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JFK Express
The JFK Express, advertised as The Train to The Plane, was a limited express service of the New York City Subway, connecting Midtown Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK Airport). It operated between 1978 and 1990. Passengers paid extra, premium fares to ride JFK Express trains. Its route bullet was colored turquoise and contained an aircraft symbol.
For most of its history, the JFK Express operated along the IND Sixth Avenue Line; IND Fulton Street Line; and IND Rockaway Line between its northern terminal at 57th Street–Sixth Avenue in Manhattan and its southern terminal at Howard Beach–JFK Airport in Queens. At Howard Beach, passengers transferred to shuttle buses to reach the airport itself. During the JFK Express's last six months of operation, it was extended northward along the IND 63rd Street Line to 21st Street–Queensbridge, also in Queens. The service primarily used R46 subway cars.
Passengers purchased premium-fare tickets on board, and an onboard transit clerk on each train punched passengers' tickets. In addition, there were transit police officers aboard to provide protection for travelers. The initial fare was $3.50, and the fare for the shuttle bus was $1.00. On January 1, 1979, airline and airport employees were provided a discounted book of twenty tickets, selling for $25. On July 3, 1981, the fare was raised from $4 to $5. When the service was discontinued in 1990, the fare was $6.75.
The JFK Express used R46s exclusively for most of its existence, although near its end R44s were used after major service changes took place on December 11, 1988. The trains were initially three cars long or 225 feet (69 m) in length. They later were four cars long or 300 feet (91 m) long, half the length of a typical B Division train. The cars featured luggage racks for airport-bound passengers.
In spring 1978, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) reached out to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to join a study evaluating long-term transportation improvements to JFK Airport. In summer 1978, the two agencies worked out the details for a service running to the Howard Beach station on the IND Rockaway Line. The station was renamed Howard Beach—JFK Airport, and a transfer terminal to shuttle buses was built. Since air passengers were perceived to be more sensitive to the quality of service, and less sensitive to fare levels, it was decided to operate a special service to Howard Beach at a fare of $3.50, fifty cents cheaper than bus service operated to the airport by Carey Bus Lines. It was decided to have the route operate via the Sixth Avenue Line instead of the Eighth Avenue Line due to its proximity to the economic center of Midtown Manhattan, to Herald Square, Rockefeller Center, and hotels along 50th Street. In addition, 57th Street–Sixth Avenue station provided an optimal terminal for the service as it was underutilized. The MTA announced plans for an "experimental" subway–bus service between Manhattan and JFK Airport on June 27, 1978.
The JFK Express began operation on September 23, 1978, with a three-car train originating at 57th Street. The MTA created several 30-second long television commercials to promote the new service. Trains ran daily from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. on 20 minute headways. The route began at 57th Street and ran express on the IND Sixth Avenue Line to West Fourth Street–Washington Square, where it switched to the IND Eighth Avenue Line and ran express to Jay Street–Borough Hall in Downtown Brooklyn. From that point on, it ran non-stop on the IND Fulton Street Line and IND Rockaway Line to Howard Beach–JFK Airport. In its first year, 832,428 passengers rode the JFK Express, greater than an estimate of 550,000 to 850,000 trips for when the service became better known and fully established.
The JFK Express attracted 25 percent of the market for travel between Manhattan and JFK Airport, and increased the share of trips to the airport by public transportation. While the MTA received $2.63 million in revenue from the service, it cost $6.5 million to operate it, meaning an operating loss of $3.9 million. The cost of operating the service was $3 million greater than expected due to the decision to have railroad clerks collect tickets on board the train, and due to the service's expanded hours of operation to 2 a.m. during the Carey Bus strike from June 27 to July 23, 1979. On November 4, 1979, the schedule of service was modified to have trains run every 30 minutes between 5 and 6 a.m., every 20 minutes from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and every 24 minutes from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Within a few years of its inauguration, the service was being criticized as a poor use of resources. The JFK Express proved to be unsuccessful, seeing low ridership in part because the service did not actually serve any airline terminals, but rather transferred passengers to a shuttle bus service that was several hundred yards from the station. In May 1980, the MTA executive director, John Simpson, recommended that the express train be discontinued, stating that ridership on the line stabilized at 1.3 million yearly riders, and the yearly deficit rose to $2.5 million. In June 1980, members of the MTA board voted to make the JFK Express a permanent service, stating that a mass transit link to JFK Airport was necessary.
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JFK Express
The JFK Express, advertised as The Train to The Plane, was a limited express service of the New York City Subway, connecting Midtown Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK Airport). It operated between 1978 and 1990. Passengers paid extra, premium fares to ride JFK Express trains. Its route bullet was colored turquoise and contained an aircraft symbol.
For most of its history, the JFK Express operated along the IND Sixth Avenue Line; IND Fulton Street Line; and IND Rockaway Line between its northern terminal at 57th Street–Sixth Avenue in Manhattan and its southern terminal at Howard Beach–JFK Airport in Queens. At Howard Beach, passengers transferred to shuttle buses to reach the airport itself. During the JFK Express's last six months of operation, it was extended northward along the IND 63rd Street Line to 21st Street–Queensbridge, also in Queens. The service primarily used R46 subway cars.
Passengers purchased premium-fare tickets on board, and an onboard transit clerk on each train punched passengers' tickets. In addition, there were transit police officers aboard to provide protection for travelers. The initial fare was $3.50, and the fare for the shuttle bus was $1.00. On January 1, 1979, airline and airport employees were provided a discounted book of twenty tickets, selling for $25. On July 3, 1981, the fare was raised from $4 to $5. When the service was discontinued in 1990, the fare was $6.75.
The JFK Express used R46s exclusively for most of its existence, although near its end R44s were used after major service changes took place on December 11, 1988. The trains were initially three cars long or 225 feet (69 m) in length. They later were four cars long or 300 feet (91 m) long, half the length of a typical B Division train. The cars featured luggage racks for airport-bound passengers.
In spring 1978, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) reached out to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to join a study evaluating long-term transportation improvements to JFK Airport. In summer 1978, the two agencies worked out the details for a service running to the Howard Beach station on the IND Rockaway Line. The station was renamed Howard Beach—JFK Airport, and a transfer terminal to shuttle buses was built. Since air passengers were perceived to be more sensitive to the quality of service, and less sensitive to fare levels, it was decided to operate a special service to Howard Beach at a fare of $3.50, fifty cents cheaper than bus service operated to the airport by Carey Bus Lines. It was decided to have the route operate via the Sixth Avenue Line instead of the Eighth Avenue Line due to its proximity to the economic center of Midtown Manhattan, to Herald Square, Rockefeller Center, and hotels along 50th Street. In addition, 57th Street–Sixth Avenue station provided an optimal terminal for the service as it was underutilized. The MTA announced plans for an "experimental" subway–bus service between Manhattan and JFK Airport on June 27, 1978.
The JFK Express began operation on September 23, 1978, with a three-car train originating at 57th Street. The MTA created several 30-second long television commercials to promote the new service. Trains ran daily from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. on 20 minute headways. The route began at 57th Street and ran express on the IND Sixth Avenue Line to West Fourth Street–Washington Square, where it switched to the IND Eighth Avenue Line and ran express to Jay Street–Borough Hall in Downtown Brooklyn. From that point on, it ran non-stop on the IND Fulton Street Line and IND Rockaway Line to Howard Beach–JFK Airport. In its first year, 832,428 passengers rode the JFK Express, greater than an estimate of 550,000 to 850,000 trips for when the service became better known and fully established.
The JFK Express attracted 25 percent of the market for travel between Manhattan and JFK Airport, and increased the share of trips to the airport by public transportation. While the MTA received $2.63 million in revenue from the service, it cost $6.5 million to operate it, meaning an operating loss of $3.9 million. The cost of operating the service was $3 million greater than expected due to the decision to have railroad clerks collect tickets on board the train, and due to the service's expanded hours of operation to 2 a.m. during the Carey Bus strike from June 27 to July 23, 1979. On November 4, 1979, the schedule of service was modified to have trains run every 30 minutes between 5 and 6 a.m., every 20 minutes from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and every 24 minutes from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Within a few years of its inauguration, the service was being criticized as a poor use of resources. The JFK Express proved to be unsuccessful, seeing low ridership in part because the service did not actually serve any airline terminals, but rather transferred passengers to a shuttle bus service that was several hundred yards from the station. In May 1980, the MTA executive director, John Simpson, recommended that the express train be discontinued, stating that ridership on the line stabilized at 1.3 million yearly riders, and the yearly deficit rose to $2.5 million. In June 1980, members of the MTA board voted to make the JFK Express a permanent service, stating that a mass transit link to JFK Airport was necessary.