It often feels like subway stations are even hotter than it is outside. Or as news anchor Chris Hayes recently put it “Today’s subway status: hot garbage.”
RPA’s recent report Save Our Subways: A Plan To Transform New York City’s Rapid Transit System, contains a number of ways that the MTA could leverage more modern technology (like CBCT, which they are already in the process of installing) to cool subway platforms, making them healthier for riders and workers alike.
So how big of a problem are hot subways? On Thursday, August 9, 2018, RPA sent out a strike force of staff and interns to measure the temperature at the top ten busiest subway stations (using MTA’s 2017 rankings) to find out.
[gallery size=“medium” ids=”/uploads/old-site/lab.rpa.org/uploads/2018/08/unionsquare14th-1.jpg|Union Square (4/5/6) at 104 degrees,/uploads/old-site/lab.rpa.org/uploads/2018/08/nevins-st-ut-2-3-4-5-97-degrees-815-am-e1533915015288.jpg|Nevins Street (2/3/4/5) at 97 degrees,/uploads/old-site/lab.rpa.org/uploads/2018/08/fulton-street-e1533915262794.jpg|Fulton Street (J/Z) at 90 degrees”]
August 9, 2018
Above ground high temperature (above ground): 86 degrees
Highest temperature recorded on a platform: 104 degrees (14-Street Union Square Downtown 4/5/6 Platform)
Average temperature recorded on platforms: 94.6 degrees
Temperatures on the Platforms at the Top 10 Busiest Subway Stations
| Station | Temperature | Time | Platform |
| 14 St-Union Sq | 104 | 1:00 PM | 4/5/6 Downtown |
| 59 St-Columbus Circle | 101 | 10:55 AM | 1 Uptown |
| 34 St-Herald Square | 99 | 9:10 AM | R/W Downtown |
| 34 St-Penn Station (2/3) | 99 | 8:45 AM | 2/3 Express |
| Times Sq-42 St | 98 | 10:45 AM | 1/2/3 Uptown |
| 47-50 Sts-Rockefeller Center | 98 | 9:30 AM | BDFM Downtown |
| 14-Street Union Sq | 96 | 1:00 PM | 4/5/6 Uptown |
| Grand Central-42 St | 94 | 1:10 PM | 4/5/6 Uptown |
| 34 St-Herald Square | 94 | 9:08 AM | N/Q Downtown |
| 34 St-Herald Square | 93 | 8:59 AM | R/W Uptown |
| Grand Central-42 St | 92 | 12:45 PM | 4/5/6 Downtown |
| Fulton St | 90 | 9:20 AM | J/Z |
| 34 St-Herald Square | 89 | 9:02 AM | B/D Uptown |
| 34 St-Herald Square | 88 | 9:05 AM | F/M Downtown |
| Lexington Av-53 St | 88 | 9:36 AM | E |
| 34 St-Penn Station (A/C/E) | 86 | 9:25 AM | A/C/E |
[gallery size=“medium” ids=”/uploads/old-site/lab.rpa.org/uploads/2018/08/franklin-avenue_4.5-lines_manhattan-bound_96-degrees_aug-09_9.23am-e1533915567832.jpg|Franklin Avenue (4/5) at 96 degrees,/uploads/old-site/lab.rpa.org/uploads/2018/08/51-st-6-train.jpg|Lexington Ave-51 St (6) at 91 degrees,/uploads/old-site/lab.rpa.org/uploads/2018/08/14-st-456.jpg|14th Street-Union Square (4/5/6) at 96 degrees”]
We also did a few more as we traveled around yesterday:
| Brooklyn Bridge - City Hall | 102 | 10:00 AM | 4/5/6 Downtown |
| Bowling Green (4/5) | 98 | 9:50 AM | 4/5 |
| Lexington Av-51 St | 91 | 9:41 AM | 6 |
| 116th St | 93 | 9:56 AM | 6 |
| Atlantic Ave/Barclays Center | 92 | 9:31 AM | 4/5 |
| Borough Hall | 98 | 9:50 AM | 4/5 |
| Nevins Street | 97 | 8:14 AM | 2/3/4/5 Uptown |
| Whitehall St, South Ferry | 89 | 9:36 AM | R/W Downtown |
| Franklin Avenue | 96 | 9:23 AM | 4/5 |
| Franklin Avenue | 94 | 8:06 AM | 2/3/4/5 Uptown |
The heat in underground subway stations isn’t just a nuisance for New Yorkers, but it also poses a serious health risk for those who not only ride the subways, but work on them too. The NYC Health Department says “A heat index above 95°F is especially dangerous for older adults and other vulnerable individuals,” and the City issues a heat advisory when “the heat index is expected to reach 95°F to 99°F for two or more consecutive days, or 100°F to 104°F for any length of time.”
As our Save Our Subways report points out, there are ways for the MTA to use new technology they are already starting to install to help cool subways, like leveraging regenerative braking and CBTC to reduce the heat generated by trains. But there is more that needs to be done.
According to a report by the New York Academy of Sciences published in 2015, the average temperature between 1900 and 2013 has increased by 3.4 degrees in the city. If we don’t tackle the issue of heat in the subway, the public health impacts will continue to worsen as our planet and our city get warmer.