JFK Express

JFK Express
Note: Service began at 57th Street prior to 1989
Northern end	21st Street – Queensbridge
Southern end	Howard Beach – JFK Airport
Stations	13
Discontinued	April 15, 1990

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. It operated between 1978 and 1990. It primarily used R46 subway cars, and operated along the IND Sixth Avenue Line, IND Fulton Street Line, and IND Rockaway Line between 57th Street in Manhattan and Howard Beach – JFK Airport in Queens. Passengers paid extra, premium fares to ride JFK Express trains. Its route bullet was colored turquoise.

Fares and rolling stock

The premium fare for the JFK Express was collected by train conductors on board, who punched the tickets that passengers had to purchase prior to boarding.^[1] In addition to the conductors, there were transit police officers aboard to provide protection for travelers.

The JFK Express used R46s exclusively for most of its existence, although near its end R44s were used when the R46s began midlife overhauls.

Service history

The JFK Express began operation on September 23, 1978, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority created a few 30-second long television commercials to promote the new service.^[2][3] Train ran daily from 5:00 AM to 1:00 AM 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.

At times, regular passengers were allowed on the trains and no fares were charged due to disruptions on other services; this included the 1988 closure of the Williamsburg Bridge, after a painter discovered a hole in a girder. At other times, some passengers paid the extra fare to use the JFK Express to reach Aqueduct Racetrack.^[4]

On October 29, 1989, the IND 63rd Street Line opened and the JFK Express was extended to 21st Street – Queensbridge with the B, F, and Q trains.^[5] However, this extension was short-lived as service was discontinued on April 15, 1990. 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.^[1]

Following the discontinuation of the JFK Express, the A train continues to serve Howard Beach – JFK Airport station.^[1] The JFK shuttle bus service remained in operation until the AirTrain JFK, a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey-operated people mover system, replaced it on December 17, 2003. The AirTrain JFK also connects with the Long Island Rail Road at Jamaica, and with the E J Z trains subway services to Manhattan at Sutphin Boulevard – Archer Avenue. A current proposal, the Lower Manhattan – Jamaica/JFK Transportation Project, would provide express train service between JFK Airport and Lower Manhattan through Brooklyn. This would be similar to the JFK Express except that the service would be an extension of AirTrain JFK and operate via the LIRR's Atlantic Branch, providing a one-seat ride to the airport terminals.

Route

Service pattern

The following lines were used by the JFK Express service:^[6]

Line	Portion	Tracks
IND 63rd Street Line (full line)		all
IND Sixth Avenue Line	north of West Fourth Street – Washington Square	local
IND Eighth Avenue Line	south of West Fourth Street – Washington Square	local
IND Fulton Street Line	north of Rockaway Boulevard	express
IND Rockaway Line	north of Howard Beach – JFK Airport	local

Stations

1978 brochure

Ticket

The JFK Express bullet on an R68 serving the Franklin Avenue Shuttle

Station service legend
	Stops all times except late nights
Time period details

	Station		Notes
Queens
	21st Street – Queensbridge		new terminus after completion of IND 63rd Street Line; opened October 29, 1989
Manhattan
	Roosevelt Island		opened October 29, 1989
	Lexington Avenue – 63rd Street		opened October 29, 1989
	57th Street		original terminus before IND 63rd Street Line opened
	47th–50th Streets – Rockefeller Center
	42nd Street – Bryant Park
	34th Street – Herald Square
	West Fourth Street – Washington Square
	Chambers Street
	Broadway – Nassau Street
Brooklyn
	Jay Street – Borough Hall
Queens
	Howard Beach – JFK Airport		transfer to Port Authority shuttle bus to airport terminals

References

1. Faison, Seth (April 20, 1993). "Trains and Buses, Then Airplanes". The New York Times. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
2. Pitt, David E. (October 22, 1989). "Transit Agency Wants to End Airport Express". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
3. "Train to the Plane". YouTube. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
4. Feinman, Mark S. "The New York City Transit Authority in the 1980s". nycsubway.org. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
5. Lorch, Donatella (October 29, 1989). "The 'Subway to Nowhere' Now Goes Somewhere". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
6. "NYC Subway Map 1987 Edition". nycsubway.org. Retrieved 30 August 2009.

External links

• Line by Line History
• JFK Express TV Commercial "Train to the Plane" (1980) (35-second video clip) - from the MTA's YouTube Video Information Channel (Made January 5, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2010.)