JFK Express

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JFK Express

21st Street–Queensbridge to Howard Beach–JFK Airport

note: service began at 57th Street prior to 1989

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 few 30-second long television commercials to promote the service[1]. 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.[2]

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 [3].

The following lines were used by the JFK Express service:

[edit] Station listing

1978 brochure

Ticket

The JFK Express at 57th Street.

The JFK Express logo on the Franklin Avenue Shuttle

Station service legend
	Stops all times
Time period details

	Station		Notes
Queens
	21st Street–Queensbridge		new terminus after completion of IND 63rd Street Line; opened October 29, 1989
Manhattan
	Roosevelt Island		opened October 29, 1989
	Lexington Avenue–63rd Street		opened October 29, 1989
	57th Street		original terminus before IND 63rd Street Line opened
	47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center
	42nd Street–Bryant Park
	34th Street–Herald Square
	West Fourth Street–Washington Square
	Chambers Street
	Broadway–Nassau Street
Brooklyn
	Jay Street–Borough Hall
Queens
	Howard Beach–JFK Airport	{Local}	transfer to Port Authority shuttle bus to airport terminals

[edit] See also

• 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
• "Take the train to the plane!" JFK Express Ad on YouTube

[edit] References

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

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