New-York tribune., 1918-08-20
New Schedule Provides
Only So Expresses and
Locals in Hour
60 Formerly Operated
City Is Worse OF With Dual
System Than Before, Data
ON Situation Indicate

After she al" system pi subways
was established, Interborough officials
promised the people of New York City
a service os forty-two expresses and
locals per hour on the East Side sub
way, and forty expresses and locals per
hour on the West Side during the rush
periods. This meant a service OF
eightv-two trains per hour, all OF
them running in the same direction.
The record yesterday afternoon. be-
tween the hours Of 5 and 6, was total
OF tnrty-three trains OH the West Side
subway and twenty trains on the East
Siae, making q total of fifty-three up
.own express and local trains on both
subway systems.
Under the old sysuem-that is, when
there was only one main line from
brooklyn to Nincty-sixth Street-ln-
tcrhorough officials say. thirty express
trains and thirty locals per hour were
run during the daily rush periods,
making total of sixty trains. With
two subways. eight tracks and more
cars the lnterborough yesterday after
noon ran seven fewer trains per hour
between and O'Clock than the COM
four tracks.
City Is Worse OF
Data on train service gathered by
Tribune reporters, comparative esti-
mates of congestion on subway station
platforms and complaints of New York
residents indicate that the city is
worse off, so far as transportation is
concerned. with two subways than
fiut e
prove that the passenger carrying ca
pacity of the dual system. as now oper-
ated. is smaller. than that Of the old
single system.
Last nights rush hour crowd met
or1y the usual delay and congestion. AS
usual. Of late, the jam at Grand Central
grew until there was no standing room
on the uptown platform.
At one time the crowd overhowed the
platform. extended up all Of the stair
ways and out in the street. An express
train did not show up at the Grand
Central for nearly fifteen minutes.
Peak of the load" traffic in the Sew
enth Avenue subway at Times Square
was mishandled with an average of
sixteen express trains and seventeen
locals an hour This rate was main
tanned from 5 o'clock until 6:15, when
the number decreased.
Irregular Schedules
The expresses frequently pulled into
Times Square before the red tail lights
ot the last train had disappeared. In
such cases the second train would leave
with many vacant straps. Then, after
an interval of ten minutes, another
express would arrive.
Thirty minutes elapsed between
Dyckman Street expresses. The great
est number of passengers presented
themselves between $3.50 P NJ. and
6:l0 P. NJ. The subway train dispatch
er cared for the first half of this
. period with one express train. There
we're two in the succeeding ten min
utes.
A train arrived at 5:49 and departed
at $3.50 p. m. The next arrived at
5:59 p. m. The crowd waiting on the
platform was SO heavy by that time
that the train was unable to get away
for two minutes, although ordinarily
one minute suffices when there are
enough platform guards to push stray
arms. heads and legs inside the vesti-
bules. By actual timing it took the
guard of one OF the middle cars pre-
cisely one minute to close his door
This was accomplished in spite of
shrieks of anger and pain from the
pasSenCerS