas of the city, leading to much overlapping service. The amount of service has actually decreased since the 1940s as many elevated railways were torn down, and finding funding for underground replacements has proven difficult.
Due to deferred maintenance, the condition of the subway system reached dangerous conditions as of the early 1980s. Talk of new construction was considered absurd at that point. However, during the mid-1980s, reconstruction began. Stations were refurbished and rolling stock was repaired and replaced. Around 2002, talk began to circulate about taking up the construction of the Second Avenue subway. Most New Yorkers regarded these plans with cynicism, since citizens were promised the line since well before the Third Avenue elevated was torn down in 1955. Funds have been set aside and environmental impact reports have been completed. A ceremonial Ground-breaking for the Second Avenue Subway was held on April 12, 2007 and contractor work to prepare the project's initial construction site at 96th St & 2nd Ave began on April 23, 2007.
Reconstruction and incremental advance
The Archer Avenue LineArcher Avenue Line
-BMT Archer Avenue Line :-IND Archer Avenue Line :-References:...
was built in the 1980s, putting the east end of the BMT Jamaica Line underground. The BMT
BMT 63rd Street Line
The BMT 63rd Street Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT division of the New York City Subway system. This short line connects the express tracks of the BMT Broadway Line from 57th Street – Seventh Avenue to Lexington Avenue – 63rd Street, where it stub-ends...
and IND 63rd Street Line
IND 63rd Street Line
The IND 63rd Street Line is a rapid transit line of the IND division of the New York City Subway system. It runs from the IND Sixth Avenue Line at 57th Street east under 63rd Street and the East River through the 63rd Street Tunnel to the IND Queens Boulevard Line in Queens...
s were completed in 1989, with the connection to the IND Queens Boulevard Line
IND Queens Boulevard Line
The Queens Boulevard Line is a fully underground line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan and Queens, New York City, United States. The line provides crosstown service across Manhattan under 53rd Street and east through Queens to Jamaica...
opening on December 16, 2001.