From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The JFK Express, advertised as The Train to The Plane, was a premium-fare service of the New York City Subway, connecting midtown Manhattan to Howard Beach–JFK Airport on the IND Rockaway Line, where a bus connected to John F. Kennedy International Airport. AirTrain JFK now serves the purpose of this bus. Howard Beach is currently served at all times by the "A" train (Eighth Avenue Express). However, AirTrain also connects to Jamaica with Long Island Rail Road service to Manhattan.

The premium fare was collected on board the cars. The JFK Express used exclusively R46 cars for most of its existence though near its end R44 cars were used when the R46 cars began to enter midlife overhauls.

JFK Express service began in September 23, 1978; the Metropolitan Transportation Authority created a minute-long commercial to promote the service, which can be found on You Tube under "Train to the Plane". The JFK Express was not a success, seeing low ridership, in part because the train did not actually serve any airline terminals, but rather transferred passengers to a shuttle bus. The train was discontinued on April 15, 1990, long before AirTrain JFK opened.[1] The JFK Express occupied the express tracks of the A train; the current use of these tracks by the A makes the JFK Express route impractical today.

At times, regular passengers were allowed on the trains due to disruptions on other services; this included the 1988 closure of the south side of the Manhattan Bridge [2].

The JFK Express used the IND 63rd Street Line, IND Sixth Avenue Line, IND Eighth Avenue Line, IND Fulton Street Line and IND Rockaway Line.

• 21st Street–Queensbridge (opened October 29, 1989)
• Roosevelt Island (opened October 29, 1989)
• Lexington Avenue–63rd Street (opened October 29, 1989)
• 57th Street at Sixth Avenue
• 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center at Sixth Avenue
• 42nd Street–Bryant Park at Sixth Avenue
• 34th Street–Herald Square at Sixth Avenue
• West Fourth Street–Washington Square at Sixth Avenue
• Chambers Street at Church Street
• Broadway–Nassau Street at Fulton Street
• Jay Street–Borough Hall in downtown Brooklyn
• Howard Beach–JFK Airport (transfer to Port Authority shuttle bus to terminals)

• Train-to-the-plane
• Transportation to New York City area airports
• Lower Manhattan-Jamaica/JFK Transportation Project - Proposal to use the LIRR Atlantic Branch and Air Train in a new direct JFK connection to Lower Manhattan

• Line by Line History
• NYCsubway.org - Historical Maps

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