The Kaufman Electrification Act of 1923 , or Kaufman Act for short, was a law passed by the New York State Legislature , mandated electrification of all railroads in New York City by January 1, 1926. The bill was sponsored by recently elected Republican Assemblyman Victor R. Kaufman and signed by Governor Al Smith on June 2, 1923.
101-511: The Act made no exclusions, affecting mainline traffic and freight yards in all boroughs of New York City , including the isolated rail system of Staten Island . The Act led to a large influx of diesel locomotives onto New York City railroads and hastened dieselisation of the American railroads. The railroads objected, initiated lawsuits, and succeeded in overturning the Act as unconstitutional. In 1846
202-527: A cross-platform interchange between local and express services. Some four-track lines with express service have two tracks each on two levels and use both island and side platforms. Since the majority of the system was built before 1990, the year the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) went into effect, many New York City Subway stations were not designed to be accessible to all. Since then, elevators have been built in newly constructed stations to comply with
303-414: A new city charter . All former municipalities within the newly consolidated city were dissolved. New York City was originally confined to Manhattan Island and the smaller surrounding islands that formed New York County. As the city grew northward, it began annexing areas on the mainland, absorbing territory from Westchester County into New York County in 1874 ( West Bronx ) and 1895 ( East Bronx ). During
404-494: A Vignelli-style interactive subway map, "The Weekender", an online map that provides information about any planned work, from late Friday night to early Monday morning. In October 2020, the MTA launched a digital version of the map showing real-time service patterns and service changes, designed by Work & Co . Several privately produced schematics are available online or in printed form, such as those by Hagstrom Map . Out of
505-497: A county in themselves, or are completely separate and independent of any county. Each borough is represented by a borough president . Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island each have a Borough Hall with limited administrative functions. The Manhattan Borough President's office is situated in the Manhattan Municipal Building . The Bronx Borough President's office used to be in its own Bronx Borough Hall but has been in
606-621: A face-to-face public debate in front of pro-Hylan audience. The two discussed subway congestion, public buses, and court systems, and Hylan easily held his ground; he left with a patronizing remark: "Don't be too harsh with the Assemblyman... he is young yet". The debate on 65th Street occurred just a week after the State Assembly committee issued a go-ahead for Kaufman's electrification bill. Kaufman's proposal had not yet aroused public interest; on April 7, The New York Times barely mentioned as
707-619: A few stretches of track run at ground level; 40% of track is above ground. Many lines and stations have both express and local services. These lines have three or four tracks. Normally, the outer two are used by local trains, while the inner one or two are used by express trains. As of 2018 , the New York City Subway's budgetary burden for expenditures was $ 8.7 billion, supported by collection of fares, bridge tolls, and earmarked regional taxes and fees, as well as direct funding from state and local governments. Alfred Ely Beach built
808-764: A letter or a number and "lines" have names. Trains display their route designation. There are 28 train services in the subway system, including three short shuttles . Each route has a color and a local or express designation representing the Manhattan trunk line of the service. New York City residents seldom refer to services by color (e.g., "blue line" or "green line") but out-of-towners and tourists often do. The 1 , C , G , L , M , R , and W trains are fully local and make all stops. The 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , A , B , D , E , F , N , and Q trains have portions of express and local service. J , Z , 6 , and 7 trains vary by direction, day, or time of day. The letter S
909-511: A local ordinance limited to the freight yards along Riverside Drive . Hylan stayed aside from the electrification debate and the bill passed the Assembly vote without much debate. The act was signed by Governor Al Smith on June 2, 1923. The Act required that by January 1, 1926, all railroad traffic in New York City, Mount Vernon and Yonkers must be converted to electrical traction (which, at
1010-509: A new 13-mile-long (21 km) elevated structure, the $ 150 million High Line , which opened in 1934, was electrified with a third rail power supply, and was separated from street traffic. The elevated line passed directly through the warehouses, some of which contained sidings hidden from public view. The sidings were not electrified and were served by new tri-power switchers built by General Electric and ALCO . They could run on diesel, third rail, or battery power. The long-distance trains of
1111-518: A plan to invest $ 30 million in the electrification of its West Side Line, contingent on the city's decision to close grade crossing. Discussion of this and similar unrealistic proposals dragged for another year. On December 31, 1925, eight railroads led by the NYCRR secured a temporary injunction against penalties for non-compliance with the Act. They asserted that the $ 5,000 a day fine will paralyze deliveries of food, mail and business supplies. In March 1926
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#17331042331181212-653: A public and political campaign to block the bill. On the eve of the deadline for signing, representatives of the Baltimore & Ohio, New York Central, New York, New Haven & Hartford and Long Island railroads convened in Albany for a last-minute meeting with Al Smith. They cited insurmountable costs of conversion (30 million dollars for the LIRR) and the dangers of electrifying urban at-grade railroads. Kaufman brought his own party of civic activists and businessmen and prevailed: Smith signed
1313-529: A public authority presided by New York City, was created in 1953 to take over subway, bus, and streetcar operations from the city, and placed under control of the state-level Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1968. Organized in 1934 by transit workers of the BRT, IRT, and IND, the Transport Workers Union of America Local 100 remains the largest and most influential local of the labor unions. Since
1414-457: A similar diesel switcher at its 138th Street waterfront terminal in the Bronx . B&O No. 1 and CNJ No. 1000 were the first American diesel locomotives in regular service. They turned out to be reliable and durable, worked into the 1950s and survived to date. In 1925 B&O purchased a gasoline -burning switcher, thus completing their compliance program (their next diesel purchase did not occur until
1515-482: A station, passengers may use station booths (formerly known as token booths) or vending machines to buy their fare, which is currently stored in a MetroCard or OMNY card. Each station has at least one booth, typically located at the busiest entrance. After swiping the card at a turnstile, customers enter the fare-controlled area of the station and continue to the platforms. Inside fare control are "Off-Hours Waiting Areas", which consist of benches and are identified by
1616-528: A total of 850 miles (1,370 km) including non-revenue trackage . Of the system's 28 routes or "services" (which usually share track or "lines" with other services), 25 pass through Manhattan, the exceptions being the G train, the Franklin Avenue Shuttle , and the Rockaway Park Shuttle . Large portions of the subway outside Manhattan are elevated, on embankments , or in open cuts , and
1717-489: A yellow sign. A typical subway station has waiting platforms ranging from 480 to 600 feet (150 to 180 m) long. Some are longer. Platforms of former commuter rail stations—such as those on the IND Rockaway Line , are even longer. With the many different lines in the system, one platform often serves more than one service. Passengers need to look at the overhead signs to see which trains stop there and when, and at
1818-480: Is approximately 8 feet 9 inches (2.67 m) wide and 51 feet 4 inches (15.65 m) long, whereas B Division equipment is about 10 feet (3.05 m) wide and either 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) or 75 feet (22.86 m) long. The different lengths for the B Division fleet are necessary because 75-foot cars can not be used over the BMT Eastern Division . Cars purchased by
1919-578: Is coextensive with a respective county of the State of New York : The Bronx is Bronx County, Brooklyn is Kings County, Manhattan is New York County, Queens is Queens County, and Staten Island is Richmond County. All five boroughs of New York came into existence with the creation of modern New York City in 1898, when New York County (then including the Bronx), Kings County, Richmond County, and part of Queens County were consolidated within one municipal government under
2020-556: Is created when a county is merged with populated areas within it. The limited powers of the boroughs are inferior to the authority of the government of New York City , contrasting significantly with the powers of boroughs as that term is used in Connecticut , New Jersey , and Pennsylvania , where a borough is an independent level of government, as well as with borough forms used in other states and in Greater London . New York City
2121-406: Is no nightly system shutdown for maintenance, tracks and stations must be maintained while the system is operating. This work sometimes necessitates service changes during midday, overnight hours, and weekends. When parts of lines are temporarily shut down for construction purposes, the transit authority can substitute free shuttle buses (using MTA Regional Bus Operations bus fleet ) to replace
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#17331042331182222-469: Is often referred to collectively as the five boroughs , which can unambiguously refer to the city proper as a whole, avoiding confusion with any particular borough or with the Greater New York metropolitan area . The term is also used by politicians to counter a frequent focus on Manhattan and thereby to place all five boroughs on equal footing. In the same vein, the term outer boroughs refers to all of
2323-427: Is smaller than the peak of the system. In addition to the demolition of former elevated lines, which collectively have resulted in the demolition of over a hundred stations, other closed stations and unused portions of existing stations remain in parts of the system. Many stations in the subway system have mezzanines . Mezzanines allow for passengers to enter from multiple locations at an intersection and proceed to
2424-547: Is used for three shuttle services: Franklin Avenue Shuttle , Rockaway Park Shuttle , and 42nd Street Shuttle . Though the subway system operates on a 24-hour basis , during late night hours some of the designated routes do not run, run as a shorter route (often referred to as the "shuttle train" version of its full-length counterpart) or run with a different stopping pattern. These are usually indicated by smaller, secondary route signage on station platforms. Because there
2525-567: The 142nd Street and Myrtle Avenue junctions, whose tracks intersect at the same level, as well as the same-direction pairs of tracks on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line at Rogers Junction . The 7,700 workers who built the original subway lines were mostly immigrants living in Manhattan. More recent projects use tunnel boring machines , which increase the cost. However, they minimize disruption at street level and avoid already existing utilities. Examples of such projects include
2626-600: The 472 stations , 470 are served 24 hours a day. Underground stations in the New York City Subway are typically accessed by staircases going down from street level. Many of these staircases are painted in a common shade of green, with slight or significant variations in design. Other stations have unique entrances reflective of their location or date of construction. Several station entrance stairs, for example, are built into adjacent buildings. Nearly all station entrances feature color-coded globe or square lamps signifying their status as an entrance. The current number of stations
2727-532: The 63rd Street Lines , opened in 1989. The new South Ferry station was built and connected to the existing Whitehall Street–South Ferry station in 2009. The one-stop 7 Subway Extension to the west side of Manhattan, consisting of the 34th Street–Hudson Yards station, was opened in 2015, and three stations on the Second Avenue Subway in the Upper East Side were opened as part of Phase 1 of
2828-879: The Bronx County Courthouse for decades. Since the abolition of the Board of Estimate in 1990 (due to a 1989 ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court ), the borough presidents have minimal executive powers, and there is no legislative function within a borough. Executive functions in New York City are the responsibility of the Mayor of New York City , while legislative functions reside with the New York City Council . The borough presidents primarily act as spokesmen, advocates, and ceremonial leaders for their boroughs, have budgets from which they can allocate relatively modest sums of money to community organizations and projects, and appoint
2929-684: The Chicago "L" plans all stations to be accessible in the 2030s, the Toronto subway will be fully accessible by 2025, and Montreal Metro plans all stations to be accessible by 2038. Both the Boston and Chicago systems are as old or older than the New York City Subway, though all of these systems have fewer stations than the New York City Subway. Newer systems like the Washington Metro and Bay Area Rapid Transit have been fully accessible from their opening in
3030-540: The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution . This allegation allowed them to bring the case directly to federal court presided by Judge Learned Hand . Old arguments of insurmountable costs and unreasonably short notice were brought along too. The State representatives argued that the case falls under state, not federal, jurisdiction, to no avail. Simultaneously, the railroads demanded extensions of
3131-592: The George Washington Bridge , has also been called the sixth borough. Yonkers , in Westchester County, is often referred to as the sixth borough as well. New York City Subway July 3, 1868 ; 156 years ago ( 1868-07-03 ) (first elevated, rapid transit operation) [REDACTED] The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving
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3232-531: The IND Sixth Avenue Line was completed in 1940, the city went into great debt , and only 33 new stations have been added to the system since, nineteen of which were part of defunct railways that already existed. Five stations were on the abandoned New York, Westchester and Boston Railway , which was incorporated into the system in 1941 as the IRT Dyre Avenue Line . Fourteen more stations were on
3333-697: The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line , which ran directly underneath the World Trade Center . Sections of the tunnel, as well as the Cortlandt Street station, which was directly underneath the Twin Towers, were severely damaged. Rebuilding required the suspension of service on that line south of Chambers Street. Ten other nearby stations were closed for cleanup. By March 2002, seven of those stations had reopened. Except for Cortlandt Street,
3434-717: The IRT subway debuted in 1904, the typical tunnel construction method was cut-and-cover . The street was torn up to dig the tunnel below before being rebuilt from above. Traffic on the street above would be interrupted due to the digging up of the street. Temporary steel and wooden bridges carried surface traffic above the construction. Contractors in this type of construction faced many obstacles, both natural and human made. They had to deal with rock formations and groundwater, which required pumps. Twelve miles of sewers, as well as water and gas mains, electric conduits, and steam pipes had to be rerouted. Street railways had to be torn up to allow
3535-519: The New York metropolitan area as well as in other states, U.S. territories , and foreign countries. In 2011, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg referred to the city's waterfront and waterways as a composite sixth borough during presentations of planned rehabilitation projects along the city's shoreline , including Governor's Island in the Upper New York Bay . The Hudson Waterfront , in
3636-603: The R142 , R142A , R143 , R160 , R179 and R188 were placed into service. These cars are collectively known as New Technology Trains (NTTs) due to modern innovations such as LED and LCD route signs and information screens, as well as recorded train announcements and the ability to facilitate Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) . As part of the 2017–2020 MTA Financial Plan, 600 subway cars will have electronic display signs installed to improve customer experience. Riders pay
3737-668: The U.S. state of New Jersey , lies opposite Manhattan on the Hudson River , and during the Dutch colonial era , it was under the jurisdiction of New Amsterdam and known as Bergen . Jersey City and Hoboken , in New Jersey's Hudson County , are sometimes referred to as the sixth borough, given their proximity and connections by rapid transit PATH trains to the city. Fort Lee , in Bergen County , opposite Upper Manhattan and connected by
3838-475: The boroughs of Manhattan , Brooklyn , Queens , and the Bronx . It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority , an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 27, 1904, the New York City Subway is one of the world's oldest public transit systems, one of the most-used, and the one with
3939-423: The eleventh-busiest rapid transit rail system in the world. The subway carried 2,027,286,000 unlinked, non-unique riders in 2023. Daily ridership has been calculated since 1985; the record, over 6.2 million, was set on October 29, 2015. The system is also one of the world's longest. Overall, the system contains 248 miles (399 km) of routes, translating into 665 miles (1,070 km) of revenue track and
4040-626: The extension of the IRT Flushing Line and the IND Second Avenue Line . Since the opening of the original New York City Subway line in 1904, multiple official and planning agencies have proposed numerous extensions to the subway system. One of the more expansive proposals was the " IND Second System", part of a plan to construct new subway lines in addition to taking over existing subway lines and railroad rights-of-way. The most grandiose IND Second Subway plan, conceived in 1929,
4141-465: The 1898 consolidation, this territory was organized as the Borough of the Bronx, though still part of New York County. In 1914, Bronx County was split off from New York County so that each borough was then coterminous with a county. When the western part of Queens County was consolidated with New York City in 1898, that area became the Borough of Queens. In 1899, the remaining eastern section of Queens County
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4242-410: The 1970s. In November 2016, the New York City Subway had 6712 cars on the roster. A typical New York City Subway train consists of 8 to 11 cars, although shuttles can have as few as two, and the train can range from 150 to 600 feet (46 to 183 m) in length. The system maintains two separate fleets of cars, one for the A Division routes and another for the B Division routes. A Division equipment
4343-450: The 1980s, make the current fleet of subway cars graffiti-free, as well as order 1,775 new subway cars. By the early 1990s, conditions had improved significantly, although maintenance backlogs accumulated during those 20 years are still being fixed today. Entering the 21st century, progress continued despite several disasters. The September 11 attacks resulted in service disruptions on lines running through Lower Manhattan, particularly
4444-415: The 2020–2024 Capital Program. This would allow one of every two to four stations on every line to be accessible, so that all non-accessible stops would be a maximum of two stops from an accessible station. In 2022, the MTA agreed in a settlement to make 95 percent of subway and Staten Island Railway stations accessible by 2055. By comparison, all but one of Boston's MBTA subway stations are accessible,
4545-521: The ADA. (Most grade-level stations required little modification to meet ADA standards.) Many accessible stations have AutoGate access. In addition, the MTA identified "key stations", high-traffic and/or geographically important stations, which must conform to the ADA when they are extensively renovated. Under plans from the MTA in 2016, the number of ADA accessible stations would go up to 144 by 2020. As of May 2024 , there were 145 ADA-accessible stations. Over
4646-614: The Act was moved twice, in 1924 and 1926; diesel locomotives were permitted, and steam locomotives continued to run in Brooklyn and Queens. The Act hastened dieselisation of the American railroads, creating the small initial market for diesel locomotives. The NYCRR, on the contrary, had posted record profits for 1923. The railroad finalized its electrification plans and brought it for the State approval in November and December 1924. The plan called for
4747-704: The Assembly to the Republicans, but in the Senate the Democrats with a very thin edge over the Republicans, although only for one year. One of the Republican Assemblymen elected from New York City was Victor R. Kaufman, of the Seventh electoral district of Manhattan's West Side. The "boyish-looking" Kaufman was one of the five Republicans who voted against Hylan's popular Traction Bill. In April 1923 he dared to oppose Hylan in
4848-543: The City of New York allowed the Hudson River Railroad Company to lay the tracks for its new line to Albany directly on the streets, "westerly of and including Eighth Avenue or Hudson Street . For more than seventy years steam trains ran directly on major streets and avenues of New York. The elevated rapid transit lines on the Manhattan were converted from steam to third rail electrical traction in 1900–1903,
4949-539: The City of New York since the inception of the IND and the other divisions beginning in 1948 are identified by the letter "R" followed by a number; e.g.: R32 . This number is the contract number under which the cars were purchased. Cars with nearby contract numbers (e.g.: R1 through R9 , or R26 through R29 , or R143 through R179 ) may be relatively identical, despite being purchased under different contracts and possibly built by different manufacturers. From 1999 to 2019,
5050-572: The SIRT to electric traction was mostly completed by the end of 1925. Electrification of the 26th Street B&O freight yards was uneconomical, and instead the company ordered its first diesel locomotive . Its predecessor, the GE-IR diesel demonstrator was tested in upstate New York in 1924. B&O's and Manhattan's first commercial 300-hp, 60-ton ALCO boxcab switcher was placed into operation in 1925. Earlier in 1925 Central Railroad of New Jersey put in operation
5151-535: The West Side Line were moved into a below-grade trench and tunnel west of 10th Avenue . The city of Baltimore enacted a similar law, Ordinance 746–748 , in June 1929. Notes Sources Boroughs of New York City The boroughs of New York City are the five major governmental districts that compose New York City . They are the Bronx , Brooklyn , Manhattan , Queens , and Staten Island . Each borough
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#17331042331185252-595: The abandoned LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch (now the IND Rockaway Line ), which opened in 1955. Two stations ( 57th Street and Grand Street ) were part of the Chrystie Street Connection , and opened in 1968; the Harlem–148th Street terminal opened that same year in an unrelated project. Six were built as part of a 1968 plan : three on the Archer Avenue Lines , opened in 1988, and three on
5353-526: The arriving train to identify it. There are several common platform configurations. On a double track line, a station may have one center island platform used for trains in both directions, or two side platforms , one for each direction. For lines with three or four tracks with express service, local stops will have side platforms and the middle one or two tracks will not stop at the station. On these lines, express stations typically have two island platforms, one for each direction. Each island platform provides
5454-628: The bill on the next day, Saturday, June 2, 1923. The Act did not attempt to redesign the existing track or decrease at-grade railroad traffic. Kaufman addressed this issue in his 1924 "Death Avenue Bill" that attempted to regulate the NYCRR West Side network. The bill did not pass, and debate over West Side trackage continued into the late 1920s. In March 1924 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad began electrification and elimination of grade crossings of its Staten Island lines, for an estimated cost of $ 13-to-15 million (not including freight lines). Conversion of
5555-482: The boroughs excluding Manhattan, even though the geographic center of the city is along the Brooklyn–Queens border. All five boroughs were created in 1898 during consolidation, when the city's modern boundaries were established. The Bronx originally included parts of New York County outside of Manhattan that had previously been ceded by neighboring Westchester County in two stages; in 1874 ( southern Yonkers , and
5656-555: The city. In some document collections the boroughs used to be designated with a one-letter abbreviation: K for Brooklyn, M for Manhattan, Q for Queens, R for Staten Island (Richmond County), and X for the Bronx. The term "sixth borough" is used to describe any of a number of places that have been metaphorically called a part of New York City because of their geographic location, demographics (they include large numbers of former New Yorkers), special affiliation, or cosmopolitan character. They have included adjacent cities and counties in
5757-410: The complexity of the system (Manhattan being the smallest borough, but having the most services), but they do show major city streets as an aid to navigation. The newest edition took effect on June 27, 2010, and makes Manhattan bigger and Staten Island smaller, with minor tweaks happening to the map when more permanent changes occur. Earlier diagrams of the subway, the first being produced in 1958, had
5858-425: The correct platform without having to cross the street before entering. Inside mezzanines are fare control areas, where passengers physically pay their fare to enter the subway system. In many older stations, the fare control area is at platform level with no mezzanine crossovers. Many elevated stations also have platform-level fare control with no common station house between directions of service. Upon entering
5959-507: The counties are considered to be arms of the state government), rather than officials of the city government, they are not subject to the term limitations that govern other New York City officials such as the mayor, the New York City Public Advocate , members of the city council, or the borough presidents. Some civil court judges also are elected on a borough-wide basis, although they generally are eligible to serve throughout
6060-503: The deadline up to five years from the State's commissioners. Judge Hand ruled that the Kaufman Act was unconstitutional inasmuch as it infringed the constitutional Commerce Clause , and extended the injunction against fines. The State Assembly amended the Act to comply with the concerns raised in the ruling, extended penalty deadline for another five years, and allowed use of diesel locomotives along with electric ones. On July 1, 1926, when
6161-582: The electrification of the NYCRR West Side Line from St. John's Park to Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx but excluded the West Side freight network. Electrification of the freight network, whether by third rail or overhead lines , was impractical. The NYCRR effectively brought talks to a stalemate by demanding elimination of all grade crossings on the West Side, to allow the same standard of safety and engineering as on its other lines. In November 1925 NYCRR announced
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#17331042331186262-546: The first demonstration for an underground transit system in New York City in 1869 and opened it in February 1870. His Beach Pneumatic Transit only extended 312 feet (95 m) under Broadway in Lower Manhattan operating from Warren Street to Murray Street and exhibited his idea for an atmospheric railway as a subway. The tunnel was never extended for political and financial reasons. Today, no part of this line remains as
6363-482: The five-cent fare of the time, or 10¢ ($ 3 in 2023 dollars ). In 1940, the city bought the two private systems. Some elevated lines ceased service immediately while others closed soon after. Integration was slow, but several connections were built between the IND and BMT. These now operate as one division, called the B Division . Since the former IRT tunnels are narrower, have sharper curves, and shorter station platforms, they cannot accommodate B Division cars, and
6464-503: The five-cent ticket price fixed in the Dual Contracts of 1913, and the companies defaulted on their investment contracts. They lobbied to raise ticket price and were stonewalled by Democratic New York City mayor John Francis Hylan , who made cheap fares a major campaign issue, denied public help to the BMT and IRT, and demanded public control over the subway. Hylan, determined to nationalize
6565-400: The former IRT remains its own division, the A Division . Many passenger transfers between stations of all three former companies have been created, allowing the entire network to be treated as a single unit. During the late 1940s, the system recorded high ridership, and on December 23, 1946, the system-wide record of 8,872,249 fares was set. The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA),
6666-544: The hurricane included the restoration of the new South Ferry station from 2012 to 2017; the full closure of the Montague Street Tunnel from 2013 to 2014; and the partial 14th Street Tunnel shutdown from 2019 to 2020. Annual ridership on the New York City Subway system, which totaled nearly 1.7 billion in 2019, declined dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic and did not surpass one billion again until 2022. When
6767-630: The lawsuit was still in progress, Mayor James Walker convened a conference of city and railroad executives. It resulted in a general agreement to remove surface tracks from West Side altogether. The Engineering Committee appointed at this conference presented their detailed plan in May 1927 and secured the approval of the State Assembly in 1928. In July 1929 the NYCRR finally agreed to cease steam traffic north of 72nd Street in two years time, and remove all tracks south of 60th Street, in five years. The 30th Street freight yards were allowed to stay. The project resulted in
6868-463: The line at the beginning of 2017. Many rapid transit systems run relatively static routings, so that a train "line" is more or less synonymous with a train "route". In New York City, routings change often, for various reasons. Within the nomenclature of the subway , the "line" describes the physical railroad track or series of tracks that a train "route" uses on its way from one terminal to another. "Routes" (also called "services") are distinguished by
6969-465: The line and replacement of the then-overcrowded Grand Central Depot . In 1903 state legislators passed a law banning steam locomotives from Manhattan after June 30, 1908, and demanding electrification of New York Central Railroad (NYCRR). The company, which had already contemplated electrification, introduced electric traction on its Manhattan trunk lines in the end of 1906. The NYCRR mainline employed third rail electric supply because low clearance in
7070-403: The lines and leased them to the companies. The first line of the city-owned and operated Independent Subway System (IND) opened in 1932. This system was intended to compete with the private systems and allow some of the elevated railways to be torn down but stayed within the core of the city due to its small startup capital. This required it to be run 'at cost', necessitating fares up to double
7171-405: The media, they are technically and legally the district attorneys of New York County and Kings County, respectively. The same goes for Staten Island. There is no such distinction made for the district attorneys of the other two counties, Queens and the Bronx, since these boroughs share the respective counties' names. Because the five district attorneys are, technically speaking, state officials (since
7272-522: The members of the 59 largely advisory community boards in the city's various neighborhoods. The Brooklyn and Queens borough presidents also appoint trustees to the local public library systems in those boroughs. Being coextensive with an individual county, each borough also elects a district attorney , as does every other county of New York State. While the district attorneys of Manhattan and Brooklyn are popularly referred to as "Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance, Jr. ", or "Brooklyn D.A. Kenneth P. Thompson " by
7373-451: The mid-1930s). The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad purchased two similar switchers and put one in operation at their 132nd Street Harlem Transfer' yard as Harlem Transfer #2 and the other locomotive as #3001, which was assigned to their 25th Street Freight Station in Brooklyn. Erie Railroad also purchased two 60 ton 300 hp box cabs: #20 which was built in May 1926 and sent to their "Harlem Station" freight terminal, and #19 which
7474-686: The modern-day New York City Subway system were already in service by then. The oldest structure still in use opened in 1885 as part of the BMT Lexington Avenue Line in Brooklyn and is now part of the BMT Jamaica Line . The oldest right-of-way, which is part of the BMT West End Line near Coney Island Creek , was in use in 1864 as a steam railroad called the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road . The first underground line of
7575-466: The moment, was the only viable alternative to steam). There were no exclusions, and it applied equally to trunk lines, second-tier country lines and even the switchers in the docks and freight yards. The exclave system of Staten Island was not excluded either. Each failure to comply was subject to a $ 5,000 fine per violation per day. After the vote, but before signature by the Governor, railroads launched
7676-518: The most stations, with 472 stations in operation (423, if stations connected by transfers are counted as single stations). The system has operated 24/7 service every day of the year throughout most of its history, barring emergencies and disasters. By annual ridership, the New York City Subway is the busiest rapid transit system in both the Western Hemisphere and the Western world , as well as
7777-420: The name of the county unchanged. There are hundreds of distinct neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs of New York City, many with a definable history and character to call their own. Since 1914, each of New York City's five boroughs has been coextensive with a county of New York State – unlike most U.S. cities , which lie within a single county or extend partially into another county, constitute
7878-539: The passenger trunk lines were gradually electrified over the next decades. On January 8, 1902, fifteen New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad commuters from New Rochelle were killed when a local New York Central Railroad train from White Plains missed a red light and rear-ended the train stopped in Park Avenue Tunnel . The accident was linked to exhaust smoke obstructing view of traffic signals. The resulting public outcry led to calls for electrification of
7979-404: The perception of being more geographically inaccurate than the diagrams today. The design of the subway map by Massimo Vignelli , published by the MTA between 1972 and 1979, has become a modern classic but the MTA deemed the map flawed due to its placement of geographical elements. A late night-only version of the map was introduced on January 30, 2012. On September 16, 2011, the MTA introduced
8080-457: The plan to effect forced buy-back provision of the Dual Contracts, which would effectively start nationalization. Hylan also called for a $ 600 million plan for building the all-new, publicly operated Independent Subway System (IND), which was unbuilt as of yet. The heated discussion that followed coincided with the State Assembly election campaign. Elections of November 1922 brought majority in
8181-407: The railroads and freight terminals initiated a lawsuit against the Kaufman Act. They demanded to make the temporary injunction permanent, indefinitely restraining city and county officials from enforcing the penalties. This times the railroads asserted that enforcement of penalties ($ 600,000 a day for NYCRR alone) is tantamount to outright, unconstitutional confiscation without due process of law, under
8282-499: The rest reopened in September 2002, along with service south of Chambers Street. Cortlandt Street reopened in September 2018. In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy flooded several underwater tunnels and other facilities near New York Harbor , as well as trackage over Jamaica Bay . The immediate damage was fixed within six months, but long-term resiliency and rehabilitation projects continued for several years. The recovery projects after
8383-468: The routes proposed over the decades have never seen construction, discussion remains strong to develop some of these lines, to alleviate existing subway capacity constraints and overcrowding, the most notable being the proposals for the Second Avenue Subway . Plans for new lines date back to the early 1910s, and expansion plans have been proposed during many years of the system's existence. After
8484-403: The routes that would normally run on these lines. The Transit Authority announces planned service changes through its website, via placards that are posted on station and interior subway-car walls, and through its Twitter page. Current official transit maps of the New York City Subway are based on a 1979 design by Michael Hertz Associates . The maps are not geographically accurate due to
8585-727: The subway opened on October 27, 1904, almost 36 years after the opening of the first elevated line in New York City (which became the IRT Ninth Avenue Line ). The 9.1-mile (14.6 km) subway line, then called the "Manhattan Main Line", ran from City Hall station northward under Lafayette Street (then named Elm Street) and Park Avenue (then named Fourth Avenue) before turning westward at 42nd Street . It then curved northward again at Times Square , continuing under Broadway before terminating at 145th Street station in Harlem . Its operation
8686-508: The subway system runs on surface or elevated tracks, including steel or cast-iron elevated structures , concrete viaducts , embankments , open cuts and surface routes. As of 2019 , there are 168 miles (270 km) of elevated tracks. All of these construction methods are completely grade-separated from road and pedestrian crossings, and most crossings of two subway tracks are grade-separated with flying junctions . The sole exceptions of at-grade junctions of two lines in regular service are
8787-503: The subway, ran into an open conflict with the moderately minded Transit Commission, which was created by Republican Governor Nathan Lewis Miller in 1921. The new governor Al Smith , elected in November 1922 , sided with Hylan on the transit issue, but failed to disband the Commission due to Republican opposition in the State Assembly. In August 1922 Hylan stirred up the public by announcing
8888-467: The target of the 1923 bill introduced by Victor R. Kaufman. The 1923 Kaufman Act was enacted in the shadows of a far larger public debate about the future of the troubled subway system . The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company was placed under receivership in December 1918 and was heading into liquidation. The Interborough Rapid Transit Company barely escaped bankruptcy in 1921. Post-war inflation devalued
8989-406: The three eastern towns of Queens County that had not joined the city the year before—the towns of Hempstead , North Hempstead , and Oyster Bay —formally seceded from Queens County to form the new Nassau County . The borough of Staten Island, coextensive with Richmond County, was officially the borough of Richmond until the name was changed in 1975 to reflect its common appellation, while leaving
9090-435: The towns of Kingsbridge , West Farms , and Morrisania ) and then following a referendum in 1894 (towns of Westchester , Williamsbridge , and the southern portion of Eastchester ). Ultimately in 1914, the present-day separate Bronx County became the most recent county to be created in the State of New York. The borough of Queens consists of what formerly was only the western part of a then-larger Queens County. In 1899,
9191-407: The tunnel was completely within the limits of the present-day City Hall station under Broadway. The Great Blizzard of 1888 helped demonstrate the benefits of an underground transportation system. A plan for the construction of the subway was approved in 1894, and construction began in 1900. Even though the underground portions of the subway had yet to be built, several above-ground segments of
9292-539: The tunnels ruled out use of overhead lines . The trains changed electric locomotives for steam engines at Croton-Harmon and North White Plains . Other incoming trunk lines were largely electrified by 1923. The isolated Staten Island Railway , operated by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad , remained powered by outdated coal-fired 4-4-0 camelbacks and 2-4-4 Ts hauling wooden cars. However, freight and switching operation remained powered by coal-firing steam engines, contributing to air pollution and road accidents. The NYCRR
9393-535: The union's founding, there have been three union strikes over contract disputes with the MTA: 12 days in 1966 , 11 days in 1980 , and three days in 2005 . By the 1970s and 1980s, the New York City Subway was at an all-time low. Ridership had dropped to 1910s levels, and graffiti and crime were rampant. Maintenance was poor, and delays and track problems were common. Still, the NYCTA managed to open six new subway stations in
9494-717: The work. The foundations of tall buildings often ran near the subway construction, and in some cases needed underpinning to ensure stability. This method worked well for digging soft dirt and gravel near the street surface. Tunnelling shields were required for deeper sections, such as the Harlem and East River tunnels, which used cast-iron tubes. Rock or concrete-lined tunnels were used on segments from 33rd to 42nd streets under Park Avenue ; 116th to 120th Streets under Broadway ; 145th to Dyckman Streets (Fort George) under Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue ; and 96th Street and Broadway to Central Park North and Lenox Avenue . About 40% of
9595-538: The years, the MTA has been involved in a number of lawsuits over the lack of accessibility in its stations. The Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association filed what may have been the first of these suits in 1979, based on state law. The lawsuits have relied on a number of different legal bases, but most have centered around the MTA's failure to include accessibility as a part of its plans for remodeling various stations. As of January 2022 , ADA-accessibility projects are expected to be started or completed at 51 stations as part of
9696-722: Was built in September 1928 and operated at their "West 26th Street Freight Station" in Manhattan. Successful introduction of diesel traction led to the 1926 amendment of the 1923 law that allowed operation of diesel locomotives in the city. The Long Island Rail Road authorized a $ 4-million conversion plan in April 1924. The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad converted its New Haven-New York route to 100% electrical traction in June 1924. The Pennsylvania Railroad made plans for electrification of its three main lines, including Philadelphia -New York, but, as of June 1924, did not have funds to begin work in near future. The deadline stipulated in
9797-606: Was leased to the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), and over 150,000 passengers paid the 5-cent fare ($ 2 in 2023 dollars ) to ride it on the first day of operation. By the late 1900s and early 1910s, the lines had been consolidated into two privately owned systems, the IRT and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT, later Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation , BMT). The city built most of
9898-497: Was split off to form Nassau County on Long Island , thereafter making the borough and county of Queens coextensive with each other. The term borough was adopted in 1898 to describe a form of governmental administration for each of the five fundamental constituent parts of the newly consolidated city . Under the 1898 City Charter adopted by the New York State Legislature, a borough is a municipal corporation that
9999-472: Was the West Side freight yards below 33rd Street, where coal-firing switchers hauled their cargoes along 11th Avenue (popularly called the " Death Avenue ") and adjacent streets in what is now Hudson Yards and Chelsea . The government handled safety and pollution problems separately: ordinances to eliminate grade crossings were effected on a case-by-case basis, complete elimination of steam traction became
10100-595: Was the only railroad with north–south tracks connecting Manhattan to upstate New York ; the Pennsylvania Railroad operated an east-west passenger service through Penn Station in midtown Manhattan . All other mainline railroads terminated along the New Jersey and Brooklyn shorelines and ferried their railcars to Manhattan by car floats . They operated dozens of big and small rail yards on Manhattan and employed scores of coal-fired switchers. The worst offender
10201-410: Was to be part of the city-operated IND, and was to comprise almost 1 ⁄ 3 of the current subway system. By 1939, with unification planned, all three systems were included within the plan, which was ultimately never carried out. Many different plans were proposed over the years of the subway's existence, but expansion of the subway system mostly stopped during World War II . Though most of
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