New-York tribune., 1902-08-03
CENTRAL'S TRAFFIC PLAN.
SUBURBAN CLEARING HOUSE PROJECT
GENERALLY COMMENDED.

The announcement by Mayor Low Of the
willingness and the purpose of the New-York
Central to relieve the congestion at the Grand
Central Station and in the Park-ave tunnel
by delivering it's suburban traffic at a new sta
ton, to be constructed at some convenient point
in The Bronx-a plan presumably acquiesced in
by the New-Haven road also-has been greeted
with universal satisfaction by the people of
this city and of the northward suburbs. Leav-
ing our of consideration the noisomeness of the
tunnel under the present conditions of steam
transformations which. however. to be
rectified by the substitution of electric for steam
locomotives for the hauling of through trains
within the city limits-it is a well established
fact that the tunnel tracks are already used TO
the maximum of traffic capacity, so that ex-
pansion of the terminal area near Forty-second-
st. would not enable any more traffic to be
handled than at present at that point-unless'
as has been suggested. the improvements TO
which the Central has pledged itself should take
the form of construction of another four track
tunnel under the present one from north OF the
Harlem to Forty-second-st., with resulting
reconstruction Of the Grand Central Station
The suburban business of the roads entering
the Grand Central Station is. however, very
large proportion. perhaps 80 per cent OF 1heir
total passenger traffic. and the plan OF estaphsh-
ing In The Bronx a great station, Wnlcn shdl
be the terminal for that traffic has commenced
itself to all students of the New-York Central
terminal problem
That station, according to present ideas. Is
to be a sort of clearing house for the supuroaE
traffic, q structure three stories In height into
which respectively the trains of the new SUB
way. the surface cars of the Interurban Street
Railway Company and the elevated trains OF
the Manhattan Railway Company will enter
AS the situation of the station is likely to be
several miles above the Harlem River. the bulk
of the traffic discharged there would probably
be distributed to the subway and elevated roads
for further distribution in this borough and
Brooklyn.
The Mayor's statement of the New-York Cen
trails position had the immediate effect in Wall
Street of reviving the report that the Central
was desrous of leasing the Manhattan, re
port which this time is rather widely credited
and for which no denials have been forthcom-
ing Such an alliance would not, it is thought,
be improbable The Centrals passengers would,
of course, have free choice to the city line,
underground or elevated. by which they would
continue their journey to their ultimate des-
tination; but il is not unreasonable to suppose
that the comparatively light suburban trains
Of the railroads now using the Grand Central
Station might be fitted with the third rail cleo
trical equipment and continue through
trains over the Manhattan's tracks from the
suburban station TO the Battery, While for
the passengers to change TO tho subway trains
would involve a certain amount of Inconvenience
for them. The Pennsylvania Railroad Com
pany on the other hand, in entering Manhat-
tan Island by Its projected tunnels. would ind
the subway and surface cars the natural dis
tributing agents for its passenger traffic. The
composition of the board of directors of the
rev Metropolitan Securities Company would
seem to indicate an understanding between the
Pennsylvania and the surface railway system.
and the belief that the subway system VIII
eventually come under the same control and
manag cement with the surface roads finds many
supporters