Rector St & South Ferry

Rector St

Passenger service: July 1918 - September 2001.

Existing abandoned portions: two side platforms on two tracks not in service.

Touring: The street entrances can be seen on Greenwich St. There is no way to view the station. It is expected to open again in late 2002.

South Ferry

Passenger service: July 1905 - September 2001.

Existing abandoned portions: Two side platforms (one closed since 1977) on two tracks in non-revenue service.

Touring: The entrance in the plaza outside the Staten Island Ferry terminal can be seen. There is no way to view the station. It is expected to open again in late 2002.

construction and operation

The branch line from Chambers St to South Ferry via Greenwich St was built as part of the Seventh Ave subway, one of the IRT routes of the Dual System announced in 1913. It opened in July 1918. The routing plan is that Seventh Ave locals run by this branch to South Ferry, while Seventh Ave expresses turn off and run to Brooklyn via Park Place and William St.

Rector St station was extended south in 1966 to a full ten car length. South Ferry station is older, opened in 1905 as part of the first subway route to Brooklyn. See the Bowling Green and South Ferry page for more on its history.

The entire branch from Chambers St to South Ferry was closed because of damage to the portion under the World Trade Center. A section of tunnel was completely removed early in 2002 and is being rebuilt for opening in November.

No damage has been reported at Rector St station. A substantial amount of material blew into the station through the stairway entrances and ventilation grates. It is of no value while the line is inoperable, so it will be closed until trains can run again. While the line is closed, a double crossover will be installed south of the station to allow operation with Rector St as a terminal during future rebuilding of South Ferry.

South Ferry was not damaged at all. It will not be opened till trains run again from Chambers St. There is actually an operable rail connection from Bowling Green to South Ferry, but there are not adequate facilities to turn trains at Bowling Green, so it was judged impractical to use. Plans to rebuild South Ferry with a straighter, full-length platform were announced late in 2001, and even keep the line closed until this was done, but the need to restore normal service to the Seventh Ave subway won out. The rebuilding may still take place but at a later date.

diagram

The section marked as under WTC property is not the only damaged portion. New structure is being built approximately from Park Place to Rector St.

While the switches north of Chambers St provide for almost any movement, they do not make it practical to end local trains at the station while maintaining service through to Park Place and Brooklyn. Terminating trains would block the downtown express track in the station. For this reason, the temporary train service uses the Chambers St switches only to bring 1 2 local trains to the center tracks for Brooklyn service. 3 trains terminate in the downtown express track at 14 St, blocking express service from running further south, but keeping clear of Chambers St.

Seen in March 2002, the entrance to Rector St station near Morris St is boarded up and posted with a police notice. The MTA sign on the side suggests nearby open subway lines.