Speeding along the tracks the NYC subway operates 24/7
On this day, October 27 1904, the city’s innovative new rapid transit system the subway opened. At 7 p.m. that evening, the subway opened to the general public, and more than 100,000 people paid a nickel each to take their first ride under Manhattan. IRT service expanded to the Bronx in 1905, to Brooklyn in 1908 and to Queens in 1915. Every day, some 4.5 million passengers take the subway in New York. New York’s subway is the only rapid transit system in the world that runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No matter how crowded or dirty, the subway is one New York City institution few New Yorkers—or tourists—could do without.
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