Subway of New York

The subway of New York ( New York City Subway ) is a network of metropolitan transport exploited by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in the town of New York.

Appearing among the networks of public transport most important in the international level, it counts, according to the official figures of the MTA, 468 stations (a little more, approximately 470, if one includes the closed stations and the complexes joining together several stations), which places it at the first world rank in terms of many served stations. The network comprises 368 km of lines often with 4 ways (2 ways for the direct ones and 2 ways for the slow trains).

Although the subway of New York bears the name of subway , which translates into English the idea of underground , 40% of the lines follow an air layout which are based on structures in Acier or sometimes in cast iron, Viaduc S in Béton, embankments arranged, railway bridges and, occasionally, ways on the surface. The lines are almost exclusively underground with Manhattan, whereas they are as a majority air in the remainder of the city. All these lines, whatever the base of their layout, are located at levels different from those of the road infrastructures and surfaces pedestrians, and the majority of the crossings between two underground lines are made safe by the presence of railway exchangers.

Negotiations currently in hand would make it possible, if they succeeded, to amalgamate in a single organization, named MTA Subways , the services in charge of the exploitation of the subway of the New York City Transit Authority (which depends on MTA) and those of the Staten Island Railway, a metropolitan grid system which functions in an autonomous way in the district of Staten Island. To note however that these negotiations, started in 2003, were always at the dead point in April 2006, for legal reasons.

History

The installation of the subway

The history of the subway of New York off began in 1898 with the foundation from the City Greater New York (“Large New York”), which joined together the town of New York, the Kings County (Brooklyn), the Queens and the Richmond County (Staten Island). This new administrative entity decided quickly that its joint grid system was to be based on a modern system of underground subway, the subway . However, no private company not wanting to begin in such an expensive project and of which profitability remained hypothetical, the city had to be solved to emit obligations in order to finance itself of it construction. It signed however with a private organization, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (or IRT), a contract for the equipment and the exploitation of the lines. The receipts - exits of the fixed-price of five hundred S the ticket - were distributed between the city and this company.

The first underground underground line of the town of New York was thus inaugurated the October 27th 1904. However, the first elevated line (air route of metropolitan railway), IRT Ninth Avenue Line , had been built 35 years before, in 1868. The oldest infrastructures which still remain in service nowadays (after several restorations) go back to 1885: belonging initially to BMT Lexington Avenue Line , they constitute now a section of BMT Jamaica Line , with Brooklyn. It should be noted that a very first underground underground line had been built in 1870, on an experimental basis: its single tunnel allowed the connection of two streets of Manhattan, Warren Street and Broadway.

Before even as the first network of underground subway opens its doors, the lines had been federate within two private organizations, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (or BRT, which became later the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation, or BMT) and the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (or IRT, whose name means in French “railway line inter-borough”, knowing that the Borough S are the five major districts of the town of New York). The municipality nevertheless was very implied in the creation of this underground railway network: indeed, all the lines built on behalf of the IRT, as well as the majority of the lines built and renovated for that of the BRT after 1913, were financed and built by the city, which sub-contracted then their exploitation with the two private companies. The first underground line underground entirely managed by the town of New York, baptized Independent Subway System (or IND), was built in 1932. The purpose of this new public network was at the same time to compete with the private networks and to allow the disappearance of air underground lines the profit of underground lines.

In 1940, the two private networks were repurchased by the city, which carried out quickly the closing of a certain number of air lines. The unification was slow and progressive, but various connections however were implemented between the networks IND and BMT, which operated consequently within the framework of a single section, the Division B . On the other hand, being given the narrowness of its tunnels and its stations, incompatible with the oars of the Division B , IRT continued to manage in an autonomous way its own section, baptized Division has .

In 1953, was created the New York City Transit Authority, administration governing the exploitation of the whole of the joint grid system of the city (subway, bus and trams). This organization itself was placed under the control of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1968.

In 1934, the employees of BRT, IRT and IND were at the origin of the creation of the one of the most powerful trade unions of the country, the Transport Workers Union and, more precisely, of its local branch, the Local 100 . Three strike movements are to be since then noted: the first in 1966, one twelve days duration, the second in 1980, during eleven days, and the last starting from December 20th 2005, during three days, claims relating then to the wages and the retirement age.

The railroad in New York before the installation of the subway

Before the startup of the first underground underground lines in 1904, the city had several air railway lines, scattered in the various counties of the future town of New York, which constituted at the time of the distinct administrative entities: the New York County (Manhattan and part of the Bronx), the Kings County (Brooklyn and Williamsburg) and the Queens County (Queens).

Thus, several air lines with vapor were built on the principal avenues of Manhattan. The first, of the name of West Side and Obvious Yonkers Railway , was built between 1867 and 1870: traversing Greenwich Street and the Ninth avenue, it was renamed IRT Ninth Avenue Line after the agreement made in 1904 between the city and the Interborough Rapid Transit Company. Thereafter, other lines were built on the Second, Troisième and Sixth avenues (the latter correspondent in current Avenue off the Americas). All these lines disappeared today, but they have a time belonged to the underground railway network of the city.

Lines were also built on several avenues of the Kings County , which recovers the current district of Brooklyn: Lexington Which occurred, Myrtle Avenue, Third and Fifth which occurred, Fulton Street and Broadway. Then managed by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company then by the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation under the respective names of BMT Lexington Avenue Line , BMT Myrtle Avenue Line , BMT Third Avenue Line , BMT Fifth Avenue Line , Kings County Elevated Railway and BMT Jamaica Line , these air lines have, following the example lines of Manhattan, in their time belongs to the underground railway network of the town of New York. The majority of these lines for summer have closed down, even if there remains on the current network certain structures of origin obviously reinforced and modernized. These lines were connected to Manhattan by ways located on the Pont of Brooklyn. To also note that six lines of railroad to vapor had been brought into service in the South of the Kings County , with an aim of ensuring the connection with various tourist destinations such as the peninsula of Coney Island: except the one of them (the Manhattan Beach Line ), they were they also managed by the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation.

Stages of the development of the network

The first underground lines of the network were thus built as of 1904. The first line, resulting from the Contract 1 (contract 1) then connected the town hall ( City Hall ) to the Bronx. An extension of the line was then envisaged until Atlantic Avenue , with Brooklyn under the name of Contract 2 . In same time with Brooklyn, the majority of the old already existing lines with vapor were reinforced by BMT.

At the time of the creation of the subway, a debate took place, to determine which type of current would feed the town of New York. Two eminent personalities were opposed then, the American inventor Thomas Edison, favorable to the use of the D.C. current, and the Serb engineer Nikola Tesla, favorable as for him to the use of the Alternative course. It is finally Tesla which obtained win, and the Alternative course became the standard with New York. However, the city converts this Alternative course into D.C. current to supply its subways.

Two private companies and independent thus shared an underground railway network under development full at the beginning of the century: IRT and BRT. Consequently, the BRT, which had just penetrated with Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge wished to extend its zone of influence on Manhattan, and the IRT, which had all its lines with Manhattan and in the Bronx, wished to extend its network to Brooklyn. That led the town of New York to sign contracts with the two companies.

Thus, in 1913, the Dual Contracts were signed between the town of New York, BRT and IRT ( dual meaning double). These contracts, also known under the name of Dual Subway System were at the origin of the construction and the rehabilitation of the majority of the lines which exist still nowadays. The Contract 3 was signed between the city and the IRT, and the Contract 4 between the city and the BRT. These contracts included not only the creation of new lines, but also the construction of connections between the already existing lines. It is at that time that BMT Astoria Line and IRT Flushing Line were built, (current line 7 ).

In 1932, the city, considering that the private companies monopolized all the profits decided to set up a new company, that it would manage it even starting from private sector investments without having to share the benefit with private companies. IND was thus created, allowing the creation of new lines to supplement the network, among which IND Eighth Avenue Line, still used nowadays. These new lines were almost exclusively underground, with modern quays of 204 meters. It is at that time that the network of the city was vastest.

In 1940, acquisition by the city of the two independent and private companies brought to the creation of the New York City Transit Authority in 1953. The city then undertook the removal of the lines considered to be useless (because of the old competition between the three companies), which brought gradually to the network that we know today…

Accidents of the subway of New York

The number of accidents which the subway of New York knew since the beginning of the century is very high. One thus could count forty six major accidents which have occurred between 1918 and 2000.

The first accident of the Subway listed date of the October 3rd 1918. An article of the NewYork Times appeared on October 4th 1918 reports that a subway struck another train which was with the stop with the Jackson Avenue station . Two people found death, and twenty-eight others were more or less seriously wounded.

The worst accident of the history of the subway occurred the same year, on November 1st, at a few days of the end of the First World War. A subway of the Brighton Beach Line (which belonged to the network of BRT) approached a tunnel under Malbone Street at a speed ranging between 50 and 65 km/h, whereas it was not to exceed 10 km/h. The engine ran off the line, and the two following cars left the way completely. 97 people found death, and 200 others were seriously wounded. The driver of the subway, Edward Luciano, did not have much experiment on the air underground lines, and did not know well the Brighton Beach Line . It should be noted that this accident occurred in period of strike, with a need for finding drivers substitutes for the subways.

Among the other major accidents, one can quote that of the May 20th 1970. A new collision between two subways occurred with a crossroads, resulting in the death of two people. 77 people were moreover wounded. Once again, the driver and an inspector were considered to be guilty; it is thus about a new human error. More recently, the August 28th 1991, a train of IRT Lexington Avenue Line ran off the line, causing the death of five people. Two hundred people were wounded and the traffic was disturbed during six days. The driver, Robert Ray was in a state of intoxication, and was recognized guilty of manslaughter. It was the worst accident since sixty three years. Lastly, the last major accident in date goes back to October 25th 2000: a car was completely battered following a collision, but no passenger was wounded.

The current underground railway network

Figures of the subway

In 2002, one counted 4,5 million people using the subway each day, and 4,9 million in 2006. Daily the record number of passengers goes back to September 2005, with a peak to 7,5 million users. The annual number travellers amounted to 1,4 billion in 2004, and the forecasts for the year 2006 locate it at the neighborhoods of 1,5 billion passengers. The subway of New York is thus the fifth world subway in terms of annual number travellers. The most attended station city is that of Times Square, located in the middle of Manhattan and the underground railway network. Moreover, more than 90% of the voyages are done with a MetroCard.

The subway is the principal consumer of electricity of the town of New York. Indeed, during the rush hours, consumption in energy can reach 500 megawatts, and with 1,8 billion Kilowatt-heure S per annum, the subway of New York consumes a quantity of electricity equivalent to that which feeds an American city of approximately 300.000 inhabitants.

In 2005, the trading incomes of the system amounted to 1,9 billion dollar. The forecasts for year 2006 indicate a light rise, with incomes being at the neighborhoods of 2 billion dollars. However, the costs generated by the management of the whole of the network of MTA are higher than the receipts. A financing by the city intervenes thus, in order to make up the deficit, because the benefit generated by the prices of the tickets and the MetroCard S are not enough to balance the budget.

The New York City Transit Authority (subways and bus) employs approximately 47.000 people. This figure includes, in addition to the operators and the persons in charge of maintenance, the data-processing lawyers, engineers, electricians, programmers, the accountants, the town planners and a hundred of other professions.

Current infrastructures

The majority of the current stations have quays of which the length varies between 122 to 213 meters, in order to accommodate a maximum of passengers. The entry in the subway is made via staircases, that the lines are underground where air, because the infrastructures are never located at the level of the streets. In all the stations, the travellers can buy MetroCard, a magnetic card which is valid at the same time in the subway and the bus. These MetroCard is provided by MTA. The users penetrate in the stations, and use to them MetroCard to cross a wicket which gives the access to the ways. The subway of New York is thus organized like those of Paris, or London.

The tunnels of the Métro were built several manners. At the time of the opening of the subway of IRT in 1904, the construction of the tunnels was done according to the method cut-and-cover (to dig and cover). The roads were destroyed in order to dig the tunnels, then once the finished tunnel, the road was rebuilt over. This method functioned well when the ground where the gravel were flexible. For the portions where the ground was thicker, with basic rocks for example, a tunneller was necessary.

A subway has on average between eight and eleven cars, although the shuttles (lines S ) can have only between two and four cars. The size of each oar can thus vary between 46 and 183 meters. In general, the trains which come from the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (lines named by a figure) are shorter and narrower than those which come from the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation and of the Independent Subway System (lines named by a letter). It results from them that the oars of the Division has , i.e. those which come from IRT (with sections with the narrower tunnels, more tightened turns, and spaces enter the platforms narrower than the BMT/IND) do not roll on the ways of the Division B , because although that is technically possible, space between the oar and the quay would be too important, and would not guarantee the security conditions necessary. On the other hand, the whole of the trains of maintenance comes from the division has , since these trains are compatible with the whole of the rails of the network.

Towards an automated subway

MTA recently began a process of automation from the network which should be spread out over twenty years. Work was to start with the line L , but MTA finally decided to concentrate its projects of automation on a portion much more important. This automation will consist of the use of the OPTO ( One Persson Train Operation) jointly with CBTC ( Communication-Based Train Control ). The subways will be then without driver, but an operator will be charged to control each train (opening and closing of the doors, etc)

The first advantage of this automation relates to safety, since the trains will be connected by radio, thus allowing a rigorous control their speed, and their position. This automation will also bring to more reliability, making it possible to reduce the number of delays, and will make it possible, moreover, to replace old machines several decades, and which know failures. Several cities in the world propose already an underground railway network at least partially automated: Paris, Lyon, Lille (where the first automated subway was brought into service) Singapore or Vancouver. Moreover, with regard to the restorations which will accompany this automation in this very old network, the installation of infrastructures to accommodate handicapped people is a priority, because currently, only some stations (the key stations ) have the equipment necessary. Work which will accompany this automation by the network could thus make it possible to make more stations accessible to the people reduced mobility.

Operation of the network

A complex organization

The organization of the subway of New York is more complex than that of Métro of Paris or Métro of London. The stations resemble mazes indeed most of the time, but of very many panels allow to find itself there, and once the principle included/understood, one arrives without difficulty of finding its way. With Manhattan, the subway almost always moves north in the south, or south in north, because the lines are located most of the time under the large avenues. To join north, it is necessary to take the subways in the Uptown direction, whereas to go in the south of the island, it is necessary to take the subways in the Downtown direction. That constitutes a first difficulty because, because of the number of ways on the same quay (which varies between two and four), it proves sometimes difficult, when one was mistaken, to find a subway which goes in the direction opposed without having to go back to the entry of the station. It is then necessary to manage to find the good line, because on the same quay, one, two, even three different lines can circulate, but of the plans are placed at the disposal of the travellers. The presence of several lines on the same quay is due to the fact that in Manhattan, the network is divided into section of lines.

In general, the same section of line is borrowed by several underground lines. For example, from Manhattan, the ways 4, 5, 6 borrows IRT Lexington Avenue Line. In theory, the lines which borrow the same section of line are of the same color, thus, for example, the lines has, C, E which borrow IND Eighth Avenue Line are blue, and the lines 4, 5, 6 which borrow the IRT Lexington Avenue Line are green. The various lines which employ this section of line are either bus ( local ) or express train. The bus lines stop in all the stations of their section of line, whereas the lines express train make halt only in the stations considered as principal from the number of travellers who forward there. The sections of line comprise four ways then: the two center lanes (accessible by central quays in the major stations) are used by the lines express train, whereas the external ways are employed by the bus lines. Moreover, certain lines ( J-Z ) use the skip-stop (passage/stop) during the rush hours. The stations are then also separate in principal stations and secondary stations, and only a subway on two stops in the secondary stations.

It is thus necessary well to take care, when one wishes to join a particular station, to take on a quay a subway which goes there, because several lines of the same section of line will go in the right direction, but it may be that the desired station is served only by one bus subway.

Schedules

In week, the day is separate in several time slots, which determine the operation of the lines (bus, express train, operation of certain lines). The rush hours correspond to two time slots (6. 30 - 9:30 then 15:30 - 20:00). The rush hours correspond to the hours when the majority of people leave to work, or on the contrary return of work. The middays correspond to the part of the day located between 9:30 at 15:30. It is the hour of the lunch, and much of people borrow the subway. The evenings correspond to the period ranging between 8 p.m. and midnight, the lines available are fewer, and serve especially the great tourist places: Times Square, Madison Square Garden, Broadway, etc Between midnight and 6:30 late nights , all the subways do not function, and the number of oars which circulate is less low, from where longer waitings. The weekend, the subway functions uninterrupted between 6:30 and midnight. Although certain stations close the night, or at the time of the weekends, the subway of New York east one of in the world to only propose an underground railway network which functions 24 hours by day, with PATH (suburban train which binds Manhattan to the New Jersey) and the PATCO (which binds the south of the New Jersey to Philadelphia). That is explained by the presence of four ways on the majority of the network, thus, when ways must be cleaned or renovated, at least two ways remain usable what allows a permanent use of these lines.

Stations

The subway stations are located at Manhattan, Brooklyn, in the Queens and the Bronx, which means that Staten Island is not directly served. There is no standard distance between the stations, they can be very brought closer (only four or 5 blocks in Manhattan) where much more distant according to the lines, but in general, on the lines which function in the slow train, the stations is rather close. All the lines forward by Manhattan, except for the line G ( Brooklyn Queens Crosstown Local ).

The stations are sometimes true complexes, following the example that of Times Square. These stations gather very many lines, but those are not always located in the vicinity from/to each other. For example, at Times Square (station 42nd Street-Times Square ), a user who used the line 1 and which wishes to take the correspondence with the line has will have to go at an important distance, because the line 1 is located under the 7th Avenue, whereas the line has is located under the 8th Avenue; however, these two lines belong to the same station.

Moreover, the number of stations accessible to the people with reduced mobility remains relatively weak, and often, the stations equipped are the termini, or the stations with great multitude. One does not find either escalators in the stations, and all these difficulties make the subway difficult to reach to the handicapped people, like with the children.

A new station, the Fulton Street Transit Center, is in construction in the place of the old station of Fulton Street to the crossing of Fulton and Broadway. It is planned for first half of the year 2009. This new station will be equipped with shops and restaurants. Its outside will be a cone out of glass and the accesses to the lines will be improved. The Fulton Street Transit Center will give access the lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, has, C, J and M.

Means of payment

There exist currently two valid means of payment in the subway. Formerly, only the token ( token ) was used to pay the voyages, and to cross the swivels. Nowadays, the tokens are not any more used but to pay ways with the unit. Indeed, in 1994, new means of payment, valid in the subway like the bus, the MetroCard was created. This magnetic card makes it possible to the travellers to use in the underground railway network a sum prepaid with a counter, or in an automatic machine, or to have an unlimited number of voyages during one limited duration ( Pay-Per-Wrinkle one day, one week or a month). In 1997, the MetroCard was improved, allowing free transfers between the subways and the buses, and between two buses of MTA throughout one two hour, after the payment of the voyage. In 2003, the famous token was removed, except for the ways with the unit, and the same year, MTA increased the price of the voyage to 2$ in spite of the many disputes. In 2005, the MTA increased the prices of the unlimited MetroCard ( Pay-Per-Wrinkle ), but preserved the price of the voyage at the unit: 2$.

In spring 2006, the Port Authority off New York and New Jersey started to distribute charts functioning with the principle of Radio-identification (abbrégé RFID), for the seniors circulating on the network: the SmartLink . But this system of chart should become the new means of payment in the whole of the network, and should also be able to be used like means of payment in certain stores.

Security measures

The June 22nd 2005, consequently of the attacks of London, the police force of New York set up a system of excavation of travellers, on the level of the swivels. The police force of the city made a point of specifying that the excavations would be done well randomly, and not according to the skin color, to avoid overflows and suspicions of Racisme. The goal is to try to avoid new bomb attacks in a city already struck in its heart at the time of the Attentats of September 11th, 2001.

The code of conduct

As in very many subways in the world, a code of conduct and of repression was set up in the underground railway network of New York. Fines of 100$ and custodial sentences (10 days) were thus founded during the violation of following prohibitions:

To jump over the swivels, even with a valid MetroCard.
To use a bicycle
To use Roller, Skateboard S, or a Child's scooter
to move between the cars when the subway is with the stop
Mettre the feet on the benches on the quays
Mettre bags on a free seat when the subway is crammed
Boire anything.

Curiously, no sanction is planned for people who spit (saliva or chewing-gum) in the subway, whereas this phenomenon remains very widespread. Certain users suggest even the installation of spittoons…

Oars used

The Métro of New York has the most important park of subway trains. In 2002, one indeed counted 6.400 cars on the list of the New York City Transit Authority. The trains, bought by the town of New York since 1948 are identified by the letter R, followed by a number, such as for example R44. These numbers correspond to the contracts under which the trains were acquired by the city. It may be thus that of the trains which have a different number (R 1, R 2 for example) are identical, having simply been bought on dates and thus under different contracts.

The network is composed of two parks of quite distinct trains, which correspond to two divisions of the network: the Division has (IRT) and the Division B (IND and BMT). That is due to the fact that the gauges of the trains are different, which prevents from adapting a single type of train. Indeed, the trains of the Division has have a width of 2,7 meters and a 15,5 meters length, whereas the ways of the Divison B have a width of three meters and a 22,8 meters length. That explains moreover the low number of connections Division has , Division B . These divergences of sizes are due to the fact that the subways of IRT were copied on the models of other subways such as those of Boston or of Chicago.

The oars which obtain the best performances in terms speed (for example R 44, R 46, R 142, R 142S) can reach a top speed of 105 km/h.

List Oars Used (English language version)

Lines

Presentation

The network is composed of 26 lines, which include/understand three shuttles (shuttles) with the rather short way. With each section of line a color is associated. The color of the three shuttles is the dark gray. The total of stations of the network amounts to 468, but this total is high with a little more than 470 if the closed stations are considered, and the complexes which gather several stations. In general, several Métro S borrows the same section of line, which explains the division of the network of stations in principal stations and minor stations. Certain lines have a character express train, other slow trains ( local ). The lines which circulate in the express train on a portion of way stop only with the station S considered principal, and as several subways circulate on the same portion of line, there is always another line which ensures the service road of the local station S. The advantage of this division room/express train is to allow a service road of the principal stations in order to flux the traffic. Name local express train or is found besides in the names of the lines, however, the character express train or slow train of each line also depends on the hours of the day: rush hours, night, evenings, weekends and middays.

The underground railway network is divided into two great sections of line, the lines of old IRT constituting the Division has (lines named by a figure), and the lines born of fusion between BMT and IND constituting the division B (lines named by a letter). Both Divisions then they are even split in several other sections of lines. Thus, in the Division has , one finds IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line and IRT Lexington Avenue Line, and in the Division B IND Eighth Avenue Line, IND Sixth Avenue Line, BMT Nassau Street Line and BMT Broadway Line.

The airport JFK is the only one which is served by the underground railway network, in particular thanks to the line has, and the AirTrain JFK. The airports of Guardia (in the Queens) and of Newark do not profit from lines forwarding by their terminals. That is explained on the level of the airport of Newark by the fact why it is located out of the borders of the town of New York. On the other hand, several lines pass near Guardia, which makes the absence of stations difficult to explain.

List lines

The Division C is made up of the secondary lines, not used in a commercial goal, and ways of maintenance.

The subway of New York in the popular culture

The subway of New York is not a symbol of Big Apple as extremely as the “ yellow cabs ” (yellow taxis) which represent the majority of the vehicles that one meets in the streets of New York. However, the subway appears in many films and many televised series. It has moreover an influence in several fields such as arts, the sport, tourism or the press.

With the cinema, on television and in the press

The subway of New York appeared in a recurring way in very many films. Its first appearance on television and color dates from the musical comedy One day in New York ( One The Town ), produced for the first time at Broadway in 1944, and adapted to the cinema in 1949 with in the high-speed motorboats Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. This Musical film was moreover one of the first to being filmed on the spot.

The most famous film which put in scene the subway of New York east probably French Connection , with the final continuation which puts at the catches the hero with the drug trafficker in the elevated railway of BMT West End Line , considered as the largest scene of continuation of the modern cinema. Another film which also puts in scene the subway of New York: it is about The Taking off Pelham One Two Three (1974): four individuals (whose Mr. Blue incarnated by Robert Shaw) pirate a subway train (the famous oars redbird are with the honor in this film) and ask for a ransom of a million dollars in order to release the hostages. But the subway of New York also appears in Ghost , left in 1990, or in Money Train left in 1995. More recently, one finds the subway in the film Spider Man 2 , in a supposed scene of crash landing to be held in the line R, like in cartoon film Madagascar, in the line which connects Times Square to the Gare Great Exchange. In the film Rent , left in 2005, several characters sing and dance in the line F of the subway. But all these films constitute only one sample of the feature films which have a scene in the subway of New York.

The subway also makes appearances in series TV such as Seinfeld in the episode entitled “The Subway” (the subway), or in Friends , where the subway appears in a recurring way, even if the supposed series to be held with New York is actually turned to Burbank in California.

With regard to the press, it should be known that the sales of very many New-yorkais newspapers depend directly on the frequentation of the Métro by the inhabitants of the city, but also by the tourists. It is thus the case of the daily newspaper Metro, exclusively distributed in the subway, but also of several Tabloïd S such as the New York Sun, the New York Daily News or the AM New York.

The subway and the sport

The underground lines forward for the majority by Manhattan, where evolve/move the teams of Basket-ball of the Knicks and the New York Liberty. The evenings of matches, the underground lines thus are very attended in direction of Manhattan and the Madison Square Garden. The subway also intervenes on the level of the Base-ball, which is the most popular sport with New York in meetings called Subway Series . These meetings oppose the teams of baseball of the town of New York. The last Subway Series date from the year 2000, and had shown a victory of the New York Yankees over the New York Mets over the score of four victories to one.

The subway gives also access to the park of Flushing Meadow, where is held each year one of the four major tournaments of tennis, the US Open. Flushing Meadow is indeed located in the Queens, and only the 7 makes it possible to reach it. The station Willets Point-Shea Stadium thus is very attended during the tournament, which explains why a park filled with subways 7 evening placed near the station, which serves also the Shea Stadium, the stage of the New York Mets. Same manner, the lines 4 , B and D serves the Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. The subway is thus the means most economic to go in the stages where all the sporting great events take place.

The subway and art

The stations of the subway of New York all are more or less decorated. As of 1904, year of opening of the network, mosaics with the name of the stations were installed on the quays. This simple kind of decorations is also present in other subways in the world, like that of Paris for example. Thereafter, of mural decorations were installed, in mosaic, or Céramique. Thus animals carried out in mosaics were stuck on the walls of the two stations of the Museum off Modern Art. However, in the decades which followed, the subway was neglected more, and it is only since the installation of the program Arts for Transit in the Années 1980 that the stations became less dull, with the installation of statues, sculptures and posters.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority organizes and frames thus the artists of the subway in a program baptized Arts for Transit , set up in 1985. The objective of this countryside is to create permanent works of art in the stations, within the framework of the rehabilitation of the stations of the network. MTA works thus in collaboration with architects and engineers on the level of the New York City Transit Authority (subway), Long Island Railroad and Subway-North Railroad (Suburban train) to determine which works of art will be exposed in the stations and stations whose rehabilitation is envisaged. The role of the program Arts for Transit is also to select artists for each project, selection at the same time made up of professionals of art, and representatives of the community.

The subway and tourism

The subway of New York has, following the example many buildings of Big Apple of very many derivative products. It is thus possible to find in the souvenir shops of the Tee-shirts, the magnets, or of the plates of the subway. The Tee-shirts, often floqués, represent the plan of the subway, the complete listing of the lines, where still a particular line; one thus finds a Tee-shirt for each line, with his logo color, as well as the boroughs which are served. The magnets represent as for them stations, with the name of the station, as all the lines which it is possible to take there; only the principal stations are represented in this manner. For example, that of Times Square, Wall Street or that of Great Exchange Station.

Graffiti in the subway

In the Years 1970 and 80, the first Graffiti S (or tags ) appeared in the subway of New York. For some, they were only the symbol of a decline, whereas for others, they represented the birth of an art nouveau, the expression by the young people of their political aspirations, economic, in margin of the development of the cultures Rap and Hip-hop. The years 1975 with 1977 were the two most prolific years as regards tags in the subway, at one time when the various styles of graffiti became ripe. The trains were not only marked a signature (tag) of the graffiteurs, they were sometimes of true travelling tables, painted upwards, windows included/understood. Certain “artists”, such as Taki 183, Keith Haring (drawings with chalk white on the black billboards) or Jean-Michel Basquiat (movement SAMO for “SAme Old Shit”, always the same shit ) became famous thanks to their graffiti in the subways of New York. An exposure to the museum of art of Brooklyn even took place in May 2006.

At the end of the Years 1970, the graffiti became an art, and legendary artists, such as Lee Quinones, Futura 2000 or Fab Five Freddy exposed their works in art galleries of the city, such as the Tony Shafrazi Gallery , the Fun Gallery of Patti Astor or the Gallery Sydney Janis. Thereafter, of many artists, coming from less modest mediums united with the movement, charmed by this urban, and sometimes clandestine art. Great names appear thus among the members of the movement Graffiti in New York, such as the artist Jenny Holzer, who joined the graffiti-artist Lady Pink.

The town hall of New York always adopted with respect to these modern artists a policy of repression, especially since the appearance these last years of tags carried out using acids, indelible. Since 1935, a branch of the New Yorkean police force, name of New York City Transit Organizes, is dedicated to safety in the subway. Its principal task is the fight against the Vandalisme, and in particular the graffiti which appeared during the medium of the Années 1970 and 1980. The New York City Transit Organizes affected for this purpose an special unit, name of Vandal Squad , charged to locate and stop the authors of paintings on the walls of the subway. In 1989, the last painted car was withdrawn from circulation, putting thus fine at a five year campaign aiming at éradiquer the graffiti. This countryside cost approximately 250 million dollars. Despite everything, the tags did not disappear from the subway.

Various on the subway

Between 1941 and 1976, an election of Miss Subway took place. A republication even took place in 2004.
At the end of the Années 1980 and at the beginning of the Années 1990, several users of the subway realized that the tokens of the Connecticut Throughway (the Connecticut being a neighboring state) were of the same size and even weight that those of the subway of New York. Thus, as these tokens were less expensive, they appeared little by little in the subway of New York, but in the final analysis, trickery having become too frequent, the tokens of the Connecticut Throughway changed size.
At the time of the advertisement of the rise in the price of the tokens, of many users was found confronted with a dilemma: to buy the already existing tokens massively, by hoping that their size would not change, or to wait. The experts were ready to adopt two different policies according to their reaction: if the users bought the old tokens in mass, then they would change the size it, whereas if they remained careful, and did not ruaient themselves on the old tokens, they would preserve the same size for those. An expert declared even in a newspaper: “It is a play where we cannot lose”.
In 1979, for the 75e birthday of the subway, a special token was emitted. These tokens then were primarily kept in remembering, instead of being used as transport document.
In 1973, the contest of most beautiful the tag of the subway was organized by the New York Magazine .
With 468 stations, the subway of New York has only 35 stations of less than all those of the other subways of the joined together countries.
the highest station of the network ( Smith-Ninth Streets ) is located at 26,8 meters height. The station of 191st Street as for it is located at 55 meters under ground, which makes of it the “major” station more of the network.
the quantity of electricity used by the subway of New York each year could make it possible to feed a city of the size of Buffalo during one year.
the total distance traversed not the whole of the subways of the network in one day (that is to say 7400 subways in week) amounts to 1,6 million kilometers approximately.
the deposit of the subway of New York, the Coney Island Complex is the largest deposit of subways of the world.

Photograph gallery

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