TRANSPORT IN NEW YORK
New York has one of the most complex and extensive public transport systems in the world. The system is controlled by the Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA). This body is responsible for the New York City (NYC) Subway, the Long Island bus system, several suburban rail lines (Long Island Rail Road, Metro North, Staten Island Railway) and all the bridges and tunnels crossing the Hudson River. In addition to the MTA, the New York Port Authority controls several commuter rail and bus services and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
The New York Subway network consists of 22 lines and three shuttle services. The total length is 368km, 219km of it underground. It has 468 stations: 153 are elevated, 38 at ground level in open cuttings and 277 are underground. Over 171km of the network runs four tracks; this means that there are two separate tracks for express services. Around 95km of the network is three tracks, also allowing express services. The New York City subway carries over 4.7 million passengers on an average weekday.
The Subway celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2004; it first opened in October 1904. The Subway has a chequered history; in a parallel with the London Underground the Subway fell into disrepair from about 1940 to 1980 and in 1982 the MTA launched several five-year plans in an effort to upgrade signals, track and rolling stock. This was a massive regeneration program, costing a total of $39 billion. This was completed by 1990 and efforts in the 21st Century are being turned toward extending the network.
PATH NETWORK
Another important city suburban rail network is the PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson), which links central Manhattan to Jersey City and Newark in New Jersey. First opened in 1908, the total length of the network is 22.2km with an 11.9km section underground, including two tunnels under the Hudson River. The PATH network is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. After the 11 September 2001 tragedy the service was disrupted, since it did run to the World Trade Center. The service to Exchange Place station was resumed in June 2003, and since 23 November 2003 trains have been running to a temporary World Trade Center station.
OTHER OPERATORS LINKED TO PATH
There are several other suburban rail operators in the New York Metropolitan area. These are the New Jersey Transit run by New Jersey Transit Railways (interchanges with the PATH network) and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, which is a new light rail line first opened in 2000 that runs south from Exchange Place on the World Trade Center branch of the PATH network. In September 2002 a new branch was opened, north to New Jersey Transit's Hoboken terminal. Finally, there is the Newark City Subway, a light rail line which runs north through NYC from Newark, Penn Station, interchanging with PATH and NJ Transit.
There are several important projects being planned and going on during 2003. These include some major New York Subway upgrades and expansions (instigated by Metropolitan Transport Authority Capital Construction, MTACC) and the new AirTrain running from NYC to John F Kennedy (JFK) airport (instigated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey).
EAST-SIDE ACCESS PROJECT
The MTA and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) are designing a new link to Grand Central Terminal (GCT). The project will bring Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) commuters into Grand Central Terminal, creating a terminal on Manhattan's East Side to complement Penn Station on the West Side.
Two different engineering options are being examined for the Manhattan alignment. The first option will bring LIRR tracks into the existing lower level of GCT. The preferred option will create a new deeper terminal beneath the lower level tracks of the GCT. Several design schemes for the new platforms and tracks are being examined; each platform will have stairs and escalators rising to four mezzanine-level cross-passageways above and perpendicular to the platforms. From these common passageways, stairs and escalators will rise to a new large concourse for the LIRR in an area currently occupied by the Metro-North Madison Yard.
The concourse will include passenger amenities, such as ticket and information centers, waiting rooms, retail outlets, and the necessary office and operational areas. A new LIRR station is to be built at Queens Boulevard in Sunnyside, Queens. The station design will include one island and two side platforms and a covered entrance connected to Queens Boulevard Bridge. Fully enclosed pedestrian bridges will connect the entrance to the two side platforms as well as to a drop-off area on the south side of Skillman Avenue. The station will have lifts to each platform and a waiting area in the entranceway building. Platforms will have partial canopies for weather protection. The project will include new storage and maintenance depots for LIRR trains at the Sunnyside site.
The project will require the installation of new track work, tunnel ventilation, electric substations, state-of-the-art signals and communications and safety systems. Project Management is from a Bechtel/URS Joint Venture, the tunnel engineering will be done by a Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas/STV Inc. joint venture and systems engineering consultants will be Parsons Transportation Group, Inc. The East Side Access project has an estimated cost of $5.3 billion.
SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY
The Second Avenue Subway project is a historic project, which was first planned as far back as 1942 but due to a lack of funding did not come to fruition at that time. The new project has an estimated cost of $16 billion. The intention is to provide a new subway transit line to relieve the pressure on the over-used Lexington Avenue line and improve access to the downtown Manhattan area. The project is currently in the planning stage; initial construction is due to start in late 2004.
The construction will see 8.5 miles of new track built along the length of the Manhattan East Side running from 125th Street to Hanover Square. There will be a connection to the existing 63rd Street and Broadway Lines, providing a direct service from East Harlem and the Upper East Side to West Midtown via the Broadway express tracks. Two services will run: the first will run under Second Avenue from 125th Street to Hanover Square; a second will operate from 125th Street under Second Avenue and connect to the 63rd Street Line and the Broadway express tracks, using an existing track connection between the 63rd Street Line and the Broadway Line. The Second Avenue-Broadway Line service will continue over the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn.
There will be 16 new stations to serve expanding communities in Harlem, Upper East Side, East Midtown, Gramercy Park, East Village, Lower East Side, Chinatown and Lower Manhattan. The station at 125th Street will be constructed to allow transfers to the Lexington Avenue Line and Metro-North Railroad. Various options are under consideration for the alignment of the new line with the existing network; the hub of this activity will be Grand Street station, which will need extensive modification.
LINE SEVEN EXTENSION AND URBAN REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT
This project involves the extension of Line 7 subway service to the far West Side to provide a link to the Jacob K Javits Convention Center. The project not only involves the extension of the Subway line to an industrial area, but also proposes a large redevelopment in the area. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the City of New York Department of City Planning are to promote the transit-oriented redevelopment of the Hudson Yards area, which extends from West 28th Street on the south, Eighth Avenue on the east, West 43rd Street on the north and the Hudson River Park on the west. Expansion and modernization of the Jacob K Javits Convention Center is planned, including the construction of a new exhibition center and a new hotel. In addition, a new multi-use sports and entertainment facility is planned.
NEW FULTON STREET TRANSIT CENTER
The Fulton Street project is intended to replace the current maze of tunnels and stairways built by NYC Transit to connect subway lines built years apart by the city and different private companies. The $750 million Fulton Transit Center will improve access to nine subway lines and include an underground concourse, which will connect to three additional subways, the PATH train that serves New Jersey and the newly redeveloped World Trade Center site.
The Fulton Street station complex is the busiest in Lower Manhattan, with over 275,000 passengers passing through it each day. Most of these trips are by commuters travelling to work in the NYC area, or to commuter rail hubs at Penn Station, Grand Central Terminal, Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn, and Jamaica. In this station subway access is also available to Howard Beach and Jamaica. This is where the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's newly started AirTrain automated rail service will operate from to carry passengers to John F Kennedy International Airport. Construction of the new Fulton Street Transit Center is expected to start by the end of 2004; the project is due to be completed by the end of 2007.
CONSTRUCTION OF NEW SOUTH FERRY TERMINAL
This project will replace the old South Ferry two-track terminal with a three-track station, which will improve the service along the West Side of Manhattan and up into the Bronx. This will be accomplished by eliminating end-of-the-line turnaround bottlenecks. The new terminal project is estimated to cost $400 million.
The existing South Ferry Terminal and loop tracks were built beneath Battery Park nearly 100 years ago. The new station is being designed so that the platform, mezzanine and all of the station entrances will be located completely outside of the park footprint. Some construction will be required below Battery Park to link the existing subway tracks to the new station location. But no portion of Battery Park will be permanently taken for this project. MTA New York City Transit is currently in design and construction consultation to minimize the impact on the park during construction. It is hope that MTACC will be able to co-ordinate the construction program with planned renovation efforts being undertaken by the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation.
THE AIRTRAIN PROJECT
The Air Train project is a light rail system to John F Kennedy International Airport. The line is approximately 8.1 miles long with a 1.8 mile loop connecting the airline terminals in JFK international airport Central Terminal Area (CTA). There is also a 3 mile extension to Jamaica transportation center and a 3.3 mile extension to Howard Beach subway station. The modern stations are fully enclosed, heated and air conditioned with platform doors for safety (as in new Paris METEOR) and 240ft platform lengths allowing more cars to be used if required. There are excellent interchange facilities including: wide escalators, large glass enclosed lifts and moving walkways to airline terminals. Ten stations will serve the following locations on and off airport:
* Terminal 1 (Air France, Lufthansa, Korean Air, Japan Airlines)
* Terminals 2 and 3 (Delta)
* Terminal 4 (International Air Terminal)
* Terminals 5 and 6 (United Airlines and Jet-Blue)
* Terminal 7 (British Airways)
* Terminal 8 (American Airlines)
* Federal Circle / rental cars
* Long-term / employee parking lot
* Howard Beach
* Jamaica Station
The system has been designed to allow excellent interchange with other systems including: Jamaica for LIIR trains; New York City Transit for the 'E', 'J' and 'Z' subway lines; Howard Beach for New York City Transit's 'A' subway line and also local bus lines. The complete round trip around the Central Terminal Area will take just 8 minutes. The travel time from Manhattan to JFK via Jamaica is less than 45 minutes, while Manhattan to JFK via Howard Beach takes less than one hour. The AirTrain project is funded through a combination of revenue from an existing $3 surcharge on departing passengers under the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) program and Port Authority funds.
AIRTRAIN TRACKS
The 8.1-mile alignment has 6 miles of single track elevated guideway, 3.2 miles of double track elevated guideway, 1,000ft of cut-and-cover tunnel and 1.5 miles of at grade and retained fill sections. The 3-mile Jamaica leg of the AirTrain guide way has been constructed in the middle of the Van Wyck Expressway between Atlantic Avenue and the airport. Before any construction work was started, reconfiguration of the Van Wyck Expressway between JFK and Atlantic Avenue was required. Pile foundation and column construction began during mid-2000.
AIRTRAIN TECHNOLOGY
AirTrain vehicles are approximately 60ft long by 10ft wide. They are configured for bidirectional operation and each vehicle is capable of operating as a single unit or in multiples of up to four-car trains at speeds of up to 60mph. The AirTrain uses steel wheel/steel rail technology; it has third rail current collection at 750V DC. A power supply network feeds the third rail, with redundant 750V DC substations distributed around the system. The power supply system will be monitored and controlled via a supervisory data acquisition and control (SCADA) system. The AirTrain system will be a fully automated, driverless operation. Unmanned trains will be controlled by a moving block train control system. An automated storage yard fits in with automated mainline operations, eliminating the need for manual movement of trains.
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