IRT Lexington Avenue Line explained

IRT Lexington Avenue Line
Type:Rapid transit
System:New York City Subway
Status:Operational
Locale:Manhattan, New York City, NY
Start:125th Street
End:Bowling Green
Stations:23 in use (4 abandoned)
Daily Ridership:497,727
Open:1904–1918
Owner:City of New York
Operator:New York City Transit Authority
Character:Underground
Linelength:8.3 mi (13.4 km)
Tracks:2–4
Electrification:600V DC third rail
Map State:collapsed

The IRT Lexington Avenue Line (also known as the IRT East Side Line and the IRT Lexington–Fourth Avenue Line) is one of the lines of the A Division of the New York City Subway, stretching from Lower Manhattan north to 125th Street in East Harlem. The line is served by the .

The line was constructed in two main portions by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), a private operator. The first portion, from City Hall north to 42nd Street, was opened between 1904 and 1908, and is part of the first subway line in the city. The original subway turned west across 42nd Street at the Grand Central station, then went north at Broadway, serving the present-day IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. The second portion of the line, north of 42nd Street, was constructed as part of the Dual Contracts, which were signed between the IRT; the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, via a subsidiary; and the City of New York.

For decades, the Lexington Avenue Line was the only line in Manhattan that directly served the Upper East Side and East Midtown; this four-track line is the most used rapid transit line in the United States. Its average of 1.3 million daily riders is more than the total riderships of the transit systems of Chicago (772,900 weekday passengers), Boston (569,200 weekday passengers), and San Francisco (452,600 weekday passengers). The line spurred the construction of the parallel Second Avenue Subway, which opened in 2017, to relieve congestion on the Lexington Avenue line.[1]

Four stations along this line have been abandoned. When platforms were lengthened to fit ten cars, it was deemed most beneficial to close these stations and open new entrances for adjacent stations. The 18th Street station was abandoned because of the proximity to both 14th Street–Union Square and 23rd Street. In addition, the City Hall and Worth Street stations were both very close to the Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall station's Brooklyn Bridge and Duane Street exits, respectively, so both were abandoned. Finally, South Ferry is within walking distance of Bowling Green, and is right next to the corresponding station on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue line.[2]

Extent and service

Services that use the Lexington Avenue Line are colored .[3] The following services use part or all of the line:

 Time periodSection of line
Rush hours
and middays
EveningsWeekendsLate nights
expresslocalfull line
expressalign=Center no servicefull line (weekdays till 8:45 p.m.)
north of Bowling Green (late evenings and weekends)
localnorth of Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall
localno service

The Lexington Avenue Line begins in lower Manhattan at the inner loop of the abandoned South Ferry station. North of the station is a merge with the tracks of the Joralemon Street Tunnel from Brooklyn, which become the express tracks. These run north under Broadway and Park Row to Centre Street. At the south end of Centre Street, directly under New York City Hall, is the City Hall Loop and its abandoned station, which was the southern terminus of the original IRT subway line.[4] The loop is still used to turn 6 and <6> service; the Lexington Avenue local tracks, which feed the loop, rise up to join the express tracks just south of Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall station.

From Brooklyn Bridge, the line continues northward in a four-across track layout under Centre Street, Lafayette Street, Fourth Avenue, and Park Avenue South until 42nd Street. At this point, the beginning of Metro-North Railroad's Park Avenue tunnel in Grand Central Terminal forces the Lexington Avenue Line to shift slightly eastward to Lexington Avenue; its Grand Central–42nd Street station is located on the diagonal between Park and Lexington. Just south of Grand Central, a single non-revenue track connects the IRT 42nd Street Shuttle to the southbound local track; this was part of the original IRT subway alignment.

Under Lexington Avenue, the line assumes a two-over-two track configuration, with the local tracks running on the upper level and the express on the lower, although it briefly returns to a four-across layout between 96th Street and 116th Street. 125th Street returns to this two-over-two layout, although here the upper level is used by all northbound trains and the lower level by southbound trains. This is because Lexington Avenue is too narrow to have a four-across layout.[5]

North of this, the line crosses under the Harlem River into the Bronx via the four-track Lexington Avenue Tunnel, where the line splits into the IRT Jerome Avenue Line on the western two tracks and the IRT Pelham Line on the eastern two tracks .[6]

History

Original subway

Construction started on the first IRT line in 1900.[7] A 1902 explosion during construction seriously damaged properties just above the line.[8] The part of the line from City Hall to just south of 42nd Street was part of the original IRT line, opened on October 27, 1904.[9] A 0.3mile extension to Fulton Street opened at 12:01 a.m. on January 16, 1905.[10] Only the northbound platform opened at this time.[11] [12] The next station, Wall Street, was opened on June 12, 1905, as well as the southbound platform at Fulton Street.[13] [14]

The first revenue train on the South Ferry extension left South Ferry at 11:59 p.m. on July 9, 1905; the extension of the IRT White Plains Road Line to West Farms opened just after.[15] The first train ran through the Joralemon Street Tunnel to Brooklyn about 12:45 a.m. on January 9, 1908.[16]

Dual Contracts

The original plan for what became the extension north of 42nd Street was to continue it south through Irving Place and into what is now the BMT Broadway Line at Ninth Street and Broadway. Contracts awarded on July 21, 1911, included Section 6 between 26th Street and 40th Street; at the time, the IRT had withdrawn from the talks, and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was to operate on Lexington Avenue. The IRT submitted an offer for what became its portion of the Dual Contracts on February 27, 1912,[17] and construction was soon halted on Section 6.[18]

The construction of this line, in conjunction with the construction of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, would change the operations of the IRT system. Instead of having trains go via Park Avenue, turning onto 42nd Street, before finally turning onto Broadway, there would be two trunk lines connected by the 42nd Street Shuttle. The system would be changed from looking like a "Z" system (as seen on a map) to an H-shaped system. One trunk would run via the new Lexington Avenue Line down Park Avenue, and the other trunk would run via the new Seventh Avenue Line up Broadway.[19] It was predicted that the subway extension would lead to the growth of the Upper East Side and the Bronx.[20] [21]

The rest of the line, north to 125th Street, opened on July 17, 1918.[22] However, until the evening of August 1, 1918, it ran as a shuttle on the local tracks only, terminating at 42nd Street and at 167th Street on the IRT Jerome Avenue Line (where the connection from the elevated IRT Ninth Avenue Line merged). On August 1, service patterns were changed, and the Lexington Avenue Line became a through route. The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line also switched from shuttle operation at that time, and the IRT 42nd Street Shuttle was formed along the old connection between the sides. Due to the shape of the system, it was referred to as the "H system". The first section of the IRT Pelham Line also opened to Third Avenue–138th Street on August 1, 1918.[23] The cost of the extension from Grand Central was $58 million.[24]

The construction and opening of the Lexington Avenue Line north of Grand Central resulted in the construction of expensive apartments along Park Avenue, Madison Avenue, and Lexington Avenue.

Improvements

In 1928, the New York City Board of Transportation proposed to extend platforms at all stations between Brooklyn Bridge and Grand Central, except for 33rd Street.[25]

On April 13, 1948, the platform extensions to accommodate ten-car trains at 23rd Street, 28th Street, and 33rd Street were opened for use.[26] In 1949, the southbound platforms at Astor Place, Bleecker Street, Spring Street, Canal Street, and Worth Street were extended.

In 1957, the New York City Transit Authority started work on a $138 million modernization program for the Lexington Avenue Line to improve and speed up service. As part of the project, platforms on the line were extended, express platforms were built at 59th Street, additional entrances were constructed at some stations, and the line's signal system and interlockings were modernized.[27]

Work on the reconstruction of the Brooklyn Bridge station started on May 18, 1959, and continued without interruption until it was completed on September 1, 1962. Prior to the rebuild, the station's local platform could only accommodate four cars, resulting in delays. The uptown platform's extension opened at this time (the downtown platform was lengthened in 1961) as the platforms were lengthened, widened, and straightened. Originally, the island platforms narrowed at their northern ends to an unsafe width of only five feet. The project remedied this situation, lengthening the platforms from 295feet to 523feet and widening them. The platforms were extended northward by 220feet to just south of Reade Street. In addition, a new exit was provided at Reade Street and Lafayette Street and a new passageway under Reade Street was built connecting to the Chambers Street station on the BMT Nassau Street Line. At the center of the enlarged platforms, a new overhead passage was built, providing more direct access to the Municipal Building.[28] The platform extensions allowed the old platform extensions at the southern end of the station, which were used for express service, to be abandoned. These platform extensions had necessitated the use of gap fillers. This project cost $6 million, and allowed 6 trains to be lengthened to nine cars, and allowed express trains to open all doors at the station (previously the doors only opened in eight of the ten cars). Upon its completion, the Worth Street station to the north was closed due to its close proximity to the platform extensions, and, as such, the station was renamed Brooklyn Bridge–Worth Street.[29]

In late 1959, contracts were awarded to extend the platforms at Bowling Green, Wall Street, Fulton Street, Canal Street, Spring Street, Bleecker Street, Astor Place, Grand Central, 86th Street and 125th Street to 525feet to accommodate ten-car trains. At the same time, work to modernize the signals and interlockings between Wall Street and 86th Street was underway. Another element of the modernization plan was the construction of a new station entrance and control building in Bowling Green Park at Bowling Green, with new stairways to the platform.

On July 23, 1959, the Board of Estimate approved the contract for the construction of express platforms at Lexington Avenue–59th Street. The new platforms were intended to reduce transfer congestion at Grand Central–42nd Street, and to allow transfers between the express trains and BMT trains to Queens. Even before the express platforms were added, this station was the busiest on the line.[30] [31] Construction for the express station began on August 10, 1959. The two express platforms were 14feet wide and 525feet long. Along with the new express platforms, a new mezzanine was built above it to connect it to the local station, and the Broadway Line station. Two high speed escalators were added to connect the local and express platforms. Two additional high speed escalators were built to connect the local platforms with the new mezzanine. As part of the plan, the local platforms were extended to accommodate 10-car trains. In addition, new entrances and booths were added to the 59th Street ends of the northbound and southbound sides. The project cost $6.5 million and was completed three months prior than originally planned when the new platforms opened on November 15, 1962.[32]

In April 1960, work began on a $3,509,000 project to lengthen platforms on the line to accommodate ten-car trains at seven stations on the line. As part of the project, the northbound platforms at Canal Street, Spring Street, Bleecker Street, and Astor Place were lengthened from 225feet to 525feet. The platform extensions at these four stops opened for service on February 19, 1962, enabling the doors of all eight cars of trains to open on the platform. Work was still underway at two of the other three stations part of the contract, Wall Street and Fulton Street, while work at Bowling Green was already completed.[33] The entire platform-lengthening project was substantially completed by November 1965.[34]

Because the Lexington Avenue Line during the 1970s was known to frequent muggers due to the dilapidated state of the subway at the time, the Guardian Angels, founded by Curtis Sliwa, began operations on February 13, 1979, by conducting unarmed night patrols on the 4 train in an effort to discourage crime.[35] These patrols later expanded to other parts of the subway and to other city neighborhoods.[36]

On August 28, 1991, an accident involving a 4 train on the express track just north of the 14th Street–Union Square station killed five riders and injured 215 others in the worst accident on the system since the 1928 Times Square derailment.[37] [38] As a result of the crash, new safety protocols were put in place and there was a partial implementation of automation of the New York City Subway.[39]

Overcrowding

The Second Avenue Elevated fully closed on June 13, 1942.[40] Because of the elevated line's closure, as well as a corresponding increase in the East Side population, crowding on the Lexington Avenue Line increased.[41] [42] The Manhattan section of the Third Avenue Elevated, the only other elevated line in the area, closed on May 13, 1955,[43] and was demolished in 1956.

Contrary to what many East Side residents thought, the demolition of the elevateds did not help the travel situation, as the Lexington Avenue Line was now the only subway transportation option on the East Side.[44] As the elevated lines were torn down, hundreds of high-rise apartment buildings were built on the East Side, and the business districts along the line grew, resulting in overcrowding along the line.[45] Both of these elevated lines were supposed to be replaced by a subway line under Second Avenue. However, it was not completed due to a lack of funds. With the city's economic and budgetary recovery in the 1990s, there was a revival of efforts to complete construction of the Second Avenue Subway.[46] Once fully built, the line will run from 125th Street and Lexington Avenue to Hanover Square in the Financial District.[47] Construction started in 2007, and on January 1, 2017, the first phase, between Lexington Avenue–63rd Street and 96th Street opened. Within a few months of the line's opening, crowding on the Lexington Avenue Line stations on the Upper East Side was somewhat reduced.[48] East Side Access, completed in 2023, brought Long Island Rail Road service into Grand Central. With more people coming onto the East Side, increased crowding is expected on the Lexington Avenue Line, underscoring the need for the Second Avenue Subway.[49]

Crowding on the line is so bad that riders are routinely stranded on the platform, having to wait for multiple trains to pass before being able to board.[50] Trains on the line are at over 100% of capacity.[51] In June and July 2017, The New York Times found that during an average weekday, 10% to 15% of the trains scheduled to run through Grand Central–42nd Street were canceled. This meant that during peak periods, up to 13 trains per hour could be canceled, resulting in 1,000 passengers being displaced for every canceled train. Train frequencies were also erratic, with higher frequencies on some days than on others.[52]

On May 27, 2015, the New York City Council approved plans for a developer to build One Vanderbilt, a 65-story skyscraper. The MTA mandated that the developers pay for station improvements at Grand Central to allow for the building's construction.[53] In 2015, SL Green, the developer, gave $220 million toward the building's construction,[54] of which two-thirds of the money would be used for station redesign;[55] this marked the largest private investment to date to the New York City Subway system.[56] As part of the station construction, 40% of the basement of the Grand Hyatt New York would be destroyed in order to make room for the expansion of the subway mezzanine, as well as two new subway entrances in the One Vanderbilt building itself. The new building would also coincide with the MTA's East Side Access project, and station improvements due to One Vanderbilt's construction would provide extra capacity for over 65,000 new passengers going into the New York City Subway at Grand Central–42nd Street.[57] [58] The improvements include an underground connection between Grand Central Terminal and One Vanderbilt; new mezzanines and exits for the subway station; and three new stairways to each of the Lexington Avenue Line platforms.[59] This would directly result in additional capacity for the subway station, with 4,000 to 6,000 more subway passengers per hour being able to use the station, allowing for one additional express train per hour. These improvements would cost over $200 million.[60] [61]

Station listing

Neighborhood
(approximate)
StationTracksServicesOpenedTransfers and notes
Begins as a merge of the IRT Jerome Avenue Line and IRT Pelham Line
Lexington Avenue Tunnel
East Harlemalign=center allJuly 17, 1918Connection to Metro-North Railroad at Harlem–125th Street
M60 Select Bus Service to LaGuardia Airport
localJuly 17, 1918
localJuly 17, 1918
localJuly 17, 1918
Upper East SidelocalJuly 17, 1918
 ↑allJuly 17, 1918M86 Select Bus Service
Station is ADA-accessible in the northbound direction for the local platform only.
localJuly 17, 1918M79 Select Bus Service
nowraplocalJuly 17, 1918
Midtown ManhattanallJuly 17, 1918
(1962, express)
(BMT Broadway Line at)
Out-of-system transfer with MetroCard/OMNY: (63rd Street Lines at)
Roosevelt Island Tramway
This station was originally a local station. The lower level for express trains was opened in 1962.
align=center localJuly 17, 1918 (IND Queens Boulevard Line at)
align=center allJuly 17, 1918 (IRT Flushing Line)
(42nd Street Shuttle)
Connection to Metro-North Railroad at Grand Central Terminal
Connection to Long Island Rail Road at Grand Central Madison
merge on southbound local track to IRT 42nd Street Line (no regular service)
Murray HilllocalOctober 27, 1904M34/M34A Select Bus Service
Rose Hill ↓localOctober 27, 1904Station is ADA-accessible in the southbound direction only.
Gramercyalign=center localOctober 27, 1904M23 Select Bus Service
localOctober 27, 1904Closed November 7, 1948[62]
Union Squarealign=center allOctober 27, 1904 (BMT Canarsie Line)
(BMT Broadway Line)
M14A / M14D Select Bus Service
originally 14th Street
East VillagelocalOctober 27, 1904
NoHoalign=center localOctober 27, 1904 (IND Sixth Avenue Line at)
Little ItalylocalOctober 27, 1904Abandoned trackway exists between express tracks with a signal room on top of it
Chinatownalign=center localOctober 27, 1904 (BMT Broadway–Main line)
(BMT Broadway–Manhattan Bridge line)
(BMT Nassau Street Line)
Civic CenterlocalOctober 27, 1904Closed September 1, 1962[63]
align=center nowrapallOctober 27, 1904 (BMT Nassau Street Line at)
originally Brooklyn Bridge, then Brooklyn Bridge–Worth Street There were two side platforms that accommodated 5 car local trains. Also, there are closed platform extensions to the south.
 
local tracks leave the alignment of the express tracks; local trains short turn via the loop
loopnowrapOctober 27, 1904Closed December 31, 1945; currently used for local trains to short turn with no station stop. Lexington Avenue Line local trains stopped at station from 1904 to 1945 except late nights, when trains continued to South Ferry.
 
express trains continue
Financial Districtalign=center expressJanuary 16, 1905 (IND Eighth Avenue Line)
(BMT Nassau Street Line)
(IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
Connection to at via Dey Street Passageway
Connection to PATH at
expressJune 12, 1905[64]
align=center expressJuly 10, 1905M15 Select Bus Service
Staten Island Ferry at South Ferry
Splits to Brooklyn via the Joralemon Street Tunnel to become the IRT Eastern Parkway Line Express tracks
 
Financial Districtexpress train short turn via both loops
both loopsJuly 10, 1905Inner platform closed February 12, 1977; currently used for express trains to short turn with no station stop. Lexington Avenue Line trains used the outer platform from July 10, 1905, to July 1, 1918, and from 1950 to February 12, 1977. The outer platform closed on March 16, 2009; which allows Lexington Avenue Line trains to again use both loop tracks.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Federal Transit Administration, US Department of Transportation, MTA New York City Transit . Second Avenue Subway in the Borough of Manhattan, New York County, New York, Final Environmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) and Section 6(f) Evaluation. April 6, 2004. June 13, 2012. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20120425120004/http://www.mta.info/capconstr/sas/documents/feis/chapter01.pdf . April 25, 2012 .
  2. Web site: Neighborhood Map Lower Manhattan. 2015. mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 4, 2017.
  3. News: Take the Tomato 2 Stops to the Sunflower. Grynbaum. Michael M.. May 10, 2010. The New York Times. May 14, 2017. en.
  4. News: Old City Hall Station Of IRT to Close Monday. December 27, 1945. The New York Times. November 11, 2016. 24.
  5. News: Mayor Runs First Lexington Av Train — Goes Back to His Old Job on the Initial Trip from 42d Street to the Bronx — Interboro Ready to Pool — City May Gain Nothing by Advancing Date of Contract Because of High Operating Costs. July 18, 1918. The New York Times. 0362-4331. January 8, 2017. 20.
  6. Web site: The Construction of the Harlem River Tubes (1915) a Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Civil Engineer. Babcock Gates. Howard. 1915. www.nycsubway.org. en. August 4, 2017.
  7. News: Rapid Transit Tunnel Begun — Ground Officially Broken by the Mayor with a Silver Spade — Felicitations and Speeches — Ceremonies Witnessed by Immense Unruly Crowd Eager for Souvenirs.. March 25, 1900. The New York Times. November 11, 2016. 2.
  8. News: Death in Tunnel — Dynamite Explosion — 6 Killed, 125 Hurt in Park Avenue Disaster — Great Hotels In Ruins — Busy Hospital Wrecked and Fine Mansions Damaged Seriously — Money Loss Nearly $300,000 — Terrible Concussion, the Result of Fire in Powder House at 41st Street, Where Hundreds of Pounds of High Explosives Rested. January 28, 1902. The New York Times. December 19, 2013. 1. Dynamite cartridges in a frail shanty on a platform over the west shaft of Section 4 of the subway tunnel in Park Avenue just south of Forty-first Street exploded through a fire which started among paper in the shanty just after noon yesterday with fatal, maiming, and injuring results and wide destruction of property....
  9. News: Our Subway Open, 150,000 Try It — Mayor McClellan Runs the First Official Train — Big Crowds Ride At Night — Average of 25,000 an Hour from 7 P.M. Till Past Midnight — Exercises in the City Hall — William Barclay Parsons, John B. McDonald, August Belmont, Alexander E. Orr, and John Starin Speak — Dinner at Night. October 28, 1904. The New York Times. November 6, 2016. 1.
  10. News: Fulton St. Trains Monday — New Style of Subway Platform Will Be Tried There. January 14, 1905. The New York Times. November 11, 2016. 5.
  11. News: Subway at Fulton Street Busy. January 27, 1905. The New York Times. September 4, 2016. 9.
  12. January 2005. Another Centennial–Original Subway Extended To Fulton Street. New York Division Bulletin. New York Division, Electric Railroaders' Association. 48. 1. August 31, 2016. Issu.
  13. Web site: Merritt. A.L.. Ten Years of the Subway (1914). Interborough Bulletin—1914 via www.nycsubway.org.
  14. News: Subway to Wall St. Open in Ten Days — And All the Way to the Bronx by July 1 — Whole Road Ready in August — As to the Air Therein, William Barclay Parsons Says It Is Pure and Can't Be Bettered. June 7, 1905. The New York Times. September 18, 2016. 16.
  15. News: Subway Trains Running From Bronx to Battery — West Farms and South Ferry Stations Open at Midnight — Start Without a Hitch — Bowling Green Station Also Opened — Lenox Avenue Locals Take City Hall Loop Hereafter. July 10, 1905. 1. September 4, 2016. The New York Times.
  16. News: Subway to Brooklyn Opened for Traffic — First Regular Passenger Train Went Under the East River Early This Morning — Not a Hitch in the Service — Gov. Hughes and Brooklyn Officials to Join in a Formal Celebration of Event To-day. January 9, 1908. The New York Times. November 11, 2016. 1.
  17. Book: Walker. James Blaine. Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917. 1918. Law Printing. New York, N.Y.. 230–233. November 6, 2016.
  18. News: Petition for Subway in Lexington Ave.. May 22, 1912. The New York Times. February 16, 2009. A petition is being circulated among the residents and property owners of the section just south of the Grand Central Station, in Park and Lexington Avenues, protesting against the proposed abandonment of the construction of the Subway in Lexington Avenue, between Forty-third and Thirty-second Streets..
  19. Book: Engineering News-record. 1916. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. en.
  20. News: The Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subways Will Revive Dormant Sections — Change in Operation That Will Transform Original Four-Tracked Subway Into Two Four-Tracked Systems and Double Present Capacity of the Interborough. https://web.archive.org/web/20191212141413/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/03/10/118138743.pdf. dead. December 12, 2019. Whitney. Travis H.. March 10, 1918. The New York Times. August 26, 2016. 12.
  21. News: Public Service Commission Fixes July 15 For Opening of The New Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subway Lines — Will Afford Better Service and Less Crowding — Shuttle Service for Forty-Second Street — How the Various Lines of the Dual System Are Grouped for Operation and List of Stations on All Lines. May 19, 1918. The New York Times. November 6, 2016. 32.
  22. News: Lexington Av. Line to be Opened Today — Subway Service to East Side of Harlem and the Bronx Expected to Relieve Congestion — Begins With Local Trains — Running of Express Trains to Await Opening of Seventh Avenue Line of H System. July 17, 1918. The New York Times. November 11, 2016. 13.
  23. News: Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph — Great H System Put in Operation Marks an Era in Railroad Construction — No Hitch in the Plans — But Public Gropes Blindly to Find the Way in Maze of New Stations — Thousands Go Astray — Leaders in City's Life Hail Accomplishment of Great Task at Meeting at the Astor. August 2, 1918. The New York Times. November 6, 2016. 1.
  24. News: July 11, 1918. Finish a New Link of the Dual Subway; Lexington Avenue Line North of Forty-second Street to Begin Local Service Wednesday. Branch Extends to Bronx Through service, with Times SquareGrand Central Shuttle Connections, to Open Soon. Changes in the Bronx.. 20. The New York Times. January 8, 2017. 0362-4331.
  25. Book: New York (N.Y.) Board of Transportation. Proceedings. 1928. 1146. December 27, 2020. v. 10.
  26. Book: Report for the Three and One-Half Years Ending June 30, 1949. 1949. New York City Board of Transportation. 2027/mdp.39015023094926.
  27. Book: New York City Transit Authority Annual Report For The Year Ended June 30, 1960. New York City Transit Authority. 1960. 15.
  28. Book: Annual Report For The Year Ending June 30, 1959. New York City Transit Authority. 1959. 8–10.
  29. News: New Platform for IRT Locals At Brooklyn Bridge to End Jams; Sharp Curve on Northbound Side Removed Station Extended to Worth St.. September 1, 1962. The New York Times. November 7, 2017. en-US. 0362-4331.
  30. News: IRT Will Open Express Station At Lexington and 59th Thursday. Katz. Ralph. November 9, 1962. The New York Times. November 11, 2016. 37.
  31. News: IRT Express Stop Opens at 59TH St. — East Side Station Had Been Local One Since 1918 Line's 4th-Busiest Stop. Katz. Ralph. November 16, 1962. The New York Times. November 11, 2016. 22.
  32. Web site: New 59th Street Express Station brochure. November 15, 1962. www.thejoekorner.com. New York City Transit Authority. January 25, 2016. January 30, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160130113601/http://www.thejoekorner.com/lines/lex59/index.html. dead.
  33. News: February 18, 1962. 4 IRT Stops To Open Longer Platforms. en-US. The New York Times. January 4, 2021. 0362-4331.
  34. Book: New York City Transit Authority . Minutes and Proceedings . v. 17 . 1968 . January 26, 2021 . 152.
  35. News: Press . Robert . Guardian Angels Celebrate 40th Anniversary . November 19, 2020 . The Bronx Chronicle.
  36. News: 'Guardian Angels': Different Gang . Washington Post . April 14, 1981 . July 25, 2018.
  37. https://books.google.com/books?id=JqGZj1QYZIUC&pg=PA27 "Case Study Number Ten: Union Square Station, New York City—August 28, 1991"
  38. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714223804/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1082580.html "Probe Finds Subway's Speed Outstripped Safety System"
  39. News: Catastrophe Under Union Square; Crash on the Lexington IRT: Motorman's Run to Disaster. McFadden. Robert D.. September 1, 1991. The New York Times. August 4, 2017. en-US. 0362-4331.
  40. Web site: Second Avenue Subway Project – History. October 19, 2002. mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. February 15, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20021019053707/http://mta.info/planning/sas/sas_history_1.htm. October 19, 2002.
  41. Web site: Manhattan East Side Transit Alternatives (MESA): Major Investment Study/Draft Environmental Impact Statement, August 1999. August 1999. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, United States Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration. July 11, 2016.
  42. Web site: Discontinuance of service Second Avenue elevated line.. 1942. nytm.pastperfectonline.com. New York City Board of Transportation. December 4, 2016.
  43. News: Last Train Rumbles On Third Ave. 'El'; An Era Ends With Final Run of Third Avenue 'El' LAST TRAIN ROLLS ON THIRD AVE. 'EL'. Katz. Ralph. May 13, 1955. The New York Times. December 14, 2016.
  44. Web site: www.nycsubway.org: Second Avenue Subway: The Line That Almost Never Was. 1972. nycsubway.org. September 30, 2015.
  45. Book: Derrick, Peter. Tunneling to the Future: The Story of the Great Subway Expansion That Saved New York. March 1, 2003. NYU Press. 9780814719107. en.
  46. Web site: Second Avenue Subway in the Borough of Manhattan, New York County, New York Final Environmental Impact Statement And Final Section 4(f) and Section 6(f) Evaluation. April 2004. 1–5, 1–6. PDF. September 22, 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140408220803/http://web.mta.info/capconstr/sas/feis.htm. April 8, 2014.
  47. Web site: Manhattan East Side Transit Alternatives (MESA)/Second Avenue Subway Summary Report. October 11, 2001. mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 9, 2016.
  48. News: Early Ridership Count Indicates Second Avenue Subway Is Making Lexington Avenue Commutes Less Packed. Whitford. Emma. February 1, 2017. Gothamist. April 9, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170203143422/http://gothamist.com/2017/02/01/second_ave_subway_count.php. February 3, 2017. dead. en-US.
  49. Book: East Side Access in New York, Queens, and Bronx Counties, New York, and Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York: Environmental Impact Statement. 2001. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. en.
  50. Web site: When the Train Is Too Crowded to Board. Chan. Sewell. November 19, 2008. City Room. April 9, 2017.
  51. News: Subway cars running at over capacity during rush hours. Donohue. Pete. March 25, 2015. New York Daily News. April 9, 2017. Ortiz. Keldy. en. McShane. Larry.
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