I ended up working late last night. A storm blew through in the early evening, and I decided to wait it out, because I had plenty of work to do. I ended up leaving the office around 9:30. I debated going home by taxi, but I hate to waste the money, and the air was clear and warm. I decided to walk to walk past a couple of available taxis and take the subway.
Two blocks later, I had second thoughts about that decision. It started raining again, and before long, it was coming down hard. I hadn’t brought an umbrella; the weather forecast hadn’t mentioned a chance of rain. Before long, I was soaked and looking for shelter.
I normally take the Q train home, but that station was still several blocks from my current position. There was a station for A, C, and E trains nearby, so I decided to take one of them uptown and switch to the Q at 42nd Street/Times Square.
The first train to arrive was a C. The A (express) was eight minutes away according to the monitors, so I decided not to wait for it.
The C plodded along for the first few stations, but it increased in speed after West 4th Street, and I arrived at Times Square without further delay.
I have walked the length of the Times Square subway station many times before (I think that every New York commuter has at some point). I remember it being a long and complicated path though cramped tunnels and up and down a series of staircases. But last night, it seemed to take forever. It probably didn’t help that it was late, I was, tired, hungry, and wet, and the station was inexplicably mobbed for that hour of the night. But wow! It felt as though I’d spent an entire weekend underground. They should give out medals for people who make that trek.
The silver lining was that the air temperature in the station is well managed. When I first started working in New York, subway stations didn’t have air conditioning. That wouldn’t seem like a problem, given that they are underground, but a surprising amount of heat builds up down there.
The subway cars are air conditioned, and they blow heat out into the stations. Steam pipe infrastructure probably contributes heat as do the million plus people who ride those trains every day. I remember walking through the tunnels under Times Square when it was at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit. (I a, not exaggerating.) That was a special kind of misery.
Transit fares have gone up substantially since my early days in the city. But as long as those trains get me to where I’m going, and as long as the MTA keeps those air conditioners on line, I’m not going to complain.
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