Riding the Rails

by Dawn Brushammar

The world's first subway system opened in London in 1863. Since then, subways have spread to large cities around the world as an efficient form of mass transport. I spend just under 90 minutes total underground per day during my commute in New York, and I thought it would be interesting to share some facts about New York's subway system.

The first elevated lines opened in New York in 1870, followed by a cable railway over the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883. In 1904, 28 subway stations opened in Manhattan, covering just over nine miles of track. The bulk of the stations in operation today were built before 1930. The entire system today comprises 26 lines with over 450 stations, depending on who you ask (some count connected stations as one station). The official station count is 468, which is only 35 stations less than all of the other subway systems in the United States combined! Between the stations there are over 660 miles of tracks. If the subway tracks were end to end, they would stretch from Manhattan to Chicago. Over 4.5 million people ride the New York City subway on an average weekday (including me!), or 1.4 billion passengers a year. Moscow, Tokyo, Seoul and Mexico City have more riders per year than New York, but New York remains the largest system with 6,400 subway cars in service as of 2002.

The longest ride without changing trains is the A train from 207th Street in Manhattan to Far Rockaway in Queens, which will take you on a 31-mile ride. Not bad for a $2 fare! I may miss riding my bike to work like I did in Sweden, but with so many interesting places and people to see on the subway here in New York, I think it will be a long time before the novelty wears off.