"Shuttle at the Bridge Plates"
One of the three 42nd Street Shuttle trains slows to a station stop on Track 4 as the first couple passengers make their way across the bridgeplates to get first dibs at a spot on the train. Opened in August of 1918, the 42nd Street Shuttle runs between Times Square & Grand Central on part of the original IRT subway which first opened in October of 1904. Many aspects of the original subway could still be seen, but on the night of August 16th, 2019, construction work began that would drastically change the Shuttle. A majority of the work on the Times Square side involves turning the right of way of Track 3 (to the right of this photo) into a huge island platform, walling off the original Track 4 platform and removing the bridgeplates seen in this photo. When finished, this will allow for 2 six-car trainsets instead of the current 3 smaller trainsets, increasing capacity and make the Shuttle ADA compliant.
