New York City Subway: Getting on in years

New York City is one of the coolest cities in the world. Numerous movies and songs celebrate this city whose Subway no longer really fits the picture. But the city is reinventing itself and has a plan for the future

New York City
Subway-Station Grand Central

In her very honest song, soul and R&B singer Alicia Keys, who grew up in Manhattan, describes exactly this dilemma with phrases like „Concrete jungle where dreams are made of“; „These streets will make you feel brand new“; „Someone sleeps tonight with a hunger far more than an empty fridge“. New Yorkers know about the abysses behind the glitter of their city and live with their dilapidated New York City Subway or the recurring crimes in the underground. Just a few days ago, a woman died after being pushed in front of the subway .

The world’s largest subway network

But even though it is not only in this city that a large proportion of the 476 stations on the 27 lines of the world’s largest subway network are outdated, and even though crimes are committed in the subways in Tokyo or Brussels , the condition of New York’s subway, which is often also derailed, is currently not very acceptable for a city with this reputation and the numerous new attractions on some corners. Stations like Time Square in particular should be monitored around the clock by multiple security guards and soon get a new look, like the one at the new World Trade Center.

Time Square
Subway-Station Time Square
World Trade Center
Subway-Station World Trade Center All photos: Silke Liebig-Braunholz

There, too, some of the new urban development approaches can be seen, which are intended above all to renew Midtown Manhattan with new districts such as Hudson Yards, located directly on the Hudson River. The architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) is in charge of implementing new working and living concepts that are intended to provide sustainable living spaces for millions of people.


It should therefore only be a matter of time before the over 100-year-old New York Subway, which has been carrying millions of people through the metropolis every day since 1904, is also modernized. Then, in addition to the many famous hotspots, the new attractions, such as the Moynihan Train Hall , the Summit One Vanderbilt , the Whitney Museum of American Art or the hotspot considered the best food market in New York can also be visited in a relaxed manner by subway and the stay in New York City can be enjoyed even more.