Category: Other Public Transit

On this day in 2022, Union Square station opened up, serving the D- oh, wait, wrong station? Oh, ohhhh, this is FOURTEENTH STREET on the IRT and BMT! Okay, I get it now!

So, Union Square is located under its namesake park, and serves both the IRT (the #s 4, 5, and 6 lines) and the BMT (L, N, Q, R, and W) lines. As such, it’s also a transfer point between the IRT and BMT lines. Let’s look at it.

The IRT section is an express stop (serving both the 4 and 5, along with the 6) and is rather unique. While it isn’t accessible, the tracks are curved going into the station, and even considerably inside the station itself. This means the platforms need gap fillers and a reminder that, to sum up the British, one has to MIND THE GAP. Otherwise, it’s standard for an inaccessible express station. Nothing to remark otherwise aside from the coolness factor of a severely curved platform. But, no seriously, mind the gap please.

Moving on to the BMT platforms, they’re both normal. Nothing special. Both are accessible, have the usual amenities, and whatnot. This is a local stop (as are all stops) on the L (Canarsie/14th St.) line, and an express stop on the NQRW (Broadway) lines. Furthermore, there’s OMNY machines and a staffed booth in the mezzanine, and you even have some shops outside fare control. Neat! There’s even a rather cool-looking headhouse in Union Square Park itself. Did I also mention there’s a lot of buses here, too? Many of which happen to be useful as well?

The good: It’s a REALLY busy station, with both a number of local and express buses, along with the 4/5/6 lines, the L line, and the NQRW lines as well. It’s located right on the borderland of what’s generally considered “lower Manhattan” and “not lower Manhattan” (14th St. itself is generally seen as the cutoff, from what I could find). Also, it’s the 4th-busiest station on the entire system. For context, the other top 3 (Times Square, Grand Central, and Herald Square) have also been covered here.

The bad: The only real stinker is the IRT platforms being inaccessible. That’s actually kinda scary, considering this is the 4th-busiest station on the entire system.

Nearby points of interest: Union Square Park, various shops and restaurants, and the obvious case of housing. I will note though, I did get the impression most restaurants nearby aren’t exactly affordable to a more normal person like myself. There is also a holiday market, from what I was told, if you happen to be in the area during the Christmas shopping craze. There’s even a farmers’ market!

Transit connections: Oh boy, this one’s a doozy.
Lexington Ave. (4, 5, 6)
BMT Broadway (N, Q, R, W)
Canarsie/14th St. (L)
MTA bus (M1, M2, M3, M14A-SBS, M14D-SBS, SIM1C, SIM3C, SIM4C, SIM7, SIM9, SIM33, SIM33C, X27, X28)

Overall, for usability, it’s a very important station, and the adjacent park is kinda nice too! It’s kinda scary how it’s not accessible despite being up there in the top 10 most-used stations system-wide though.

Rating: 9.5/10

Wait, didn’t I already cover Forest Hills? Well, yes, but not in NYC. And, there’s a second station here also carrying the name – albeit that one is served by the LIRR. That one is coming a little later, as today’s focus is the subway.

So, the M/R both terminate here, and historically the G has also terminated here (but not since, iirc, 2010). However, the station is your standard express configuration with two islands. The platform is pretty standard with benches and clocks and whatnot. As for the track layout, there’s a big mess of crossovers spanning two levels beyond the station, with the upper level primarily being used for continuing trains (the E to Parsons Blvd. and the F to 179th Street), and the lower level being used for access to Jamaica Yard (primarily supplying service to the E, F, and R lines). It’s oftentimes said that this station also kinda sucks as a terminal, but I don’t know enough about NYC terminal ops to make a judgement call on that. As for the mezzanine, it’s your standard affair for the IND. There’s also the LIRR a stone’s throw away. Neat! It’s also an accessible station. From here, the next stop outbound is Kew Gardens on the E and 75th Avenue on the F.

The good: It’s accessible, and has a good amount of transit connections!

The bad: The station really sucks as a terminal! (as far as I understand, anyways – and I’m inclined to believe this given my experiences with signal issues!) But also, Queens Blvd. itself is wide as hell. That isn’t good! If you don’t know what exit to take, you may have to hail Mary across it to reach the LIRR! Yikes!

Nearby points of interest: There’s ..a tennis stadium???? But also, shopping, housing, and what looks like a very wealthy neighborhood.

Transit connections:
BMT-Broadway (R)
IND-6th Ave. (F, M)
IND-8th Ave. (E)
MTA bus (Q23, Q60, Q64, Q74, QM4, QM11, QM12, QM18, QM42, QM44)

Overall, the station itself is pretty normal, and there isn’t a lot to remark about. Yet another standard IND station.

Rating: 7/10

Radnor is a station on the weird mode of transit known as the Norristown High Speed Line (or the M). It’s located in Radnor Township off King of Prussia Rd., in suburbia. Let’s look at it.

The station consists of an inaccessible footbridge, a shelter with a bench and wastebaskets, and even some parking. Is there anything else? No? Cool. That’s it. That’s the whole station. Well, aside from a bus connection on King of Prussia Road, but that’s it.

The good: It exists? It can theoretically be a park & ride?

The bad: It’s inaccessible (except on the inbound side?) and it’s also stupid close to a number of other stations. The connection to Regional Rail(TM) is also not convenient – yet in spite of this rather major shortcoming, Regional Rail(TM) STILL is more accessible than this rinky dinky little station.

Nearby points of interest: An office park and Radnor High School, I guess? If you walk a little further (per Ranya), you can get to Micro Center!

Transit connections:
Norristown HSL
SEPTA bus (106)

Overall, this station blows.

Rating: 3.5/10

Ah, W. 4th, or I guess operationally, the heart of the IND network. (as all the ex-IND lines aside from the G and the far-flung shuttle converge here). So, surely this would have to be some big, grandiose station, right? Well…

The station is located along 6th Avenue, spanning between West 3rd and West 8th Streets, and is REALLY close to PATH’s 9th St. station. With that in mind, and with this being the beating heart of the IND (if something goes wrong here e.g. a switch or signal dies, then the entire IND network is functionally knocked out – essentially, the IND’s version of DeKalb. I could not find a comparison for the ex-IRT lines), surely it is grand, no?

WRONG! It’s just about as standard of an express IND station as one can get. I mean, you have elevators. And, the layout is unique with the mezzanine sandwiched between the ACE above and the BDFM below. This is also the point of no return for trains that need to be re-routed (e.g. E via F, or D via A) before meeting back up with their respective original routes. But, for the platform, it’s standard with all the amenities. Sometimes, it might reek of piss though, however out of the handful of times I actually used this station, I have not encountered such a problem. But, sometimes, being a normal station, if important, is a good thing.

The good: It’s literally the heart of the IND. Every IND line converges here except for the G and the shuttle, and it’s got various buses as well. Furthermore, it’s in a pretty lively part of Manhattan that isn’t as swarming with tourists (but I’d argue is still worth visiting as one, as a personal suggestion). It’s also accessible!

The bad: I mean, it blends in with the rest of the IND, but that isn’t always bad. Its’ importance as the heart of the IND network means one failiure here and the A/B/C/D/E/F/M are handicapped severely. (or in the case of the F, rerouted via the G sometimes). It’s important but fragile as far as infrastructure goes.

Nearby points of interest: Many of the same places as noted on the 9th St. PATH entry, and for Christopher Street apply here too, however this station is a little closer to NYU than 8th St. is on the BMT. Furthermore, you have Washington Square Park, various entertainment venues, and whatnot.

Transit connections:
8th Ave. IND (lines A, C, E)
6th Ave. IND (lines B, D, F, M)
MTA bus (M8, M55, SIM7, SIM33, SIM33C, X27, X28)
At 9th St.: PATH (JSQ-33, HOB-33)

Overall, it’s not a bad station. I’d probably give it an average-ish score that I give to stations that aren’t awful, but don’t have much to remark. But, this is one case where its usefulness elevates the score a bit.

Rating: 8/10

Douglaston is a station on the Port Washington Line of the LIRR located in eastern Queens, in the Douglaston neighborhood. Let’s take a look at it.

My train here was running a bit late because of the hordes of passengers that got on at both Woodside and Mets-Willett Point (there was a Mets game that night), rendering the train to both be nearly crush-load for a little bit AND for a 12-car set to be used (which cannot platform fully pretty much anywhere on the line aside from Woodside and Penn Station/Grand Central Terminal). As for the station itself, you have a station house (which was surprisingly open at the hour I was here – 11pm?!), level boarding, ticketing machines, a shelter to wait in outside the station house, and even a kiss & ride on each side. As for land use, it’s eastern Queens. You have a small and relatively low density business district around the station. As for accessibility, while the station is accessible, one has to go around and cross via Douglaston Parkway for step-free crossovers. Which can take a while (about 10 minutes, measuring it out). Yikes. Overall though, not a bad station!

The good: It serves the local neighborhood and is (technically) accessible! Also, service to Manhattan is rather frequent being half-hourly! There’s also a station house that’s open during most hours (seemingly), which can’t be said for most stations I’ve reviewed here.

The bad: WHY IS THERE NO RAMP GOING UNDER THE TRACKS?! DOES THE LIRR HATE ACCESSIBILITY ON THIS LINE OR SOMETHING?!

Nearby points of interest: there’s a whole mini-downtown area here! There’s also a school, a church, and the Allen-Beville House.

Transit connections:
LIRR (Port Washington)
MTA bus (on Rt. 25A) (Q12)

Overall, it’s not a bad station, and the area around it is kinda nice. If anything, I should probably come back during the daytime and check some stuff out.

Rating: 7.5/10

Alrighty, so the second local stop on the F/M between W 4th and 34th, let’s look at it. It is a bit unusual though, but here we go.

The PATH platform is pretty normal, with not a lot going on. There’s stairs down to an underpass, some benches, among other things. The track layout of the station is rather unusual, with the F/M flanking the PATH platforms. As for the station mezzanine, it’s normal with OMNY machines, fare control for both PATH and the MTA, and a station agent. I’ve somehow managed to completely forget to photograph the MTA part of the station (don’t ask how), but I can assure it’s nothing crazy and has your usual station amenities. Street level also doesn’t have anything crazy, maybe aside from the M23-SBS.

The good: It exists! Also, the IND artwork features DOGS! Arf arf! (please note I am not a puppygirl)

The bad: It’s not accessible. 🙁 Also, no free crossover between the F/M platforms.

Nearby points of interest: The National Museum of Mathematics is nearby! As is Madison Square Park and the Flatiron Building, but the R/W is much closer to those.

Transit connections:
PATH (JSQ-33, HOB-33)
6th Ave. Subway (Lines F, M)
MTA bus (M7, M23-SBS, M55, SIM1C, SIM3, SIM3C, SIM10, X27, X28)

Overall, it’s nothing too crazy. Next!

Rating: 7/10

14th St. and….GODDAMMIT. NO. I WILL NOT BE SAYING IT. 14th St. and 6th Ave., and the avenue west of 6th Avenue. They have an interconnected station for the FML lines and the 1, 2, and 3 lines. Oh yeah, PATH stops here too. Let’s look at it.

Alrighty. The PATH station is nothing special: a pair of side platforms with so little going on, you don’t even get any TVMs. I mean, you probably do, just not with the three faregates that are at platform level. Flanking the PATH platforms are the F/M line platforms, which are also side platforms. These are your standard NYC subway station platforms, with countdown clocks and all that fun stuff. You even have NYC subway staff in the station mezzanine along with an OMNY machine. Now, despite the fact the IND, BMT, and IRT platforms are all accessible in a vacuum (although the connection between the IND platforms and the rest of the station are not), the PATH platforms very much are not accessible – as are none of the Midtown PATH stations (Herald Square notwithstanding). The BMT platforms are much like the IND platforms, however they use an island platform configuration, and the IRT platforms use a dual-island setup (as it is an express station). With all this in mind, it’s nothing too crazy, but the PATH station actually really sucks on this front as there literally is nothing. As for bus connections, you have the M14 and its variants mainly.

The good: It’s (mostly) accessible! Furthermore, it’s in a decently populated area (being on the edges of what some people would define as the Chelsea and West Village neighborhoods – these boundaries are disputed though). There’s also plenty of bus connections to go around, along with the pretty good frequency of both the 1 and L, and the “meh” frequencies of the 2, 3, F, and M lines along with PATH – though combined do make up for decent frequencies of service on the section of track they share.

The bad: WHY IS PATH ALWAYS THE INACCESSIBLE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM?!

Nearby points of interest: There’s a number of restaurants, bars, cafes, bagel shops, etc. nearby! There’s also the Center for Jewish History, a Tibetan art gallery, and even an LGBTQ+ community center. Neat! The Stonewall Inn is also a few blocks south, if you’re on an express train and don’t want to take the 1. (but obviously, Christopher Street is much closer)

Transit connections:
PATH (Blue/HOB-33, Orange/JSQ-33)
7th Ave./Bway (Lines #1, 2, 3)
6th Ave. (Lines F, M)
14th St./Canarsie (Line L)
MTA bus (M7, M14A-SBS, M14D-SBS, M20, M55, SIM1C, SIM3C, SIM4C, SIM7, SIM9, SIM33, SIM33C, X27, X28)

Overall, this station is perfectly fine. In fact, it’d be great, if it weren’t for the fact PATH was so bad they didn’t even bother with benches (if memory serves).

Rating: 6.5/10

Exchange Place is a station on Jersey City’s waterfront and is the first/last station before entering Lower Manhattan. Located on the waterfront, the view of the Manhattan skyline is rather beautiful, and you also have an HBLR connection! Neat! Let’s look at this station.

The HBLR platform is rather basic but functional, with a ticketing machine, countdown clocks that are questionably accurate, and signage. It also get very busy during rush hour (I was unfortunately here during the PM peak). There’s also benches and whatnot, so there’s that. Lastly, one of the tracks has a platform on both sides, which is pretty nice and presumably helps with passenger throughput. Overall, not a bad station. There’s also buses outside on Christopher Columbus Drive.

The PATH station, while rather deep and with dubious air quality, is pretty modern otherwise. You have your countdown clocks, TAPP gates, station staff, elevators, and all that. Overall, nothing too special. But, I do like how the headhouse uses the entire first level of an office building, while remaining accessible. Maybe a few stations in Midtown can take notes. Going down to platform level, you do have two tunnels that exist. It’s deep. And the air quality absolutely blows. Like, despite the fact that (to my knowledge) no diesel trains run through here, it still was hazy as hell. Maybe that could be up to the fact it was a hot and stinky summer afternoon? Who knows. Either way, I’m surprised it didn’t set the fire alarm off.

The good: It serves a rather dense area of Jersey City – as well as the waterfront! The area in general is kinda beautiful (I wonder what it’s like now that about a foot and a half of snow has since been dumped as of the writing of this blog post). There’s also buses! Also, it’s accessible!

The bad: The air quality in the PATH station kinda sucks. The HBLR platforms are also prone to rather severe overcrowding during rush hour.

Nearby points of interest: Exchange Place itself, the Colgate Clock is close by (but Essex St. is much closer on the HBLR), and a lot of high rises. There’s also a 9/11 memorial nearby.

Transit connections:
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
PATH (Red/Newark-WTC, Green/Hoboken-WTC)
NJT bus (1, 63, 64, 68, 80, 81, 82)

Overall, it’s not a bad station. Just, one that’s REALLY, REALLY POLLUTED for PATH and gives Tracks 5/7 a run for its money.

Rating: 7/10

3rd Ave. is a station on the L line, at the intersection of 14th St. and, well, 3rd Ave. Let’s look.

The station is pretty standard with the BMT tiling lining the walls (as this is an ex-BMT station), benches, wastebaskets, a station agent outside the paid area, and OMNY machines, as well as the usual countdown clocks and whatnot. At street level, though, you have a stop for various buses on both 14th St., 3rd Ave., and southbound only, 2nd Avenue. In fact, it’s also been proposed that when the 2nd Ave. subway line gets built down here in the Year of our LORD 2167, this (rather than 1st Ave.) would be the transfer station. Overall, though, it’s normal with nothing special to remark other than the platform “screen doors”

The good: It serves the area to the southeast of Union Square (Google Maps says the East Village and Gramercy Park). Furthermore, the area is pretty well built-up. It’s also close to a housing development, but 1st Ave. is right next to it. There’s also several bus connections.

The bad: The big stinker is the lack of accessibility. Take the M14 to Union?

Nearby points of interest: The Gramercy neighborhood is kinda quiet. Not really much in this particular station’s walkshed that’s unique to this station, though.

Transit connections:
BMT Canarsie (L)
MTA bus (M14A-SBS, M14D-SBS, M101, M102, M103)

Overall, it’s not a bad station, but it does suck slightly more than the other L line stops in Manhattan due to the lack of accessibility.

Rating: 6/10

Alrighty, this one’s an important station. So, rather than use both names for the station complex (Jamaica for the LIRR, Sutphin Blvd./Archer Ave./JFK Airport for the EJZ), I just shortened it to Jamaica/JFK. With that in mind, here we go.

The subway platform is a two-level setup, with the E on one level and the J(/Z) on the other. This, however, is not the end of the line, though, as there is another stop past here. But, we’ll talk about that later. The mezzanine is rather spacious, to accommodate the loads of people going between the LIRR, the subway, and even the AirTrain (beyond the scope of this blog). I didn’t spend much time here, but it has everything you’d expect (staff, OMNY machines, elevators, etc.).

Going up to street level, you have an old station house – which, interestingly, is also the LIRR’s headquarters. Notably, a good amount of the LIRR’s dispatching is done out here as well, presumably handling everything except the tracks going in/out of Penn Station. The waiting room here is small, but it has a convenience store and a LIRR ticketing agent. In the station itself, it kinda reminds me of Ruggles in a way, but much larger, with the canopy covering the entire station. As for the station itself, you have stairs and escalators down to the numerous platforms, a waiting room on each platform that is sheltered, benches, wastebaskets, access to the AirTrain, ticketing machines (at the time there were MetroCard machines too). Notably, this is the 4th-busiest station on the entire continent (behind Penn Station, Grand Central, and Toronto Union). There’s also bus connections along Archer Avenue outside the station. As for land use, it’s not bad, but it’s not as built-up as LI City, the Atlantic Terminal area, or Midtown. Overall though, it’s very much not an awful station.

The good: It’s a major interchange for the subway, the airport link, and the LIRR. There’s also plenty of bus connections!

The bad: This mostly comes down to the land use, but Jamaica isn’t as well built-up as Midtown or LIC is, and thus it feels a bit jarring that one of the busiest stations on the continent is largely among midrise buildings and single-family houses. I don’t really have any complaints though, otherwise.

Nearby points of interest: Not a lot. The immediate intersections are sorta mid-rise? Yet, you can find single-family homes pretty much next door. It’s kinda jarring, honestly.

Transit connections:
LIRR (Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma, Hempstead, West Hempstead, Babylon, Montauk, Long Beach, Far Rockaway, Brooklyn Shuttle)
8th Ave. (E)
Jamaica/Nassau St. (J/Z)
MTA bus (Q1, Q6, Q8, Q9, Q20, Q25, Q30, Q31,Q40, Q41, Q43, Q44-SBS, Q54, Q56, Q60, Q65, Q75)
JFK AirTrain (Red Line)

Overall, it’s a very important station, and a pretty good one at that. The land use feels weird, though.

Rating: 10/10