Subway Opens in New York: 150,000 Ride First Line
New York City's first subway line opened on October 27, 1904, running from City Hall to 145th Street in Harlem. An estimated 150,000 New Yorkers rode the system on its first day, paying a nickel per ride. The Interborough Rapid Transit Company had built the line in just four years. Trains ran on electric power through tunnels blasted from Manhattan's bedrock. The subway immediately transformed the city's geography: neighborhoods that had been remote became commutable, and the population of the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens exploded as workers could live miles from their jobs. Within 30 years, the system expanded to 472 stations across four boroughs, making it the world's largest subway network by station count, a distinction it still holds with its current 472 stations.
October 27, 1904
122 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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