page_title: Park Avenue main line
section_title: Electrification
hierarchical_section_title: Park Avenue main line / History / Electrification
caption_attribution_description: English: A New Haven Line train of M8 cars on the Park Avenue Bridge in July 2014
context_page_description: The Park Avenue main line, which consists of the Park Avenue Tunnel and the Park Avenue Viaduct, is a railroad line in the New York City borough of Manhattan, running entirely along Park Avenue. The line carries four tracks of the Metro-North Railroad as a tunnel from Grand Central Terminal at 42nd Street to a portal at 97th Street where it rises to a viaduct north of 99th Street and continues over the Harlem River into the Bronx over the Park Avenue Bridge. During rush hours, Metro-North uses three of the four tracks in the peak direction.
  Originally constructed in the mid-19th century as a New York and Harlem Railroad route, the Park Avenue main line was initially a street railroad and ran to what is now Lower Manhattan. It was gradually truncated through the 1860s, until Grand Central Depot was opened at 42nd Street in 1871. The line was placed in a grade-separated structure in the late 19th century as part of the Fourth Avenue and Park Avenue Improvement projects, and was electrified in the first decade of the 20th century as part of the construction of Grand Central Terminal. Since then, several improvement and rehabilitation projects have been made along the main line.
context_section_description: As train traffic to Grand Central increased dramatically at the end of the 19th century, the operation of steam locomotives in the tunnel resulted in both an extremely unpleasant experience for riders and a dangerously low level of visibility for train engineers dues to smoke from the engines. William J. Wilgus, the chief engineer of New York Central, had proposed electrifying the New York Central lines to Grand Central in 1899, using an electric third rail power system devised by Frank J. Sprague. Though Wilgus's plan was approved, it was not carried out due to a lack of funding.
  On January 8, 1902, a southbound train overran signals in the smoky Park Avenue Tunnel and collided with another southbound train, killing 15 people and injuring more than 30 others. The crash directly resulted in the construction of the modern-day Grand Central Terminal. A week after the crash, New York Central president William H. Newman announced that all of the railroad's suburban lines to Grand Central would be electrified, and the approach to the station would be put underground. The New York state legislature subsequently passed a law to ban all steam trains in Manhattan beginning on July 1, 1908. By December 1902, as part of an agreement with the city, New York Central agreed to put the approach to Grand Central Station from 46th to 59th Streets in an open cut under Park Avenue, and to upgrade the tracks to accommodate electric trains. Overpasses would be built across the open cut at most of the cross-streets.
  Following Newman's pledge to electrify New York Central rail lines, plans to electrify the Park Avenue line and replace the then-overcrowded Grand Central Depot were announced. In March 1903, Wilgus presented a more detailed proposal to the New York Central board, describing a modern railroad terminal with separate levels for commuter and intercity railroads, among other things. Wilgus's plan was approved, and subsequently, Grand Central Depot was demolished in phases and replaced with the current Beaux Arts-style Grand Central Terminal. As part of the project, the rail yard and the approach from 59th Street were placed underground and electrified. Electric locomotives were placed in regular passenger service in January 1907.
  The New York Central Railroad tested third-rail-powered electric trains in 1904, using a fleet of new MU Sprague-GE cars from the General Electric Company, and found that their speeds were adequate for service into Grand Central. Over the next few years, the New York Central and New Haven Railroads electrified their tracks, allowing trains to enter Grand Central Terminal upon its completion. The first electric train departed for the soon-to-be-demolished Grand Central Station, from the Harlem Division's Highbridge station in the Bronx, on September 30, 1906. By late 1906, Harlem Division trains were also electrified, and its operations moved to the basement of Grand Central Palace. New Haven Division electric trains started running to Grand Central in October 1907. 
  With the elimination of the noise and pollution from steam locomotives, this once undesirable section of Park Avenue and the land freed by the burial of the rail yard became prime New York City real estate. The area became one of the city's most attractive residential areas as mansions and high-class apartments were constructed along Park Avenue. The area around Park Avenue in the vicinity of Grand Central was developed into Terminal City. Stretching from 42nd to 51st Streets between Madison and Lexington Avenues, it came to include the Chrysler Building and other prestigious office buildings; luxury apartment houses along Park Avenue; and an array of high-end hotels that included the  Marguery, Park Lane, and Waldorf Astoria. The idea to place the rail yard below Park Avenue and construct buildings above it was credited to Wilgus.
  In November 1929, the New York Central prepared to install bidirectional signaling and shorten signal blocks between Grand Central and 162nd Street on the Harlem Division and High Bridge on the Hudson Division, allowing
caption: A New Haven Line train of M8 cars on the Park Avenue Bridge in July 2014
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