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The New York City Subway is a large rapid transit ( Metro) system in New York City. It is the most extensive public transportation system in the United States and one of the largest and longest in the world, comprised of 468 stations and 656 miles of mainline track. (Including non-revenue trackage in shops and yards, the total is 842 miles.) The subway is operated by the New York City Transit Authority, described by its parent Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York) as MTA New York City Transit.
Though it is known as "the subway," implying underground operations, many portions run on outdoor rights-of-way, including steel or (rarely) cast iron elevated structures, concrete viaducts, earthen embankments, open cuts and, occasionally, surface routes. All of these modes are completely grade-separated from highway crossings.
New York City Subway Station Entrance (Corner of Broad St. and Wall St.)
There have been six distinct eras in New York rapid transit history. Era datings are time of dominance—there is some overlap.
During the Private Enterprise Era, the groundwork was laid for what would become the New York City Subway System.
At the outset of this era, New York County (Manhattan Island and part of the Bronx), Kings County (including the Cities of Brooklyn and Williamsburg) and Queens County were separate political entities.
In New York, competing steam-powered elevated railroads were built over major avenues. The first elevated line was constructed in 1867-70 by Charles Harvey and his West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway company along Greenwich Street and 9th Avenue. Later more lines were built on 2nd, 3rd and 6th Avenue. None of these structures remain today, but these lines later shared subway trackage as part of the IRT system.
In Kings County, elevated railroads were also built by several companies, over Park, Lexington and Myrtle Avenues, 5th Avenue to Bay Ridge, Fulton Street and Broadway (all these streets different from similarly named streets in Manhattan). Most of these structures have been dismantled, but some remain in original form, but mostly rebuilt and upgraded.
Also in Kings County, a number of surface steam, primarily excursion, railroads were built, most of which were connected to the elevated system by the end of the Private Enterprise Era, and all still extant, but mostly completely rebuilt.
In 1898, New York, Kings and Richmond Counties, and parts of Queens and Westchester Counties and their constituent cities, towns, villages and hamlets were consolidated into the City of Greater New York.
During this era the expanded City of New York, resolved that it wanted the core of future rapid transit to be underground subways, realized that no private company was willing to put up the enormous capital required to build beneath the streets.
The City decided to issue rapid transit bonds and build the subways itself, and contracted with the Interborough Rapid Transit CompanyThe Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the operator of the original New York Subway line that opened in 1904 and additional rapid transit lines in the City of New York. The IRT was purchased by the City in 1940. The former IRT lines are now the (IRT) to equip and operate the subways, sharing the profits with the City and guaranteeing a fixed five-cent fare.
In this era, the original subway was built from City Hall to the Bronx, opening in October 1904, (subway contract 1) and to Atlantic Avenue LIRR terminal in Brooklyn (contract 2).
More subways were planned by the City in what was called the Triborough System and some construction was started. The IRT hoped to capture all of these lucrative lines and began acquiring or neutralizing possible competitors.
In Brooklyn, the various elevated railroads and many of the surface steam railroads (and most of the trolley lines as well) were consolidated under the Brooklyn Rapid Transit CompanyThe Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was a transportation holding company formed in 1896 to acquire and consolidate transit facilities in Kings County, now Brooklyn, New York. Within a decade, it had acquired virtually all of the rapid transit and str (BRT). Some improvements were made to these lines at company expense during this era.
Some of the lines the IRT was seeking would have competed with existing BRT lines and the BRT wanted the opportunity to compete in Manhattan. This led to the City's agreeing to contract for future subways with both the BRT and IRT.