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42 St Connection

We’re investing in the corridor below 42nd Street at Grand Central-42 St, 42 St-Bryant Park, and Times Sq-42 St stations. We’re redesigning passageways and platforms, adding elevators, expanding stairways and transforming the Shuttle into a fully accessible service.
Updated Nov 28, 2023
A subway platform with a woman boarding a train.

Details

  • Location
    Manhattan
  • Type
    Reconstruction
  • Status
    Construction

Area Map

Timeline

Completed phases
  • May 2020: New Grand Central-42 St elevator completed
  • August 2020: Times Sq-42 St elevator, escalator, stairway completed
  • September 2021: New shuttle experience completed, including Times Sq-42 St to 42 St-Bryant Park connector
Ongoing phases
  • Q4 2022: Work begins to rebuild Grand Central-42 St 7 stairs and escalators in phases
  • Q4 2024: Work begins to widen Grand Central-42 St 456 staircases
  • Q4 2025: New stairs and escalators on the Grand Central-42 St 7 platform
  • Q4 2025: Wider staircases on the Grand Central-42 St 456 platform
  • Q4 2025: Other station improvements completed at Grand Central-42 St

About the project

We’re creating a new experience below 42nd Street. We’re making significant improvements to the subway lines that connect the heart of Midtown, including redesigning platforms, adding elevators and stairs, installing in-station artwork, replacing escalators and stairways, and transforming the  42 St Shuttle into a fully accessible service. These changes will upgrade overall customer experience, improve circulation, significantly reduce station congestion, and strengthen overall transit accessibility. The work we’re doing will make the journey faster and accessible for people of all abilities, connecting more of New York for more New Yorkers.

Overall completion for the 42nd Street Connection Program is slated for 4th Quarter 2025. The centerpiece of the project is the rebuilt  42 St Shuttle, which opened in March 2021. On its Times Square side, there is one large island platform with tracks on both sides, a new feature that makes it easier for riders to board trains quickly. The station is now ADA-accessible and has a larger, more modern entrance. On its Grand Central side, we consolidated the shuttle into a two-track operation with one large, expanded platform for easier boarding. The new platform will provide much-needed space for riders of all abilities to easily access trains on either track, and gaps were eliminated between platform edges and trains to facilitate safer boarding for people using wheelchairs or other mobility devices. With the completion of these integral pieces of the 42 St Connection project, New Yorkers and tourists alike can now enjoy the expanded platforms, improved station circulation, and beautiful new mosaic tiling by artist Nick Cave while traveling through Midtown Manhattan.

We also created a new, in-station transfer between Times Sq-42 St and 42 St-Bryant Park, providing a free connection between the  and  lines. A new mosaic artwork by Nick Cave covers the walls of the new connection. Other improvements below 42nd Street include new elevators and escalators, new and expanded stairways, and more digital information screens. These changes will help make your commute more reliable, and help you get to where you’re going more quickly.

Ongoing improvements

  • Passenger flow
    • Constructing a new staircase to the  line at Grand Central-42 St to reduce crowding and congestion
    • Widening and retreading stairwell from 6’ to 7’ 3” and adding longer stair landings
  • Station egress
    • Escalator replacement
  • State of good repair
    • Identifying and repairing the tunnel arch and walls in the Flushing cavern at Grand Central-42 St
    • Performing leak mitigation
  • Accessibility
    • Upgrading the 42 St-Bryant Park  station to be fully ADA-accessible
  • Internal systems
    • Installing new systems in passageways
    • Upgrading fire alarm system in the Flushing, Lexington, and Shuttle corridors at Grand Central-42 St

Project benefits

  • Addition of eight new escalators and improved maintenance access
  • Improved circulation throughout Grand Central-42 St
  • More space, thanks to longer  42 St Shuttle platforms at Times Square-42 St and Grand Central-42 St and new and wider stairways
  • Fully accessible  platforms with more space, new elevators, and more reliable escalators
  • Running six-car  trains instead of four-car ones, expanding capacity by 20 percent
  • New, free transfer between Times Sq-42 St  and​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ 42 St-Bryant Park
  • New electrical, communication, signal, and safety systems
  • More digital signage and better wayfinding

People walk down a passageway in the 42 St-Bryant Park subway station.

Station artwork

Nick Cave designed the murals in the tunnel connecting Times Sq-42 St with Bryant Park.

Artwork in mosaic by Nick Cave showing people dancing in brightly colored costumes known as Soundsuits