Quick Subway Hits

2004_03_nycsub.jpg

- The Post is the official paper of the subway's centennial. Which means readers will get the inside scoop on various events and promotions, and the Post will sponsor nostalgia train rides, tours, and other events the MTA plans. Editor-in-Chief Col Allan says, "As New York's favorite commuter paper, we're thrilled to be the official newspaper of the subway centennial." That is so true - Gothamist sees more copies of the Post thrown on the subway's floor than we see the Daily News; AM-New York actually runs a close second.
- kottke points out an awesome site that maps out a couple of the world's subway stations on the same scale. Vienna is tiny while Paris looks like a cobweb. New York is vast (656 miles of track), especially next to Chicago and D.C. (so stop your "My subway is so much better than NY's" crap, non-New Yorkers). And yes, the images do look like something you pull out of your shower drain.
- Martha Stewart's jury deliberations were delayed this morning because of a subway accident (a man was hit and injured by a train at Fulton Street).

Email This Entry


Comments (22) [rss]

New York has the third oldest subway system (NYC 1904, Paris 1900, London 1863).

New York is the second *longest* subway system (London is the longest).

New York has the highest number of stops/stations, which arguably means that it's the largest subway system in the world. (More stops=more places to go=most complex system)

user-pic

To clarify, an eyewitness told me that the man at Fulton jumped in front of the train. It wasn't an accident, and it definitely caused chaos along the Lex ave line for about an hour (today would have been a bad day if UES workers like me had been polled for their commute times).

Does anyone have more info about this?

The wildest experience today was being on a 4 trapped between bowling green and borough hall that was going BACKWARDS! to drop us all at borough hall before stopping again and letting us know that normal service was about to resume.

user-pic

Actually, I believe the first stretch of Boston's subway predates New York's by a couple of years. Not sure of the date, though.

wow, incredible. what is amazing to me is that I have walked the length of Barcelona or Vienna many times here in manhattan. scale is an amazing thing.

Would be cool too if these were overlayed on a larger scale...

longest, second longest...it doesnt matter. the new york subway still reigns as the foulest of all the major subways of the world.

Boston had indeed the first subway, and they are oh so proud of it, just like they are proud of their Red Sox. Funny how both have now become antiquated and ineffective, in a quaint nostalgic sort of way.

http://members.aol.com/netransit/private/tss/tssnews.html

he jumped. i'm still not sure why it reported as an accident. he was apparently taken to the hospital, but i really don't see how he could have possibly survived.

And our subway system isn't antiquated? The city refused to put in further ventilation in the mid-20th century, despite the fact that systems such as Paris were beginning to implement them. Had they done this, one would actually be able to stand in the Union Square station without feeling faint on hot summer days. This is one example of many issues that the city didn't start to address until the late 1990's. While the system has gotten much better in the past 10 years, it's still hopelessly behind others. I don't think size is really an excuse.

No matter what, though, I love my NYC subways. Even if they're stinky, hot, and dirty.

Regarding ventilation systems, I believe that the Grand Central one (a real nice breath of cool air in the summer) is a test project and is to be done in more stations. Unfortunately, I could be wrong.

i love me some subway smell!!

user-pic

My favorite subway in the world has to be Tokyo's - it is to NYC's subway what NYC's subway is to Chicago's. There is that small issue of being closed during the wee hours and packed as all hell during the others, though.

24/7. is any other subway system 24/7?

I'm rather dubious about the subway comparison site, actually -- according to it, it's 125 miles from the north Bronx to Coney Island.

thank you "not tiamat" for the insight into the dc metro, one of many major subway systems of the world. the nyc subway still smells.

user-pic

It's not 125 miles from the north Bronx to Coney Island?

I'm not sure about the scale of the maps, but I recall from recently reading Clifton Hood's book 722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York that the total track miles for the New York City subway is such a high number because both the local and express tracks are counted separately.

user-pic

hmmm... I think i own the trade mark to the phrase "quick hits."

I thought Budapest had the oldest subway, but am too lazy to look that up.

Tiamat, you missed the point, you subwayphobe/tourist/ninny! I'll keep my 24/7 subway and metrocards, thank you very much.

Letterman's Top 10 NYC Tourist questions:
10. "Does it always smell like this?"

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/top_ten/archive/ls_topten_archive2001/ls_topten_archive_20010803.shtml

Hehe

subwayphobe? tourist? don't be such a tool. i don't recall seeing criticism of the convenience of the nyc subway. i however fail to see how 24-hour convenience has anything to do with the hideous urine smells.

Post a comment (Comment Policy)

Tips

Get your daily dose of New York first thing in the morning from our weekday newsletter, now in beta.

About Gothamist

Gothamist is a website about New York. More

Editor: Jen Chung
Publisher: Jake Dobkin

Newsmap

newsmap.jpg

Contribute

Latest Tip:

years of isiah thomas stories in chant form http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2009/11/14/20
[more]

Latest Photo:

Subscribe

Use an RSS reader to stay up to date with the latest news and posts from Gothamist.

All Our RSS