A Forum reader asked for advice, and rather than reply just on my own thread, I thought the advice would be useful generally.
The No. 7 remains the top railfsn subway experience. Ride ir both ways during late afternoon or early morning, when you can ride an express in on e direction. From downtown, Canal Street or Chambers street ride the J or Z to Eqstern Parkway B’Way Junction, switch to the upper level to Canarsie, the L, then return on the L train as far as Myrtle Avenue, go upstairs and ride the M up to Metropolitan Avenue, and use it to return to Manhattan or get off at Wycoff and return on the L
Ferry to Statin Island and ride the SIRT to Totttenville and back.
The northern end of the No. 5 is on old NY Westchester and Boston with only two of the former four tracks and with third rail instead of New Haven style catenary.
And the A train to Far Rockaway across Jamaica Bay on a former LIRR alignment is also topnoch…
The Interborough Rapid Transit subway opened on October 27, 1904 with 28 stations along a 9.1-mile line extending from City Hall to 145th Street. Since it first opened in 1904, New York’s subway has been the fastest and most popular mode of personal transportation in the city. Today, it is the largest 24-hour operating subway system in the world, with 472 stations, over 800 track miles and a fleet of more than 6,000 passenger cars.
Founded in 1976, the New York Transit Museum is dedicated to telling and preserv
City Hall station, on loop still used for reversal by No. 6 A-Division (IRT) trains, but closed except for special tours and inspections and railfan trips.
Senior citizens can ride the subway for 1/2 price. Go to an agent booth, show proof of age (65 and up), pay $2.75. The agent will sell you a metrocard good for two rides. Agents will only sell one reduced card per person.
The Staten Island Ferry is FREE! There are scammers at the Terminal who try to sell tourists “reduced fare” tickets. The SIRT is part of the subway system and uses the same Metrocards.
Coney Island is worth a ride. Four lines (D.F.N.Q) go to Stillwell Avenue (right across the street from Nathan’s) and the B ends at Brighton Beach, two stops from Stillwell Ave. I recommend taking the N to Stillwell Ave., it runs through the yards at the Coney Island shops, which are huge.
If you take the A train to the Rockaways as Dave suggested, be aware that there are two branches of the A train in Queens: the Rockaways (which you want), and Lefferts Blvd. (which you don’t want). If you go, look at the top of the subway cars. At certain times of the day, the local seagulls “commute” between Howard Beach and Broad Channel stations by riding on the tops of the cars.
Not all of the subway lines cross the East River in tunnels. The J and M lines cross on the Williamsburg Bridge, the B,D,N, and Q cross on the Manhattan Bridge (B&D on the north side, N&Q on the south). These offer great views of the East River that you can’t see from anywhere else.
It’s interesting to ride the original 1 line (ex-IRT) to the viaduct over Manhattan Valley (between the 116th and 137th St. stations) and then up to the stations deep in the rock around 168th St which I think still preserve much of their turn-of-the-twentieth-century character. (Shrimp salad sandwich at the old University Food Market around 114th is still one of the best, too…)
News about the remaining 222 R-32’s and 50 R-42’s.
The R-42’s will be retired by the end of this year, and the R-32’s at the end of the first quarter of 2020, depending absence of problems with the existing fleet including the new R-179’s.
December 19, 2019
MTA Announces 20 Additional Subway Stations to Receive Accessibility Improvements Under Proposed 2020-2024 Capital Plan
New Stations Identified as Part of 70 Subway Stations Receiving Unprecedented $5.2 Billion Investment in Capital Plan – Largest Investment in Accessibility in New York City Transit History
Additional Stations Combine with 48 Previously Announced to Exceed MTA Goal of Ensuring Customers No More than 2 Stops from an Accessible Station
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced an additional 20 subway stations that will be fully ADA accessible under the proposed $51.5 billion 2020-2024 Capital Plan, expanding mobility options for millions of customers across the city. The new stations build on 48 additional accessible stations previously announced and are part of a total of 70 subway stations that will receive an unprecedented $5.2 billion investment in accessibility.
Although the tracks and platform are intact, the South Ferry loop station is no longer used. The station in uee is a stub-end terminal. The platforms and tracks a straight within the station. I can be corrected, but I think there are two tracks with three platforms. The outer platforms are for exiting the trains and system, the center one for boarding.
MTA Releases Final Train and Speed Safety Task Force Report to Safely Increase Speeds up to 50% on Certain Track Segments MTA Chairman Accepts Recommendations to Safely Increase Speeds and Capacity While Decreasing Running Times Across New York City Transit
$246M Contract Awarded to Install Communications-Based Train Control System and Other Significant Upgrades on Major Corridor Between Manhattan & Brooklyn
NYCT to Deploy Modern Axle-Counter Technology for First Time to Replace Track Circuits & Further Improve Signal System Reliability
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that a $245.8 million contract has been awarded to install a modern computer-based signaling system and a multitude of other significant upgrades on the Eighth Avenue ACE line, which serves hundreds of thousands of customers and connects Manhattan’s West side with Brooklyn and various subway lines that interface with nearly every subway line throughout the system. The corridor includes some of the busiest station complexes and transfer points in New York City, including Columbus Circle, Times Square and the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Penn Station and West 4th Street. The project corridor serves more than 700,000 riders each weekday, however because problems in one area can affect an entire line, all users of the ACE lines across New York City will benefit from this work. “A modern signaling system will help transform commutes for our millions of customers and bring our transit system into the 21st century by providing modern, reliable, safe service that can carry more riders than ever,” said MTA NYC Transit President Andy Byford. “This progress in our Eighth Avenue line resignaling project is a major milestone and a sign of what’s coming as we push forward to modernize the system as quickly as possible.”
The MTA’s new approach to “bundling” work in order to minimize disruptions to customers will be heavily employed in this project. In addition to performing a wide variety of upgrades in the contract simultaneously, the MTA’s new Construction and Development Company (C&D) will accelerate and coordinate millions of dollars of additional improvement work
Note that the BMT and IND are thoroughly integrated. The A, B, D, F, M (part-time), and V operate on routes that are partly old BMT and partly IND, plus new connecting tracks and in some cases a new service sompletely (Far Rockaway, former LIRR for the A, for example).
Also the 7 is serviced and overhauled at the B Division, former BMT Coney Island Shop, rather than 207th St. with 1 - 6, because of much less miloeage. 207th is ex-IND. The A Div. does not have its own main overhaul shop, since 149th and Lenox was closed about 40 years ago. 207th has a direct ramp to the 1 adjacent to it as well as the A as original.
January 17, 2020
MTA Unveils Integrated 42 St Connection Project Along 42 St Corridor
Eight Separate Rehabilitation Projects Merged into One Comprehensive Plan Under New MTA Construction & Development, Cutting Costs and Expediting Timelines In The Process
Holistic Approach Includes Accessibility Improvements and Wide-Ranging Capacity and Reliability Initiatives, Including Overhaul of the 42 St. Shuttle
In Just Five Months Since Implementing New Project Management Approach, MTA Already Cut Cost By $10M; Continuous Shuttle Service Remains in Effect for Customers
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today unveiled the integrated 42nd Street Connection project along 42 St Corridor. As a result of the MTA’s new approach to project management under MTA Construction and Development, several rehabilitation projects between Times Sq-42 St and Grand Central-42 St – including the redesign and rebuild of the 42 St Shuttle – have now been unified under one project CEO. In just five months since implementation, the new project management approach has cut costs by $10 million without interruption to subway service at one of the busiest station complexes in the nation.
When completed, the 42 St Connection Project will more seamlessly connect the transit corridor underneath 42 Street to make transferring easier, reduce the overall commute time for customers, and expand system access for customers with disabilities by making the 42 St Shuttle line accessible. Renderings of the project are available here https://www.flickr.com/photos/mtaphotos/49397221547/in/dateposted/.
The ongoing work continues to serve as an example of how the MTA’s new agency-wide capital project group, MTA Construction & Development, is achieving both cost and schedule savings by bundling projects together, leveraging design-build and modern construction techniques and putting them under t
