New York’s Subway System Returns to 24-Hour Service

By Anna Breuer on 17 May 2021
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Hudson Yards, one of New York’s newest subway stations

The New York City subway system returned to 24-hour service for the first time in over a year.

The action follows a little over 12 months of overnight shutdowns to provide the time to clean and disinfect trains and stations five months into the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re thrilled to have people come back 24-7,” said Sarah Feinberg, the New York City Transit Authority’s interim president, in a televised interview on Sunday. “We’re a 24-7 city, we want to be a 24-7 system.”

When the first coronavirus pandemic overnight shutdown occurred on May 6, 2020, it was also the first planned shutdown in the subway system’s 115-year history.

New York is one of the few cities in the world that never closes its subways.

The move comes as ridership has started to increase after plunging last year amidst the height of the pandemic

While the original shutdown was from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. local time, it was shortened in February to take place between 2 a.m. and 4 p.m.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)

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