Why are some NYC subways above ground?

In certain areas changes in terrain have made it necessary to run the trains above ground. The 1 line comes out in Harlem and run above ground into The Bronx because of this. The same is also true of the train going to Coney Island. It comes above and stays there for most of its run through South Brooklyn.



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In the early evening of May 12, 1955, a train pulled out of Lower Manhattan's Chatham Square, near City Hall, bound for upper Manhattan and the Bronx via Third Avenue. It was the last run of the Third Avenue elevated, and the last time a train ran up a large chunk of Manhattan east of Lexington Avenue for six decades.

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Ground was broken in March 1900 in Manhattan. The construction company chose shallow cut and cover as the excavation method to avoid having to tunnel deep under New York's infrastructure. Wooden planking and bridges covered the construction so that traffic could continue over the tunneling that would go on for years.

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While trains mostly run underground in Manhattan, a good portion of trains run on elevated tracks in the other boroughs. With some exceptions the whole subway system operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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Track conditions: The NYC subway system is one of the oldest in the world, with tracks that have been in use for many decades. Over time, the tracks can become uneven or develop small imperfections, leading to vibrations and shaking as trains pass over them.

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According to the recent findings of the MTA's Spring 2022 Bi-Annual Customer Satisfaction and Travel Survey, New Yorkers particularly dislike the D train, giving the line a satisfaction rate of barely 40%.

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Large portions of the subway outside Manhattan are elevated, on embankments, or in open cuts, and a few stretches of track run at ground level. In total, 40% of track is above ground.

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The original IRT line opened in 1904, and 116 Street - Columbia University (now a 1 train stop) was part of the first wave of stations that ran from City Hall to 145th Street at Broadway.

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Maneuver Manhattan's train system like a local Here, Archer Hotel New York's consummate host offers timely tips on navigating the New York City subway (aka train) system like a boss. LOCAL TIP: New Yorkers typically call the subway “trains” (not underground or metro) or by their alpha name (the C or the Q).

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THE world's deepest metro system is the Pyongyang Metro in North Korea which is 110 meters deep. The tunnel was built as part of an underground military facility. THE world's deepest metro, underground station is the Arsenalna Station on the Kiev Metro in Ukraine, at 107 meters deep.

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The NYC subway system is 70 to 100-year old railroad technology that's been 'shoved' underground, with tunnel and walls good for reflecting and amplifying noise, especially the high frequency screeching of out of true steel wheels with worn flat spots.

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149th Street The only remaining IRT elevated line, the IRT Third Avenue Line in the Bronx, was too long to be a shuttle, so was assigned the number 8, unused since 1949. This service, running between 149th Street and Gun Hill Road, last ran on April 28, 1973, when the Third Avenue Line closed.

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An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train or el for short) is a railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concrete, or bricks).

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Many stations of the New York City subway system have fallen into disuse or have been abandoned, no longer used by the Transit Authority for their original purpose: serving passengers.

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  • The most crowded line at peak appears to be the 2/3 Uptown. ( 4.38 passengers standing per meter squared)
  • The highest throughput individual train is the L (23,987 passengers)
  • The highest throughput line is the B/D/N/Q section through midtown ( 43,550 passengers)


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Nicholas Avenue and 191st Street in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times. It is the deepest station in the New York City Subway system at about 173 feet (53 m) below street level.

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The 9 was temporarily suspended between 2001 and 2002 due to severe damage to the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line caused by the September 11 attacks, and was permanently discontinued in 2005 as a result of a decrease in the number of riders benefiting.

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The fastest portion of the NYC Subway system is the N/R/W trains through the 59th Street Tunnel under the East River (between Lexington Avenue/59th Street and Queensboro Plaza or Queens Plaza). Trains regularly exceed 50 mph in the tunnel and sometimes even exceed 55 (the speed limit in the subway system).

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In 1998, TriMet built the Washington Park MAX Station, which is the deepest transit station in North America at 260 feet below ground, as part of our Red Line. “Washington Park also is the only underground station in the entire MAX system.”

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