New York
HISTORY OF THE New York METRO
Mister M presents
New York subway
New York Metro Museum
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate 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 the most stations, with 472 stations in operation (424 if stations connected by transfers are counted as single stations). Stations are located throughout the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.
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 the seventh-busiest rapid transit rail system in the world. In 2017, the subway delivered over 1.72 billion rides, averaging approximately 5.6 million daily rides on weekdays and a combined 5.7 million rides each weekend (3.2 million on Saturdays, 2.5 million on Sundays). On October 29, 2015, more than 6.2 million people rode the subway system, establishing the highest single-day ridership since ridership was regularly monitored in 1985.
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 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 a few stretches of track run at ground level. In total, 40% of track is above ground. Many lines and stations have both express and local services. These lines have three or four tracks.
TIMELINE STORIES
MAPLINE routes
We operate the largest public transportation agency in North America and one of the largest in the world. In 2019, the subway had a daily ridership of about 5.5 million and an annual ridership of about 1.7 billion.
The entire network consists of 22 lines, plus 3 shuttle services. Total route length is approx. 350 km (some 230 km underground), with some sections having 3 or 4 tracks for express services. There are 472 stations (153 elevated, 38 at grade or in an open cutting and 281 underground). The deepest station on the network is 191 St (Lines 1/9) which lies 60 m below street level. The New York City Subway operates around the clock, about every 4 min during rush hours (06:30-09:30 and 15:30-20:00) and every 20 min after midnight.
Numbered lines correspond to the older small-profile IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit) network, whereas letter-coded lines were once the BMT (Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit) or the IND (Independent Subway) network. The three systems were merged in 1940, but the larger trains of the BMT/IND system cannot operate on the IRT routes.
