January 28, 2009 @ 1:49 pm
The new South Ferry Station that was set to open sometime this month is reportedly delayed because the gap between the platform and the train car is 1-inch too wide according to federal safety regulations. The MTA has no alternative date for the opening of the new South Ferry Station, but they do expect the 1-inch platform repair to cost approximately $200,000.
Aren’t all Subway stations required to have the same clearance between the train car and the platform? I mean, it’s not like the Subway car suddenly became fatter, so how did this mistake slip by inspectors and MTA officials?
December 12, 2008 @ 9:43 am
Photo: Ben Yankee on Flickr
Sometime next month, a new South Ferry Subway station will open in Lower Manhattan directly beneath the current South Ferry station. The new Subway station is larger and does away with the curved platform at the current South Ferry Subway stop. In addition, the new station will also be long enough to accommodate an entire Subway train, thus rendering the need to be in the first 5 cars a thing of the past (for those who don’t know, the current South Ferry station can only fit the first 5 cars of a Subway train).
As you can see in the illustration below from the NYT, the new station will not require Subway trains to make a big loop around Lower Manhattan in order to go back uptown. Instead trains will simply just head uptown and switch tracks in the tunnel.
And probably the best thing about this new station is the ability to transfer to the R/W trains!
If you want to get a glimpse of the shiny new station, you can check out this Flickr photoset. If I were you, I’d head down to the current South Ferry Subway station to snap some pictures before they close the station down for good next month!
