The Times Square–42nd Street and Port Authority Bus Terminal station complex is the busiest station of the New York City Subway and offers connections between twelve services, the most of all the system's transfer stations.
A station complex is where two or more stations are connected with a passageway inside fare control. There are 472 stations of the New York City Subway when each station is counted separately. When station complexes are counted as one station each, the count of stations is 423.
Station serving two or more lines. It may be a multi-level or adjacent-platform station and is considered to be one station as classified by the MTA. Typically each track in a station belongs to a certain line.
Transfers are not limited to enclosed passageways. The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), manager of the New York City Subway, also offers limited free transfers between subway lines that allow passengers to reenter the system's fare control. This was originally done through a paper ticketing system before it was replaced by the MetroCard. Now the only permanent MetroCard subway-to-subway transfers are between the Lexington Avenue/59th Street complex (4, 5, 6, <6>, N, R, and W trains) and the Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station (F, <F>, N, Q, and R trains) in Manhattan and between the Junius Street (2, 3, 4, and 5 trains) and Livonia Avenue (L train) stations in Brooklyn. The contactless OMNY fare payment system installed in 2019-2020 supports the same free transfers as the MetroCard does.
Some paper transfers between specific subway stations and bus routes also existed prior to July 4, 1997, when the MetroCard allowed free system-wide subway–bus transfers with fewer restrictions. The Rockaway Parkway station on the BMT Canarsie Line (L train) offers a transfer to the B42 bus within the station's fare control, the only such transfer within the NYCTA.
A transfer passageway between the southbound IRT Lexington Avenue Line and both directions of the IND Sixth Avenue Line was placed inside fare control on May 19, 1957.[15] The Bleecker Street uptown platform was remodeled to provide an easier transfer to/from the Broadway-Lafayette Street station and opened on March 26, 2012. The northbound transfer for the Lexington Avenue line opened on September 25, 2012, and the station became ADA-accessible.[8]
These two adjacent stations on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and BMT Nassau Street Line are connected by two passageways. The south one opened in 1914,[3] and was placed inside fare control on July 1, 1948.[4] A second passageway, at the north end of the stations, was opened in the evening of September 1, 1962, when the Lexington Avenue Line platforms were extended and the Worth Street station was closed.[16]
The two halves of the IND Eighth Avenue Line and the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line are connected by the IND Eighth Avenue Line's express platform. The connections were opened in the 1950s, before which none of the three parts, not even the two IND stations, were connected.[citation needed] The BMT Broadway Line was connected to the Eighth Avenue Line's local platform in 2017 via a passageway.[11]
A complicated network of passageways connects four separate stations on the IND Eighth Avenue Line, IRT Lexington Avenue Line, BMT Nassau Street Line, and IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. The full transfer system here was formed on July 1, 1948. While the passageways between the Eighth Avenue, Nassau Street, and Broadway–Seventh Avenue platforms all existed at the time, and were simply placed inside fare control, a paper transfer to the Lexington Avenue Line was issued at first,[4] until a new passageway was opened on August 25, 1950.[17] In December 2010, the Eighth Avenue Line station's name was changed from Broadway–Nassau Street to Fulton Street.
In November 2014, the Fulton Center opened, connecting the stations to Cortlandt Street outside of fare control, through the Dey Street Passageway.[18] The BMT Broadway Line and IND Eighth Avenue Line stations at Cortlandt Street and World Trade Center were connected in 2017 via a passageway.[11]
On September 8, 2018, the WTC Cortlandt station reopened, connecting the station to Cortlandt Street (BMT), World Trade Center (IND), and Fulton Center outside of fare control via the Dey Street Passageway and World Trade Center Transportation Hub.[19]
A new passageway opened concurrently with the opening of the new South Ferry station on March 16, 2009.[20] This connects the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line with the Whitehall Street station on the BMT Broadway Line.
When the elevated IRT Third Avenue Line closed from Chatham Square to South Ferry on December 22, 1950, a paper transfer was given to the M15 bus route. The Third Avenue Line was closed in Manhattan on May 12, 1955, removing this transfer.[citation needed]
When the new "H" system was implemented on August 1, 1918, the Public Service Commission was unprepared for the heavy traffic using the 42nd Street Shuttle. The shuttle was closed for rebuilding at the end of August 3, and a paper transfer was added between Rector Street on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and Wall Street on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line (the only one of the two lines to go to Brooklyn at that time).[21] Shuttle service resumed on September 28, 1918, but the transfer remained, and was expanded to allow transfers from Wall Street on the Brooklyn Branch of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, its temporary end.[22] After the Brooklyn Branch was completed on April 15, 1919, the transfer was no longer needed.[23]
There was never a free transfer between the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line (outer) and IRT Lexington Avenue Line (inner) platforms at South Ferry. However, by 1960, night and weekend Lexington Avenue Line service (5 and 6 trains) stopped at the outer platform. This unadvertised transfer existed until 1977, when Lexington Avenue Line trains stopped running to South Ferry.[24]
The subway station at Grand Central Terminal serves the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, IRT Flushing Line, and IRT 42nd Street Shuttle. Connections are closely integrated, since all three lines were operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company. The original station, opened on October 27, 1904, served only the first IRT subway, and is now the shuttle platform.[25] The Flushing Line station opened on June 22, 1915,[2] and the Lexington Avenue Line station on July 17, 1918,[26] each with direct connections to the existing station.[citation needed] The elevated IRT Second Avenue Line was closed on June 13, 1942, and, starting the next day, a paper transfer[4] was available between the elevated IRT Third Avenue Line and the Grand Central complex. This allowed passengers who had taken the Second Avenue Line over the Queensboro Bridge to instead use the Third Avenue Line to Lower Manhattan.[27] The Third Avenue Line closed on May 12, 1955, ending this transfer.[28]
A passageway to the 42nd Street–Bryant Park station opened on September 7, 2021, along with a new platform at the shuttle station.[12] The new passageway is closed during late nights, when the shuttle doesn't operate.
A paper transfer[32] was added between the IND Sixth Avenue Line and IRT Flushing Line at Bryant Park on July 1, 1968, when KK service started and the new 57th Street station opened. The transfer was only valid on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. until a passageway was opened[33] by 1971.[34]
The station became a transfer station when the Queens Boulevard Line opened in 1933. There is no free connection between trains in opposite directions. A free transfer only exists between the northbound (uptown) services and another exists between the southbound (downtown) services.
The passageways between the Broadway Line and the upper-level local Lexington Avenue Line stations were placed inside fare control on July 1, 1948.[4] When the lower-level express Lexington Avenue platforms opened in 1962 to relieve congestion at the Grand Central–42nd Street transfer point, those platforms were connected to the local platforms and Broadway Line platforms above.
A MetroCard out-of-system transfer to the IND 63rd Street Line was added on December 16, 2001, when the Queens section of that line was completed. Since the F had moved to the new line, there was no longer a direct transfer to the Lexington Avenue Line, and so this transfer was added with an above-ground walk, free for MetroCard users within two hours of the original boarding.[37][38]
The cross-platform transfer between both the IND and BMT 63rd Street lines opened on January 1, 2017 with the opening of the Second Avenue Subway.[39] Lexington Avenue-63rd Street was originally a two level station with the BMT tracks hidden behind a now demolished wall with orange tiles.[40]
The station became a transfer station when the Jerome Avenue Line opened in 1917. The upper-level Jerome Avenue platforms and the lower-level White Plains Road platforms are perpendicular to each other.
The first portion of the IRT White Plains Road Line opened on November 26, 1904 as a branch from the elevated IRT Third Avenue Line north of 149th Street to 180th Street–Bronx Park in West Farms.[43] It was connected into the original IRT subway on July 10, 1905, and Third Avenue service was ended.[44] Transfers were given at 149th Street for passengers who wanted to change to Third Avenue, and transfers were added between the Manhattan-bound subway and the Third Avenue Line to the north on July 13 due to the "congestion and confusion" at that point. These transfers originally only applied to trains continuing in the same direction;[45][46] by the 1920s, this transfer point had become very congested. A passageway inside fare control was opened on June 1, 1927 in the triangle bounded by 148th Street, Third Avenue, and Willis Avenue.[47][48] The Third Avenue Line closed on April 28, 1973, ending the transfer.[49]
The first connection between lines was between the Sea Beach and the West End lines on December 23, 1918. The Brighton Line platform opened on May 29, 1919 followed by the Culver Line on May 1, 1920. When the Culver Line passed from BMT to IND control in 1954, the transfer became inter-division. The station is a terminal for all four lines and services.
This station, opened on June 19, 1915 and completed on August 1, 1920, has been a major transfer point between BMT services, with the lines splitting north and south of the station.
A passageway connects the underground IND Fulton Street Line and the end of the elevated BMT Franklin Avenue Line. The transfer here was added on June 1, 1940, immediately after the elevated BMT Fulton Street Line (to which Franklin Avenue Line passengers could transfer) closed.[54] Transfers were made with paper transfer slips[4] until October 18, 1999, when the Franklin Avenue Line reopened after reconstruction, doing away with the last remaining paper transfer on the Subway.[55]
The station is laid out on six tracks: the two innermost tracks serve the Crosstown Line, the next two outer tracks serve the express Fulton Street Line and the outermost two serve the local Fulton Street Line. The station became a transfer station upon its opening on April 9, 1936 between Fulton Street Line trains running to/from Manhattan on the Fulton Street express tracks and the HH (Court Street Shuttle) on the Fulton Street local tracks. (The shuttle was discontinued on June 1, 1946.) The Crosstown Line and its transfer opened on July 1, 1937.
The station became a cross-platform transfer station when the Fulton Street Line opened in 1936. A transfer passageway was opened to the BMT Fourth Avenue Line on December 10, 2010, concurrently with renaming the complex to Jay Street – MetroTech.[56][57]
A free out-of-system transfer on nights and weekends was introduced on April 26, 2019 as part of the L shutdown, and introduced permanently in February 2020.[58] It is planned to convert an overpass running between the Junius Street and Livonia Avenue stations into a in-system transfer passage between them, due to increasing ridership and plans for additional housing in the area.[59] In February 2020, the MTA awarded a design–build contract to construct the free transfer and associated elevator upgrades.[60]
The BMT Canarsie Line on the surface south of Rockaway Parkway became a streetcar line on October 26, 1917 with a free transfer to the Canarsie Line. On November 21, 1942, the private right-of-way was closed, and the transfer was instead given to the Rockaway Parkway Line, now the B42 bus route. The streetcars, later buses, stop inside fare control.[61]
Prior to the opening of the Culver Line in 1920, local Brighton Line trains used the lower level and express Brighton Line trains used the upper level. The transfer station commenced with the opening of the Culver Line on the lower level under the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (the predecessor to the BMT). Level usage varied over the years with different Brighton services using the lower level at different times. When the Culver Line passed from BMT to IND control in 1954, the transfer became inter-division. Shortly thereafter, the Brighton Line track connection to the lower level was severed, thereby allowing each line to have exclusive use of their own levels.
On October 30, 1954, a connection between the IND Brooklyn Line and the BMT Culver Line opened, and the Culver Line was transferred from BMT to IND control. Service through the new connection commenced, and the BMT Culver Shuttle was instituted between Ditmas Avenue and Ninth Avenue, making Ditmas Avenue an inter-division transfer station. When the BMT Culver Shuttle ceased on May 11, 1975, the station was left to be served by the IND Culver Line only.
On March 5, 1944, when the elevated BMT Myrtle Avenue Line was removed from the Brooklyn Bridge elevated tracks, and cut back from Park Row to Bridge–Jay Streets, a paper transfer was added at Bridge–Jay Streets to the Brooklyn Bridge trolley lines, specifically the Smith Street Line, DeKalb Avenue Line, and Seventh Avenue Line.[62] Bridge trolleys were discontinued on March 6, 1950, and the transfer was replaced with one to the IND Sixth Avenue Line. Manhattan-bound passengers received a transfer when boarding the Myrtle Avenue Line west of Broadway, but Brooklyn-bound passengers could only get one when entering at Broadway – Nassau Street, near Park Row.[63] In addition, similar trolley transfers were provided at High Street – Brooklyn Bridge, at the Brooklyn end of the bridge.[64] The Myrtle Avenue Line west of Broadway closed on October 3, 1969,[65] and the transfer was replaced with one to the B54 bus route, which ran under the line. The transfers at High Street – Brooklyn Bridge were discontinued at some point, but the B54 transfer remained for a long time.[citation needed]
A paper transfer[4] was added at Rockaway Avenue between the temporary east end of the underground IND Fulton Street Line and the new west end of the elevated BMT Fulton Street Line, immediately after the BMT Fulton Street Line was closed west of Rockaway Avenue on June 1, 1940.[54] When the BMT Fulton Street Line was closed east of Rockaway Avenue on April 27, 1956, these transfers were discontinued.[66]
The lower level, serving the Jamaica Line, opened in 1888. The station became a transfer station when the Myrtle Avenue Elevated platform on the upper level opened in 1889. When Myrtle Avenue Line service west of this station ended in 1969, the upper level was abandoned and all Myrtle Avenue Line trains from the east merged onto the Jamaica Line tracks.
An $8.5 million 350-foot (100 m) passageway connecting the IND Queens Boulevard Line with the IND Crosstown Line was built by Citicorp, who was building the Citicorp Building above. It opened in December 1988.[67][68][69] A MetroCard transfer to the IRT Flushing Line was added on December 16, 2001, when the IND 63rd Street Line was completed and the G was cut back to Court Square during peak hours. This transfer was free for MetroCard users within two hours of the original boarding.[38] A passageway was completed in June 2011 between the Flushing and Crosstown lines, which ended the MetroCard transfer.
As part of the Dual Contracts, the Astoria Line and Flushing Line were operated by both the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation. This arrangement remained through unification, until, starting October 17, 1949, the Astoria Line became BMT-only and the Flushing Line IRT-only. A cross-platform transfer at Queensboro Plaza, where the lines meet, was made available by closing the north (BMT) half of the station and routing all trains into the south (IRT) half.[70]
