42nd Street Shuttle

infobox NYCS service
service = S
shuttle = 42nd
terminals = Times Square – Grand Central
name = 42nd Street ShuttleInfobox rail line
name = 42nd Street Shuttle
type = Rapid transit
system = New York City Subway
status = Operating
locale = Midtown Manhattan
start = Times Square
end = Grand Central
stations = 2
routes =
ridership =
open =27 October 1904
close =
owner = City of New York
operator = New York City Transit Authority
character = Underground
stock = R62A
linelength = 1.3km (0.8 miles)
tracklength =
notrack = 3 (formerly 4)
gauge = 1,435mm (4ft 8½ inches)
el = 600V DC third rail
speed =
elevation =

The 42nd Street Shuttle is a New York City Subway train service that operates in Manhattan. It is sometimes referred to as the Grand Central/Times Square Shuttle, since these are the only stations served by the shuttle. It runs at all times except late nights, connecting Times Square to Grand Central under 42nd Street. It is the shortest regular service in the system, running 0.8 mile (1.3 km) in officially one minute. The 42nd Street Shuttle line is part of the IRT division of New York City Transit, and the tracks that it uses opened in 1904 as part of the first subway in the city. In order to distinguish it from the other shuttles in the system, NYCT Rapid Transit Operations refers to it as the "8".Fact|date=March 2007

The shuttle trains consist of three or four R62A subway cars.

History

The subway through which the shuttle runs was opened on October 27, 1904, the first day of subway service in Manhattan. It served as part of the IRT's main line until August 1, 1918, when the Dual Contracts' "H system" was put into service, with through trains over the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, and only shuttle trains under 42nd Street.

The southbound express track on the four-track line was closed and new platforms were built, as the old station at Times Square had been local-only. However, the new arrangement turned out to be inadequate, and the shuttle was closed on midnight between August 3–4 for expansion of the platforms. The shuttle reopened on September 28, 1918, with improved passageways and platforms. On the walls of the stations, black bands (at Times Square) and green bands (at Grand Central) were painted to guide passengers to the shuttle platforms.

The shuttle ran at all times until September 10, 1995 after which it runs at all times except late nights, when the 7 provides replacement service. When the shuttle is closed, the area is sometimes used for movie and TV filming. "The French Connection" and "King of New York", among many other titles, were filmed on the 42nd Street shuttle.

Track connections to the rest of the system

Of the four shuttle tracks, only three are in use, the former southbound express track space being used for platform space at each terminal. The former southbound local track is now Shuttle Track 1; Track 2 no longer exists; the former northbound express track is Track 3; and the former northbound local track is Track 4.

Tracks 1 and 3 are connected to each other and to the Lexington Avenue Line's southbound local track south of Grand Central station. Track 4 connects to the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line's northbound local track north of Times Square station. There is no connection between tracks 1 and 3 on the one hand, and track 4 on the other; therefore, although the shuttle was once part of the original through-route of the first IRT subway, it is now physically impossible for a train to go from the IRT Lexington Avenue Line through to the IRT Seventh Avenue Line or vice versa by using the shuttle tracks.

Operation

In service, each of the shuttle tracks in operation at any given time is independent of the other; e.g.., the train on track 1 simply runs back and forth on track 1, and there is no switching involved in reversing at each terminal. To provide for quick turnaround of the shuttle trains, there is an operator at each end of the train. Depending on which direction the train is traveling the operators swap jobs when the train gets to one end; one acts as the operator in the front and the other acts as conductor in back.

Stations

NYCS service legend
alltimes = show
allexceptnights = show
weekdaysonly = show
rushpeak = show

See also

* Waterloo and City line - London Underground's shortest line, running in a similar way between Bank tube station in the City of London and Waterloo tube station, serving Waterloo station in South London.

References

* "Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph," "New York Times", August 2, 1918, page 1
* "Drop Shuttle Plan as Subway Crush Becomes a Peril," "New York Times", August 3, 1918, page 1
* "Subway Shuttle Resumes Today," "New York Times", September 28, 1918, page 17
* "A Subway Station is Shuttered, the First in 33 Years," "New York Times", September 11, 1995 [the article is about Dean Street on the Franklin Avenue Shuttle, and the headline refers to the 1962 closing of Worth Street; several old-style elevated railways were closed since then, as well as the Culver Shuttle which hosted both elevated and subway service at one time]

External links

* [http://nycsubway.org/irt/shuttle/ nycsubway.org - IRT Grand Central/Times Square Shuttle]
* [http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/grandcentral.html Abandoned Stations - proposed Grand Central shuttle platform] (includes a track diagram)