Light Rail Service

Passenger Rail Service in New York State

Heavy/Light Rail Service

As with commuter rail and intercity passenger rail, New York has been a leader in heavy/light rail. According to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), heavy rail (also called metro rail, subway, rapid transit, or rapid rail) is an electric railway with the capacity for a heavy volume of traffic; is characterized by high speed and/or rapid acceleration; is all or mostly grade-separated; and generally has high-level boarding. In comparison, light rail (also called streetcar, tramway, or trolley) is lightweight passenger rail cars operating in short consists (one or two cars) on fixed rails on shared or street-running rights-of-ways. While most light rail systems are electric-powered, a diesel-powered system operates in New Jersey (New Jersey Transit's River Line, operating between Trenton and Camden). New York has a number of heavy/light rail systems, as follows:

• New York City Subway-Now over 115 years young (it officially opened on October 27, 1904), and with ridership at a 70-year high, the New York City subway system is doing better than ever. After 50 years of almost non-stop construction, followed by 50 years of first decline and then rejuvenation, the subway system recently expanded, with the first phase of the long-awaited Second Avenue Subway, and extension of the Flushing Line to the Javits Convention Center and the Far West Side of Manhattan.  Two other major completed projects include Manhattan's Fulton Street Transit Center (which connects 12 subway lines with PATH and ferries), and a brand new South Ferry subway station. At the same time, stations are being rebuilt, track and signal systems are being upgraded and replaced, and technologically advanced subway cars are being put into service. With daily ridership on the subway now exceeding 6 million passengers on some weekdays, the subway system is undoubtedly the undisputed life blood of the metropolitan New York region. On Staten Island, the MTA operates the Staten Island Railway, a one-line railroad between the St. George Ferry Terminal and Tottenville, southernmost point in New York State. For more information on the subway, check out their website (www.mta.info/nyct ).
   


• PATH-Another downstate heavy rail system is PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson). Operating between Manhattan and several points in New Jersey, PATH was originally the privately-owned Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (H+M). In 1962 the railroad was acquired by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), which undertook a massive rebuilding and refurbishment of the deteriorated H+M. PATH service today operates between two Manhattan terminals (33rd Street and World Trade Center) and three terminals in New Jersey (Hoboken, Jersey City, and Newark). The PANYNJ is in the midst of a multi-million dollar modernization program for PATH, which among other components will totally replace its car fleet.  For more information on PATH, check out their web site (www.panynj.gov ).
   


• Airtrain-New York's newest heavy/light rail system is Airtrain.  Built, managed, and maintained by the PANYNJ, Airtrain is an eight mile system connecting JFK Airport with transportation terminals in Howard Beach and Jamaica. Airtrain also provides convenient on-airport service between various terminals at JFK. The PANYNJ also operates a similar system at Newark Liberty International Airport (Airtrain Newark), connecting with the New Jersey Transit/Amtrak Newark Liberty International Airport Train Station. For more information on Airtrain, check out their web site (www.airtrainjfk.com ).
   


• Metro Rail-Finally, at the other end of New York State in Buffalo, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) operates Metro Rail, a single heavy/light rail line between downtown Buffalo and the South Campus of the University of Buffalo. For more information on Metro Rail, check out NFTA's web site (http://www.nfta.com/ ).