MTA Opens Second Entrance at 34 St-Hudson Yards 7 Station

[Union Tpke]

IMMEDIATE

MTA Opens Second Entrance at 34 St-Hudson Yards 7 Station

Creation of Tax Increment Financing District Paved the Way for New Station to Be Built -- Providing Early Dividends for the City and the MTA

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority opened a second entrance to the 34 St-Hudson Yards subway station early this morning. The entrance is situated at the western terminus of the  line, which was extended in 2015 and now serves thousands of riders each day.

The new entrance, located at West 35th Street and Hudson Boulevard East, adds three low-rise escalators as well as a set of stairs from the street to the mezzanine level. Four new high-rise escalators will transport riders from the upper mezzanine to the lower mezzanine. From there, riders will travel to the platform level of the station which is 125 feet from the street level.

The station makes the  the only line south of 59th Street to provide service west of Ninth Avenue. It offers access to the Jacob Javits Convention Center, the High Line and Hudson River Park, and serves as a catalyst for development of the far west side.

"The extension of the  train to Hudson Yards has helped to create a whole new neighborhood with as much office space as Downtown Phoenix or Miami and thousands of new jobs. And we brought this entire project in within the budget set more than 10 years ago,” said Janno Lieber, Chief Development Officer for the MTA. “The MTA is changing how we do things to deliver projects faster, better and less expensively."

The extension of the  Line from Times Square to the new 34 St-11 Av station, and beyond to the 11th Avenue and 25th Street for “tail tracks” and train storage, was funded by the City of New York. City funding, under the supervision of the Hudson Yards Development Corporation, included $2.1 billion for the subway in addition to $301 million for other non-subway related infrastructure work. The MTA contributed $53 million for the initial planning and preliminary engineering design of the extension, to help spur the development and transformation of a proposed rezoned far West Side.

The benefit of convenient subway access has helped drive Hudson Yards development which has seen a flurry of growth since 2005 zoning changes and the subsequent 2015 opening of the new 34 St-Hudson Yards station. According to the Hudson Yards Development Corporation, there has been 1.8 million square feet of commercial space built, largely since the new station was opened, with another 12.2 million square feet currently under construction, and 11.8 million square feet planned. On the residential front there have been 8,700 units built (1,200 affordable), with another 2,300 presently under construction (320 affordable) and 7,200 more planned. Additionally, there have been 4,300 hotel units built, 2,500 under construction, and another 1,700 units planned.

The 34 St-Hudson Yards  station features three public floors and is ADA accessible. Between the two entrances the station features 16 escalators (nine high-rise and seven low-rise) and four elevators (two vertical and two inclined). Eight sets of stairs and one elevator provide access from the lower mezzanine to the platform level.

The station's modern amenities include a platform level that is air-tempered, and 14 Help Point Intercoms that allow customers to communicate with the station agent or the Rail Control Center in the case of an emergency. The Help Points, along with eight On-the-Go digital information kiosks, five other digital information panels, and cell phone/Wi-Fi connectivity, offer a new level of service and communications for customers.

The new entrance is home to the third and final mosaic in the installation “Funktional Vibrations” by Xenobia Bailey. The piece was commissioned by MTA Arts & Design through an international competitive selection process. Bailey’s artwork consists of mosaic tiles totaling approximately 2,788 square feet.

[LGA Link N Train]

nice. Can't wait to use it

[Deucey]

Little bit of trivia: every time I have to take an intercity bus,  trains suffer some service outage that makes me late to boarding, so I have to Lyft to Javits Center. So I've only been in the station when coming back from DC or Boston.

[CenSin]

1 hour ago, Union Tpke said:

And we brought this entire project in within the budget set more than 10 years ago,” said Janno Lieber, Chief Development Officer for the MTA. “The MTA is changing how we do things to deliver projects faster, better and less expensively."

Bullshit! They cut the entirety of 10 Avenue from the plans to do this.

[MysteriousBtrain]

It only took 3 yrs to open that second entrance. (Slow clap)

[RR503]

You know, I’m glad they’re opening more entrances in the area, but long term, I don’t think the  is gonna be enough for HY. The sheer number of jobs and residential units slated for the area is projected to catapult 34-HY’s ridership ahead of Times Square’s — something on the order of 200,000 people per day. If we were talking about the line in isolation, that would be fine, but  loads from Queens aren’t getting lighter and the platforms in Midtown aren’t getting wider. I wouldn’t be surprised if that confluence of (bidirectional) ridership flows at island-platform stations causes crowding, stairway congestion and dwell issues worse than those seen at GCT. I think MTA thus will have to look at a second HY transit link. Maybe LIRR platforms in the Yard for a short term fix, but longer term I think a second subway line (so, the ) will be needed — especially given that the surrounding area is in the process of up-zoning...

[Amtrak41]

The #7 was running 36 trains per hour of 11 car trains in the 1960's. Now we are at about 28. CBTC will not get us back to 36. I am not concerned with reverse flow traffic from 34th Street. Fifth Avenue station is under-utilized. Local Times Square - Grand Central traffic can take the Shuttle. 

Very narrow west side IRT platforms at Wall Street and Fulton Street handle frequent # 2 & 3 trains from either direction. 

The last thing the LIRR Concourses need are a flood of people boarding at West Side Yard.  They can take the M34 and be half way to 7th Avenue by the time they would have trekked down the coal mine that subway is in. 

 

[RR503]

1 hour ago, Amtrak41 said:

The #7 was running 36 trains per hour of 11 car trains in the 1960's. Now we are at about 28. CBTC will not get us back to 36. I am not concerned with reverse flow traffic from 34th Street. Fifth Avenue station is under-utilized. Local Times Square - Grand Central traffic can take the Shuttle. 

Yes, back in the day Dekalb processed 50 tph, Lex Express did 32, and the Williamsburg Bridge -- which, mind you, had a 6 mph curve at Marcy instead of today's 10 -- did 26. That erosion of capacity is the story of our system's decline. 

On the , though, I don't see a return to 36 any time soon. With today's ridership loads, there would need to be a good-sized increase in GEBR, a re-evaluation of speeds around Main St., and a bump in traction power to up throughput for any dent to be made. While the agency seems to be making progress in scrutinizing past practices, I don't see any of these changes coming down the pipeline. Moreover, I don't think a 4tph bump in  service would do all that much to mitigate crowding conditions. Increased ridership at HY will not magically change the realities that make 5th underutilized and GCT and TSQ hellholes -- in fact, with the far east and far west sides being the next *thing* in office space, I'd argue they're going to get worse. Unless vertical circulation (whose problems exist virtually independent of frequency at such high throughput numbers) is vastly improved at both of those stations, they're going to suffer unending stairwell congestion aggravated by bidirectional foot traffic. That, in turn, will increase dwell, reducing throughput, etc etc etc. 

1 hour ago, Amtrak41 said:

 Very narrow west side IRT platforms at Wall Street and Fulton Street handle frequent # 2 & 3 trains from either direction. 

Those stations exist in a different order of ridership magnitude (and, by the way, already see relatively high dwell times during the rush). IIRC Wall is about 25k/weekday -- respectable, but nothing compared to Hudson Yards' projected 200k/weekday. Most of those HY riders will be transferring off the  at one of its three Manhattan core stops, meaning that those midtown platforms could easily be seeing volume increases greater than the total ridership of Wall. Moreover, while Wall/Fulton are largely 'exit AM, entry PM' stops, TSQ/5th/GCT will see large, bidirectional flows -- people from Queens and HY exiting to the street and transfers, while people from the rest of the system make their way to the  for access to HY-based jobs. That conflict on narrow staircases is what scares me -- not the volume of the ridership itself. 

1 hour ago, Amtrak41 said:

 The last thing the LIRR Concourses need are a flood of people boarding at West Side Yard.  They can take the M34 and be half way to 7th Avenue by the time they would have trekked down the coal mine that subway is in. 

I'd assume folks using LIRR platforms would be heading to, well, LI. And FWIW, the LIRR is not the subway -- it is not in a 'coal mine.' 

[LGA Link N Train]

5 minutes ago, RR503 said:

in fact, with the far east and far west sides being the next *thing* in office space, I'd argue they're going to get worse.

Hey this might sound as a stupid question,  but would it be feasible to build a Stop at either 1st or 2nd Avenues for the  if the and politicians wanted that (which I highly doubt)?

8 minutes ago, RR503 said:

I'd assume folks using LIRR platforms would be heading to, well, LI. And FWIW, the LIRR is not the subway -- it is not in a 'coal mine.'

I like your idea of having a few LIRR trains terminating at Hudson Yards but would building such a station be feasible?

[NoHacksJustKhaks]

12 minutes ago, LaGuardia Link N Tra said:

I like your idea of having a few LIRR trains terminating at Hudson Yards but would building such a station be feasible?

Yes, I am not sure about constructing the station in the current LIRR yard since it's being covered by a ceiling IIRC to make way for skyscrapers above. However, I'm sure a separate tunnel and station around the site will work.

[Around the Horn]

38 minutes ago, LaGuardia Link N Tra said:

Hey this might sound as a stupid question,  but would it be feasible to build a Stop at either 1st or 2nd Avenues for the  if the and politicians wanted that (which I highly doubt)?

The downgrade is too steep, which is the same reason why there is no Avenue C station on the  

4 hours ago, RR503 said:

 I think MTA thus will have to look at a second HY transit link. Maybe LIRR platforms in the Yard for a short term fix, but longer term I think a second subway line (so, the ) will be needed — especially given that the surrounding area is in the process of up-zoning...

The  going up 10th Avenue to 72nd Street could be exactly what they need... If you can build a high capacity terminal with tail tracks at 72nd Street, that would also allow for more frequency on the existing line. 

[RR503]

49 minutes ago, LaGuardia Link N Tra said:

I like your idea of having a few LIRR trains terminating at Hudson Yards but would building such a station be feasible?

37 minutes ago, NoHacksJustKhaks said:

Yes, I am not sure about constructing the station in the current LIRR yard since it's being covered by a ceiling IIRC to make way for skyscrapers above. However, I'm sure a separate tunnel and station around the site will work.

The deck is a simple post-and-beam structure with building footings continuing downwards to bedrock. I'm sure you could punch a hole in it and lift a few yard tracks to make way for a platform. I actually wonder if this'd help with Penn fluidity as well -- no need to fumigate yard runs there anymore. 

[Eric B]

About time! Every year for the auto show I hope it's open, and this year, it still looked nowhere near opening. So I'm surprised they got it open suddenly, now.

[Calvin]

Also for comic con next month. People going to/from Javits Center: the station is mostly crowded. 

[Around the Horn]

49 minutes ago, Calvin said:

Also for comic con next month. People going to/from Javits Center: the station is mostly crowded. 

I could see this entrance getting the most use during Comic Con since 35th Street is where the main entrance to Javits is.

[Lawrence St]

Does this one have the elevator or no?

[LGA Link N Train]

4 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

Does this one have the elevator or no?

I don't think so. I looked at some pictures on instagram and it didn't seem like it 

[Cait Sith]

23 hours ago, MysteriousBtrain said:

It only took 3 yrs to open that second entrance. (Slow clap)

Which wasn't their fault. The site developers of all of those new buildings delayed it from opening.

[Porter]

Finally! Great news, and just in time for Comic-Con!

[Italianstallion]

On 9/2/2018 at 10:37 AM, CenSin said:

Bullshit! They cut the entirety of 10 Avenue from the plans to do this.

And, the new entrance should have been opened at the same time as the rest of the station.

[Lawrence St]

On 9/2/2018 at 10:37 AM, CenSin said:

Bullshit! They cut the entirety of 10 Avenue from the plans to do this.

Werent they planning to build 10th Av again?

[checkmatechamp13]

2 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

Werent they planning to build 10th Av again?

They built the shell so it would be easier to add in the future if they wanted to 

[MysteriousBtrain]

44 minutes ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

They built the shell so it would be easier to add in the future if they wanted to 

Shell is kinda hard to find in the tunnels. Probably something as simple as a "walkway" for employees or something.

[RR503]

I'm pretty sure the scope of the work was just making that area of tunnel grade-less and placing aux. facilities accordingly. 

[CenSin]

5 hours ago, RR503 said:

I'm pretty sure the scope of the work was just making that area of tunnel grade-less and placing aux. facilities accordingly. 

In other words… it cost them almost nothing except the freedom to do as they pleased in the vicinity of the planned station.