Category: Public Transit

Alrighty, so we made it to the end of line #7, at……north-central Queens? Huh, guess the subway doesn’t go out as far as I’d expect it to. Ah well. Welcome to Flushing, some might say “the better Chinatown”, but regardless, here we go!

The subway station is mostly standard, however the only major difference aside from the usual benches, wastebaskets, and (working!) countdown clocks, are that there’s THREE tracks rather than two here. Which, essentially, means “Doors will open on either or both side” is a real possibility here. There’s also a relatively nice-looking mezzanine with OMNY machines. Allegedly, a restroom also exists here but I didn’t see one. Unfortunately, though, the way the station is designed inherently prohibits any extensions of the line – as they’d all require the mezzanine to be razed as between the mezzanine and tracks are some big mean mother bumpers. But, there’s at least bus connections to eastern and northern Queens! Yay! But, that’s not all to this station…

Yes. There’s also an LIRR station here, kinda acting as a super-express of line #7 if you take this towards Grand Central/Penn Station. The station is on an embankment, with elevator for ADA compliance. There’s also ticket machines and shelters, but it really isn’t anything to ring home about. It works well for what it is. Some might say “why would you take it when the subway is there?”, to which I raise the possibility of reverse commuters to Port Washington and Manhasset, and also people who prefer a super-express that stops only at Mets-Willett Point and Woodside before going into Manhattan. Oh yeah, I also almost forgot to note, the departure boards tell you CAR CAPACITY. DAMN, I never seen THAT before on a commuter rail system!

The good: It’s a major destination, has both subway and LIRR access, and is the gateway to eastern Queens and Nassau Co.! The “N”-prefixed routes I raised questions about in a caption? Turns out, those are Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) buses. Yes, an RTA other than the MTA actually serves this station! DAMN. Furthermore, the Port Washington Line is pretty frequent by commuter rail standards, while line #7 is the most frequent subway line in the system.

The bad: The design prohibits extensions inherently! That’s…..really the only negative I can genuinely think of, aside from the piss-scented elevators at the LIRR station.

Nearby points of interest: Flushing, duh! This is probably the more major Chinatown vs. Manhattan’s Chinatown. There’s also buses to Whitestone, Murray Hill, Bayside, and Nassau Co. from here.

Transit connections:
LIRR (Port Washington)
Flushing Line (Line #7)
MTA bus (Q12, Q13, Q15, Q15A, Q16, Q17, Q19, Q20A, Q20B, Q25, Q26, Q27, Q28, Q34, Q44 SBS, Q48, Q50, Q58, Q65, Q66)
NICE (N20G, N20X)

Overall, while the vibes of the station itself are “meh”, if slightly above average, this neighborhood is really vibey, for what it’s worth, and is probably my favorite part of the city. Also, the bus connections are plentiful here.

Rating: 8/10

Oh goody, another station complex! Well, we’re on the southern tip of Manhattan for this one. Unfortunately, this one tends to be a little cursed in the 21st century, in that there’s been several catastrophic disruptions to service here. Well, with that out of the way, let’s get into things.

At the end of line #1 and line W, South Ferry and Whitehall St. (technically two stations, but physically the same station) is the southernmost station in Manhattan, serving the Whitehall St. ferry terminal and the Battery, and the southernmost bits of the Financial District. The stations themselves are pretty modern, with decent amounts of lighting. You also have countdown clocks that actually work, benches, wastebaskets, fare machines, and the usual. There’s also allegedly an in-station connection to each other (I fully believe it exists) but I haven’t seen it anywhere when I was here. Easy to miss? Possibly. Line #1 has big mean mother bumpers at the end of the track (likely because you cannot build tail tracks here – the ocean is 3 feet south!), while line W utilizes a middle pocket track to turn around. On street level, it’s pretty lively overall, with vendors everywhere and modern headhouses that remind me of Hudson Yards – and overall, look nice. And, yes, this is accessible! YAY! There is also a busway here as well, neat!

Right, getting back to “this station is cursed”. I say that for one reason: there’s been two catastrophic events that killed service here this century already! First off was the 9/11 attacks. Now, we all know what happened with the September 11th incident and the 3000 or so lives lost between here, the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania, and I’m not even going to get into anything about imperialism (this is a transit blog – not “Chelsea’s Political Ramblings”. But if anyone wants to see my political ramblings, let me know!), but between this and the resulting conflicts, there were millions of civilian fatalities. One of the byproducts of the towers falling on that morning was the fact it severed line #1 between Chambers St. and here (Chambers St. was the last turnaround point heading southbound). It also led to service on the Broadway lines to be killed for a while as well, with service beyond being an extension of lines J and M (at the time, line M used the Nassau St. tunnel) into the Montague St. tunnel and towards Bay Ridge and Coney Island. Line #1 would instead be re-routed to New Lots, and these changes would persist for a bit. About a decade later would be Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Sandy would wreck havoc all over NYC, flooding a decent amount of the city and, unfortunately, South Ferry Station. The salt in the wound here, was that they rebuilt the station in a slightly different location, and that station was completely wrecked. So, with that, they had to reactivate the old station (which was a balloon loop ala Heath St.). This was among the many problems caused by Sandy, among those caused in Queens and Brooklyn. Unfortunately, though, I can’t talk about them as much because there isn’t as much info readily available. But, nevertheless, this station is cursed, and it wouldn’t be opened again until 2017.

The good: It’s a nice station, it’s modern in design, and it’s well-lit! Furthermore, it’s on the southern tip of Manhattan and has an on-foot connection to the Whitehall St. ferry terminal (stay tuned) for Staten Island ferry service. There’s also a busway and it’s accessible!

The bad: I can’t help but think this station is cursed. In all seriousness though, I don’t have a lot against it. Maybe a better-signed transfer to line #1?

Nearby points of interest: The Financial District, the Battery, and the Statue of Liberty!

Transit connections:
7th Ave. Line (1)
Broadway Line (R, W)
MTA bus (M15, M15 SBS, M20, M55, BM1, BM2, BM3, BM4, QM7, QM8, QM11, QM25, SIM5, SIM15, SIM35)
Staten Island Ferry (at Whitehall St. Terminal)

Overall, it’s a nice and useful station, and I’d say it’s a favorite of mine so far on the system. But, not as much as 33rd-Rawson. Yeah, sorry. But it’s still good.

Rating: 8/10

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 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

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!

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.

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

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

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!

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 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.

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.

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!

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