New-York tribune., 1918-06-23
Only a Few Items at Grand
Central Express Station
Remain Unfinished
Many Routes Changed
Public Service Commission
Urges Public to Study New
System Carefully

Final details Of preparation of the
III" subway system. consisting of the
old subway and it's branches and
the new Seventh Avenue and Lex
ington Avenue subways and their
branches, are being rushed to compile
tion, and within few days, it is ex-
pected, the Public Service Commission
will set the date for the beginning Of
operation. 1t will probably be early in
July.
All general construction work, with
the exception of few items at the
new Grand Central express station
and elsewhere. is virtually completed.
1t only remains for the Interborough
to install equipment, and this will be
done as soon as a small amount Of
work on ducts and cables at the power
houses is completed. The Interborough
is having some difficulty IN obtaining
sufficient number OF men to operate
the additional trains required.
The H" Is the most important link
in the new dual subway system, as fax
as Manhattan ia, concerned, and it's op-
Grafton will mean important changes
in the routing of the trains, up and
learned by the travelling public. The
Public Service Commission is urging
passengers to make careful study of
the layout of the new lines.
The old Interborough subway is the
nucleus of the III" system. 1t has in
effect been split into two parts under
the plan of new operation. The upper
half, that part north of Forty-second
Street. with it's West Farms and Broad
way branches, is being tied in with the
new Seventh Avenue subway, which ex-
tends south from Times Square in
Seventh Avenue, Varick Street, West
Broadway and Greenwich Street to the
Battery, with a branch extending
through Park Place and William Street
to a temporary terminus at Wall and
William streets. This latter branch
will be extended to Brooklyn in few
months. These lines constitute what is
Subway"
The lower half of the old INTERIOR
ough subway, south of Forty second
Street, is beng connected with the new
Lexington Avenue subway, which ex-
tends north to the Harlem River and
forks to form two branches in The
Bronx, one extending under Mott Ave-
nue as a subway, and thence over the
river and Jerome Avenue as an ele-
waited line, and second branch ex-
tending out Southern Boulevard and
Park. This latter will be operated at
present only as far as the station at
Third Avenue end 138th Street. These
lines form the new EAST Side subway"
It is important to remember that, by
reason Of the so-called 149th Street
connection, the West Farms branch Of
the old subway is connected with the
Jerome Avenue branch of the Lexing-
ton Avenue line at 149th Street and
Mott Avenue, thus making it possible
to operate trains from West Farms
branch through both the west side
and east side subways. The service on
this branch will be divided between
the two routes. For persons who de-
sire to go from down town to points
on the east side of Manhattan and
to any point in Manhattan south Of
City Hall or to Brooklyn points on
the o.d subway, or from any of these
loints 80 stations on the West Farms
route, going uptown, the east side sub
way is the shorter and quicker route.
The four tracks under Forty-second
Street from Park Avenue to Times
Square will be utilized only for shut
tie service between the east and west
side lines. The platforms of the old
Grand Central express station will be
utilized as the eastern terminal of the
shuttle line, while the platforms of
the old Times Square local station
vii! be similarly used as western