Subway Challenge
Encyclopedia
The objective of the Subway Challenge is to navigate the entire New York City Subway
system in the shortest time possible. This ride is also known as the Rapid Transit Challenge and the "Ultimate Ride".
There are two primary variations of this challenge:
There is a third variation (Class A) which requires riders to cover all lines of the system. More specifically that means "During the run, the contestants making the run must traverse completely at least once each segment of right-of-way of the Transit Authority system. Each segment may be traversed either in one continuous transit or in any number of partial transits between stations on the segment."
The three classes of rides (A, B and C) are defined by the Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee (ANYSRC), created by Peter Samson
in 1966.
Guinness World Records recognizes what is essentially the Class B rules as the official world record. The only difference between the rides defined by Guinness and the ANYSRC, is ANYSRC rides must be completed on a single fare while the Guinness rules allow for "transfers between subway lines must be made by scheduled public transport or on foot. The use of private motor vehicles, taxis or any other form of privately arranged transport (bicycles, skateboards, etc.) is not allowed." The complete Guinness rules can be found on the Rapid Transit Challenge website, and are similar to the rules for the London Tube Challenge
.
On September 17, 2010, Guinness World Records confirmed that Matt Ferrisi and Chris Solarz set a new record during their January 22, 2009 attempt with an official time of 22:52:36.
The 28/29 December 2006 attempt became known as 'The Subway Six' in the press, as all were classmates at Regis High School in Manhattan and represent all five boroughs of New York City, with the sixth member hailing from New Jersey. Bill Amarosa was a life-long railfan
and had discussed a record attempt while they were in high school, but it was conversation at their 10-year reunion on June 17, 2006 that sparked planning for the attempt. From conception to execution, the record attempt took six months, but Guinness took five months to confirm the record and nine months to send the team an official record certificate.
On August 23–24, 2006, Donald Badaczewski and Matt Green made a run setting the skip-stop record. During their run, a Class C attempt as defined by the Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee, they were required to pass through, but not necessarily stop at, each station. Thus they utilized express trains where possible to save time. They did this on a single fare, not exiting the system until the completion of the race. They posted a time of 24 hours, 2 minutes, successfully breaking the previous Class C record of 25 hours, 11 minutes for this feat set in 1998 by Salvatore Babones and Mike Falsetta.
Metro broke the story of this Class C record, which was then covered by many major news outlets, including the New York Times (where it was the most-emailed article), CNN, and Reuters. The Reuters story was subsequently picked up by newspapers around the world, in such countries as Scotland
, Argentina
, India
, South Africa
, Australia
, Saudi Arabia
, Bahrain
, and Iran
. An amNewYork article suggested that the news environment at the time created a perfect opening for such a lighthearted story. Pundits frequently questioned the pair on how they had relieved
themselves during their journey. The two invariably answered that they had "held it" or "toughed it out", despite the fact that "it was tough".
, BMT
, and IND
were unified in 1940, Herman Rinke, an electric-railroad buff, became the first person to tour the entire system on a single 5-cent fare, doing it purely as a "sentimental gesture". Rinke rode the system for some 25 hours. Since then, more than 70 others – supposedly recorded in an unofficial file in the MTA Public Relations Department – rode the entire system.
Kevin Foster held the Guinness World Record for the full-system ride for over 17 years. He set the mark of 26 hours, 21 minutes on October 25, 1989. Searching for a diversion while training to become the first person to bicycle the entire length of The Great Wall in China, Kevin Foster opened up the Guinness Book of World Records
to find another challenge. He decided that to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the New York subway system he would spend 85 consecutive hours on the subway, during which time he broke the record for stopping at every station.
The Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee is not an official body and does not validate any record attempts, nor does the Metropolitan Transit Authority.
The current record holders of the Class B record began their trip in Rockaway, Queens at Rockaway Park–Beach 116 Street and finished at Wakefield-241 Street in the Bronx.
The current record holders of the Class C record began their trip in Rockaway, Queens at Rockaway Park–Beach 116 Street and finished at Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx.
A 2003 Class B attempt was the main topic of a Discovery Times Channel documentary on the subway.
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...
system in the shortest time possible. This ride is also known as the Rapid Transit Challenge and the "Ultimate Ride".
There are two primary variations of this challenge:
- Full-system ride that requires a rider to stop at each station. (Class B)
- Skip-stop ride that only requires a rider to pass through each station. (Class C)
There is a third variation (Class A) which requires riders to cover all lines of the system. More specifically that means "During the run, the contestants making the run must traverse completely at least once each segment of right-of-way of the Transit Authority system. Each segment may be traversed either in one continuous transit or in any number of partial transits between stations on the segment."
The three classes of rides (A, B and C) are defined by the Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee (ANYSRC), created by Peter Samson
Peter Samson
Peter R. Samson is an American computer scientist, best known for creating pioneering computer software....
in 1966.
Guinness World Records recognizes what is essentially the Class B rules as the official world record. The only difference between the rides defined by Guinness and the ANYSRC, is ANYSRC rides must be completed on a single fare while the Guinness rules allow for "transfers between subway lines must be made by scheduled public transport or on foot. The use of private motor vehicles, taxis or any other form of privately arranged transport (bicycles, skateboards, etc.) is not allowed." The complete Guinness rules can be found on the Rapid Transit Challenge website, and are similar to the rules for the London Tube Challenge
Tube Challenge
The Tube Challenge is the accepted name for the Guinness World Record attempt to visit all the stations on the London Underground network in the fastest time possible. Participants do not have to travel along all lines to complete the challenge, merely to pass through all the stations on the system...
.
Record Times
| Date | Record Holder(s) | Stations | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 June 1966 | Michael Feldman and James Brown | All stations | 23 hours, 16 minutes |
| 12/13 December 1988 | Rich Temple, Phil Vanner and Tom Murphy | All stations | 29 hours, 47 minutes |
| 28/29 December 2006 | Bill Amarosa Jr., Michael Boyle, Brian Brockmeyer, Stefan Karpinski, Jason Laska and Andrew Weir | All stations | 24 hours, 54 minutes, 3 seconds |
| 22 January 2009 | Matt Ferrisi and Chris Solarz | All stations | 22 hours, 52 minutes, 36 seconds |
On September 17, 2010, Guinness World Records confirmed that Matt Ferrisi and Chris Solarz set a new record during their January 22, 2009 attempt with an official time of 22:52:36.
The 28/29 December 2006 attempt became known as 'The Subway Six' in the press, as all were classmates at Regis High School in Manhattan and represent all five boroughs of New York City, with the sixth member hailing from New Jersey. Bill Amarosa was a life-long railfan
Railfan
A railfan or rail buff , railway enthusiast or railway buff , or trainspotter , is a person interested in a recreational capacity in rail transport...
and had discussed a record attempt while they were in high school, but it was conversation at their 10-year reunion on June 17, 2006 that sparked planning for the attempt. From conception to execution, the record attempt took six months, but Guinness took five months to confirm the record and nine months to send the team an official record certificate.
On August 23–24, 2006, Donald Badaczewski and Matt Green made a run setting the skip-stop record. During their run, a Class C attempt as defined by the Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee, they were required to pass through, but not necessarily stop at, each station. Thus they utilized express trains where possible to save time. They did this on a single fare, not exiting the system until the completion of the race. They posted a time of 24 hours, 2 minutes, successfully breaking the previous Class C record of 25 hours, 11 minutes for this feat set in 1998 by Salvatore Babones and Mike Falsetta.
Metro broke the story of this Class C record, which was then covered by many major news outlets, including the New York Times (where it was the most-emailed article), CNN, and Reuters. The Reuters story was subsequently picked up by newspapers around the world, in such countries as Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. An amNewYork article suggested that the news environment at the time created a perfect opening for such a lighthearted story. Pundits frequently questioned the pair on how they had relieved
Reuse of water bottles
Reusing water bottles is the practice of refilling and reuse of plastic or glass water bottles designed for one use, with tap water for multiple uses....
themselves during their journey. The two invariably answered that they had "held it" or "toughed it out", despite the fact that "it was tough".
History
On May 30, 1940, two days before the IRTInterborough 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...
, 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 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...
were unified in 1940, Herman Rinke, an electric-railroad buff, became the first person to tour the entire system on a single 5-cent fare, doing it purely as a "sentimental gesture". Rinke rode the system for some 25 hours. Since then, more than 70 others – supposedly recorded in an unofficial file in the MTA Public Relations Department – rode the entire system.
Kevin Foster held the Guinness World Record for the full-system ride for over 17 years. He set the mark of 26 hours, 21 minutes on October 25, 1989. Searching for a diversion while training to become the first person to bicycle the entire length of The Great Wall in China, Kevin Foster opened up the Guinness Book of World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
to find another challenge. He decided that to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the New York subway system he would spend 85 consecutive hours on the subway, during which time he broke the record for stopping at every station.
Record validation and controversy
Some have critiqued the Guinness record because the rules allow a rider to exit and re-enter the system during the course of the run. However, to date anyone attempting the Guinness Record has also followed the rules of the Class B attempt as defined by the Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee. Following both sets of rules means that the record will be officially validated and any critics of the Guinness rules have nothing to complain about because the participants also did it on a single fare.The Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee is not an official body and does not validate any record attempts, nor does the Metropolitan Transit Authority.
Trivia
There are 468 stations in the system (which must all be visited for the Class B record) and 421 multi-station complexes (necessary for the Class C record), on 26 different routes/lines. Challengers cover 660 miles of track in passenger service, while only being able to go the toilet at 78 of the stations.The current record holders of the Class B record began their trip in Rockaway, Queens at Rockaway Park–Beach 116 Street and finished at Wakefield-241 Street in the Bronx.
The current record holders of the Class C record began their trip in Rockaway, Queens at Rockaway Park–Beach 116 Street and finished at Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx.
In the Media
A 2004 Class B attempt to traverse the system was documented in a short film entitled New Lots.A 2003 Class B attempt was the main topic of a Discovery Times Channel documentary on the subway.
See also
- List of New York Subway stations
- History of the New York City SubwayHistory of the New York City SubwayThe New York City Subway has a long history, beginning as many disjointed systems and eventually merging under City control.-Early steam and elevated railroads:The beginnings of the Subway came from various excursion railroads to Coney Island and elevated railroads in Manhattan and Brooklyn...
- Tube ChallengeTube ChallengeThe Tube Challenge is the accepted name for the Guinness World Record attempt to visit all the stations on the London Underground network in the fastest time possible. Participants do not have to travel along all lines to complete the challenge, merely to pass through all the stations on the system...
- The same challenge in London, UK.