No. 7 Extension Opens –
On Sunday, September 13, 2015, the state of the art No. 7 Hudson Yard subway station opened at 34th Street and 11th Avenue. The new station features beautiful murals and an open air plaza entrance. Brand new state of the art B-188 subway cars have been assigned to the No. 7 line which now serves the Jacob Javits Convention Center. The No. 7 line, popularly referred to as the International Express, is a vital transit link in our JPCA community.
A Little History –
The No. 7 line had humble beginnings as a trolley line in the first decade of the 20th Century. The trolleys used the Steinway tubes from Grand Central Station on Hunters Point Avenue. This didn’t work out so what is now the No. 7 line took over the Steinway tubes as part of the dual contracts with the city in 1915. Joint service began from Queens Borough Plaza by the then privately owned IRT and BMT subway systems, eventually reaching Flushing. In 1940 the city took over the IRT and BMT systems and now owned and operated (including the city built and operated) all three major New York City subway systems. In 1949 all joint No. 7 service ended and all No. 7 service was provided by the IRT division of (now MTA) the Transit Authority and so it has to this day.