Public Transit – Page 2 – chelsea's corner

40th-Lowery St.’s (Line #7)

40th-Lowery is much like 33rd-Rawson. In fact, it’s quite literally a copy-paste of 33rd-Rawson. So, this entry will not be very exciting. Sorry! Here ya go, anyways, as duty calls.

40th-Lowery, quite literally, is a copy-paste of 33rd-Rawson. I’m not even joking. You have the same signage (except reads “40th St.-Lowery St.”), mezzanine design, station design, track configuration, and everything. The only unique thing, as far as I can find, about this station is that it’s the only elevated station on the line WITHOUT a free crossover to the opposite direction. Likewise, there is only one other station on the entire line without a free crossover, being Vernon Blvd. near the LI City LIRR station. Yeah, sorry, but that’s not a good distinction to have. 🙁 The bus connections are also the same as at 33rd St., being the Q32 and Q60.

The skyline view from here is also pretty cool!

The mezzanine! 33rd-Rawson’s looks like this, too.

BIGASS CONCRETE VIADUCT OVER QUEENS BOULEVARD!

The good: It sees frequent service during daylight hours! It also gets the job done, for what it’s worth! It also seems cool for photography. (though, in my opinion, not as much as 33rd-Rawson)

The bad: It’s copy-pasted. That means no ADA compliance here, people! D: Also, no free crossovers.

Nearby points of interest: There’s some restaurants nearby according to Google Maps, including a McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and even a White Castle. There’s also a butcher shop. There’s also a school on the next street over (are NYC public schools really just numbered???)

Transit connections:
Flushing Line (Line #7)
MTA bus (Q32, Q60)

Overall, yeah, I got very little to remark about this station. This might be a common theme with NYC, and a telltale sign of copy-pasted stuff. Sorry. 🙁

Rating: 6/10

33rd-Rawson St.’s (Line #7)

Alrighty, so this entry (apologies for being late – my mental health and work put this on the backburner a bit!) is one of many elevated stations on line #7. The first of many stations on the line with street names (or second – if you factor in the platforms for line E and M at Court Sq. is “Court Sq.-23rd St.”), and the first of many generic elevated stations along the line. Let’s get into this because this is going to probably get monotonous.

33rd-Rawson is on the edge of LI City (going by Google Maps boundaries here), and is on a concrete viaduct over Queens Blvd. Wait, is this what NYC-area foamers call the “Queens Blvd. Line”?

*does research*

Wait, it isn’t? Damn…

Anyways, the station really isn’t much to ring home about. You have two side platforms with wastebaskets, benches, countdown clocks (which means you will hear “THERE IS AN. UPTOWN. LOCAL. SEVEN TRAIN TO FLUSHING-MAIN ST. APPROACHING THE STATION PLEASE STAND AWAY FROM THE PLATFORM EDGE” about once every other minute. We’ll get to that in a minute. The mezzanine has MetroCard machines and turnstiles, however they’re configured in a way to not allow free crossovers. Boo, that sucks! Well, I lied. Apparently, there’s a part-time exit (presumably closed nights or offpeak) that DOES allow free crossovers. Not sure how anyone would think this though if they’re not from the area. Oh well! I must also remark, the skyline view of LI City is pretty sick from here, too!

View of the other platform and the LI City skyline

Countdown clock! Yes, those headways are ACTUALLY REAL.

Line diagram! Where’s the LIRR at Woodside?

Sunnyside is indeed sunny today! (it’s close enough!)

Right, back about those headways. Those headways are actually real, and the trains run at FULL SPEED with those headways. I decided to railfan here a little bit and, I am genuinely not exaggerating, there were moments where trains were pretty much bunched up to the untrained eye, yet they were running full speed and were not holding. Like, DAMN! I’ll explain how it works. This might go over some peoples’ heads, and I probably won’t do the best job explaining, so I apologize in advance. So, here we go:

Line #7 (& Line L, and some sections of the other lines including the Queens Blvd. tunnel, and more recently line G) operate on a different signaling system that operates considerably different than the rest of the subway system, and is considerably different vs. mainline rail (e.g. Amtrak, Metro-North, NJ Transit, the LIRR) or other subway systems (e.g. SEPTA, the MBTA, the CTA). Most of these systems operate their signals with what are called “blocks”, or sections of track that are protected by signals. If you ever sat trackside, you might’ve seen a tri-color light or a gantry with red, yellow, and green. These operate pretty much like traffic lights, and once you enter the block section, they’re supposed to turn red. However, the signaling system on line #7 doesn’t use traditional blocks. Rather, the system, called CBTC, uses what essentially are an infinite amount of blocks and trains can keep as much or as little space as possible to operate safely and at full speed. Furthermore, this technology also allows for, essentially, fully automated subway lines. However, in the context of New York, odds are the unions wouldn’t let that fly because of job security reasons, so if nothing else the operators are there for emergencies and to operate the doors. It’s a bit hard to explain, so my recommendation is to just see it in action if you’re able to. It really is a sight to behold to see 2 11-car trains back to back without any restricted speeds.

If that was hard to understand, I don’t fault you. Here’s a video that can explain it better than I can.

Bye! (there was another train immediately behind it – out of frame)

The good: It’s a cool railfanning spot and, in my opinion, a good place to see CBTC in action! It also serves the Sunnyside and LI City areas of Queens pretty well! Queens Blvd. is pretty nice with what’s on it, even though it may as well be a stroad that happens to have a subway viaduct in the median.

The bad: Eh, not a lot to say outside the station specifically. Again, Queens Blvd. is a stroad. This station also isn’t accessible. Booooo…..

Nearby points of interest: The station itself is pretty cool for railfanning! There’ a YMCA, a gaming store, and a school nearby.

Transit connections:
Flushing Line (Line #7)
MTA bus (Q32, Q39, Q60)

Overall, it’s a pretty cool station for railfanning, but not much to remark beyond that. Sorry!

Rating: 6.5/10

Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall & Chambers St. (Lines #s 4-6, J)

So, here, we have another station complex, although this one isn’t as bad as the 42nd St. megacomplex in terms of how messy it is for me to cover. However, the station itself is kinda in sad condition, but as a terminal, it’s also pretty unique and is the last of its kind in normal service. Welcome to the Brooklyn Bridge/Chambers St. station complex!

Chambers St., on line J (also served by the Z line during peak hours – however we do NOT speak of the Z) is quite possibly among the most depressing subway stations I’ve ever seen. There’s three island platforms, however only two are in use, and only two out of four tracks are used in revenue service. Sometimes, though, if extra trains have to be sent through the Nassau St. tunnel, they might turn around on the middle tracks. But, generally, Chambers St. is a time capsule – and not in a good way. But, it was historically significant, being meant to be a major transfer point between the IRT and BMT before consolidation into the MTA, but that just never panned out. In terms of the station itself, it is just sad. It’s dingy, quite possibly a sorrier state than anything on the MBTA, and it’s just depressing in vibes. At least there’s elevators to render it an ADA accessible station!

In the mezzanine, is your standard faregates and signage to lines #s 4-6, and an exit out to the Municipal Building. Walking down the passage brings one to the ex-IRT platforms, named Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall. The platforms here, just like the ex-BMT platforms, have wastebaskets and clocks, and signage. However, there’s only 4 tracks and 2 islands, with the outer tracks going to the former City Hall balloon loop. This loop, and the fact one can ride through it, makes this station unique as it’s the only in-service balloon loop on the entire MTA subway. The loop is rideable by normal people, and it’s how line #6 turns around back towards Pelham Bay and Parkchester. However, if you are going to ride the loop, PLEASE, PLEASE DO NOT TRESPASS OR SUBWAY SURF INTO THE STATION. IT IS DANGEROUS. I DO NOT ADVOCATE FOR SUBWAY SURFING OR TRESPASSING. AND, YOU WILL LIKELY BE ARRESTED. IT IS NOT WORTH IT. If you MUST check out the old City Hall station, the NYC Transit Museum sometimes does tours. With that aside, Brooklyn Bridge is okay. It’s dingy but it’s not as sorry a state of affairs as Chambers St., and plus the fact that line #6 uses the loop here to turn around is cool! And, there’s also bus connections on street level. Neat!

The good: It’s a transfer point in lower Manhattan between lines #s 4-6 and line J! Furthermore, it’s actually pretty useful for people trying to get to the Municipal Building, various federal buildings nearby, and the Brooklyn Bridge itself. It’s also accessible!

The bad: Unless you’re changing between line #6 and line J specifically, I don’t see why one would change here, rather than at Fulton St. (the next stop over heading downtown), which has express service. Chambers St. specifically is also bad with how sorry a state of affairs it is in. 🙁 If my mental health issues manifested as a subway station, it would probably be best described as Chambers St. (Line J). Yeah, sorry!

Nearby points of interest: This is the closest subway station to various municipal and federal buildings, one of a couple stations to serve City Hall, and the closest station to the Brooklyn Bridge. Pace University is also a stone’s throw away.

Transit connections:
Lexington Ave. (Lines #s 4-6)
Nassau St. (Lines J, Z)
MTA bus (M9, M22, M103, BM1, BM2, BM3, BM4, QM7, QM8, QM11, QM25, SIM15)

Overall, this station is straight-up depression. Yeah, sorry, but I got not a lot of good to say about it. Sorry! The loop is cool, though!

Rating: 3.5/10

34th St.-Hudson Yards (Line #7)

Hudson Yards is among the newest stations on the MTA subway, having opened almost 9 years ago (as of writing this), with only 2nd Ave.-72nd/86th/96th St. being newer than this. The station is, by Manhattan standards, also located in a transit desert otherwise, with 10th, 11th and 12th Ave.’s otherwise having no subway access. This isn’t too big an issue as 8th Ave. is the next best thing, however this location in particular needed a subway connection. With that, let’s get into the station review.

Hudson Yards is one of those kinds of stations where it’s very deep into the ground. However, unlike stations like the LIRR concourse at Grand Central, the various stations in Washington Heights, or Porter Square in Boston, there’s actually half-decent elevators! If I remember right, it took me about 30 seconds to get to the surface – AND IT WAS AN INCLINED ELEVATOR yhfioedpashifopdhsaioufphdsaiofhawdiop INCLINED ELEVATORS ARE AWESOME, OK?! THIS WAS MY FIRST TIME RIDING ONE. Shit, I should make time to ride the Monongahela Incline some time, now that I think of it. I digress. Hudson Yards is pretty nice, the platform is plain but is serviceable. There’s signs pointing to the next train, however there’s one teensy-weensy but crucial problem: THE DEPARTURE BOARDS DON’T WORK OTHERWISE. IS IT THAT HARD TO TELL WHEN THE NEXT TRAIN WILL DEPART?! Anyways, I digress. Going up the inclined elevator (are these called funny colors? fume colors? funiculars? or just simply inclined elevators? what’s the difference anyways?), the station mezzanine is spacious but pretty normal otherwise. The headhouse looks pretty cool, actually. In terms of importance, this station is very important as it’s the closest thing to the Javits Convention Center. For the MTA employees, this is also one of, if not the closest station to the Michael Quill bus garage, so there’s that. Overall, Hudson Yards seems like a cool area.

THIS IS THE LAST STOP ON THIS TRAIN. EVERYONE PLEASE LEAVE THE TRAIN. THANK YOU RIDING MTA NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT.

The Javits Convention Center (apparently a bid for the 2024 DNC was made using this place!)

The good: It serves the up and coming Hudson Yards development, along with the Javits Convention Center! It’s also pretty nice, and the vibes I get from it remind me of my experiences with WMATA from when I went to DC as a child. The mezzanine is also pretty spacious, presumably to accommodate convention crowds from the Javits Center. Also, THE INCLINED ELEVATOR!!!

The bad: WHY ARE THE COUNTDOWN CLOCKS BROKEN?! JUST FUCKING TELL ME WHEN THE TRAIN IS DUE OUT AND WHAT TRACK!

Nearby points of interest: The Javits Center, duh! Furthermore, you have the High Line Park (a rail trail in NYC’s urban core?!), the Vessel, a concerning amount of parking lots, and the Hudson Yards Mall. Yeah, this place largely is probably most comparable to the Prudential Center and Copley Place in Boston.

Transit connections:
Flushing Line (line #7)
MTA bus (M12, M34-SBS)
Megabus (former, long live THE GUY)

Overall, it’s a nice station. It’s pretty modern, serves an important area of NYC, and has some cool stuff around it. And, inclined elevators are pretty cool! DAMMIT MTA, FIX THE COUNTDOWN CLOCKS THOUGH!

Rating: 8/10

Smith-9th St.’s (Lines F & G)

Smith-9th Streets is the highest station on the MTA subway, with an elevation of 87 or so feet above street level. This height made it the highest-elevated subway station in the entire world for a while, until 2022 when Hualongqiao Station on Chongqing’s Line #9 opened (with an elevation of 157 feet above street level – almost double of Smith-9th!!!). Even then, the reason the station was built so high above the ground was actually a simple one – it was cheaper for the Independent Subway System (aka the IND) to build a stupidly oversized viaduct over the Gowanus Canal, than it was to dig a deep tunnel. With that, let’s look at the station.

Nevertheless, you can get a pretty flippin’ good view of the skyline. The station’s layout is your standard 2x side platform with two express tracks. However, typically, the express tracks aren’t used outside two runs of line FX during peak hours (or, <F> if you prefer, but I prefer denoting express lines and routes with the X suffix typically rather than ASCII art). The platform has your standard wastebaskets, benches, countdown clocks, etc., the usual stuff. Going down, there’s escalators going down to street level, where there’s an information booth. There’s also a bus connection, to the B57 and B61 bus routes. Notably, these buses also go to IKEA – and this station is also the nearest one to the Brooklyn IKEA. Neat!!! Just a fair warning though – line G uses 5-car trains and to board, you HAVE to be at the middle of the platform. So, be mindful! And, yes, this station isn’t accessible. Sad!

Why the fuck does one clock only display the current time?

THERE IS A. DOWNTOWN. LOCAL. F. TRAIN TO CONEY ISLAND-STILLWELL AVE. APPROACHING THE STATION PLEASE STAND AWAY FROM THE PLATFORM EDGE.

This operator jumpscared me with the horn 🙁

The good: It’s a cool station! Pretty damn high up! It’s got a nice skyline shot and presents good train photography opportunities – and, really, city skyline opportunities for that matter! There’s also decent bus connections as well! (at face value, anyways)

The bad: It’s not accessible! WHY?! It’s also not a good station if you’re scared of heights. The area is also pretty industrial.

Nearby points of interest: The Brooklyn IKEA is close-ish! Aside from that, there’s some industrial facilities and shipping ports nearby.

Transit connections:
6th Ave. (Line F)
Crosstown (Line G)
MTA bus (B57, B61)

Overall, Smith-9th is a little unique among NYC subways stations, it’s the highest one. It’s pretty tall, has express tracks, and a nice view of the city. However, the accessibility brings it down a bit. IKEA’s close by, though, so long live BLAHAJ. :3

Rating: 7/10

Marble Hill (NYCMTA)

Marble Hill is an oddball station, and quite possibly the only one where the subway and Metro-North almost directly interface with each other outside Harlem and Grand Central. But even then, it’s not a direct physical connection. With that, let’s look at Marble Hill.

225th St.-Marble Hill is your standard ex-IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit, more commonly the A division/numbered lines) MTA elevated subway station, with a pair of side platforms. There’s no elevators, meaning this station is a fuck you to the ADA. Beneath is US-9/Broadway, and a number of Bronx bus routes run through here….even though legally it’s Manhattan. The downtown side has a small headhouse with MetroCard machines, while the uptown side has nothing at all other than a singular OMNY/MetroCard reader. The drawbridge, however, does make for some nice railfanning shots.

THERE IS AN. UPTOWN. ONE. TRAIN TO VAN COURTLANDT PARK-242ND STREET. ONE. MINUTE. AWAY.

The sole OMNY/MetroCard reader heading uptown

Bus connections can be found on Broadway, with the Bx7, Bx9, and Bx20 bus routes providing service to various places around the Bronx, including Riverdale and West Farms Square. Going a block over brings one to the Metro-North station.

And looking towards Van Courtlandt Park and Yonkers!

The Metro-North station is on 225th St. itself, and is also inaccessible. There’s stairs leading down to a rather small island platform, and in the overpass over the tracks is the ticketing machine. The platform is relatively normal otherwise, with a sheltered waiting area, a sign, a wastebasket, and benches. There’s also a departure board in the overpass and lining the platform. Yeah, not a lot to note here. The Hudson River makes for nice scenery though!

Overpass shot towards Spuyten Duyvil and Poughkeepsie!

And towards Yankee Stadium and Grand Central!

The good: It’s a transfer point between the subway and Metro-North! Furthermore, it’s also a good place for railfanning. It’s also a pretty busy area!

The bad: The stations aren’t accessible! The subway station is also pretty normal otherwise. Throw some elevators or ramps in, dammit!!!

Nearby points of interest: There’s a housing development nearby and a shopping mall!

Transit connections:
Metro-North (Hudson Line)
7th Ave. (Line #1)
MTA bus (Bx7, Bx9, Bx20)

Overall, it’s an okay station. Nothing too special to remark aside from the views of the Hudson and the railfanning potential. Yeah, sorry!

Rating: 6/10

42nd St.-Times Square/PABT/Bryant Park/5th Ave. (Lines 1-3, 7, A-F, M, N, Q, R, W, 42nd St. Shuttle)

Times Square…oh how do I even begin this one? Well, it’s the dog days of summer, and this one’s gonna be one hell of a doozy. That is, a 5 in 1 package. Let’s dig into it: the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the associated MTA subway station, the Times Square subway station, and the Bryant Park/5th Ave. station complex. Yes, all of these are attached to one another. So, buckle down, for this will be LONG.

So, to start with this entry, I was intercepted by someone from the Miles in Transit server (this was before I met up with Miranda for Christopher St.’s entry) at Penn Station. I then took my HRT on line E, and continued to the PABT. Commence review.

The platforms are pretty standard as seen elsewhere, two island platforms (albeit staggered), with benches, wayfinding, and a countdown clock. They are also accessible via ramps. The mezzanine is huge, with access to the PABT, and even has shops lining it. The PABT itself is pretty expansive, and while I didn’t have a lot of time to check it out (I would be here all day!), the bus terminal itself is expansive. Information booths can be found for Greyhound, Peter Pan, among other carriers. There’s even shopping and restaurants in the non-subway section of the terminal. Neat! From what I heard, the bus berths are just oversized parking garages, so I wasn’t bothered. The End!

HA! You thought this was the end? LMAO NOPE! Well, after going through a concourse tunnel, we reach 7th Ave. at Broadway. Welcome to Times Square!

This was written and taken during the 2024 Olympics season!

Times Square has lines #s 1-3, 7, N, Q, R, W, and the Grand Central-Times Square shuttle. But first, a poem. It’s actually kinda dark, reading:
“OVERSLEPT, SO TIRED. IF LATE, GET FIRED. WHY BOTHER? WHY THE PAIN?”
Damn. That’s actually very dark, and in a way kinda relatable. Well, we reach Times Square’s mezzanine and it’s pretty big. There’s restrooms nearby (staffed!!!!!!), and stairs to every which way. The station itself, though, is more on the empty side. Now, if you’re expecting the platforms for each set of lines to be different….you’d actually be wrong here. Lines #s 1-3 use a pair of islands, with line #3 in particular being a shuttle between here and 148th St.-Lenox Terminal overnight. Lines N, Q, R, and W also use a pair of islands, albeit oriented diagonally underneath Broadway, rather than 7th Ave. Then, there’s line #7, which is yet another island platform. Historically, this station was the terminus for line #7 until Hudson Yards opened in 2015, and until then there were some big mean mother bumpers at the end of the track. Lastly, there’s the Times Square shuttle platform. There used to be three tracks, however that changed relatively recently with modifications to widen the platform, so now it’s just two with an oversized island. One of the two tracks happens to connect to line #1 at the Times Square end as well. Neat! In terms of platform amenities, you have the usual signage, countdown clocks (yes, even for the shuttle!), benches, and wastebaskets. Nothing exciting. The station is also accessible by elevators – however, the PABT transfer is not due to a steeper than normal grade. Sorry!

Line R – wait, isn’t it supposed to be yellow?

This is, in fact, the busiest station on the MTA subway

On the surface, Times Square is one hell of a busy place. In fact, it is known to be overwhelming to some. Even I felt mildly overwhelmed but GOOD GOD was it an experience. Many express and local buses can be found here at street level, while some can be found near Bryant Park, with the PABT having a number of NJT and intercity buses. One of the entrances to Times Square, a simple staircase, is also reported to cost $30 million. Yikes! Overall, this place is definitely among the most photographed in the world, and being here was certainly an experience. Furthermore, you also have a number of shops and theaters nearby. Moving on!

BUS connection- wait a second, GET OUTTA THE BUS LANE!

Eventually, going back to the shuttle platform, Bryant Park station can be accessed underground from here. It’s a stone’s throw away again, which means in theory you can walk from one #7 line platform to the other! HA! Nice… Anyways, I digress. Bryant Park isn’t too special, with the connections to lines B, D, F, and M along with line #7. Except for one thing… Line #7’s platform has “platform screen doors” – albeit, better, as platform barriers. THEY SUCK. THEY CALL THESE PLATFORM SCREEN DOORS?! THIS AIN’T THE KIND OF STUFF THAT RMTRANSIT MENTIONS IN LITERALLY EVERY VIDEO!!! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT MTA!!!!!!!! THESE ARE NOT GOING TO DETER A MALICIOUS MALFACTOR OR ANYONE ELSE FROM FORCING A LIVING BEING ONTO THE GODDAMN THIRD RAIL!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! I digress, the mezzanine is your typical ex-Independent Subway mezzanine (the Independent Subway, or IND for short, being one of the three predecessor entities to the modern MTA, forming part of the present-day B division/lettered lines). That’s to say, stupidly overbuilt. That’s it. That’s the entire review. Sorry, no pictures of Bryant Park, but it is a pretty nice place, and I might add pics next time I’m in NYC.

More signage! The fuck is a Culver, though?

Does every subway train in NYC have the US flag on it?

THERE IS A. DOWNTOWN. LOCAL. SEVEN TRAIN TO THIRTYFOURTHSTREET-HUDSONYARDS. APPROACHING THE STATION PLEASE STAND AWAY FROM THE PLATFORM EDGE.

The good: It is HUGE and has connections to almost every line. (it does not connect to lines G, J, L, Z, or the Staten Island Railroad). The areas on the surface are full of activity as well, and the PABT is a major destination. It’s also (relatively) a stone’s throw from Penn Station and Grand Central. There’s also restrooms!

The bad: It can be a little confusing for some! Furthermore, it’s a goddamn sauna during the summer. PLATFORM BARRIERS TOO FHDAIOHFIODPWAYHFIODPASHFA.

Nearby points of interest: Bryant Park, Times Square, the PABT, and the many shops, restaurants, theaters, etc. in the area are the big ones! The main branch of the New York Public Library is at Bryant Park as well. The Rockefeller Center, while not directly here, is a stone’s throw away, as is Grand Central.

Transit connections:
6th Ave. Line (lines B, D, F, FX, M)
7th Ave. Line(lines #s 1, 2, 3)
8th Ave. Line (lines A, C, E)
Broadway Line (lines N, Q, R, W)
Flushing Line (lines #s 7, 7X)
42nd St. Shuttle
MTA bus (M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M7, M20, M34A SBS, M42, M55, M104, Q32, SIM1C, SIM3, SIM3C, SIM4C, SIM6, SIM8, SIM8X, SIM10, SIM22, SIM23, SIM24 SIM25, SIM26, SIM30, SIM31, BxM2, BxM3, BxM4, BxM6, BxM7, BxM8, BxM9, BxM10, BxM11, BxM18, QM1, QM2, QM3, QM4, QM5, QM6, QM20)
NJ Transit bus (101, 102, 105, 107, 108, 109, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 119, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 144, 145, 148, 151, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 177, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 319, 320, 321, 324, 355)
Bee-Line Bus (BxM4C)
Various intercity buses

Overall, this station complex is the single most important station (or station complex, rather) on the entire MTA subway, connecting almost every line with each other. Just be safe and mindful of pickpocketing people. If you’re ever in NYC as a tourist, I wouldn’t say “don’t come here”, and in fact I say do go for it at least once. But, in terms of the station itself, it’s not too grandiose inside, and the relatively high rating comes from the lively vibes of the surrounding areas. Screw those platform fences on 5th Ave. though.

Rating: 7/10

301 (Rural Ride, Westerly/Richmond)

Oh, brother, THIS route. I actually haven’t had the chance to ride it. Well, not until today. And this, is the last RIPTA route I actually had to ride. Meet: the 301 Rural Ride Friday Flyer.

Okay, first off, this route uses a RIde van. What the hell?! This…..is unique. Because RIde vans don’t have Wave readers (they wouldn’t – paratransit doesn’t use the standard fare system that relies on the Wave card or app), you can’t use mobile or card payment. You have to PHYSICALLY HAND $2 IN CASH TO THE BUS OPERATOR. THAT’S RIGHT – YOU HAVE TO PHYSICALLY PAY THE DRIVER!!! I genuinely have never seen anything like this before. Secondly, the driver outright asked if I was sure I wanted the 301 because nobody ever gets on in Westerly. Thirdly, as a fun tidbit, apparently I was the first ever person to board the 301 from within Westerly ever since the driver who does it started working the 301. Neat! 9 AM comes around, and we depart Westerly Station.

Eventually, we turned down a series of streets navigating through Westerly, ending near RI-78 and Dunn’s Corner and Walmart. We sat there for 5 minutes. No ons, no offs. And then, the fun began. We started HAULING ASS down Dunn’s Corner Road and into the middle of nowhere! Yeah, we made a couple of stops that got no ons or offs, but that eventually changed after we crossed into Hopkinton and made our second deviation: Saugatucket Springs!

My favorite park – the INDUSTRIAL PARK! (jkjk)

An old lady got on at Saugatucket Springs, was confused as to why it’s $2 rather than $4 (the driver explained $4 was the round-trip cost), and paid both ways at once. Then, after waiting a little more, we continued on back out towards Hopkinton Town Hall and up RI-3. In terms of scenery, it wasn’t exciting – being much of the usual woodland. This route isn’t called the Rural Ride for nothing!

We had two more boardings – an old woman and a man. The man, in particular, was surprised and a bit confused as to why I was riding the 301. He even asked me if I was homeless and I just said “nah, I’m gonna get an Uber to Kingston Station afterwards” (I did actually do this). With the last deviation done, we continued on towards Stop & Shop in Richmond, entering the village of Hope Valley, and passing through it quickly. Eventually, we reached I-95 yet again and, soon enough, the end of the route at Stop & Shop, where everyone got off to do their weekly grocery shopping.

The good: It’s a lifeline for the three people that boarded it!

The bad: The schedule is terrible – 1 and a quarter round trips a week, Fridays only, and it doesn’t run if Friday is a holiday.

Nearby points of interest: Not a lot. Westerly, maybe?

Overall, it’s an important route, yet also one that’s largely useless outside its one very specific usecase. Please, Canonchet Cliffs and Saugatucket Shores, take it off RIPTA’s hands or fund the route further! It’s a very important lifeline for the three people that regularly take it!

Rating: 3/10, 8/10 for the vibes.

With that, that concludes another bus entry. However, I’d like to dedicate this entry to someone special. Namely, I’d like to dedicate this entry to my late maternal grandfather, who instilled my interest in transit into me (though I never acted on it until relatively recently). Rest easy, and may you ferry people on the buses of the high heavens, champ…

Christopher St.-Stonewall (Line #1)

In late June of 1969, a series of police raids happened at the Stonewall Inn bar at the early hours of the morning. In this time, the LGBT community was very much not widely accepted in society at-large, and was oftentimes facing persecution and even death regularly. As a result of the violence ensuing from the riots, the modern fight for LGBT rights and equal treatment began, and in the following years the earliest Pride marches had their origins. Nevertheless, the fight for equal rights, treatment, and acceptance in society is still ongoing, with a number of roadblocks including the AIDS epidemic in the ’80s being used to demonize gay men, and more recently in the present day conservative politicians in a number of countries engaging in political warfare against transgender people (e.g. forcing schools to out kids, using pedophilia as a dogwhistle, banning puberty blockers, sports, banning or heavily gatekeeping HRT, etc.).

With all that history out of the way, here’s the station review part of this entry. Originally named after Sheridan Square, Christopher St.(-Stonewall) is a local station in lower Manhattan, serving line #1 at all times and line #2 at night hours. It’s located in the heart of Sheridan Square and the Greenwich Village, where the modern LGBTQ+ movement has originated, and there’s also a national monument at the Stonewall Inn on street level as well. Furthermore, the area is also pretty busy with businesses lining both Christopher St. and 7th Avenue. And, as a fun aside, you can even see the Freedom Tower from here as well. Neat! As for platform level, you have your usual amenities: faregates, a MetroCard machine (no OMNY!), benches, wastebaskets, and countdown clocks. There’s also no free crossover between sides. Annoying!

Line #1 to South Ferry in 2 minutes. That’s frequent!

The other side through the pylons holding the street up

A podcast! And yes, Bernie Wagenblast (the countdown clock announcer) is, in fact, a trans woman!

The good: It’s historically significant! It’s also in a pretty busy urban area, has basic amenities to make a functional subway station, and has bus connections!

The bad: It’s not accessible! Also, no OMNY machines??? There’s also no free crossover! Goddammit.

Nearby points of interest: The Stonewall Monument and Inn, duh! This area’s literally the origin of the modern LGBTQ+ movement!

Transit connections:
7th Ave. (Line #1)
MTA bus (M8, M20)

Overall, I think my approach for reviewing NYC subway stations are going to be based partly on land use and the quality of the stations themselves since I have a hunch many of them are going to be copy-paste. With that said, here’s my final thoughts on the station. It’s in a cool place. The Village genuinely seems like a cool place that I want to check out further in the future if I ever return to NYC (I will!), and on top of that the area is very important historically, and the events serve as a reminder, at least to me, that while life still sucks as a queer (trans and gay, specifically, in my case) person in the USA, it could be A LOT worse and it was a lot worse historically, and that even in the present day we still have work to do before we’re truly at a point where LGBTQ+ equality is achieved. Lastly, shoutout to Miranda from the Miles in Transit Discord server for tagging along with me for this one, it was nice hanging with you, and hopefully we cross paths again.

Rating: 7/10

Hamilton/Wenham (MBTA)

Alexander Hamilton was the first US Treasury secretary (that’s right – the same position held by, at the time of writing this, Janet Yellen!) and was a very influential person in American history. While I don’t know the full extent of his historical significance, he did have involvement with the American Revolution and the Continental Congress back when those were things. Unfortunately, after an attempt to run for President, his demise came in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804. His legacy can be seen in many things between modern-day currency and the famous Lin-Manuel Miranda play Hamilton.

Now, what the HELL does this have to do with anything I write about? Well, I’ll tell you: they named a town – and by extension a Commuter Rail station – after the man! Welcome to Hamilton (/Wenham)!

Hamilton/Wenham, as the name suggests, is on the line between Hamilton and Wenham, Massachusetts. The area isn’t bad and is a much better area compared to North Beverly to the south, all things considered. It’s pretty close to the town center (I did not check it out, as I instead got water at the nearby Cumby’s), the station has plenty of parking, there’s plenty of shelter and even a mini-high that, shockingly, HAS STUFF! WOAH! I’m genuinely relieved this is a good station! Yeah, you have benches and everything! There’s also a small walkway and a grade crossing just north of the station as well. Neat! It’s also located next to a small shopping center with a Dunks and a CVS as well, which is nice.

Walkway and crossings looking towards Newburyport!

Some shelter and looking towards Boston!

The good: It’s in the town center, has plenty of parking, and shelters! It’s also got benches and, wouldn’t ya know it, the mini-high isn’t barren! WOAH!!! There’s also stuff nearby!!! And, it’s pedestrian-friendly!

The bad: Not a lot, actually! Would be nice if there was a local bus connection to somewhere.

Nearby points of interest: The town center is close by!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Newburyport)

Overall, I really like this station. I mean, it’s not a personal favorite, but objectively it’s really a good station and the town itself is largely cool. Deducted points for the anti-MBTA Communities Act sentiment, however. Sorry!

Rating: 8/10