NYCA || R142 42nd Street Shuttle Announcements || 42nd Street Line

Credit: ‪@MrRailfan‬ for the announcement’s
P.S, The 42nd Street Shuttle is a New York City Subway shuttle train service that operates in Manhattan. The shuttle is sometimes referred to as the Grand Central/Times Square Shuttle, since these are the only two stations it serves. The shuttle runs at all times except late nights, with trains running on two tracks underneath 42nd Street between Times Square and Grand Central; for many decades, three tracks had been in service until a major renovation was begun in 2019 reducing it to two tracks. With two stations, it is the shortest regular service in the system by number of stops, running about 2,402 feet (732 m) in 90 seconds as of 2005. The shuttle is used by over 100,000 passengers every day, and by up to 10,200 passengers per hour during rush hours. The 42nd Street Shuttle was constructed and operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and is part of the A Division of New York City Transit as of 2024. The shuttle tracks opened in 1904 as part of the city's first subway. The original subway line ran north from City Hall on what is now the IRT Lexington Avenue Line to 42nd Street, from where it turned west to run across 42nd Street. At Broadway, the line turned north, proceeding to 145th Street on what is now the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line. This operation continued until 1918, when construction on the Lexington Avenue Line north of 42nd Street, and on the Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line south of 42nd Street was completed. One trunk would run via the new Lexington Avenue Line down Park Avenue, and the other trunk would run via the new Seventh Avenue Line up Broadway. The section in the middle, via 42nd Street, was converted into shuttle operation. Through the 20th century, various attempts to convert, replace, or extend the shuttle have failed. The proposals have included conveyor-belt systems, as well as reconstruction of connections to the Broadway-Seventh Avenue and Lexington Avenue lines. One of the shuttle's trains was outfitted with automatic train operation on a trial basis in 1962, although the trial ended after a fire in 1964. A major reconstruction of the shuttle took place between 2019 and 2022. The reconstruction allowed trains to be lengthened to six cars while also expanding both shuttle stations' capacity, and brought the shuttle into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The shuttle operates at all times except late nights, and each of the shuttle tracks in operation at any given time is independent of the other. Its route bullet is colored dark gray on route signs, station signs, and rolling stock with the letter "S" on the official subway map. On April 6, 2020, a new phase of work on the project was scheduled to begin, with service then only running on tracks 1 and 3. However, on that date, New York City Transit issued a General Order that called for a complete shutdown of the line until December 31, 2020. Because the shuttle was already temporarily shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, the upgrades were expedited by two months. These upgrades included work laying new trackbed and track, and improvements in drainage and flood mitigation systems. The closure of the shuttle allowed the contractor to fix an unexpected tunnel settlement condition at Times Square, which would have otherwise delayed the project by three to four months. Despite the General Order, the shuttle reopened on August 10, 2020 to accommodate passengers displaced by unrelated construction on the Lexington Avenue Line, which caused a partial closure of that line. At midnight on November 7, 2020, another phase of work on the project began as track 3 was taken out of passenger service. Shuttle service on track 4 resumed on November 9. As part of this phase of work, track 3 and its infrastructure was removed to allow for the construction of new platforms. In addition, structural work, and new power and signaling systems will be completed, and work will also begin on the new transfer passageway between the Times Square and Bryant Park stations. As of December 2020, work on the project was 55 percent complete. In preparation for the opening of the new platform, weekend service ran on a single track during July and August 2021, and the shuttle was closed for four days in July and twelve days in August and September 2021. The new platforms finally opened on September 7, 2021.
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Times Square 42nd Street 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🟣🟣🔵🔵🔵🔵🟠🟠🟠🟠🟡🟡🟡🟡 PABT ♿️
Grand Central 42nd Street 🟢🟢🟢🟢🟣🟣 LIRR MNRR ♿️

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