John E. Morris - Subway: The Curiosities, Secrets, and Unofficial History of the New York City Transit System

ROUTES: 22

ROUTE MILEAGE: 262

STATIONS: 472, 60 percent underground

BUSIEST STATIONS:

Times Square42nd Street(A, C, E, N, Q, R, S, W, 1, 2, 3, 7)62 million passengers annually

Grand Central (S, 4, 5, 6, 7)43 million

34th StreetHerald Square (B, D, F, M, N, Q, R, W)37.1 million

DEEPEST STATION: 191st Street (1), 180 feet below the surface

HIGHEST STATION: SmithNinth Street (F, G), on a viaduct over the Gowanus Canal, 88 feet above street level

UNDERWATER TUNNELS: 14

NUMBER OF CARS: 6,585 (2018)

EMPLOYEES: 35,913 (2018)

RANK IN THE WORLD BY RIDERSHIP: 7th (behind Beijing, Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Guangzhou, and Moscow)

AVERAGE WEEKDAY PASSENGERS: 5.4 million (2018)

ANNUAL RIDERSHIP: 1.68 billion (2018)

LONGEST RIDES:

With no change of trains: the A from 207th Street in Manhattan to Far Rockaway in Queens (31+ miles)

With a transfer: the 2 line from 241st Street in the Bronx, transferring to the A to Far Rockaway (38+ miles)

GALLONS OF WATER PUMPED OUT OF THE SYSTEM ON A DRY DAY: 13 million

ANNUAL PASSENGER FATALITIES: 48 (2016)

MURDERS: 1 (2018)

ROBBERIES: 484 (2018)

PEOPLE ON THE TRACKS OR HIT BY A TRAIN BECAUSE THEY WERE TOO CLOSE TO THE EDGE OF THE PLATFORM, ANNUALLY: Nearly 900 (2017)

SUICIDES AND ATTEMPTS: 43 (2017)

1863 First London Underground sections opened using steam engines.

1865 New York State legislature approves plan for Hugh B. Wilsons subway system, but proposal is vetoed by the governor under pressure from Boss Tweed and New York Citys transit interests.

1867 Charles Harvey tests cable-driven elevated train line along Greenwich Street in Lower Manhattan.

1869 Harveys elevated line reaches 29th Street and Ninth Avenue, near 30th Street pier.

1881 Elevated lines along Second, Third, Sixth, and Ninth Avenues in Manhattan have been completed to Harlem.

1883 Brooklyn Bridge opens.

1885 Elevated line opens from Fulton Street Ferry in Brooklyn five miles east to Rockaway Avenue.

1888 Richmond, Virginia, electrifies its trolley lines using technology developed by Frank Sprague.

1890 Londons first electrically propelled underground line opens under River Thames from Stockwell to citys financial center.

1897 Boston begins running electric trolleys underground.

1898 Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and unincorporated portions of the Bronx merge with New York City, which then consisted of Manhattan and western portions of the Bronx.

1900 John B. McDonald wins bidding to build and operate first subway. He allies with August Belmont Jr.s Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), and ground is broken at City Hall. Paris Metro debuts with electric power.

1901 Boston debuts subway with full-sized cars.

1902 Berlins U-bahn subway debuts.

1903 IRT gains control of all elevated lines in Manhattan and the Bronx.

1904 IRT subway opens from City Hall to 145th Street and Broadway.

1908 IRT tunnel from Manhattan to Brooklyn opens, ending at Atlantic Avenue terminus of Long Island Railroad.

1913 Dual Contracts agreed to between city, IRT, and Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT), launching a new wave of subway construction.

1915 BRT line opens from Coney Island in Brooklyn up Fourth Avenue to Manhattan Bridge and Chambers Street near City Hall (D, N, R, Q). IRT line from Grand Central completed to Corona, Queens (7).

1918 IRT Seventh Avenue line opens south from Times Square, Lexington Avenue IRT line opens north from Grand Central, and 42nd Street shuttle is created. Crash near Malbone Street, Brooklyn, kills more than 90 passengers.

1919 BRT Broadway line (N, Q, R, W) is completed from Manhattan Bridge to 59th Street and Lexington Avenue.

1925 Construction of Eighth Avenue IND line (A, B, C, D) begins in Harlem.

1928 IRT Queens line (7) extension to Main Street, Flushing, completed.

1932 Eighth Avenue IND line opens from Chambers Street to 207th Street in Manhattan.

1932 IRT goes into receivership after years of losses.

1933 Queens Boulevard IND line (E) opens from 50th Street and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan to Roosevelt Avenue in Queens.

1936 Construction of IND line down Sixth Avenue (B, D, F) begins in Midtown.

1936 Lower East Side IND line (F) tunnel opens to Brooklyn, where it meets Eighth Avenue IND lines (A, C).

1940 Sixth Avenue IND line (B, D, F) opens from West Fourth Street to 50th StreetRockefeller Center, with local tracks only south of 34th Street.

1940 Unification: BMT (successor to the BRT) and IRT are consolidated with IND under city control. Second Avenue el line ceases operation north of 57th Street, and demolition begins.

1942 Service ceases on rest of Second Avenue el, and tracks are taken down.

1948 Fare raised from five cents to 10 cents, first increase in 44 years.

1953 Subway tokens introduced when fare is raised to 15 cents and can no longer be paid with one coin. New York City Transit Authority established to replace Board of Transportation.

1955 Third Avenue elevated line closes in Manhattan.

1955 Connection is opened between former BMT 60th Street tunnel in Manhattan and IND Queens Boulevard line, allowing Seventh AvenueBroadway trains (R) to travel on IND lines in Queens.

1967 Chrystie Street Connection opens, allowing trains from former BMT lines on the Manhattan Bridge to run on the IND Sixth Avenue line, in addition to their existing routes along Broadway and Center Street. New Sixth Avenue IND express lines completed between West Fourth and West 34th Streets.

1968 Metropolitan Transportation Authority formed as new parent for New York City Transit Authority.

1971 City buys Staten Island Railroad from Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and makes it part of transit system.

1972 Mayor John Lindsay declares first war on subway graffiti.

1973 Service ends on Third Avenue el in the Bronx.

1975 First production trains with air-conditioning enter service, and retrofitting of AC to older trains begins.

1988 Archer Avenue line opens in eastern Queens, adding three stations and joining E and J lines.