Times Square
The Times Square 42 Street Shuttle station saw the brunt of the work that was needed to create a new ADA accessible 42 Street Shuttle between 2019 and 2022. This project made the Shuttle the first fully accessible subway line with all accessible stations since the shuttle only has two! This transformation saw the 42 Street Shuttle converted from running a total of 3 trains with 10 total cars of capacity – two 3 car trains (on tracks 1 and 4) and a 4 car trains on Track 3 – to running a total of two, 6 car trains operating on the outside tracks (independently, there is still no track connection between them) Tracks 1 and 4. This has resulted in a reduction in frequency but an increase in capacity of 20% from 10 cars to 12 cars moving on the line.
This project also created a new free transfer to 6 Avenue and B, D, F, and M trains, connecting Times Square and 5 Avenue on the 7 train as the first two subway stations on one subway line entirely connected in the same paid fare area. You can now walk between the stations without swiping out of the subway system. The fact the 42 Street Shuttle is closed at night with passengers directed to take the 7 train from around Midnight until 5am means that this passageway is closed as well making the free transfer between the B,D,F,M and the rest of the subway lines at Times Square the first free transfer not open at all times, this is acknowledged by a box on the subway map pointing towards the black free transfer line.
This project resulted in the creation of a whole new 42 Street Shuttle Station at Times Square. Our tour begins when we enter the passageway from the Main Upper Mezzanine area that used to lead to Track 1 (and the further former walkways to tracks 2 and 3), passengers now reach a wide mezzanine area where the former platforms and tracks of Tracks 1 and 3 in this area are now completely covered and built up as walkways. A new wall closes off track 4 (and its original side platform) which continues beyond the station to the Uptown 1 Broadway line train local track to allow Shuttle trains to be moved on and off track 4 has needed. The old views of the Broadway 7 Avenue line tracks at their curve from the Shuttle platform area is no longer, this has all been walled off. There is also no longer a pedestrian bridge across the track that needs to be removed for track access.
For entrances, in this area there are now two. Along the western end of the mezzanine is a very wide fare control area (with modern, lower than the normal, full height fencing glass walls). This fare control area was built on the former platforms and trackways of Track 1 and 3 with some circular columns from the original station along the entrance area. This leads up to Broadway Plaza (along the former roadway of Broadway before traffic was removed from it in 2008) between 42 and 43 Streets to a new elevator and a wide 15 foot staircase arriving at the street under a wide canopy of 238 triangular glass frames designed to replicate the crystal ball that is dropped over Times Square. The sides of this canopy have modern black signs that say Times Square subway station. When I visited in 2023 this entrance led to a mess of construction walls and scaffolding at street level, with access only from the northern sidewalk of 42 Street due to construction at One Times Square (one of the most photographed buildings in world and where the ball drops on New Year’s Eve).
At the opposite end of the wide mezzanine area is the entrance to the wide new shuttle island platform. This island platform was built on the former track beds of the original Express Tracks, tracks 2 and 3. Across from the entrance to this new platform is a small bank of turnstiles with an original 1904 style tubular fence, this leads to the “historical corner” entrance and is quite like the entrance originally here. Turnstiles lead past MVMs to a single streetstair up to the SE corner of 42 Street and Broadway (where Broadway becomes a street again for vehicular traffic). The entrance area has some historical terra cotta reliefs for the Knickerbocker Hotel, historical tiling, and an interpretative sign. The signage explains the history of the subway station, originally a local station with two station entrances on each side of the two side platforms at Times Square and some photos of the no longer visible to the public historic Times Square name tablets from the original platform areas.
The new 6 car long shuttle platforms are covered in three sets of grey columns. In the middle of the wide platform are columns that are unique for within a subway platform, narrow and quite close together with the column leading up to triangular support beams supporting the station roof, this beam design is at plenty of IRT subway stations, just between the subway tracks, not directly on platforms! These are original, along the platform edges were originally similar columns, except during the station's rebuilding to have enough space for accessibility by the doors and to improve passenger flow more normal square columns were added propping up a beam that replaced the support of the original Y beam supports. The track walls have white tiles designed to look historical.
At the eastern end of the new platform, doors (that can be closed for fire code reasons) lead to a new passageway along the track bed of former track 3, the side beams of the original columns between the tracks are visible on top-corners between the walls and the roof. This passageway leads about a half block (it is significantly shorter than the 41 Street tunnel connecting the A,C,E trains to the rest of the subway lines at Times Square) before ending at an upper landing to a staircase directly down first to the Downtown, then to the Uptown B,D,F, and M train platforms. These staircases lead directly down to the B,D,F and M platforms. Passengers wanting to exit from the Shuttle to 6 Avenue must walk down either platform a short distance either north to the secondary short mezzanine to the exits to the northside of 6 Avenue or south to the main mezzanine area that includes the passageway to transfer to the 7 train at 5 Avenue.
Photos 1-56: September 3, 2023; 57-59: November 26, 2023
