New-York tribune., 1918-08-15
Grand Central Station Has
Near Riots as Crowds
Await Cars
Additional Service
Fails to Materialize
Actual Count Disproves
Claims of Interborough as
to Rush Hour Trains

When New York City's "H" subway
system was completed a few weeks
ago, more efficient, more speedy, more
comfortable underground rapid transit
facilities were promised Relief was
held out to New Yorks vast army Of
straphangers.
Investigation by Tribune reporters
come as yet. Their observations. made
at various points in the subways dur
ing the past two days, may be sum-
marized as follows:
1. The cd subway connecting with
the new Lexington Avenue line at
Grand Central eeems a. crowded as
ever.
.. TIE congestion at Grand Cen
tral station seems worse than ever,
3. During the rush hours Tuesday
night and last night there was hardly
g sentIAnce OF regular schedules on
he East Side line Expresses came
and went at intervals varying from
two to ten minutes, locals at inter
vals Of from five 90 twelve minutes.
4. During the rush hours N these
two davs the West Side subway oper-
ated nearly twice as many trains as
the East Side, but has failed to re-
lieve the congestion on the East Side
line
Company Makes Excuses
In explanation of these conditions,
Jptarhorouoh officials say:
|. That the company is short
about 1000 men in all departments.
2. That the company is greatly
handicapped by reason Of the mex
perience Of men now working
3. That the serious congestion on
the East Side subway Tuesday night
was due to signal trouble near BOWL
ing Green station.
Interborough officials say the two
subways together at present operate
about forty expresses and forty locals
an hour each way during the rush
hours, morning and evening. This
would give the business population of
lower Manhattan an uptown express
train every minute and half, and an
uptown local train every minute and
a half, on both lines, in the rush
hours.
Interborough officials say that before
the new subway lines were opened they
operated an express train each way,
uptown and downtown, every minute
and forty-eght seconds, and there was
a local train for every express train
during the periods of heavy traffic. In
other words, they claim they were
operating a few more than thirty ex-
presses and thirty locals each way
during the "peak of the Load travel
period
Promises Not Realized
For this one minute and forty-elght
second service on one line there has
now been substituted, they say, min
ute and a half service on the two lines.
Forty expresses and forty locals an
hour on two lines have taken the
place of thirty expresses and thirty
iocas on one line. they say.
From SIS O'Clock til 6:1S o'clock
counted exactly fifteen uptown ex-
presses passing Brooklyn Bridge sta
ion on tho Old subway. During the
same period just ten uptown locals
passed the uptown platform at Brook
'yn Bridge station. The total of up
town expresses and locals during this
busy hour was twenty
Another Tribune reporter, stationed
on the uptown platform of Times
Square station, counted forty-one ex-
presses and locals moving uptown be-
tween $3.50 and $3.50 o'clock, Tuesday
night.
In other words. during the rush
hour Tuesday night. the Intcrborough
operated total of sixty-six uptown
expresses and local on both IS subway
lines, as against sixty expresses aud
GOALS on the old subway line alone
9efore the "H" system was opened.
Crush Not Removed
The total improvement, amounting
to six trains an hour, it was found, was
completely offset by the fact that the
East Side subway still seems to be
the favorite route. The result is
dense congestion at the Grand Central
station.
Last night twenty-five uptown express
trains and twenty-five uptown local
passed Times Square between 5:16 ant
6:17 O'Clock. During the half hour be
tween $40 and 6:10 o'clock eight up
town express trains and three local
passed the Grand Central station. Tn
congestion on the East Side subwa.
was as bad as on Tuesday night.
Tuesday night huge crowds accumu
ld+eQ on tne platform dl ID JONI
Bridge and Fourteenth Street, while
conditions at Grand Central resembleC
near-rlot.
Uptown express trains ran at in
tervals varying from one and hal,
minutes to ten minutes. If there was
any schedule there was no apparent
attempt made to enforce it.
During the crest of the rush hour
Tuesday night Tribune reporter
waited exactly ten minutes for Lex
ington Avenue express. He descended
the steps at the Brooklyn Bridge sta
ton at $3.50 and just missed train
Five minutes later enough homewart
bound people had congregated on tn
Platform to fill comfortably ten coacne
Of an express train without the assist
ance Of any passengers from other sta
TORS. Still no train appeared. Durini
the next FIVE minutes the crowd on th'
platform doubled in size. When finall.
d train appeared and stopped at 5;4'
o'clock every scat was taken and from
nearly every strap in every coach huns
subway traveller Passengers were
jammed 40 tightly that it was impos
sible TO move about.