With 472 stations, the New York subway is the largest in the world.
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New York City New York is a city of contrasts. Soho boutiques stock thousands of dollars of clothing, but if you want to look, beware – the sidewalks and streets are full of holes and trip hazards. In pubs like McSorley’s Old Ale House, the sawdust still lies on the floor as it did a hundred years ago, but models in high heels still sit at the tables.
One of New York’s bifurcated places is the subway. Elegantly dressed people stand on the underground platforms, where rats frolic on the tracks or where water drips from the ceiling days after a downpour. I recommend visiting Chamber Street station on the J brown line: the underground tile cathedral is well worth the effort.
Arrival time scoreboards? Doesn’t exist. Experienced New Yorkers stretch out their hands to sense the arrival of a subway train. The squeaking grid floors on Union Square, which come out with every new train to bridge the gap to the platform, are worthy of a museum. When a fire destroyed the switchgear of the blue A and C many years ago, it took weeks for the trains to start running again – that’s how long it took to get the spare parts for the layout systems installed in 1932.
On average, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) transports a total of six million people a day, with a strong upward trend. The city is growing, the subway is relatively fast, cheap and reliable. A train rushes into the station every few minutes, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With 472 stations, the New York subway is the largest in the world.
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But for some time the problems have been piling up. A friend of mine was stuck in the red 2 line for half an hour a few days ago. There are almost 75,000 delays every month. While line 1.2007 was punctual for 94 percent of journeys, this year the figure is only 70 percent. Similar dramatic drops are seen on all other lines.
Part of the problem lies in the success of the subway: Around a third of delays are due to overcrowding on the tracks. It simply takes too long for the crowds to get in and out of the wagons. Similarly, there are now so-called “platform controllers” in Japan at peak times, which guide passengers onto the trains.
Also, the MTA does not invest enough. Example signal systems: Most of them are from the pre-war period. So far, the public company has only upgraded one line out of 22. If it continues at this rate, it will take half a century to bring the whole system up to speed. However, the technology installed today would then be hopelessly outdated.
One reason for the slow pace of reform is cost. The state, not the city, has budgetary control. There’s a big problem: Mayor Bill de Blasio is at odds with Governor Andrew Cuomo. Both are at odds over the MTA budget item, which amounts to a whopping $29.5 billion in the current five-year plan. If you’re ever in New York and feel like you’re in a museum on the subway, you’re not far off the mark. Take a good look at everything, you will have more time than ever.
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