View source for Times Square–42nd Street station

{{Short description|New York City Subway station in Manhattan}}
{{Redirect|Times Square Station}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NYCS
| name = Times Square–42 Street
| type = complex
| image = Times Square-42nd Street Entrance.JPG
| image_caption = Entrance to the station at 42nd Street & 7th Avenue
| accessible = yes
| acc_note = passageways to {{Stn|42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal}} and {{stl|NYCS|42nd Street–Bryant Park}} are not ADA-accessible
| service = Times Square
| division = BMT/IND/IRT
| line = [[IRT 42nd Street Shuttle]]<br />{{color box|#{{rcr|NYCS|yellow}}}}&nbsp;&nbsp;[[BMT Broadway Line]]<br />{{color box|#{{rcr|NYCS|red}}}}&nbsp;&nbsp;[[IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]]<br />{{color box|#{{rcr|NYCS|purple}}}}&nbsp;&nbsp;[[IRT Flushing Line]]
|transfer = At {{stn|42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal}}:<br />{{NYCS Eighth south|time=color}}<hr>At {{stn|42nd Street–Bryant Park/Fifth Avenue}}, daytime (6 a.m. to 12 a.m.) only:<br />{{NYCS Bryant Park|time=color}}
| connection = {{bus icon}} [[NYCT Bus]]: {{NYC bus link|M7|M20|M34A SBS|M42|M104|SIM8|SIM8X|SIM22|SIM25|SIM26|SIM30}}<br />{{bus icon}} [[MTA Bus]]: {{NYC bus link|BxM2}}<hr />{{bus icon}} [[Port Authority Bus Terminal]] [[NJ Transit Bus Operations|New Jersey Transit Bus]]: {{NJ bus link|101|102|105|107|108|109|111|112|113|114|115|116|117|119|121|122|123|124|125|126|127|128|129|130|131|132|133|135|136|137|138|139|144|145|148|151|153|154|155|156|157|158|159|160|161|162|163|164|165|166|167|168|177|190|191|192|193|194|195|196|197|198|199|319|320|321|324|355}}
| address = West 42nd Street, Broadway, &amp; Seventh Avenue<br />New York, New York
| borough = [[Manhattan]]
| locale = [[Times Square]], [[Midtown Manhattan]]
|coordinates = {{coord|40|45|21.6|N|73|59|13.2|W|display=inline,title}}
|open_date = {{start date and age|1917|06|03}}<ref name=34th/>
| structure = Underground
| levels = 5
| legend = {{NYCS infobox legend|allexceptnights}}{{NYCS infobox legend|alltimes}}{{NYCS infobox legend|rushpeak}}
| embedded = <hr>{{Infobox NRHP
| embed = yes
| name = Times Square–42nd Street Subway Station
| added = September 17, 2004
| mpsub = New York City Subway System MPS
| refnum = 04001016<ref name="focus"/>
}}}}

The '''Times Square–42nd Street station''' is a major [[New York City Subway]] station complex located under [[Times Square]], at the intersection of [[42nd Street (Manhattan)|42nd Street]], [[Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)|Seventh Avenue]], and [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]], in [[Midtown Manhattan]]. The complex allows free transfers between the [[42nd Street Shuttle|IRT 42nd Street Shuttle]], the [[BMT Broadway Line]], the [[IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]] and the [[IRT Flushing Line]], as well as to the [[IND Eighth Avenue Line]] a block west at {{Stn|42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal}}. The complex is served by the [[1 (New York City Subway service)|1]], [[2 (New York City Subway service)|2]], [[3 (New York City Subway service)|3]], [[7 (New York City Subway service)|7]], [[N (New York City Subway service)|N]] and [[Q (New York City Subway service)|Q]] trains at all times, the [[W (New York City Subway service)|W]] train during weekdays; the [[R (New York City Subway service)|R]] and [[42nd Street Shuttle]] (S) trains at all times except late nights; and [[7d (New York City Subway service)|&lt;7&gt;]] trains during rush hours in the peak direction. A free passageway from the shuttle platform to the {{stn|42nd Street–Bryant Park/Fifth Avenue}} station, served by the {{NYCS trains|Bryant Park}}, is open during the day from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m.<ref name="map">{{NYCS const|map}}</ref>

The present shuttle platforms were built for the [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company]] (IRT) as a local station on the [[Early history of the IRT subway|city's first subway line]], which was approved in 1900. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. As part of the [[Dual Contracts]] between the IRT and the [[Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation]] (BMT), the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms opened in 1917, followed by the Broadway Line platforms in 1918 and the Flushing Line platforms in 1928. The original platforms were also reconfigured to serve the shuttle. The complex has been reconstructed numerous times over the years. The free transfer between the IRT and BMT opened in 1948, while the transfer to the IND station was placed within fare control in 1988. The complex was placed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2004. In the early 21st century, the shuttle station was reconfigured.

Excluding closed platforms, the Flushing Line and shuttle stations have one [[island platform]] and two tracks, while the Broadway Line and Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line have two island platforms and four tracks. All platforms and most of the station complex is compliant with the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990]], except for the IND passageway, which has steep ramps at both ends. The Times Square–42nd Street complex, including the Eighth Avenue Line, is the busiest station complex in the system, serving 65,020,294 passengers in 2019.<ref name="ridership">{{NYCS const|riderref}}</ref>

__TOC__

== History ==

The [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company|IRT]] platforms have been connected to each other as a [[Transfer station (transportation)|transfer station]] as the lines opened: first between the 42nd Street Shuttle and the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line in 1917, then the transfer was incorporated with the Flushing Line in 1927.<ref name="Dunlap 2004">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=March 28, 2004 |title=1904–2004; Crossroads of the Whirl |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/28/nyregion/1904-2004-crossroads-of-the-whirl.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=December 17, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810053526/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/28/nyregion/1904-2004-crossroads-of-the-whirl.html |archive-date=August 10, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> On December 24, 1932, a {{convert|600|ft|m|-long|adj=mid}} passageway was opened, connecting the [[IND Eighth Avenue Line]]'s [[42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station]] and the IRT platforms, with a new entrance at West 41st Street between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue.<ref name="Dunlap 2004" /><ref name="The New York Times 1932" /> The passageway was located outside a fare control, and passengers had to pay an extra fare to transfer between the IND and the IRT station.<ref name="The New York Times 1932">{{Cite news |date=December 24, 1932 |title=600-Foot Pedestrian Tunnel, Linking Subways, Opens Today |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/12/24/100884849.pdf |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619171809/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/12/24/100884849.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |archive-date=June 19, 2022}}</ref> The [[List of New York City Subway transfer stations|free transfer]] between the IRT and [[Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation|BMT]] was added on July 1, 1948.<ref name="higher">{{Cite news |date=June 30, 1948 |title=Transfer Points Under Higher Fare; Board of Transportation Lists Stations and Intersections for Combined Rides |language=en-US |page=19 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1948/06/30/archives/transfer-points-under-higher-fare-board-of-transportation-lists.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209083206/https://www.nytimes.com/1948/06/30/archives/transfer-points-under-higher-fare-board-of-transportation-lists.html |archive-date=December 9, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The block-long passageway that runs west to the 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station was reopened within [[fare control]] on December 11, 1988.<ref name="nyt-1988-12-12">{{Cite news |last=Lyall |first=Sarah |date=December 12, 1988 |title=All Aboard. . .Somewhere. . .for Subway Changes! |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/12/nyregion/all-aboard-somewhere-for-subway-changes.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=July 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306113048/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/12/nyregion/all-aboard-somewhere-for-subway-changes.html |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

=== First subway ===
[[File:Times_Sq-42_St_shuttle_platforms_Mar_2021_21.jpg|thumb|A section of the original IRT northbound platform at Times Square, now a closed-off section of the track 4 shuttle platform]]
Planning for a [[Rapid transit|subway]] line in New York City dates to 1864.<ref name="Walker 1918" />{{Rp|21}} Development of what would become the [[Early history of the IRT subway|city's first subway line]] started in 1894, when the [[New York State Legislature]] passed the Rapid Transit Act.<ref name="Walker 1918">{{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=James Blaine |url=https://archive.org/details/fiftyyearsrapid00walkgoog |title=Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917 |date=1918 |publisher=Law Printing |location=New York, N.Y. |access-date=November 6, 2016}}</ref>{{Rp|139–140}} The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by [[William Barclay Parsons]], the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer. It called for a subway line from [[New York City Hall]] in [[lower Manhattan]] to the [[Upper West Side]], where two branches would lead north into [[the Bronx]].<ref name="NYCL-1096">{{cite web |date=October 23, 1979 |title=Interborough Rapid Transit System, Underground Interior |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1096.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327141814/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1096.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2016 |access-date=November 19, 2019 |publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]]}}</ref>{{Rp|3}} A plan was formally adopted in 1897, which called for the subway to run under several streets in lower Manhattan before running under [[Fourth Avenue (Manhattan)|Fourth Avenue]], [[42nd Street (Manhattan)|42nd Street]], and [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]]. A previous proposal had called for the entire length of the subway to use Broadway, but the "awkward alignment...along Forty-Second Street", as the commission put it, was necessitated by objections to using the southernmost section of Broadway. Legal challenges were resolved near the end of 1899.<ref name="Walker 1918" />{{Rp|148}} The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by [[John B. McDonald]] and funded by [[August Belmont Jr.]], signed the initial Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900,<ref name="Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners 1905">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924022794253/page/n253/mode/2up?q=april+28 |title=Report of the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners for the City of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1904 Accompanied By Reports of the Chief Engineer and of the Auditor |publisher=Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners |year=1905 |pages=229–236}}</ref> in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.<ref name="Walker 1918" />{{Rp|165}} In 1901, the firm of [[Heins & LaFarge]] was hired to design the underground stations.<ref name="NYCL-1096" />{{Rp|4}} Belmont incorporated the [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company]] (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.<ref name="Walker 1918" />{{Rp|182}}

The present shuttle station at Times Square–42nd Street was constructed as part of the route segment underneath 42nd Street and Times Square, which extended from Park Avenue and 41st Street to Broadway and 47th Street. Construction on this section of the line began on February 25, 1901. Work for that section had been awarded to Degnon-McLean.<ref name="Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners 1905" /> By late 1903, the subway was nearly complete, but the [[IRT Powerhouse]] and the system's [[electrical substation]]s were still under construction, delaying the system's opening.<ref name="Walker 1918" />{{Rp|186}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 14, 1903 |title=First of Subway Tests; West Side Experimental Trains to be Run by Jan. 1 Broadway Tunnel Tracks Laid, Except on Three Little Sections, to 104th Street – Power House Delays. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/11/14/archives/first-of-subway-tests-west-side-experimental-trains-to-be-run-by.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=May 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505030752/https://www.nytimes.com/1903/11/14/archives/first-of-subway-tests-west-side-experimental-trains-to-be-run-by.html |archive-date=May 5, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> After the New York City Board of Aldermen renamed Longacre Square to Times Square, in April 1904, the Rapid Transit Commission agreed to rename the subway station at Broadway and 42nd Street as the "Times Station".<ref name=nyt-1904-04-29>{{Cite news|date=April 29, 1904|title=Rapid Transit Board's New Subway Plans; Metropolitan's Route, with Surface Transfers, Is Favored|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/04/29/archives/rapid-transit-boards-new-subway-plans-metropolitans-route-with.html|access-date=May 20, 2023|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> As late as October 26, 1904, the day before the subway was scheduled to open, the walls and ceilings were incomplete.<ref name=nyt-1904-10-26>{{Cite news|date=October 26, 1904|title=Clamor for Tickets for Subway Opening; Distribution Plan Criticised by Engineers and Many Others.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/10/26/archives/clamor-for-tickets-for-subway-opening-distribution-plan-criticised.html|access-date=May 25, 2023|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The Times Square station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from [[City Hall (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)|City Hall]] to [[145th Street (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|145th Street]] on the West Side Branch.<ref name="Walker 1918" />{{Rp|186}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 27, 1904 |title=Subway Opening To-day With Simple Ceremony – Exercises at One O'Clock – Public to be Admitted at Seven – John Hay May Be Present – Expected to Represent the Federal Government – President Roosevelt Sends Letter of Regret |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/10/27/101400669.pdf |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830224050/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/10/27/101400669.pdf |archive-date=August 30, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Prior to the subway station's opening, Times Square had been renamed from Long Acre Square to give the station a distinctive name.<ref name="nyt20040408">{{cite news |last1=Barron |first1=James |date=April 8, 2004 |title=100 Years Ago, an Intersection's New Name: Times Square |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/nyregion/100-years-ago-an-intersection-s-new-name-times-square.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=December 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224120212/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/nyregion/100-years-ago-an-intersection-s-new-name-times-square.html?_r=0 |archive-date=December 24, 2015}}</ref> Within three years of the line's opening, the Times Square station was the city's third-busiest subway station, and its busiest local station, with 30,000 daily riders.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 28, 1907 |title=Growth of Times Square; Subway Travel at That Point Has Doubled Since Subway Opened. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1907/03/28/archives/growth-of-times-square-subway-travel-at-that-point-has-doubled.html |access-date=February 13, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> After the first subway line was completed in 1908,<ref name="242nd">{{cite news |date=August 2, 1908 |title=Our First Subway Completed At Last — Opening of the Van Cortlandt Extension Finishes System Begun in 1900 — The Job Cost $60,000,000 — A Twenty-Mile Ride from Brooklyn to 242d Street for a Nickel Is Possible Now |page=10 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/08/02/archives/our-first-subway-completed-at-last-opening-of-the-van-cortlandt.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=November 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223112020/https://www.nytimes.com/1908/08/02/archives/our-first-subway-completed-at-last-opening-of-the-van-cortlandt.html |archive-date=December 23, 2021}}</ref> the station was served by local trains along both the West Side (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to [[Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street station|Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street]]) and East Side (now the [[IRT Lenox Avenue Line|Lenox Avenue Line]]). West Side local trains had their southern terminus at City Hall during rush hours and [[South Ferry (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)|South Ferry]] at other times, and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street. East Side local trains ran from City Hall to [[145th Street (IRT Lenox Avenue Line)|Lenox Avenue (145th Street)]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Herries |first1=William |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433081730503;view=1up;seq=151 |title=Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac |publisher=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |year=1916 |pages=119 |access-date=December 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511155639/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433081730503;view=1up;seq=151 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Expansion ===
To address overcrowding, in 1909, the [[New York Public Service Commission]] (PSC) proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.<ref name="HAER Impact">{{cite web |last=Hood |first=Clifton |date=1978 |title=The Impact of the IRT in New York City |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117001227/https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf |archive-date=January 17, 2021 |access-date=December 20, 2020 |publisher=Historic American Engineering Record |pages=146–207 (PDF pp. 147–208) |postscript=. {{PD-notice}}}}</ref>{{Rp|168}} As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US|value=1.5|start_year=1910|r=1|fmt=c}} million in {{inflation/year|index=US}}) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to ${{inflation|fmt=c|index=US|value=0.5|start_year=1910|r=1}} million in {{inflation/year|index=US}}) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.<ref name="Report 1911">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0fBLAQAAMAAJ&q=+zoological+station&pg=PA596 |title=Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1910 |date=1911 |publisher=Public Service Commission |language=en |access-date=January 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120015525/https://books.google.com/books?id=0fBLAQAAMAAJ&q=%20zoological%20station&pg=PA596 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Rp|15}} Platforms at local stations, such as the Times Square station, were lengthened by between {{convert|20|and|30|ft}}. The northbound platform was extended to the north and south, while the southbound platform was lengthened to the south, necessitating a reconfiguration of the Knickerbocker Hotel entrance.<ref name="Report 1911" />{{rp|109–110}}

==== Dual Contracts ====
The [[Dual Contracts]] were formalized in March 1913, specifying new lines or expansions to be built by the IRT and the [[Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company]] (BRT). As part of the Dual Contracts, the Public Service Commission planned to split the original IRT system into three segments: two north–south lines, carrying through trains over the [[IRT Lexington Avenue Line|Lexington Avenue]] and [[IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line|Broadway–Seventh Avenue]] Lines, and an east–west shuttle under 42nd Street. This would form a roughly H-shaped system. The original alignment under 42nd Street would become a shuttle service, and a new set of platforms would be built for the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line.<ref name="nyt19130319">{{Cite news |date=March 19, 1913 |title=Money Set Aside for New Subways; Board of Estimate Approves City Contracts to be Signed To-day with Interboro and B.R.T. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/03/19/104910612.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=November 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707225820/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/03/19/104910612.pdf |archive-date=July 7, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===== IRT "H" system =====
In December 1913, the PSC began soliciting bids for the construction of the Seventh Avenue Line tunnel between 42nd and 30th Streets, including two express stations at 34th and 42nd Streets.<ref name="nyt-1913-12-06">{{Cite news |date=December 6, 1913 |title=Put Express Stop South of 42d St.; Service Board Accepts Plans of Interborough Seventh Ave. Line |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/12/06/archives/put-express-stop-south-of-42d-st-service-board-accepts-plans-of.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The new IRT line was to cross the original subway tunnel at a flat junction near 45th Street, necessitating that the new station be placed between 40th and 42nd Streets.<ref name="nyt-1913-07-062">{{Cite news |date=July 6, 1913 |title=Station Sites for New Subways; Pamphlet Issued by Utilities Board Contains List of Stops on Dual System. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/07/06/archives/station-sites-for-new-subways-pamphlet-issued-by-utilities-board.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The PSC awarded a $2.2 million contract to an IRT subsidiary,<ref name="nyt-1914-01-01">{{Cite news |date=January 1, 1914 |title=Seven Subway Contracts; Times Square Work Goes to Interborough Subsidiary. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/01/01/archives/seven-subway-contracts-times-square-work-goes-to-interborough.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and the Board of Estimate approved the contract the next month.<ref name="nyt-1914-01-31">{{Cite news |date=January 31, 1914 |title=Approve Subway Contract; Board of Estimate Adopts the Times Square Plans. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/01/31/archives/approve-subway-contract-board-of-estimate-adopts-the-times-square.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The next contract to be awarded was for the section between 42nd and 44th Streets.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 18, 1914 |title=Open Bids Soon for Subway Union; Junction Between Old Interborough Line and 7th Ave. System a Difficult Problem. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/02/18/archives/open-bids-soon-for-subway-union-junction-between-old-interborough.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The Oscar Daniels Company submitted a low bid for the construction of that section,<ref name="nyt-1914-03-13">{{Cite news |date=March 13, 1914 |title=Subway Link Bids Puzzle Commission; Interborough's Estimate Is Third from the Lowest for the Times Square Job. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/03/13/archives/subway-link-bids-puzzle-commission-interboroughs-estimate-is-third.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="p575229702">{{cite news |date=March 14, 1914 |title=Shonts May Block Subway Link Work: Protests Against Contract at Times Square Going to Lowest Bidder |page=16 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|575229702}}}}</ref> Despite protests from IRT officials, who said their bid was more expensive because it included additional safety measures,<ref name="nyt-1914-05-16">{{Cite news |date=May 16, 1914 |title=Shonts Attacks Bid on Subway Junction; Tells Public Service Commission Low Offer Underestimates Times Square Work. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/05/16/archives/shonts-attacks-bid-on-subway-junction-tells-public-service.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> the commission refused to re-award the contract to the IRT.<ref name="p575236119">{{cite news |date=May 14, 1914 |title=Loses Subway Bid Again: Interborough Subsidiary Fails in Times Square Contract |page=18 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|575236119}}}}</ref> The construction of the new junction included rebuilding the roof, moving pillars, and demolishing part of the original subway tunnel's wall.<ref name="nyt-1915-06-07">{{Cite news |date=June 7, 1915 |title=Joining Subways at Times Square; Difficult Task of Linking New Seventh Av. and Old Lines Nears Completion |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/06/07/archives/joining-subways-at-times-square-difficult-task-of-linking-new-seven.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The new tunnel had been excavated northward to the existing IRT line by June 1915,<ref name="nyt-1915-06-23">{{Cite news |date=June 23, 1915 |title=New Subway Connections; Seventh Avenue Tracks Intersected at Times Square. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/06/23/archives/new-subway-connections-seventh-avenue-tracks-intersected-at-times.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and workers were laying tracks for the new tunnel by 1916.<ref name="nyt-1916-08-25">{{Cite news |date=August 25, 1916 |title=Tracks for 7th Av. Subway; Bids Asked for Laying Rails from Times Square to Brooklyn. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/08/25/archives/tracks-for-7th-av-subway-bids-asked-for-laying-rails-from-times.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line station opened on June 3, 1917, as part of an extension of the IRT to [[South Ferry loops (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|South Ferry]].<ref name="34th">{{Cite news |date=June 3, 1917 |title=Three New Links of the Dual Subway System Opened |language=en-US |page=33 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1917/06/03/archives/three-new-links-of-the-dual-subway-system-opened-including-a.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531040017/https://www.nytimes.com/1917/06/03/archives/three-new-links-of-the-dual-subway-system-opened-including-a.html |archive-date=May 31, 2020 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="p575722451">{{cite news |date=June 4, 1917 |title=New Subway Opened |page=5 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|575722451}}}}</ref> A shuttle service ran between Times Square and Penn Station until the rest of the extension opened a year later on July 1, 1918.<ref name="nyt-1918-07-02">{{cite news |date=July 2, 1918 |title=Open New Subway to Regular Traffic; First Train on Seventh Avenue Line Carries Mayor and Other Officials. |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1918/07/02/archives/open-new-subway-to-regular-traffic-first-train-on-seventh-avenue.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 27, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212094056/https://www.nytimes.com/1918/07/02/archives/open-new-subway-to-regular-traffic-first-train-on-seventh-avenue.html |archive-date=December 12, 2021}}</ref><ref name="p575909557" /> Afterward, the shuttle ran from Times Square to South Ferry.<ref name="p575909557">{{cite news |date=July 1, 1918 |title=7th Avenue Subway System Is Opened To Public To-day: First Train Will Start at 2 O'Clock This Afternoon |page=9 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|575909557}}}}</ref><ref name="p99994412">{{cite news |date=July 1, 1917 |title=Times Sq. Grows as Subway Centre: New Seventh Avenue Line, Open Today, Marks Great Transportation Advance |page=RE11 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1918/07/01/archives/times-sq-grows-as-subway-centre-new-seventh-avenue-line-open-today.html |access-date=November 22, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|99994412}}}}</ref> On August 1, the Dual Contracts' "H system" was put into service, and the former main line platforms became part of the 42nd Street Shuttle.<ref name="nyt-1918-08-02">{{cite news |date=August 2, 1918 |title=Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph |page=1 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/08/02/97011929.pdf |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803013952/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/08/02/97011929.pdf |archive-date=August 3, 2019 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Initially, a temporary wooden platform was placed over track 2 of the original subway,<ref name="nyt-1918-08-02" /> and black bands were painted on the walls to guide passengers to the shuttle platforms.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 28, 1918 |title=Subway Shuttle Resumes Today |page=17 |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/09/28/102839331.pdf |access-date=October 4, 2011 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line station was the site of a [[Times Square derailment|1928 wreck]] that killed 16 people, the second worst in New York City history (the worst being the [[Malbone Street Wreck]] in Brooklyn, which killed at least 93).<ref name="SJN">{{Cite news |author=[[Associated Press]] |date=August 25, 1928 |title=Hold Man in Tube Tragedy |page=1 |work=[[San Jose News]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1977&dat=19280823&id=1QgvAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HaQFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2074,4927348}}</ref><ref name="Ottawa">{{Cite news |date=August 25, 1928 |title=14 Persons Killed and Over Hundred Injured in Terrible Wreck on New York Subway |page=1 |work=[[Ottawa Citizen]] |agency=Associated Press |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19280825&id=ZfEuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pdkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5910,6107604}}</ref>

===== BRT platforms =====
Also planned under the Dual Contracts was the [[BMT Broadway Line|Broadway Line]] of the [[Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company]] (BRT; after 1923, the [[Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation]] or BMT<ref name="New York (State). Transit Commission 1924 p. 501">{{cite book | title=State of New York Transit Commission Third Annual Report for the Calendar Year 1923| publisher=New York State Transit Commission | issue=v. 3 | year=1924 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lFxLAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA501 | page=501}}</ref>). The Broadway Line station was planned as a local station, with the express station to be located between 47th and 49th Streets.<ref name="nyt-1913-07-062"/> Opponents of the plan said it would cause large amounts of confusion, as Times Square was a "natural" transfer point.<ref name="nyt-1913-12-03">{{Cite news |date=December 3, 1913 |title=Times Sq. Natural Point of Transfer; Unless Express Station Is Put There, Great Confusion Will Result |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/12/03/archives/times-sq-natural-point-of-transfer-unless-express-station-is-put.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In February 1914, the PSC ordered the BRT to make the Broadway Line's 42nd Street station an express station.<ref name="nyt-1914-02-06">{{Cite news |date=February 6, 1914 |title=Make Times Square an Express Stop; Public Service Commission Will Put a Local Station at Forty-seventh Street. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/02/06/archives/make-times-square-an-express-stop-public-service-commission-will.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="n118506930">{{Cite news |date=February 6, 1914 |title=Important Subway Matters Settled |pages=1 |work=The Standard Union |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118506930/important-subway-matters-settled/ |access-date=February 12, 2023}}</ref> The change was made at the insistence of Brooklynites who wanted an express station in the [[Theater District, Manhattan|Theater District]] of Manhattan.<ref name="nyt-1914-02-08">{{Cite news |date=February 8, 1914 |title=42d Street an Express Stop.; A Big Victory for Brooklynites, Says The Brooklyn Eagle. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/02/08/archives/42d-street-an-express-stop-a-big-victory-for-brooklynites-says-the.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=August 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726173703/https://www.nytimes.com/1914/02/08/archives/42d-street-an-express-stop-a-big-victory-for-brooklynites-says-the.html |archive-date=July 26, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The BRT station was to have two small mezzanines above the platforms, one each at 40th and 42nd Streets, but local civic group Broadway Association advocated for a connection between the two mezzanines.<ref name="nyt-1917-10-21">{{Cite news |date=October 21, 1917 |title=Subway Conditions at Times Square; Broadway Association Tells How New Station Improvements Were Blocked |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1917/10/21/archives/subway-conditions-at-times-square-broadway-association-tells-how.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The PSC approved the construction of a large concourse above the BRT station in 1917.<ref name="nyt-1917-04-08">{{Cite news |date=April 8, 1917 |title=Plan for Subway Station; Service Board Decides on Wide Mezzanine Station at Times Square. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1917/04/08/archives/plan-for-subway-station-service-board-decides-on-wide-mezzanine.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The concourse would only have cost an extra $1,400, but the station's general contractor refused to build the concourse because of a dispute over the price of cast-iron columns.<ref name="nyt-1917-10-21" /> A. W. King was hired to install finishes in the Times Square station in July 1917.<ref name=nyt-1917-07-20>{{Cite news|date=July 20, 1917|title=Award Contract for Station Finish.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1917/07/20/archives/award-contract-for-station-finish.html|access-date=May 17, 2023|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The Broadway Line station opened on January 5, 1918, as the northern terminal of a shuttle service running south to [[Rector Street (BMT Broadway Line)|Rector Street]].<ref name="42nd" /> Through service began operating in July 1919 when the line was extended northward.<ref name="PSC1919">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AINOAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA130 |title=Report of the Public Service Commission For The First District Of The State of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1919 |date=January 12, 1920 |publisher=New York State Public Service Commission |pages=131 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1919-07-10">{{Cite news |date=July 10, 1919 |title=Broadway End of Subway Opened; First Passenger Train Sent at Midnight Over Route from Times Square to 57th St. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1919/07/10/archives/broadway-end-of-subway-opened-first-passenger-train-sent-at.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===== Flushing Line =====
The Dual Contracts also included completing and opening the [[Steinway Tunnel]] as part of the new [[IRT Flushing Line|Flushing subway line]].<ref name="Rogoff4">{{cite magazine |last=Rogoff |first=David |year=1960 |title=The Steinway Tunnels |url=http://nycsubway.org/wiki/The_Steinway_Tunnels_%281960%29 |url-status=live |magazine=Electric Railroads |publisher=Electric Railroaders' Association |issue=29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210061431/https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/The_Steinway_Tunnels_(1960) |archive-date=December 10, 2019 |access-date=December 22, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Hood3">{{cite book |last=Hood |first=Clifton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Az6dEkuGhccC |title=722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8018-8054-4 |edition=Centennial |location=Baltimore |pages=163–168 |access-date=August 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425235930/https://books.google.com/books?id=Az6dEkuGhccC |archive-date=April 25, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|168}} The tunnel, running under the [[East River]] with trolley loops on both the Manhattan and Queens sides, had sat unused since 1907, when test runs had been performed in the then-nearly-complete tunnel.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Burks |first=Edward C. |date=September 2, 1973 |title=The Ill-Starred History Of an Old Subway Tunnel |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/09/02/archives/the-illstarred-history-of-an-old-subway-tunnel-by-edward-c-burks.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504023723/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/09/02/archives/the-illstarred-history-of-an-old-subway-tunnel-by-edward-c-burks.html |archive-date=May 4, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The route, traveling under 41st and 42nd Streets in Manhattan, was to go from [[Times Square (IRT Flushing Line)|Times Square]] through the tunnel over to Long Island City and from there continue toward [[Flushing – Main Street (IRT Flushing Line)|Flushing]].<ref name="Rogoff4"/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Chapter_1:_Dual_System_of_Rapid_Transit |title=New Subways For New York: The Dual System of Rapid Transit Chapter 1: Dual System of Rapid Transit |publisher=New York State Public Service Commission |year=1913 |access-date=December 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111162732/https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Chapter_1:_Dual_System_of_Rapid_Transit |archive-date=January 11, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> The section of the tunnel between [[Grand Central–42nd Street (IRT Flushing Line)|Grand Central–42nd Street]] and Queens had opened on June 22, 1915.<ref name="nyt191506223">{{cite news |date=June 22, 1915 |title=Steinway Tunnel Will Open Today; Officials Will Attend Ceremony in the Long Island City Station at 11 A.M. First Public Train At Noon Public Service Commission Renames the Under-River Route the Queensboro Subway. |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/06/22/archives/steinway-tunnel-will-open-today-officials-will-attend-ceremony-in.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414235953/https://www.nytimes.com/1915/06/22/archives/steinway-tunnel-will-open-today-officials-will-attend-ceremony-in.html |archive-date=April 14, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In July 1920, the PSC announced it would extend the Flushing Line two stops west to Times Square, with an intermediate station under Bryant Park.<ref name="nyt-1920-07-25">{{Cite news |date=July 25, 1920 |title=Plan New Station for 42d Street; Proposed as Part of Extension of the Queensboro Subway. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1920/07/25/archives/plan-new-station-for-42d-street-proposed-as-part-of-extension-of.html |access-date=July 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="p576244392">{{cite news |date=July 25, 1920 |title=Subway Station on 42d St. Between 5th and 6th Avs. |page=A12 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|576244392}}}}</ref> On November 9, 1921, the New York State Transit Commission opened up the contract for the extension for bidding. The extension would take a slightly different route than the one specified in the Dual Contracts. The original proposal had the line constructed under 42nd Street to a point just to the east of Broadway, which would have forced riders transferring to the [[IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]] to walk a long distance.<ref name="Tribune1922">{{Cite news |date=November 6, 1922 |title=Queensboro Tube to be Extended West: Bids for Construction of Subway Over to 8th Ave. to be Opened Wednesday; Two Years' Job |work=New-York Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65994240/new-york-tribune/ |access-date=July 12, 2022}}</ref>

The Times Square station would be designed at a lower level than the two existing stations at Times Square. It would have two upper mezzanines connected by passageways: a mezzanine east of Seventh Avenue extending to Broadway, and one west of Seventh Avenue. Escalators would connect these upper mezzanines with the lower mezzanine, and a provision would be made to permit the installation of an escalator to the east of Seventh Avenue. There would be two entrances at street level at each of the western corners of 41st Street and Broadway, and two entrances at the northeastern corner of 41st Street and Seventh Avenue.<ref name="Tribune1922" /> The project was expected to reduce crowding on the 42nd Street Shuttle by enabling riders to use the Queensboro Subway to directly access Times Square. 24,000 of the estimated 100,000 daily shuttle riders transferred to and from the Queensboro Subway. The line was to extend as far as Eighth Avenue to connect with the proposed [[IND Eighth Avenue Line]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 23, 1921 |title=Queensboro Subway Contract Is Awarded; $3,867,138 Bid for 42d Street Extension Let to Powers-Kennedy by Commission. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1921/11/23/archives/queensboro-subway-contract-is-awarded-3867138-bid-for-42d-street.html |access-date=July 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="p576494810">{{cite news |date=November 23, 1921 |title=Subway Power Expense Added To 'L' Burdens: Impoverished System Forced to Foot Bills for Overhead, According to Check-Up of Interborough Transactions Hedley on Stand To-day Auditor Admits Campaign to Raise Fare Was Charged to I. R. T. Operating Cost |page=24 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|576494810}}}}</ref>

On November 22, 1921, the Powers-Kennedy Contracting Corporation was awarded a contract to construct the extension on a low bid of $3,867,138, below the estimated cost of over $4 million.<ref name="Tribune1922" /> This low bid was the narrowest margin ever recorded for any large city contract, beating out the next highest bidder by 0.7 percent. While the contractor was provided four years to complete work, engineers expected to reduce the time needed to do so to as little as three years. Since work on the project had to be completed underneath the foundations of several large buildings, such as theatres, and the north end of the New York Public Library, the contractor had to provide a $1 million bond.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 28, 1921 |title=Subway Bids 0.7 P.C. Apart: Unprecedentedly Small Difference in Estimates Offered |work=The Brooklyn Times Union |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35066635/times-union/ |access-date=July 12, 2022}}</ref> Powers-Kennedy started excavating the line westward from Grand Central in May 1922. The Flushing Line extension was to run beneath the original line from Vanderbilt to Fifth Avenue.<ref name="nyt-1922-05-14">{{Cite news |date=May 14, 1922 |title=Start Work on Forty-second Street Extension; New Link Will Run From Lexington Avenue and Forty-second Street to Forty-first Street and Eighth Avenue—Contractors Promise to Rush Work and Keep Streets Clear of Obstructions as Far as Possible |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/05/14/archives/start-work-on-fortysecond-street-extension-new-link-will-run-from.html |access-date=July 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The contractors had completed the tunnels to Fifth Avenue by May 1923,<ref name="p103117644">{{cite news |date=May 20, 1923 |title=Rushing Work on New Subway: New Tunnel Opened to Point Under Library, Fifth Av. And 42d Street, Last Week. |page=RE1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|103117644}}}}</ref> and the Fifth Avenue station opened on March 22, 1926, as the temporary western terminus of the line.<ref name="p1112743933">{{cite news |date=March 23, 1926 |title=Queens Subway Runs to 5th Ave. Amid Ceremony: Bryant Park Station Will Mark Terminal of New Extension Until Tunnel Is Finished to 8th Avenue |page=1 |work=The New York Herald, New York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1112743933}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1926-03-23">{{Cite news |date=March 23, 1926 |title=Fifth Av. Station of Subway Opened; Ceremonies at Library Mark Completion of First Part of Queensboro Extension |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/03/23/archives/fifth-av-station-of-subway-opened-ceremonies-at-library-mark.html |access-date=July 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hhvVAAAAMAAJ |title=Annual Report of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company For The Year Ended June 30, 1925 |date=1925 |publisher=Interborough Rapid Transit Company |page=4 |language=en}}</ref> In fall 1926, it was announced that the line would be completed by January 1, 1927.<ref name="OpeningNear" />

In June 1926, the Ascher Company was awarded a contract to complete the Flushing Line's Times Square station.<ref name="nyt-1926-06-10">{{Cite news |date=June 10, 1926 |title=Filed Lowest Subway Bid; Ascher Company Will Finish the New Times Square Station. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/06/10/archives/filed-lowest-subway-bid-ascher-company-will-finish-the-new-times.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> On February 8, 1927, the [[New York City Board of Transportation]] informed the New York State Transit Commission that work on the Times Square station was sufficiently completed to enable the start of train service beginning on February 19, 1927, with the completion of work to a point between Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue. Plans for the construction of an extension of the line to between Eighth Avenue and Ninth Avenue to provide a physical connection with the IND Eighth Avenue Line were underway.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 9, 1927 |title=Times Square Tube Station To Open Soon: Train Operation on Queensboro Line Will Begin Feb. 19 |work=The Brooklyn Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35063157/the-brooklyn-citizen/ |access-date=July 12, 2022}}</ref> On March 1, 1927, the opening of the line was set for March 15, the third time an opening date was set for the line. Work had been postponed given the amount of work that remained to be completed. The opening of the line was about a year behind the April 29, 1926, date specified in the contract. The delay was the result of surprisingly difficult construction. The Board of Transportation had withheld retained percentages, as allowed in the contract, penalizing the contractor, and trying to incentivize it to speed up work. No retained percentages were provided to the contractor until February 1927.<ref name="OpeningNear">{{Cite news |date=March 2, 1927 |title=Nearly Year Late, New Station to be Open in 2 Weeks: Date for Extending Queens Subway Service to Times Square Long Delayed |work=The Brooklyn Times Union |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35066351/times-union/ |access-date=July 12, 2022}}</ref> The Flushing Line was extended to Times Square on March 14, 1927.<ref name="nyt-1927-03-152">{{Cite news |date=March 15, 1927 |title=New Queens Subway Opened to Times Sq.; Service Starts at Once After a Celebration by City and Civic Leaders |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/03/15/archives/new-queens-subway-opened-to-times-sq-service-starts-at-once-after-a.html |access-date=July 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/annualreport7192newy#page/12/mode/2up/search/pelham |title=State of New York Department of Public Service Metropolitan Division Transit Commission Seventh Annual Report For The Calendar Year 1927 |date=1928 |publisher=New York State Transit Commission |page=13 |language=en}}</ref>

A pedestrian passageway under 41st Street, connecting the [[Independent Subway System]] (IND)'s 42nd Street station with the IRT and BMT stations at Times Square, opened on December 24, 1932; the passageway included an entrance on 41st Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.<ref name="The New York Times 1932" /> Passengers had to pay an additional fare to transfer to and from the IND.<ref name="nyt-1932-09-09">{{Cite news |date=September 9, 1932 |title=City to Open Subway in 8th Av. Tonight; Crowds Visit Tube; First Line in Huge Municipal Network to Take First Nickel One Minute After Midnight |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/09/09/archives/city-to-open-subway-in-8th-av-tonight-crowds-visit-tube-first-line.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006235819/https://www.nytimes.com/1932/09/09/archives/city-to-open-subway-in-8th-av-tonight-crowds-visit-tube-first-line.html |archive-date=October 6, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

=== Mid-20th century ===

==== 1930s to 1950s ====
In Fiscal Year 1937, the express-track side of the southbound Broadway–Seventh Avenue platform was extended {{Convert|6.5|feet|meters|abbr=}} to the south to provide ample space at the center door of ten-car trains. In addition, the IRT opened a new entrance to the northwestern corner of Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street through the Rialto Building,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Legislature |first=New York (State) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DpE_AZHibPQC&q=%22northbound+side+of+platform+extended%22 |title=Legislative Document |date=1937 |publisher=J.B. Lyon Company |pages=15 |language=en |access-date=December 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619171810/https://books.google.com/books?id=DpE_AZHibPQC&q=%22northbound+side+of+platform+extended%22 |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> on the site of the [[Rialto Theatre (New York City)|Rialto Theatre]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 14, 1935 |title=New Subway Exit for Times Square; Will Be Through Basement Concourse in Theatre to Replace Rialto. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/02/14/archives/new-subway-exit-for-times-square-will-be-through-basement-concourse.html |access-date=July 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The city government took over the BMT's operations on June 1, 1940. At midnight, a ceremony commemorating the transfer, with five hundred people in attendance, was held at the Times Square station. The last BMT train had left the [[57th Street–Seventh Avenue (BMT Broadway Line)|57th Street]] station five minutes earlier. When the train arrived at Times Square, BMT president William S. Menden handed over his company's properties to Mayor [[Fiorello H. LaGuardia]], who then gave them to [[New York City Board of Transportation]] chairman John H. Delaney.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 2, 1940 |title=B.M.T. Lines Pass to City Ownership; $175,000,000 Deal Completed at City Hall Ceremony-- Mayor 'Motorman No. 1' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/06/02/archives/bmt-lines-pass-to-city-ownership-175000000-deal-completed-at-city.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719094900/https://www.nytimes.com/1940/06/02/archives/bmt-lines-pass-to-city-ownership-175000000-deal-completed-at-city.html |archive-date=July 19, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="p1243059209">{{cite news |date=June 2, 1940 |title=City Takes Over B. M. T. System; Mayor Skippers Midnight Train |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1243059209}}}}</ref> The city government then took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 13, 1940 |title=City Transit Unity Is Now a Reality; Title to I.R.T. Lines Passes to Municipality, Ending 19-Year Campaign |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/06/13/archives/city-transit-unity-is-now-a-reality-title-to-irt-lines-passes-to.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107193115/https://www.nytimes.com/1940/06/13/archives/city-transit-unity-is-now-a-reality-title-to-irt-lines-passes-to.html |archive-date=January 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="p1248134780">{{cite news |date=June 13, 1940 |title=Transit Unification Completed As City Takes Over I. R. T. Lines: Systems Come Under Single Control After Efforts Begun in 1921; Mayor Is Jubilant at City Hall Ceremony Recalling 1904 Celebration |page=25 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1248134780}}}}</ref> The Board of Transportation operated the New York City transit system until the creation of the [[New York City Transit Authority]] in 1953.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hood |first=Clifton |title=722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2004 |isbn=0-8018-8054-8 |edition=Centennial |pages=238–239}}</ref>

As part of a pilot program, the BOT installed three-dimensional advertisements at the Times Square station in late 1948.<ref name=nyt-1948-10-06>{{Cite news |date=October 6, 1948 |title=3-Dimensional Advertising Signs Installed In City Subway Station; More Are Planned |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1948/10/06/archives/3dimensional-advertising-signs-installed-in-city-subway-station.html |access-date=May 21, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=p1327435571>{{cite news |title=3-Dimensional Lit-Up Posters Invade Subway: First of Projected 480 for 6 Key Stations Set Up at Grand Central I. R. T |date=October 6, 1948 |page=14 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327435571}}}}</ref> The [[New York City Transit Authority]] (NYCTA), the BOT's successor, announced plans in 1956 to add fluorescent lights across the entire Times Square station complex.<ref name="nyt-1956-01-27">{{Cite news |last=Katz |first=Ralph |date=January 27, 1956 |title=Subway Stations to Get New Lights; $3,750,000 to Be Spent on Fluorescents for I.R.T. and B.M.T. Transfer Points |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/01/27/archives/subway-stations-to-get-new-lights-3750000-to-be-spent-on.html |access-date=May 8, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
The Flushing Line platforms at Times Square, as well as platforms at all other stations on the Flushing Line with the exception of [[Queensboro Plaza (New York City Subway)|Queensboro Plaza]], were extended in 1955–1956 to accommodate 11-car trains.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Authority |first=New York City Transit |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MrAjAQAAMAAJ&q=%22main+street%22 |title=Minutes and Proceedings |date=1955 |language=en |access-date=December 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421152006/https://books.google.com/books?id=MrAjAQAAMAAJ&q=%22main+street%22 |archive-date=April 21, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> One of the complex's entrances on 43rd Street was closed in 1957 to make way for a Times Square visitor center.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bennett |first=Charles G. |date=June 6, 1957 |title=Kiosk to Subway in Times Sq. Shut; Entrance Used by 5,500 a Day Is Making Way for, City Information Center |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/06/06/archives/kiosk-to-subway-in-times-sq-shut-entrance-used-by-5500-a-day-is.html |access-date=July 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> This entrance was rebuilt next to the information center after numerous protests,<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 7, 1957 |title=Times Sq. To Keep Exit for Subway; Transit Authority to Rebuild Kiosk After the Completion of Information Center |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/06/07/archives/times-sq-to-keep-exit-for-subway-transit-authority-to-rebuild-kiosk.html |access-date=July 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and it reopened in July 1958.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 4, 1958 |title=Entrance to Subway in Times Square Is Reopened |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/07/04/archives/entrance-to-subway-in-times-square-is-reopened.html |access-date=July 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==== 1960s to 1980s ====
A new entrance at the southwest corner of Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street opened in 1964, and a shopping arcade within the basement of the Rialto Building was closed in July 1967.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 2, 1967 |title=Times Sq. Subway Arcade Shut, Making a Belated End of Stores |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/07/02/archives/times-sq-subway-arcade-shut-making-a-belated-end-of-stores.html |access-date=July 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The BMT station received a minor overhaul in the late 1970s when the [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority|MTA]] fixed the station's structure and the overall appearance, and it repaired staircases and platform edges, removed pedestrian ramps, and replaced lighting.

By the 1970s, city officials planned to raise funds for a renovation of the Times Square station complex, using sales-tax revenue from materials used in the construction of the [[New York Marriott Marquis]] hotel.<ref name="nyt-1978-11-14">{{Cite news |last=Oelsner |first=Lesley |date=November 14, 1978 |title='New' Times Square Waiting in the Wings |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/11/14/archives/new-times-square-waiting-in-the-wings-projects-include-mall-and-big.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> As part of a pilot program to reduce high crime in the New York City Subway system, in May 1981, the MTA spent $500,000 to install [[CCTV]] screens at the Columbus Circle subway station. The MTA expanded the experiment to the Times Square–42nd Street station in 1983.<ref name="nyt-1983-02-05">{{Cite news |last=Goldman |first=Ari L. |date=February 5, 1983 |title=Crime in Subway Station Rises in Spite of TV Monitors |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/05/nyregion/crime-in-subway-station-rises-in-spite-of-tv-monitors.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425151920/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/05/nyregion/crime-in-subway-station-rises-in-spite-of-tv-monitors.html |archive-date=April 25, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The cameras were deactivated in 1985 after further tests showed that their presence did not help reduce crime.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Carmody |first=Deirdre |date=October 4, 1985 |title=Subway Anticrime TV Test Abandoned |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/04/nyregion/subway-anticrime-tv-test-abandoned.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171124082102/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/04/nyregion/subway-anticrime-tv-test-abandoned.html |archive-date=November 24, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The MTA considered transferring 220 CCTV cameras from these stations to token booths at the stations with the most crime.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gordy |first=Margaret |date=October 14, 1985 |title=TA Aim: Make Subways Unsafe For Muggers: Will Spend $22M To Upgrade Safety |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79044015/newsday/ 3], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79044000/newsday/ 19] |work=Newsday}}</ref> On August 1, 1988, the passageway between the IND Eighth Avenue Line station and the IRT/BMT complex was finally placed within fare control.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hirsch |first=James |date=July 30, 1988 |title=Authority to Begin Free-Transfer Policy In Times Sq. Station |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/30/nyregion/authority-to-begin-freetransfer-policy-in-times-sq-station.html |access-date=July 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The two previously-separate stations had the highest crime rates in the system at the time.<ref name="Johnson 1988" />

=== Late 20th and early 21st centuries ===
The [[Empire State Development Corporation]] (ESDC), an agency of the New York state government, had proposed redeveloping the area around a portion of West 42nd Street in 1981.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lueck |first=Thomas J. |date=February 14, 1988 |title=The Region: Redevelopment; Times Square Plan Takes A Shaky Step Forward |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/14/weekinreview/the-region-redevelopment-times-square-plan-takes-a-shaky-step-forward.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=September 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917225606/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/14/weekinreview/the-region-redevelopment-times-square-plan-takes-a-shaky-step-forward.html |archive-date=September 17, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> As part of the redevelopment, in 1988, the state and NYCTA announced that they would spend $125 million on renovating the Times Square subway complex.<ref name="Johnson 1988" /> The project would have included an underground rotunda with stores, connecting several office buildings; new subway entrances inside these buildings; and elevators.<ref name="Johnson 1988" /><ref name="p278045126">{{cite news |last=Gordy |first=Molly |date=November 9, 1988 |title=Mission Impossible? There are big doings under foot at Times Square. And all of them are to be accomplished without a disruption of train or street traffic |page=4 |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|278045126}}}}</ref> The project excluded renovation of the platforms or the passageway under 41st Street.<ref name="p278045126" /> Park Tower Realty, which had committed to developing four buildings in the redevelopment, would have paid for 60 percent of the project's cost, while the [[New York City Transit Authority]] would have provided $45 million and the city would have provided $10 million.<ref name="Johnson 1988">{{Cite news |last=Johnson |first=Kirk |date=June 18, 1988 |title=Crossroads for Times Square Subway: Is Tidier Better? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/18/nyregion/crossroads-for-times-square-subway-is-tidier-better.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=September 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619171811/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/18/nyregion/crossroads-for-times-square-subway-is-tidier-better.html |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The project was canceled in August 1992 after [[Prudential Insurance]] and Park Tower Realty was given permission to postpone the construction of these buildings.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Silverman |first=Edward R. |date=August 24, 1992 |title=TA Sent Back To (Times) Square 1 |pages=25 |work=Newsday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85979130/ta-sent-back-to-times-square-1edward/ |url-status=live |access-date=September 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925223212/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85979130/ta-sent-back-to-times-square-1edward/ |archive-date=September 25, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Levy |first=Clifford J. |date=August 23, 1992 |title=Times Sq. Subway Station Plan Is Canceled |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/23/nyregion/times-sq-subway-station-plan-is-canceled.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=September 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925223213/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/23/nyregion/times-sq-subway-station-plan-is-canceled.html |archive-date=September 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The station underwent total reconstruction in stages starting in 1994.<ref name="Dunlap 2004" /> Phase 1 rebuilt the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms with a new mezzanine, stairs, and elevators, and was completed in 2002. Phase 2, finished in 2006, rebuilt the Broadway Line, Flushing Line, and Eighth Avenue Line portions of the station.<ref name="Dunlap 2004" />

==== Phase 1 and 2 renovation ====
In 1995, the MTA announced it would build a main entrance on the south side of 42nd Street between Seventh Avenue and Broadway. The site of the new entrance was occupied at the time by an "interim" retail space.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lambert |first=Bruce |date=December 10, 1995 |title=Neighborhood Report: Midtowm;Times Square Subway Station: Putting a There There |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/10/nyregion/neighborhood-report-midtown-times-square-subway-station-putting-a-there-there.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=September 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925223215/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/10/nyregion/neighborhood-report-midtown-times-square-subway-station-putting-a-there-there.html |archive-date=September 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Originally, the MTA had proposed consolidating 11 separate entrances to the complex into one full-time main entrance and four part-time entrances.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ramirez |first=Anthony |date=April 28, 1996 |title=Neighborhood Report: Times Square; Subway Plan For Times Sq. Reduces Exits |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/28/nyregion/neighborhood-report-times-square-subway-plan-for-times-sq-reduces-exits.html |access-date=July 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The new main entrance opened in July 1997. It features a bright neon and colored glass flashing sign with train route symbols and the word "Subway", as well as an elevator and escalators.<ref>{{Cite news |last=MacFarquhar |first=Neil |date=July 16, 1997 |title=Times Sq. Entrance Opens Up the Underground |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/16/nyregion/times-sq-entrance-opens-up-the-underground.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=September 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925223214/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/16/nyregion/times-sq-entrance-opens-up-the-underground.html |archive-date=September 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In July 1998, the MTA started accepting bids for the renovation of the Times Square station. The first phase would include renovating the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms, part of the Broadway Line platforms, and the mezzanine, while the second phase would cover the rest of the station. The goal was to reduce congestion and improve rider access, comfort and safety by improving visual lines and increasing pedestrian capacity. The main corridor would be widened {{convert|15|ft|m}} and the number of sharp corners would be reduced. In addition, there would be new [[elevator]]s to make the station compliant with the for [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990]], new [[escalators]], and wider corridors and stairs. William Nicholas Bodouva & Associates designed the materials for the renovation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Firestone |first=David |date=July 16, 1998 |title=Subway Station to Be Renovated, Keeping Pace With Times Square |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/16/nyregion/subway-station-to-be-renovated-keeping-pace-with-times-square.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=September 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925223217/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/16/nyregion/subway-station-to-be-renovated-keeping-pace-with-times-square.html |archive-date=September 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Slattery Skanska, a firm owned by [[Slattery Associates]] and [[Skanska]], received an $82.8 million contract for the station's renovation in December 1998.<ref name="nyt-1999-01-09">{{Cite news |last=Lueck |first=Thomas J. |date=January 9, 1999 |title=Bid Is Awarded for Times Sq. Subway Project |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/09/nyregion/bid-is-awarded-for-times-sq-subway-project.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> [[Lendlease|Bovis Lend Lease]] and [[CTE Engineers]] served as construction managers for the first two phases of the project.<ref name="p235762866">{{Cite magazine |last=Cho |first=Aileen |date=April 12, 2004 |title=Engineers Are Digging Deep To Rebuild New York's Subways; New York City's subway turns 100 with $2-billion program to improve functionality and aesthetics |magazine=[[Engineering News-Record]] |volume=252 |issue=15 |pages=26–30 |id={{ProQuest|235762866}}}}</ref>

The renovation of the complex began when the entrances at the northwest and southwest corners of 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue were temporarily closed in May 1999.<ref name="nyt-1999-05-09">{{Cite news |date=May 9, 1999 |title=Metro News Briefs: New York; Some Entrances Closed At Times Square Subway |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/09/nyregion/metro-news-briefs-new-york-some-entrances-closed-at-times-square-subway.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Phase 1 of the project cost $85 million and entailed expanding the main entrance on 42nd Street by {{convert|10|ft}}; making passageways as much as {{convert|6|ft}} wider; and constructing new entrances in nearby office buildings.<ref name="p235762866" /> New entrances were added on the northwest and southwest corners of Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street. The southwest-corner entrance at [[5 Times Square]] has both escalators and [[stairs]]. The northwest-corner entrance in [[3 Times Square]] only has stairs because the MTA allowed the building's developer [[Rudin Management]] to pay $1.3 million instead of adding two escalators.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=May 14, 1998 |title=Retreat on Times Square Subway Plan |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/14/nyregion/retreat-on-times-square-subway-plan.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=September 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925223211/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/14/nyregion/retreat-on-times-square-subway-plan.html |archive-date=September 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The second phase cost $91 million. This phase included converting {{cvt|7000|ft2}} of storage rooms to offices; widening a mezzanine from {{convert|12|to|60|ft}}; razing a {{convert|120|ft|m|-long|adj=mid}} passageway that contained a "mixing bowl" of stairs and elevators; and refurbishing the {{convert|700|ft|m|-long|adj=mid}} passageway leading from the IND station to the rest of the complex.<ref name="p235762866" /> The cost of renovating the station had exceeded $257.3 million by 2004.<ref name="Dunlap 2004" /> The [[Mezzanine (architecture)|mezzanine]] above the [[BMT Broadway Line]], which formerly housed a record shop named Record Mart, was renovated with a large oval balcony looking over the trackway. In 2004, four unisex stall bathrooms were opened on the mezzanine between the IRT and BMT lines; they are staffed and maintained by employees of the Times Square Alliance, the local [[Business Improvement District]].<ref>[http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2004/07/23/times_square_toilets.php Review and photos of the Times Square bathrooms] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060317071208/http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2004/07/23/times_square_toilets.php|date=March 17, 2006}} at [[Gothamist]]</ref> Record Mart reopened in 2007 on the south side of the IRT/BMT corridor, and when it closed permanently in 2020, it had been Manhattan's oldest operating record store.<ref>{{cite news |last=Young |first=Michelle |date=June 10, 2020 |title=Closed: Record Mart, Manhattan's Oldest Record Store Located in Times Square Subway Station |url=https://untappedcities.com/2020/06/10/closed-record-mart-manhattans-oldest-record-store-located-in-times-square-subway-station/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610184013/https://untappedcities.com/2020/06/10/closed-record-mart-manhattans-oldest-record-store-located-in-times-square-subway-station/ |archive-date=June 10, 2020 |access-date=June 10, 2020 |website=Untapped New York}}</ref>

==== Phase 3 renovation ====
During the third phase of the station's renovation, the shuttle platform would have been relocated {{convert|250|ft}}, and a new island platform for the shuttle would have been created. By 2004, the work was planned to be completed in 2006 at a cost of $85 million.<ref name="p235762866" /> Although planning had been completed in 2006, the project was delayed due to a lack of funding.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 21, 2017 |title=Transit and Bus Committee December 2016 |url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/170221_1000_Transit.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222170347/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/170221_1000_Transit.pdf |archive-date=February 22, 2017 |access-date=February 21, 2017 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority |page=199}}</ref> As part of the 2015–2019 Capital Program, the MTA scheduled some improvements to make it accessible under the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The 42nd Street Shuttle became ADA-accessible, the shuttle was reconfigured from three tracks to two tracks, and the trains became six cars long. A new platform, {{convert|28|ft|m}} wide and located between tracks 1 and 4, was built along the section of the shuttle that runs under 42nd Street, which is located within a straight tunnel. The whole project was expected to cost $235.41 million. The Times Square shuttle platform was extended {{convert|360|ft|m}} east to allow for a second point of entry at Sixth Avenue, with a connection to the [[IND Sixth Avenue Line]], as well a second connection to the IRT Flushing Line via its [[Fifth Avenue station (IRT Flushing Line)|Fifth Avenue station]].<ref name="mta.info 2016">{{Cite web |date=July 28, 2016 |title=METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (MTA) NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND DESCRIPTION OF PROJECTS Tuesday, August 23, 2016 4:30 P.M. Request for Federal Financial Assistance Under the Federal Transportation Authorization For Federal Fiscal Year 2017 Capital Improvement Projects |url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/hearings/160823/Description-of-Projects-Booklet.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728080805/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/hearings/160823/Description-of-Projects-Booklet.pdf |archive-date=July 28, 2017 |access-date=August 7, 2016 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}</ref><ref name="mta.info 2015">{{Cite web |date=October 28, 2015 |title=MTA Capital Program 2015–2019 |url=http://web.mta.info/capital/pdf/CapitalProgram2015-19_WEB%20v4%20FINAL_small.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117022737/http://web.mta.info/capital/pdf/CapitalProgram2015-19_WEB%20v4%20FINAL_small.pdf |archive-date=November 17, 2015 |access-date=December 17, 2016 |website=mta.info |publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=T7041404 Reconstruction of Times Square Shuttle – Phase 3 |url=http://web.mta.info/capitaldashboard/allframenew_head.html?PROJNUM=t7041404&PLTYPE=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903205809/http://web.mta.info/capitaldashboard/allframenew_head.html?PROJNUM=t7041404&PLTYPE=1 |archive-date=September 3, 2017 |access-date=September 3, 2017 |website=web.mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}</ref>
{{multiple image
| align = left
| direction = vertical
| width = 250
| image1 = Times_Sq-42_St_shuttle_platforms_Sep_2021 12.jpg
| alt1 = Widened platform at Times Square
| caption1 = Widened platform at Times Square, which was built during the restoration project
| image2 = Times Square Renovation Blue walls.jpg
| alt2 = A platform and track, with a blue construction wall blocking off the space behind the track
| caption2 = Track 1 platform at the start of construction; Track 3 (since removed) is blocked off by a blue construction wall
}}

The entire Times Square station was rehabilitated with congestion mitigation measures. A wider stairway was installed from the shuttle mezzanine to street level, and a new control area was installed at the bottom of the stairway. The cost of this part of the project is $30 million.<ref name="mta.info 2016" /><ref name="mta.info 2015" /> In conjunction, a second project added access to the Times Square complex. As part of the project, the eastern platform was closed to public access, and the exit to 43rd Street was closed, covered over, and turned into an emergency exit, starting on October 19, 2019. This entrance would be replaced by a new entrance with a {{convert|15|foot|m}} wide stairway covered by a canopy.<ref name="mta.info">{{Cite web |date=August 2, 2019 |title=MTA to Transform 42 St Shuttle to Provide Better Service, Fully Accessible Crosstown Transit Connection |url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/nyc-transit/mta-transform-42-st-shuttle-provide-better-service-fully-accessible |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802182623/http://www.mta.info/press-release/nyc-transit/mta-transform-42-st-shuttle-provide-better-service-fully-accessible |archive-date=August 2, 2019 |access-date=August 2, 2019 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}</ref> The staircase would lead from the shuttle mezzanine to street level, blocking portions of the station's original finishes. A new control area would be installed at the bottom of the stairway. To further increase capacity, 21 columns were eliminated; other columns at the station were thinned, requiring the underpinning of roof beams; and 142 columns in the concourse area were relocated away from the car doors. The cost of this project was estimated to be $28.93 million.<ref name="mta.info 2016" />

The new control area provided an additional 5,000 square feet in mezzanine space, while the new entrance provided an additional 450 square feet of space. The entrance's canopy has 238 triangular glass frames that replicate the crystals part of the New Year's Eve Crystal Ball. Eighteen new CCTV cameras, ten new turnstiles, two emergency exit gates, and four new digital information screens were installed in the new control area. Two new mosaics by Nick Cave, titled "Equal All" and "Each One", were installed as part of the project.<ref name="2022opening" />

The northern section of the original west platform wall dating from 1904 was removed, and [[One Times Square]]'s owner Jamestown Properties built elevators connecting the station to the street. The wall was broken into sections and moved to the [[New York Transit Museum]] to mitigate the adverse effects of the station renovation. To further mitigate damage done to portions of the original station, certain features were repaired and restored, including the original southwest platform and control area wall finishes, the original cast iron columns, the ceiling plaster ornamentation, and the cast iron guard rails. In addition, the east platform walls that were located within back-of-house space were protected. The damaged Knickerbocker marble lintel located at the west platform control area were replicated. To reference portions of the original tracks located at tracks 2 and 3, the granite paving for the shuttle platform was modified with a veneer steel rail. These {{convert|60|foot|m}} long sections are located on the new platform between tracks 1 and 4. Finally, a plaque describing the history of the station was installed underneath the replicated Knickerbocker lintel.<ref name="mta.info 2015" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=April 25, 2018 |title=Amendment to the Memorandum of Agreement Between Federal Transit Administration New York State Historic Preservation Office New York City Transit Authority Regarding The Times Square Shuttle Station During Contract A-35302, The Reconfiguration of the Times Square Shuttle Station, SHPO Project #17PR00545. |url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/notices/pdf/Amendment-to-TS-Shuttle-MOA-for-Jamestown.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425211742/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/notices/pdf/Amendment-to-TS-Shuttle-MOA-for-Jamestown.pdf |archive-date=April 25, 2018 |access-date=April 27, 2018 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}</ref>

The construction contract for the project was originally scheduled to be awarded in June 2018. This was delayed by several months because of changes to the project schedule and cost. The construction duration was expected to be extended by three months, and the cost would increase by $25 million, because of additions to the original construction plan.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 24, 2018 |title=Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting – September 2018 |url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/180924_1400_CPOC.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923235057/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/180924_1400_CPOC.pdf |archive-date=September 23, 2018 |access-date=September 23, 2018 |website=mta.info |publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] |page=73}}</ref> A construction contract was awarded in March 2019, with an estimated completion date of March 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 25, 2019 |title=Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting – March 2019 |url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/190325_1400_CPOC.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110100708/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/190325_1400_CPOC.pdf |archive-date=January 10, 2021 |access-date=September 23, 2018 |website=mta.info |publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] |page=11}}</ref> The shuttle was temporarily closed in mid-2020 for this work.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Hu |first1=Winnie |last2=Goldbaum |first2=Christina |date=June 5, 2020 |title=With Fewer People in the Way, Transportation Projects Speed Ahead |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/05/nyregion/coronavirus-ny-transportation-work.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=June 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605094117/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/05/nyregion/coronavirus-ny-transportation-work.html |archive-date=June 5, 2020 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The new platform opened on September 7, 2021, along with the passageway to the 42nd Street–Bryant Park station.<ref name="Davenport 2021">{{cite web |last=Davenport |first=Emily |date=September 10, 2021 |title=MTA unveils update shuttle from Grand Central to Times Square and new campaign welcoming back riders |url=https://www.amny.com/news/mta-unveils-update-shuttle-from-grand-central-to-times-square-and-new-campaign-welcoming-back-riders/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910172454/https://www.amny.com/news/mta-unveils-update-shuttle-from-grand-central-to-times-square-and-new-campaign-welcoming-back-riders/ |archive-date=September 10, 2021 |access-date=September 10, 2021 |website=amNewYork}}</ref><ref name="Guse 2021" /> This made the shuttle station ADA-accessible; though the passageway was not yet accessible, elevators were planned for its Bryant Park end.<ref name="Guse 2021">{{cite web |last=Guse |first=Clayton |date=September 8, 2021 |title=MTA opens new walkway between Times Square and Bryant Park subway stations, revamped shuttle platforms |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-ada-mta-times-square-connector-20210908-bpkkk5pb4rcuvljiqaibcmquvy-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909003315/https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-ada-mta-times-square-connector-20210908-bpkkk5pb4rcuvljiqaibcmquvy-story.html |archive-date=September 9, 2021 |access-date=September 9, 2021 |website=New York Daily News}}</ref> The new $40 million station entrance, including the new elevator, formally opened on May 16, 2022.<ref name="2022opening">{{Cite web |date=May 16, 2022 |title=MTA Celebrates Unveiling of New Accessible Entrance at 42 St-Times Square Subway Station |url=https://new.mta.info/press-release/mta-celebrates-unveiling-of-new-accessible-entrance-42-st-times-square-subway-station |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516232939/https://new.mta.info/press-release/mta-celebrates-unveiling-of-new-accessible-entrance-42-st-times-square-subway-station |archive-date=May 16, 2022 |access-date=May 18, 2022 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Nessen 2022">{{cite web |last1=Nessen |first1=Stephen |date=May 17, 2022 |title=New Times Square subway entrance includes an elevator — and the largest mosaic in the system |url=https://gothamist.com/news/new-times-square-subway-entrance-includes-an-elevator-and-the-largest-mosaic-in-the-system |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518081742/https://gothamist.com/news/new-times-square-subway-entrance-includes-an-elevator-and-the-largest-mosaic-in-the-system |archive-date=May 18, 2022 |access-date=May 18, 2022 |website=gothamist.com}}</ref><ref name="ABC7 New York 2022">{{cite web |date=May 16, 2022 |title=MTA unveils new Times Square subway entrance |url=https://abc7ny.com/times-square-subway-station-nick-cave-new-york-city/11857021/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517161924/https://abc7ny.com/times-square-subway-station-nick-cave-new-york-city/11857021/ |archive-date=May 17, 2022 |access-date=May 19, 2022 |website=ABC7 New York}}</ref> The MTA spent $30 million to construct the new staircase entrance and Jamestown paid $10 million for the elevator.<ref name="Nessen 2022" />

==== Other modifications ====
In the late 2000s, the MTA began construction on an [[7 Subway Extension|extension of the IRT Flushing Line]] to 34th Street, which would require demolishing the lower level of the 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station.<ref name="SASblog2008">{{cite web |last=Kabak |first=Benjamin |date=April 21, 2008 |title=With the 7 on the way, a swan song for a Times Square platform |url=http://secondavenuesagas.com/2008/04/21/with-the-7-on-the-way-a-swan-song-for-a-times-square-platform/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027171951/http://secondavenuesagas.com/2008/04/21/with-the-7-on-the-way-a-swan-song-for-a-times-square-platform/ |archive-date=October 27, 2020 |access-date=April 6, 2013}}</ref> By January 2010, the lower level platform was being demolished as part of the Flushing Line extension, which slopes down through where the old lower level platform was.<ref>{{cite news |last=Donohue |first=Pete |date=June 20, 2009 |title=Abandoned No More: 2nd Life Drilled into Old 7 Subway Platform |newspaper=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]] |location=New York |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/06/20/2009-06-20_abandoned_no_more_2nd_life_drilled_into_old_7_subway_platform.html |url-status=live |access-date=January 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090623061323/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/06/20/2009-06-20_abandoned_no_more_2nd_life_drilled_into_old_7_subway_platform.html |archive-date=June 23, 2009}}</ref> On September 13, 2015, the Flushing Line was extended one stop west from Times Square to [[34th Street–Hudson Yards (IRT Flushing Line)|34th Street–Hudson Yards]].<ref>{{cite web |title=New 34 St-Hudson Yards 7 Station Opens |url=http://web.mta.info/capital/no7_alt.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304003930/http://web.mta.info/capital/no7_alt.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=March 10, 2016 |work=Building for the Future |publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority|Metropolitan Transit Authority]] |quote=The new station opened September 13, 2015 |location=New York, New York}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=September 2015 |title=7 subway service is now running to/from the new 34 St-Hudson Yards station. Times Sq-42 St is no longer the Manhattan terminal. At Times Sq-42 St, Queens-bound express and local service leave from Track 2 only. |url=http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/7_timesSq_Sep15.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915060814/http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/7_timesSq_Sep15.htm |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |access-date=December 18, 2016 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}</ref>

In February 2022, the MTA announced that the IRT Flushing Line platforms would receive [[platform screen doors]] as part of a pilot program.<ref name="nyt-2022-02-23">{{Cite news |last=Gold |first=Michael |date=February 23, 2022 |title=Subway Will Test Platform Doors at 3 Stations |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/23/nyregion/nyc-subway-barriers.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=February 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223165102/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/23/nyregion/nyc-subway-barriers.html |archive-date=February 23, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Brosnan 2022">{{cite web |last=Brosnan |first=Erica |date=February 23, 2022 |title=MTA: Platform barrier pilot program to launch in three stations |url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2022/02/23/mta-to-launch-platform-barrier-pilot-program-at-3-stations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223182724/https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2022/02/23/mta-to-launch-platform-barrier-pilot-program-at-3-stations |archive-date=February 23, 2022 |access-date=February 23, 2022 |website=Spectrum News NY1 {{pipe}} New York City}}</ref> The announcement came after several people had been shoved onto tracks, including one incident that led to the [[death of Michelle Go]] on the BMT platform.<ref name="Brosnan 2022" /> The MTA started soliciting bids from platform-door manufacturers in mid-2022;<ref>{{cite web |date=July 15, 2022 |title=MTA Opens Door to Platform Barriers in Three Subway Stations |url=https://www.thecity.nyc/2022/7/15/23219309/mta-open-to-platform-door-barrier-in-3-subway-stations |access-date=October 6, 2022 |website=The City}}</ref> the doors are planned to be installed starting in December 2023 at a cost of $6 million.<ref>{{cite web |title=Project Details: Platform Screen Doors (PSD) Pilot: 3 Stations |url=http://web.mta.info/capitaldashboard/allframenew_head.html?PROJNUM=t8041237&PLTYPE=1&DISPLAYALL=Y |access-date=October 6, 2022 |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|location=New York}}</ref> Designs for the platform doors were being finalized by June 2023.<ref name="Heyward 202306">{{cite news | last=Heyward | first=Giulia | title=MTA set to install protective platform doors at select subway stations in 'coming months' | work=Gothamist | date=June 4, 2023 | url=https://gothamist.com/news/nyc-set-to-install-protective-platform-doors-at-select-subway-stations-in-coming-months | access-date=June 5, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Troutman 202306">{{cite news | last=Troutman | first=Matt | title=Three NYC Subway Stations Will Get Platform Doors: Report | work=Patch|location=New York| date=June 5, 2023 | url=https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/three-nyc-subway-stations-will-get-platform-doors-report | access-date=June 5, 2023}}</ref> As part of a pilot program, a [[Knightscope]] K5 robotic police officer was deployed at the station in September 2023;<ref name="Brosnan 2023 t235">{{cite news | last=Brosnan | first=Erica | title=NYPD 'robocop' to patrol Times Square subway station |work=NY1|publisher=Charter Communications|location=New York| date=September 22, 2023 | url=https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2023/09/22/adams-unveils--robocop--guardian-for-times-square-subway-station | access-date=September 23, 2023}}</ref><ref name="amNewYork 2023 o479">{{cite news | title=Mayor Adams, NYPD deploy 'RoboCop' for 2 month pilot in Times Square subway station| date=September 22, 2023 | url=https://www.amny.com/news/mayor-adams-nypd-deploy-robocop-for-2-month-pilot-in-times-square-subway-station/ |last1=Stark-Miller|first1=Ethan|last2=Moses|first2=Dean|newspaper=AM New York Metro|publisher=Schneps Media|location=New York| access-date=September 23, 2023}}</ref> the NYPD had removed the robot by February 2024.<ref name="Rubinstein Meko 2024 d519">{{cite web | last1=Rubinstein | first1=Dana | last2=Meko | first2=Hurubie | title=NYPD Removes Robot from Times Square Subway | website=The New York Times | date=February 2, 2024 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/02/nyregion/nypd-subway-robot-retires.html | access-date=February 5, 2024}}</ref><ref name="ABC7 New York 2024 r670">{{cite web | title=NYPD security robot, K5, that patrolled Times Square subway station in Midtown, Manhattan, NYC is no longer in use | website=ABC7 New York | date=February 2, 2024 | url=https://abc7ny.com/nypd-robot-security-k5-subway-patrol/14381116/ | access-date=February 5, 2024}}</ref>

=== <span class="anchor" id="Failed_terrorist_plots"></span>Bombings and terrorist plots ===
A bombing at the station on October 12, 1960, injured 33 passengers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hailey |first=Foster |date=October 13, 1960 |title=Bomb Injures 33 at Times Sq. Shuttle; Blast Is Third in Midtown in 11 Days |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/10/13/archives/bomb-injures-33-at-times-sq-shuttle-blast-is-third-in-midtown-in-11.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In September 2009, [[Najibullah Zazi]] and alleged co-conspirators planned suicide bombings on subway trains near this station and the [[Grand Central–42nd Street (New York City Subway)#Failed terrorist plot|Grand Central–42nd Street station]], but the plot was discovered before they could carry it out.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Zraik |first1=Karen |last2=Johnston |first2=David |date=September 15, 2009 |title=Man in Queens Raids Denies Any Terrorist Link |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/nyregion/16terror.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=February 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306021256/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/nyregion/16terror.html |archive-date=March 6, 2014}}</ref> There was also [[2017 New York City Subway bombing|a bombing]] on December 11, 2017, during the morning rush hour, when a [[pipe bomb]] device partially detonated in the 41st Street passageway.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Griggs |first1=Troy |last2=Lai |first2=K.K. Rebecca |last3=Wallace |first3=Tim |date=December 11, 2017 |title=Where the Port Authority Subway Explosion Happened |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/11/nyregion/port-authority-subway-explosion-maps.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211174135/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/11/nyregion/port-authority-subway-explosion-maps.html |archive-date=December 11, 2017 |access-date=December 12, 2017 |website=The New York Times}}</ref>

== Station layout ==
[[File:Layout_stazione_Times_Square-42nd_Street.png|right|thumb|350x350px|Physical locations of the platforms]]
{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" style="border:0; font-size:100%;"
| style="border-top:solid 1px gray;width:50px;" |'''Ground'''
| style="border-top:solid 1px gray;width:100px;" |Street level
| style="border-top:solid 1px gray;width:650px;" |Exits/entrances
|-
| rowspan="6" style="border-top:solid 1px gray;border-bottom:solid 1px gray;vertical-align:top;" |'''Basement 1'''
| style="border-top:solid 1px gray;" |Upper mezzanine
| style="border-top:solid 1px gray;" |Fare control, station agents, [[MetroCard]] and [[OMNY]] machines, passageway to {{NYCS Sixth|time=bullets}} trains at {{stl|NYCS|42nd Street–Bryant Park}}<br/>{{NYCS Platform Layout access}}
|-
| style="border-top:solid 1px gray;border-left:solid 2px black;border-right:solid 1px gray;border-bottom:solid 2px black;text-align:center;" |{{small|[[Side platform]], not in service{{efn|The shuttle's unused side platform is beyond the western end of the current island platform.}}}}
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |
|-
|<span style="color:#{{rcr|NYCS|darkgray}}">'''Track 4'''</span>
|{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|s42}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Grand Central|42nd}} <small>(Terminus)</small> →
|-
| colspan="2" style="border-top:solid 2px black;border-right:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 2px black;text-align:center;text-align:center;" |{{small|[[Island platform]] {{access icon}}}}
|-
| style="border-left:solid 2px black;" |<span style="color:#{{rcr|NYCS|darkgray}}">'''Track 1'''</span>
|{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|s42}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Grand Central|42nd}} <small>(Terminus)</small> →
|-
| colspan="2" style="border-top:solid 1px gray;border-right:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 1px gray;text-align:center;" |Mezzanine, entrance to 42nd Street and Broadway
|-
| rowspan="6" style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;vertical-align:top;" |'''Basement 2'''<br />Broadway<br />platforms
|<span style="background-color:#{{rcr|NYCS|yellow}}">'''Northbound local'''</span>
|← {{rint|newyork|N}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|49th Street}})</small><br />← {{rint|newyork|R}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Forest Hills–71st Avenue}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|49th Street}})</small><br />← {{rint|newyork|W}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard}} weekdays <small> ({{stl|NYCS|49th Street}})</small><br />← {{rint|newyork|Q}} toward {{stl|NYCS|96th Street|Second}} late nights <small>({{stl|NYCS|49th Street|Broadway}})</small>
|-
| colspan="2" style="border-top:solid 2px black;border-right:solid 2px black;border-left:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 2px black;text-align:center;" |{{small|[[Island platform]] {{access icon}}}}
|-
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |<span style="background-color:#{{rcr|NYCS|yellow}}">'''Northbound express'''</span>
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |← {{rint|newyork|Q}} toward {{stl|NYCS|96th Street|Second}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|57th Street–Seventh Avenue}})</small><br/>← {{rint|newyork|N}} toward {{stl|NYCS|96th Street|Second}} (limited rush hour trips) <small>({{stl|NYCS|57th Street–Seventh Avenue}})</small>
|-
|<span style="background-color:#{{rcr|NYCS|yellow}}">'''Southbound express'''</span>
|{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|Q}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue}} via [[BMT Brighton Line|Brighton]] <small>({{stl|NYCS|34th Street–Herald Square|Broadway}})</small> →<br />{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|N}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue}} via [[BMT Sea Beach Line|Sea Beach]] (limited rush hour trips) <small>({{stl|NYCS|34th Street–Herald Square|Broadway}})</small> →
|-
| colspan="2" style="border-top:solid 2px black;border-right:solid 2px black;border-left:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 2px black;text-align:center;" |{{small|[[Island platform]] {{access icon}}}}
|-
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |<span style="background-color:#{{rcr|NYCS|yellow}}">'''Southbound local'''</span>
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|N}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue}} via [[BMT Sea Beach Line|Sea Beach]] <small>({{stl|NYCS|34th Street–Herald Square|Broadway}})</small> →<br />{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|R}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Bay Ridge–95th Street}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|34th Street–Herald Square|Broadway}})</small> →<br />{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|W}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Whitehall Street–South Ferry}} weekdays <small>({{stl|NYCS|34th Street–Herald Square|Broadway}})</small> →<br />{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|Q}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue}} via [[BMT Brighton Line|Brighton]] late nights <small>({{stl|NYCS|34th Street–Herald Square|Broadway}})</small> →
|-
| rowspan="6" style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;vertical-align:top;" |'''Basement 2'''<br />Broadway–Seventh Avenue platforms
|<span style="color:#{{rcr|NYCS|red}}">'''Northbound local'''</span>
|← {{rint|newyork|1}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|50th Street|Broadway-Seventh}})</small><br />← {{rint|newyork|2}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Wakefield–241st Street}} late nights <small>({{stl|NYCS|50th Street|Broadway-Seventh}})</small>
|-
| colspan="2" style="border-top:solid 2px black;border-right:solid 2px black;border-left:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 2px black;text-align:center;" |{{small|[[Island platform]] {{access icon}}}}
|-
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |<span style="color:#{{rcr|NYCS|red}}">'''Northbound express'''</span>
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |← {{rint|newyork|2}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Wakefield–241st Street}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|72nd Street|Broadway-Seventh}})</small><br />← {{rint|newyork|3}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Harlem–148th Street}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|72nd Street|Broadway-Seventh}})</small>
|-
|<span style="color:#{{rcr|NYCS|red}}">'''Southbound express'''</span>
|{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|2}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|34th Street–Penn Station|Broadway-Seventh}})</small><br />{{0|←}} {{rint|newyork|3}} toward {{stl|NYCS|New Lots Avenue|New Lots}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|34th Street–Penn Station|Broadway-Seventh}})</small> →<br />{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|3}} late night termination track →
|-
| colspan="2" style="border-top:solid 2px black;border-right:solid 2px black;border-left:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 2px black;text-align:center;" |{{small|[[Island platform]] {{access icon}}}}
|-
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |<span style="color:#{{rcr|NYCS|red}}">'''Southbound local'''</span>
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|1}} toward {{stl|NYCS|South Ferry|Broadway-Seventh}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|34th Street–Penn Station|Broadway-Seventh}})</small> →<br />{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|2}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College}} late nights <small>({{stl|NYCS|34th Street–Penn Station|Broadway-Seventh}})</small> →
|-
|'''Basement 3'''
|Passageway
|To [[Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)|Eighth Avenue]], [[Port Authority Bus Terminal|Port Authority]], {{NYCS Eighth south|time=bullets}} trains at {{stn|42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal}}
|-
| rowspan="3" style="border-top:solid 1px gray;border-bottom:solid 1px gray;vertical-align:top;" |'''Basement 4'''<br />Flushing<br />platform
| style="border-top:solid 1px gray;" |<span style="color:#{{rcr|NYCS|purple}}">'''Southbound'''</span>
| style="border-top:solid 1px gray;" |← {{rint|newyork|7}}{{rint|newyork|7d}} toward {{stl|NYCS|34th Street–Hudson Yards}} <small>(Terminus)</small>
|-
| colspan="2" style="border-top:solid 2px black;border-right:solid 2px black;border-left:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 2px black;text-align:center;" |{{small|[[Island platform]] {{access icon}}}}
|-
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |<span style="color:#{{rcr|NYCS|purple}}">'''Northbound'''</span>
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |{{0|→}} {{rint|newyork|7}}{{rint|newyork|7d}} toward {{stl|NYCS|Flushing–Main Street}} <small>({{stl|NYCS|Fifth Avenue}})</small> →
|}
[[File:Times_Square_station_entrance_vc.ogv|thumb|Entrance]]
Times Square was named for ''The New York Times''. [[One Times Square|The ''Times'' headquarters]], built by ''Times'' owner [[Adolph Ochs|Adolph S. Ochs]], housed the original subway station (now the shuttle platforms) in its basement.<ref>{{cite book |last=McKendry |first=Joe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S1FfFwpp5Z4C&pg=PT10 |title=One Times Square: A Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World |date=2011 |publisher=David R. Godine Publisher |isbn=9781567923643 |pages=10–14 |access-date=September 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010021644/https://books.google.com/books?id=S1FfFwpp5Z4C&pg=PT10 |archive-date=October 10, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Crump |first=William D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ujTfCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA242 |title=Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide |date=2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9781476607481 |page=242 |access-date=September 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619171810/https://books.google.com/books?id=ujTfCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA242 |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyt20040408" />

Four separate stations comprise the Times Square complex, which is connected to the [[42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station]] of the IND Eighth Avenue Line. The shallowest station is the [[42nd Street Shuttle]] platform, which runs in a northwest–southeast direction under 42nd Street east of Broadway, and is {{convert|20|ft|m}} below street level.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|3}}<ref name="nycsubway" /> The [[IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]] station runs {{convert|40|ft|m}} under Seventh Avenue. The [[BMT Broadway Line]] station runs in a true north–south alignment {{convert|50|ft}} under Broadway. The deepest station, serving the [[IRT Flushing Line]], is {{convert|60|ft}} below street level and runs roughly west–east under 41st Street.<ref name="focus">{{Cite archive|collection=Records of the National Park Service, 1785 – 2006|institution=National Archives|item-url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75313937|series=National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 – 2017|item=New York MPS Times Square–42nd Street Subway Station|item-id=75313937|box=National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: New York}}</ref>{{Rp|3}}<ref name="nycsubway">{{NYCS ref|http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/stations?7:2345|IND 8th Avenue|42nd Street-Port Authority Bus Terminal}}</ref> The Times Square–42nd Street and 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal stations are both fully wheelchair-accessible. However, the ramp between the two parts of the complex is not wheelchair-accessible.<ref name="MTA Accessible Stations">{{cite web |date=May 20, 2022 |title=MTA Accessible Stations |url=https://new.mta.info/accessibility/stations |access-date=July 5, 2022 |website=MTA}}</ref>

=== Mezzanines ===
There are several mezzanines throughout the complex, connected by several ramps and stairs. The primary, upper mezzanine is near the level of the shuttle platforms and consists of four passageways in a trapezoidal layout, arranged under 42nd Street, Broadway, 41st Street, and Seventh Avenue. An oval-shaped cut is on the Broadway side of the main mezzanine, below which are the northern ends of the BMT platforms. A pair of escalators to the Flushing Line is at the southwestern corner of this mezzanine.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|3–4, 18–19}} Some parts of the mezzanine have glass-tiled walls, while other parts are clad with white ceramic tile topped by mosaic bands.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|7}} "[[Music Under New York]]" controls various spots within the mezzanine for performers.

Near the south end of the BMT platforms, there is a smaller mezzanine overhead, which leads to exits at 40th Street.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|3, 19}}

Under the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms, but above the Flushing Line platforms, is a lower mezzanine level extending from west to east. This mezzanine connects to a steep ramp that leads to the passageway to the IND Eighth Avenue Line platforms.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|7, 18}} A 600-foot-long passageway under 41st Street<ref name="The New York Times 1932" /> connects the IND station with the rest of the complex.<ref name="MTA-TimesSquare-2015">{{cite web |year=2015 |title=MTA Neighborhood Maps: Pennsylvania Station/Times Square |url=http://web.mta.info/maps/neighborhoods/mn/M08_PennStation_2015.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914173833/http://web.mta.info/maps/neighborhoods/mn/M08_PennStation_2015.pdf |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |access-date=December 11, 2015 |website=mta.info |publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]}}</ref> The passageway is located above the mezzanines at either end.<ref name="nyt-2017-12-12">{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Michael |date=December 12, 2017 |title='The Tunnel.' Depressing, Claustrophobic and Now a Terror Target. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/nyregion/subway-tunnel-passageway-bombing.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> It is stair-free but contains steep ramps at both ends, which are not ADA-compliant.<ref name="MTA Accessible Stations" /><ref name="nyt-2017-12-12" />

=== Exits ===
Exits to the 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station, on Eighth Avenue between 40th and 44th Street, are signed as serving the A, C, E, and 7 trains<!--hard coded to reflect signage-->.<ref name="MTAMaps-2015">{{cite web |year=2018 |title=MTA Neighborhood Maps: Times Sq-42 St (1)(2)(3) |url=https://new.mta.info/document/2696 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829193900/https://new.mta.info/document/2696 |archive-date=August 29, 2021 |access-date=December 25, 2020 |publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]}}</ref> Several exits are signed as serving most or all of the services in the complex. There are two exits inside buildings on 42nd Street west of Seventh Avenue: the north side within 3 Times Square and the south side within 5 Times Square. On the south side of 42nd Street between Seventh Avenue and Broadway, there is an elevator and escalator bank inside the Times Square Tower. The street level [[fare control]] at this site features restored original "Times Square" mosaics from the Contract I station walls (now used by the shuttle). One street stair rises to the southeast corner of Broadway and 42nd Street. A block to the south, one stair goes into a building at the northwest corner of 41st Street and Seventh Avenue, and two street stairs go to the southeast corner. An exit-only stair rises to the southwest corner of 41st Street and Broadway.<ref name="MTAMaps-2015" /><ref name="focus" />{{rp|19–20}}

Two sets of exits on 40th Street are separate from the main mezzanine areas and are signed as only serving certain services. At 40th Street and Seventh Avenue, one stair goes into a building at the southwest corner, and one street stair goes to the southeast corner. These serve a mezzanine above the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms and are signed as serving the 1, 2, 3, 7, and S trains<!--hard coded to reflect signage-->. One street stair rises to each of the corners of 40th Street and Broadway, serving the southern mezzanine above the Broadway Line platforms. Those entrances are signed as serving the N, Q, R, W, and S trains<!--hard coded to reflect signage-->.<ref name="MTAMaps-2015" /><ref name="focus" />{{rp|19–20}}

There are several closed exits throughout the station complex. Until 1981, there was a stair to the southeastern corner of 41st Street and 8th Avenue.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 8, 1981 |title=New York City Transit Authority Public Hearing on Proposed Token Booth and/or Entrance Closing Boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn |work=Daily News |location=New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28722840/daily_news/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619171812/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28722840/daily-news/ |archive-date=June 19, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=1940s NYC {{!}} Street photos of every building in New York City in 1939/1940 |url=https://1940s.nyc/map/photo/nynyma_rec0040_1_01013_0005#16.79/40.756675/-73.989396/28/29 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619171814/https://1940s.nyc/map/photo/nynyma_rec0040_1_01013_0005#16.79/40.756675/-73.989396/28/29 |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |access-date=August 28, 2020 |website=1940s.nyc}}</ref> Another stair rose to the south side of 41st Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the passageway between the Eighth Avenue Line station and the rest of the station complex, and was closed in 1989 due to very low usage.<ref>{{Cite book |title=New York City Transit Authority Committee Agenda January 1989 |date=January 20, 1989 |publisher=New York City Transit Authority |pages=[https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/48265970816/in/dateposted-ff/ K-8], [https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/48265969486/in/dateposted-ff/ K-9], [https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/48266046397/in/dateposted-ff/ K-10]}}</ref> A street stair to the northeastern corner of 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue, by [[One Times Square]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ramirez |first=Anthony |date=April 28, 1996 |title=Neighborhood Report: Times Square; Subway Plan For Times Sq. Reduces Exits |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/28/nyregion/neighborhood-report-times-square-subway-plan-for-times-sq-reduces-exits.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=February 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619171817/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/28/nyregion/neighborhood-report-times-square-subway-plan-for-times-sq-reduces-exits.html |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> was closed around 1998–2000.<ref name="TimesSquare">{{Cite book |title=NYC Transit Committee Agenda November 1995 |date=November 14, 1995 |publisher=New York City Transit |pages=[https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/48014066088/in/album-72157708955329947/ D.30], [https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/48014061158/in/album-72157708955329947/ D.37], [https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/48014137417/in/album-72157708955329947/ D.38], [https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/48014136092/in/album-72157708955329947/ D.39]}}
</ref> Two stairs to the northeastern corner of 41st Street and Seventh Avenue were closed during the same time, as were stairs to both western corners of that intersection.<ref name="TimesSquare" /> In 2019, a stair to the southwestern corner of 43rd Street and Broadway was closed as part of the shuttle modernization project.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 30, 2019 |title=42nd Street Shuttle ADA, State of Good Repair, and Capacity Enhancement Project & Grand Central Station Elevator and Escalator Replacements |url=http://cbsix.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Times-Square-ADA_MN-CB5_final.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819025539/http://cbsix.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Times-Square-ADA_MN-CB5_final.pdf |archive-date=August 19, 2019 |access-date=June 14, 2019 |website=cbsix.org |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}</ref><ref name="mta.info"/> Many of the station's entrances were historically constructed within other buildings.<ref name="p1113202574">{{cite news |date=August 24, 1930 |title=City Engineers Aid Traffic by Subway Plans: Entrances and Exits Placed Inside Buildings Lessen Congestion on Streets City Granted Easements Special Squad Makes Plans for Old and New Routes |page=E1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1113202574}}}}</ref>

== <span class="anchor" id="IRT_42nd_Street_Shuttle_platforms"></span>IRT 42nd Street Shuttle platform ==
{{Infobox NYCS
| name = Times Square
| former=42 Street
| image=Times Sq-42 St shuttle platforms Sep 2021 14.jpg
| image_caption=Shuttle platform facing track 1
| division=IRT
| line=[[42nd Street Shuttle|IRT 42nd Street Shuttle]]
| service=42nd
| platforms=1 [[island platform]]
| tracks=2
| structure=Underground
| open_date={{start date and age|1904|10|27}}<ref name=145th>{{Cite news|url-access=subscription|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/10/28/118948832.html|title=Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It; Mayor McClellan Runs the First Official Train.|date=October 28, 1904|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 21, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|page=1|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112012129/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/10/28/118948832.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| accessible=yes
| acc_note=Transfer accessible to [[#BMT Broadway Line platforms|BMT Broadway Line]], [[#IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms|IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]], and [[#IRT Flushing Line platform|IRT Flushing Line]] platforms only
| opposite_transfer=N/A
| hide_traffic=yes
| adjacent_stations={{Adjacent stations|system=New York City Subway
|line=42nd|right=Grand Central|note-right={{NYCS 42nd|time=1}}}}
|unused_adjacent_stations={{Adjacent stations|system=New York City Subway
|line=none|left=50th Street|right=blank|note-left=''Broadway–7th local''}}
|legend={{NYCS infobox legend|allexceptnights}}
|layout = {{Routemap
| inline = y
| legend = track
| map = 
d*1!_abbr=track MM1\d*2!_abbr=former track MM2\d*3!_abbr=former track MM3\d*4!_abbr=track MM4
numN060
\d\udSTR!~dMFADEg ~~ ~~ ~~ to {{stl|NYCS|50th Street|Broadway-Seventh}}
cPLT\dPLT\PLT\udSTR\excPLT
excPLT!~cPLTa\dENDEa grey!~dPLTa\PLT\udKSTRe!~dENDEa grey\excPLT
dSTR grey\PLT\dSTR grey
dSTR grey\PLT\dSTR grey
dSTR grey!~dNULf+g\uexvENDEa\dSTR grey!~dNULf+g ~~ ~~ ~~ End of former tracks 2/3
dSTR grey!~dMFADEf\uexvSTR!~MFADEf\dSTR grey!~dMFADEf ~~ ~~ ~~ to {{stl|NYCS|Grand Central}}
d*1!_abbr=track MM1\d*2!_abbr=former track MM2\d*3!_abbr=former track MM3\d*4!_abbr=track MM4
| map2-title=<hr />
| map2=
STRq grey~~Track in revenue service
uSTRq~~Track not in revenue service
uexSTRq~~Trackbed}}
}}

The '''Times Square station''' on the 42nd Street Shuttle consists of an [[island platform]] between tracks 1 and 4, which was completed in 2021.<ref name="Davenport 2021" /><ref name="Guse 2021" /> It is {{convert|28|ft|m}} wide and is {{convert|360|ft|m}} long, with a slight northward curve at the western end.<ref name="mta.info 2015" /> At the east end of the platform is a passageway to the 42nd Street–Bryant Park station,<ref name="mta.info 2016" /><ref name="Guse 2021" /> running between tracks 1 and 4.<ref name="Guse 2021" /> The [[42nd Street Shuttle]] serves the station at all times except between approximately midnight and 6:00&nbsp;a.m., when the shuttle does not run.<ref name="tt0">{{NYCS const|timetable|0}}</ref> The next station to the east is [[Grand Central (IRT 42nd Street Shuttle)|Grand Central]].<ref name="map" />

The island platform replaced a layout dating from the [[Early history of the IRT subway|original IRT subway]], completed in 1904. It was originally a four-track local stop with two [[side platform]]s outside the local tracks. Most of the wall along the side platform for track 1 was removed in 1914 to provide a connection to the new Times Square station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|5}} An underpass formerly connected the original side platforms.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1wY6AQAAIAAJ&q=lengthen |title=Appendices to the Report of the Royal Commission on London Traffic with Index Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of His Majesty |date=1906 |publisher=Royal Commission on London Traffic |language=en |access-date=September 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015060415/https://books.google.com/books?id=1wY6AQAAIAAJ&q=lengthen |archive-date=October 15, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Rp|146}} In 1918, the southbound express track (formerly track 2) was removed and replaced by a temporary wooden platform for access to the original northbound express track (formerly track 3). Track 3's wooden platform was subsequently replaced by a more permanent platform, while the old local platforms still served tracks 1 and 4.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Keith |date=November 1, 2017 |title=Midtown's Mysterious Unused Shuttle Track |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/nyregion/midtowns-mysterious-unused-shuttle-track.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=September 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619171826/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/nyregion/midtowns-mysterious-unused-shuttle-track.html |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Track 3 was taken out of service on November 7, 2020, and was replaced with the island platform.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 30, 2020 |title=A New Phase Begins for the Shuttle |url=https://us18.campaign-archive.com/?u=80933c2dc37752eeb9470b75f&id=664b077899 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110125338/https://mailchi.mp/mtahq/new-shuttle-phase-10847684 |archive-date=November 10, 2020 |access-date=November 10, 2020 |website=us18.campaign-archive.com |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}</ref> 
[[File:Times_Square_subway_station_original_plan.jpg|left|thumb|Plan of the original station before reconfiguration]]
The old platforms were connected on the west ([[Railroad directions|railroad north]]) side. A movable walkway crossed track 4, the former northbound local track; the walkway could be temporarily removed to allow access to and from that track.<ref name="focus" />{{rp|5}} Because of the curvature on the platforms, [[gap filler]]s under the platforms were used on tracks 1 and 3. These two platforms were concave and curved toward the shuttle trains. Track 1 was {{convert|295|feet|m|1}} long and track 3 was {{convert|285|feet|m|1}} long. Track 4 did not have gap fillers because of the convex curve of the platform, curving away from the shuttle trains. The platform serving Track 4 was only {{convert|150|feet|m|1|abbr=}} long, and could barely fit the three {{convert|51.4|ft|m|-long|adj=mid}}<!-- length of [[R62A (New York City Subway car)]] --> cars of the shuttle.<ref name="focus" />{{rp|5}}

=== Design ===
As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the station was constructed using a [[cut-and-cover]] method.<ref name="HAER CE">{{cite web |last=Scott |first=Charles |date=1978 |title=Design and Construction of the IRT: Civil Engineering |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117001227/https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf |archive-date=January 17, 2021 |access-date=December 20, 2020 |publisher=Historic American Engineering Record |pages=208–282 (PDF pp. 209–283) |postscript=. {{PD-notice}}}}</ref>{{rp|237}} The tunnel is covered by a U-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The bottom of this trough contains a [[Foundation (engineering)|foundation]] of [[concrete]] no less than {{Convert|4|in||abbr=}} thick.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|3–4}}<ref name="HAER Designs" />{{rp|9}} Each platform consists of {{Convert|3|in|cm|-thick|abbr=|adj=mid}} concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The platform next to track 1 contain circular Doric columns spaced every {{Convert|15|ft}}. Prior to the 2019–2022 reconstruction, there were additional columns between the tracks and on track 3's platform, spaced every {{convert|5|ft}}, which supported the [[Jack arch|jack-arched]] concrete station roofs.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|5–6}}<ref name="NYCL-1096" />{{Rp|4}}<ref name="HAER Designs">{{cite web |last=Framberger |first=David J. |year=1978 |title=Architectural Designs for New York's First Subway |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117001227/https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf |archive-date=January 17, 2021 |access-date=December 20, 2020 |publisher=Historic American Engineering Record |pages=1–46 (PDF pp. 367–412) |postscript=. {{PD-notice}}}}</ref>{{rp|9}} The renovation removed or relocated many of these columns so they are spaced at wider intervals, and an island platform was built atop tracks 2 and 3.<ref name="mta.info 2016" /> There is a {{Convert|1|in||abbr=|adj=on}} gap between the trough wall and the platform walls, which are made of {{Convert|4|in||abbr=|adj=on}}-thick brick covered over by a tiled finish.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|3–4}}<ref name="HAER Designs" />{{rp|9}}

The original decorative scheme for the side platforms consisted of blue tile station-name tablets, blue and pink tile bands, multicolored tile [[pilaster]]s, a buff faience cornice, and buff faience plaques.<ref name="HAER Designs" />{{rp|36}} The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted the installations at each station.<ref name="HAER Designs" />{{rp|31}} The decorative work was performed by faience contractor [[Grueby Faience Company]].<ref name="HAER Designs" />{{rp|36}} The former southbound local platform (serving track 1) still has a vestiges of a doorway to the [[The Knickerbocker Hotel (Manhattan)|Knickerbocker Hotel]],<ref name="Dunlap 2004" /><ref name="focus" />{{rp|5}} while the former northbound local platform (which once served track 4) retains a former doorway to the Times Building.<ref name="Dunlap 2004" /> Small sections of the original wall remained before the station's reconstruction, with brick [[Panelling|wainscoting]] capped by a marble band and white tiles.<ref name="focus" />{{rp|5}} The platform also has [[cooling fan]]s.<ref name="MTA 2023 b859">{{cite web | title=MTA Releases Request for Information for Cooling Technologies on New York City Subway Platforms | website=MTA | date=September 21, 2023 | url=https://new.mta.info/press-release/mta-releases-request-information-cooling-technologies-new-york-city-subway-platforms | access-date=September 22, 2023}}</ref>

{{Clear}}
{{multiple image
| align = center
| direction = horizontal
| total_width = 850
| image1 = 42ndStReno.jpg
| caption1 = Post-Reconfiguration island platform. Concrete lines show original location of the express tracks (tracks 2 and 3)
| image2 = RestoredIRTWall.jpg
| caption2 = Restored section of wall dating back to the original 1904 IRT subway
| image3 = KnickerbockerLintel.jpg
| caption3 = Restored Knickerbocker Hotel lintel over a doorway
| image4 = TimesSquareHistoricalIRT.jpg
| caption4 = Informational sign detailing the history of the station pre 2021 reconfiguration
| image5 = OldTSPlatform.jpg
| caption5 = View of original 1904–2021 shuttle platform from newly reconfigured platform.
| image6 = Times Square IRT Shuttle Platform, June 2022.jpg
| caption6 = An [[R62A (New York City Subway car)|R62A]] 42nd Street Shuttle train on Track 1
| header = Post-2021 reconfiguration
}}

{{multiple image
| align = center
| direction = horizontal
| total_width = 850
| image1 = Times Sq-42nd St td 18 - IRT Shuttle.jpg
| caption1 = Track 1 platform, looking toward connection to other two platforms
| image2 = Times Square - 42nd Street - Shuttle Track 3.jpg
| caption2 = Platform for track 3, with a train on that track
| image3 = Times Sq-42 St shuttle platforms Apr 2018 06.jpg
| caption3 = View from removable walkway over track 4, looking toward the Broadway–Seventh Avenue tunnel
| image4 = Times Sq-42 St shuttle platforms Apr 2018 02.jpg
| caption4 = Second and third cars of a train on track 4
| image5 = Times Sq. Shuttle Plat. IRT At Track -4 Plat. Facing N. At Existing Station.jpg
| caption5 = A view of the platform on Track 4 in 1958
| header = Pre-2021 reconfiguration
}}

=== Track layout ===
North of the station, track 4 merges into the northbound [[IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]] local track along the original subway alignment, north of the current Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line station.<ref name="Dunlap 2004" /> The other three tracks once curved parallel to this. Track 1 ends at a [[bumper block]] at the west end of the platform. Track 3 originally also ended at a bumper block at the west end of its platform. There is no track connection between track 4 and the other tracks anywhere along the shuttle.<ref name="Dunlap 2004" />

{{Clear}}

== BMT Broadway Line platforms ==
{{Infobox NYCS
| name = Times Square–42 Street
| accessible=yes
| acc_note=Transfer accessible to [[#IRT 42nd Street Shuttle platform|IRT 42nd Street Shuttle]], [[#IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms|IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]], and [[#IRT Flushing Line platform|IRT Flushing Line]] platforms only
| image=Times Sq-42nd St td 37 - BMT Broadway.jpg
| image_caption=Uptown platform
| division=BMT
| line=[[BMT Broadway Line]]
| service=Broadway Seventh
| platforms=2 [[island platform]]s<br />[[cross-platform interchange]]
| tracks=4
| structure=Underground
| open_date={{start date and age|1918|01|05}}<ref name=42nd>{{Cite news|url-access=limited|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1918/01/06/archives/open-new-subway-to-times-square-brooklyn-directly-connected-with.html|title=Open New Subway to Times Square|date=January 6, 1918|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 21, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728230238/https://www.nytimes.com/1918/01/06/archives/open-new-subway-to-times-square-brooklyn-directly-connected-with.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| hide_traffic=yes
| adjacent_stations={{Adjacent stations|system=New York City Subway
|line1=Broadway express north|left1=57th Street–Seventh Avenue|right1=34th Street–Herald Square|note-left1={{NYCS Broadway north express|time=1}}|note-right1={{NYCS Broadway|time=1}}
|to-right1=southbound
|line2=Broadway local north|left2=49th Street|right2=34th Street–Herald Square|note-left2={{NYCS Broadway north local|time=1}}|note-right2={{NYCS Broadway|time=1}}|to-right2=southbound}}
| legend={{NYCS infobox legend|allexceptnights}}{{NYCS infobox legend|alltimes}}{{NYCS infobox legend|weekdaysonly}}{{NYCS infobox legend|weekendsonly}}
| layout = {{NYCS 4-tracked express station|inline=y
|1=49th Street|2=34th Street–Herald Square
|3=57th Street–Seventh Avenue
|code=BMT Broadway Line|deg=330}}
}}

The '''Times Square–42nd Street station''' on the [[BMT Broadway Line]] is an express station, with four tracks and two [[island platform]]s.<ref name="tracks" /> The [[N (New York City Subway service)|N]] and [[Q (New York City Subway service)|Q]] both stop here at all times;<ref name="ttn">{{NYCS const|timetable|n}}</ref><ref name="ttq">{{NYCS const|timetable|q}}</ref> the [[R (New York City Subway service)|R]] stops here except at night,<ref>{{NYCS const|timetable|r}}</ref> and the [[W (New York City Subway service)|W]] stops here only on weekdays during the day.<ref>{{NYCS const|timetable|w}}</ref> The local tracks are used by N, R and W trains, while the express tracks are only used during the day by Q trains as well as limited rush hour N trains. During the night, the Q uses the local tracks. The next station to the north is [[49th Street station (BMT Broadway Line)|49th Street]] for local trains and [[57th Street–Seventh Avenue station|57th Street–Seventh Avenue]] for express trains. The next station to the south is [[34th Street–Herald Square station|34th Street–Herald Square]].<ref name="map" />

Two stairs and one elevator from each platform ascend to the primary mezzanine. At the far south end of each platform, two stairs ascend to the southern BMT mezzanine. Near the center of the southbound platform, a set of stairs rises to the 41st Street corridor of the primary mezzanine.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|3, 19}}

The tunnel is covered by a U-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The bottom of this trough contains a concrete foundation no less than {{Convert|4|in||abbr=}} thick. Each platform consists of {{Convert|3|in|cm|-thick|abbr=|adj=mid}} concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The platforms contain I-beam columns spaced every {{Convert|15|ft}}. Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every {{convert|5|ft|m}}, support the jack-arched concrete station roofs. The trackside walls also contain exposed I-beam columns, dividing the trackside walls into {{convert|5|foot|m}} wide panels. The panels on the trackside walls consist of white square ceramic tiles. A frieze with multicolored geometric patterns runs atop the trackside walls, and a plaque with a framed white "42" tile is placed inside the frieze every {{convert|15|ft|m}}. The walls at the south ends of the platforms are untiled.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|3–4, 6}}

The express tracks north of the station spread out to pass around a crossunder in the Times Square shuttle platforms.<ref name="tracks" /> This crossunder was sealed off in the 1960s.
{{Clear}}

== <span class="anchor"></span>IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms ==
{{Infobox NYCS
| name = Times Square–42 Street
| accessible=yes
| acc_note=Transfer accessible to [[#BMT Broadway Line platforms|BMT Broadway Line]], [[#IRT 42nd Street Shuttle platform|IRT 42nd Street Shuttle]], and [[#IRT Flushing Line platform|IRT Flushing Line]] platforms only
| image=Times Square-42nd Street (Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line).jpg
| image_caption=Downtown platform
| division=IRT
| line=[[IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]]
| service=Broadway-Seventh
| platforms=2 [[island platform]]s<br/>[[cross-platform interchange]]
| tracks=4
| structure=Underground
| open_date={{start date and age|1917|06|03}}<ref name=34th/>
| rebuilt=1998–2002
| hide_traffic=yes
| adjacent_stations={{Adjacent stations|system=New York City Subway
|line1=Broadway-Seventh express|left1=72nd Street|right1=34th Street–Penn Station|note-left1={{NYCS Broadway-Seventh center express|time=1}}|note-right1={{NYCS Broadway-Seventh center south|time=1}}|to-right1=southbound
|line2=Broadway-Seventh local|left2=50th Street|right2=34th Street–Penn Station|note-left2={{NYCS Broadway-Seventh center local|time=1}}|note-right2={{NYCS Broadway-Seventh center south|time=1}}|to-right2=southbound}}
| legend={{NYCS infobox legend|allexceptnights}}{{NYCS infobox legend|alltimes}}{{NYCS infobox legend|nightsonly}}
| layout = {{Routemap|inline=y|legend=track
|map = 
uvSTR!~MFADEg ~~ ~~ ~~ to {{stl|NYCS|72nd Street|Broadway-Seventh}}
udSTR!~dMFADEg\uvSTR\udSTR!~dMFADEg ~~ ~~ ~~ to {{stl|NYCS|50th Street|Broadway-Seventh}}
\uvSTR\uvSTR-ABZg2\uSTRc3
numN330\uvSTRf\uvSTRg!~uSTRc1\uSTR2+4!~MFADEf ~~ ~~ ~~ from [[Times Square–42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal (New York City Subway)#IRT 42nd Street Shuttle platform|shuttle track 4]]
uv-SHI2r\uvSTR\uvSHI2l-
udSTR\dPLT\uvSTR\dPLT\udSTR
udSTR\dPLT\uvSTR\dPLT\udSTR
udSTR\dPLT\uvSTR\dPLT\udSTR
udSTR\dPLT\uvSTR\dPLT\udSTR
d!~uSHI1+r!~uvSHI3l-\uv-SPLa\d!~uvSPLa-\uv-SHI3r!~uSHI1+l
c\!~ubvvvSTR\ucdSTRc2\uABZg3
cd!~uvSTR\cd!~uABZg+1\c!~uvSTR\ucdSTRc4
uvSTRf\udSTR\uvSTRg
uvSTR!~MFADEf\udSTR!~dMFADEf\uvSTR!~MFADEf ~~ ~~ ~~ to {{stl|NYCS|34th Street–Penn Station|Broadway-Seventh}}
}}}}

The '''Times Square–42nd Street station''' on the [[IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]] is an express station, with four tracks and two [[island platform]]s.<ref name="tracks">{{NYCS const|trackref|trackbook}}</ref> The [[1 (New York City Subway service)|1]], [[2 (New York City Subway service)|2]], and [[3 (New York City Subway service)|3]] trains stop here at all times.<ref>{{NYCS const|timetable|1}}</ref><ref>{{NYCS const|timetable|2}}</ref><ref name="tt3">{{NYCS const|timetable|3}}</ref> The station serves as the southern terminal of 3 trains during late nights.<ref name="tt3" /> The next station to the north is [[50th Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|50th Street]] for local trains and [[72nd Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|72nd Street]] for express trains. The next station to the south is [[34th Street–Penn Station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|34th Street–Penn Station]].<ref name="map" />

The platforms are {{convert|510|ft|m}} long, and were extended to the south in 1959.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|6}} Stairways to the other lines are provided at the northern end and in the center of each platform; two stairways from each platform lead to the lower mezzanine level while the remainder lead to mezzanines above the platforms. An elevator leads from each platform to the upper mezzanine; the southbound elevator also leads to the lower mezzanine and the Flushing Line platform.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|17}}

The tunnel is covered by a U-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The bottom of this trough contains a concrete foundation no less than {{Convert|4|in||abbr=}} thick. Each platform consists of {{Convert|3|in|cm|-thick|abbr=|adj=mid}} concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The platforms contain I-beam columns spaced every {{Convert|15|ft}}. Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every {{convert|5|ft|m}}, support the jack-arched concrete station roofs. The trackside walls also contain exposed I-beam columns, dividing the trackside walls into {{convert|5|foot|m}} wide panels. The panels on the trackside walls consist of white square ceramic tiles. A frieze with multicolored geometric patterns runs atop the trackside walls, and a plaque with a stylized "T" is placed inside the frieze at intervals of every three panels.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|3–4, 6}}

Just south of the station, a fifth center track begins, formed by a connection from each express track. This track merges back into the two express tracks just before [[34th Street–Penn Station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|34th Street–Penn Station]].<ref name="tracks" /> This center track was used in the past for turning rush hour "Gap Trains", which would head back up north. It is currently used for [[short turn]]ing 3 trains during nights.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Service Enhancements on 3 Line |publisher=MTA New York City Transit |date=July 24, 2008 |url=http://www.mta.info/mta/news/releases/?en=080724-NYCT109 |access-date=July 26, 2008 |archive-date=December 29, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229140716/http://www.mta.info/mta/news/releases/?en=080724-NYCT109 |url-status=live}}</ref>

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== IRT Flushing Line platform ==
{{Infobox NYCS
| name = Times Square–42 Street
| accessible=yes
| acc_note=Transfer accessible to [[#BMT Broadway Line platforms|BMT Broadway Line]], [[#IRT 42nd Street Shuttle platform|IRT 42nd Street Shuttle]], and [[#IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line platforms|IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]] platforms only
| image=Times Square - 42nd Street - Flushing Line Platform.jpg
| image_caption=The IRT Flushing Line platform
| division=IRT
| line=[[IRT Flushing Line]]
| service=Flushing south
| platforms=1 [[island platform]]
| tracks=2
| structure=Underground
<!--| former = Seventh Avenue-->
|open_date = {{start date and age|1927|03|14}}<ref name="FlushingtoTimes">{{Cite news|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/03/15/archives/new-queens-subway-opened-to-times-sq-service-starts-at-once-after-a.html|title=New Queens Subway Opened to Times Sq.|date=March 15, 1927|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 21, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|page=1|archive-date=August 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814190114/https://www.nytimes.com/1927/03/15/archives/new-queens-subway-opened-to-times-sq-service-starts-at-once-after-a.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| hide_traffic=yes
| adjacent_stations = {{Adjacent stations|system=New York City Subway
|line=Flushing|left=34th Street–Hudson Yards|right=Fifth Avenue|note-left={{NYCS Flushing|time=1}}|note-right={{NYCS Flushing|time=1}}}}
|legend={{NYCS infobox legend|alltimes}}{{NYCS infobox legend|rushpeak}}
|layout = {{NYCS 2-tracked island platform station
| 1 = Fifth Avenue | 2 = 34th Street–Hudson Yards
| code = IRT Flushing Line | code2 =
| inline = y | deg = 240
| extra1 = uvÜST}}}}

The '''Times Square–42nd Street station''' on the [[IRT Flushing Line]] has one [[island platform]] and two tracks, located deep below West 41st Street. The [[7 (New York City Subway service)|7]] train stops here at all times, and the [[7d (New York City Subway service)|&lt;7&gt;]] train stops here during rush hours in the peak direction.<ref name="tt7">{{NYCS const|timetable|7}}</ref> The station is between [[34th Street–Hudson Yards station|34th Street–Hudson Yards]] to the west and [[Fifth Avenue (IRT Flushing Line)|Fifth Avenue]] to the east.<ref name="map" /> Stairs, escalators, and an elevator along the platform lead to various mezzanines.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|6–7}}

The platform consists of {{Convert|3|in|cm|-thick|abbr=|adj=mid}} concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The platform contains I-beam columns spaced every {{Convert|15|ft||abbr=}}.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|3–4}} Large H-section columns, supporting horizontal I-beams, also support the tall ceilings of the Flushing Line station. Above the escalators, X-supports and diagonally braced lateral beams also support the ceiling. The trackside walls also contain exposed I-beam columns, dividing the trackside walls into {{convert|5|foot|m}} wide panels. The panels on the trackside walls consist of white square ceramic tiles. A frieze with multicolored geometric patterns runs atop the trackside walls, and a plaque with a framed white "TS" tile is placed inside the frieze every {{convert|15|ft|m}}. Similar mosaics run along the bases of the trackside walls as well.<ref name="focus" />{{Rp|6–7}}

The tracks continue south (compass west) beyond the station to the 34th Street station. These tracks formerly led to a storage and layover area, but the tracks were replaced and inspected as part of the [[7 Subway Extension]], and new [[third rail]] was installed.<ref>{{cite web |title=View of Tunnel from station platform showing sign indicating no third rail power |url=http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?95602 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313161442/http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?95602 |archive-date=March 13, 2009 |access-date=April 1, 2009}}</ref> The closed lower-level platform on the IND Eighth Avenue Line was blocking the line but since removed.<ref name="NYT2008">{{cite news |last=Mindlin |first=Alex |date=April 20, 2008 |title=No Whoosh, No 'All Aboard' |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/nyregion/thecity/20port.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=July 10, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619171813/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/nyregion/thecity/20port.html |archive-date=June 19, 2022}}</ref>

{{Clear}}

== Artwork ==

=== Original artwork ===
[[Heins & LaFarge|George Lewis Heins and Christopher Grant LaFarge]] were the first commissioned architects of the IRT.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Kennedy |first1=Randy |date=August 3, 2007 |title=Underground Renaissance Man: Watch the Aesthetic Walls, Please |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/03/arts/design/03subw.html |url-status=live |access-date=February 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619171816/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/03/arts/design/03subw.html |archive-date=June 19, 2022}}</ref> They designed the original Times Square Station, which was located at the current Grand Central Shuttle stop. In many of their stations, Heins and LaFarge used symbolic imagery to honor a neighborhood or its namesake. When [[Squire Vickers]] took over as chief designer and architect of the IRT in 1906, he continued this tradition of using symbolism to speak to a station's history.

The colored tile trim of the IRT portions of the station closely resembles the [[Confederate flag]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Jackowe |first=David J. |date=May 22, 2012 |title=Confederate Flags in Times Square? |url=http://www.historynet.com/confederate-flags-in-times-square.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827221710/http://www.historynet.com/confederate-flags-in-times-square.htm |archive-date=August 27, 2013 |access-date=August 28, 2013 |work=History Net: Where History Comes Alive – World & US History Online}}</ref> Scholars believe that Vickers and his colleagues unmistakably reference the symbol of the South to pay homage to ''New York Times'' owner Adolph S. Ochs. The ''Times'' had built [[One Times Square|a new headquarters]] directly above part of the subway station in 1904.<ref>Jackowe, David J. "The Times Square Confederate." Civil War Times; Aug 2012, Vol. 51 Issue 4, p. 42. http://www.historynet.com/confederate-flags-in-times-square.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827221710/http://www.historynet.com/confederate-flags-in-times-square.htm|date=August 27, 2013}}</ref> After a 2010s movement in which Confederate monuments nationwide were removed, the [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] announced in August 2017 that these tiles would be replaced;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Plitt |first=Amy |date=August 18, 2017 |title=MTA will modify Times Square subway tile resembling a Confederate flag |url=https://ny.curbed.com/2017/8/18/16166620/mta-times-square-subway-tile-modification |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909091933/https://ny.curbed.com/2017/8/18/16166620/mta-times-square-subway-tile-modification |archive-date=September 9, 2017 |access-date=August 31, 2017 |website=Curbed NY}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Stevens |first=Matt |date=August 18, 2017 |title=M.T.A. to Modify Subway Station Design Resembling Confederate Flag |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/18/nyregion/mta-confederate-flag-tiles.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=August 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619171816/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/18/nyregion/mta-confederate-flag-tiles.html |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> the tiles were subsequently covered with stickers.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cook |first=Lauren |date=August 24, 2017 |title=Subway tiles that looked like Confederate flags in Times Square covered with stickers |url=https://www.amny.com/transit/subway-tiles-that-looked-like-confederate-flags-in-times-square-covered-with-stickers-1-14087974/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915031516/https://www.amny.com/transit/subway-tiles-that-looked-like-confederate-flags-in-times-square-covered-with-stickers-1-14087974/ |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |access-date=April 18, 2020 |website=amNewYork}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Times_Square_Confederate_Mosaic_-_Original.jpg|Original colored tile trim, before the station renovation of the late 1990s
File:Times_Square_Confederate_Mosaic_-_Modern_Version.jpg|Replica of the original trim, installed in 1998
</gallery>

=== Commissioned artwork ===
The station complex contains several artworks commissioned as part of the [[MTA Arts & Design]] program. In 1991, [[Norman B. Colp]] created ''The Commuter's Lament'' or ''A Close Shave'', a series of signs attached to the roof of the 41st Street passageway between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, inspired by classic [[Burma-Shave]] ads.<ref name="nyt-1997-10-12" /> In order, the signs read ''Overslept/So tired/If late/Get fired/Why bother?/Why the pain?/Just go home/Do it again.''<ref name="nyt-1997-10-12">{{Cite news |last=Stewart |first=Barbara |date=October 12, 1997 |title=Neighborhood Report: Midtown; Lament Of Commuter In 8 Parts |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/12/nyregion/neighborhood-report-midtown-lament-of-commuter-in-8-parts.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Gothamist 2018">{{cite web |date=August 10, 2018 |title=Thanks MTA For The Depressing AF Poem That's Been In This Subway Tunnel Since The '90s |url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/thanks-mta-for-the-depressing-af-poem-thats-been-in-this-subway-tunnel-since-the-90s |access-date=February 12, 2023 |website=Gothamist}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Artwork: "The Commuter's Lament/A Close Shave", Norman B. Colp (1991) |url=http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/artwork_show?185 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124012033/https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/artwork_show?185 |archive-date=January 24, 2021 |access-date=October 22, 2008}}</ref> The last panel is a picture of a bed.<ref name="Gothamist 2018" /> The panels were part of an art project that was supposed to last only one year, but were never removed.<ref name="nyt-1997-10-12" /> The MTA also commissioned a mosaic mural by [[Jack Beal]] titled ''The Return of Spring'' (2001),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jack Beal The Return of Spring: The Times Square Mural and Other Works – Exhibitions – George Adams Gallery |url=https://www.georgeadamsgallery.com/exhibitions/jack-beal-the-return-of-spring-the-times-square-mural-and-other-works?view=slider |access-date=January 2, 2023 |website=www.georgeadamsgallery.com |language=en}}</ref> which is located in the 41st Street passageway.<ref name="York 2021">{{cite web |date=May 25, 2021 |title=10 Secrets of the Times Square Subway Station – Page 7 of 10 |url=https://untappedcities.com/2021/05/25/secrets-times-square-subway-station/ |access-date=February 12, 2023 |website=Untapped New York}}</ref> The MTA commissioned a second mural from Beal in 2005, ''The Onset of Winter''.<ref name="MTA The Return of Spring">{{Cite web |title=The Return of Spring/The Onset of Winter |url=https://new.mta.info/agency/arts-design/collection/return-of-spring |access-date=January 2, 2023 |website=MTA |language=en}}</ref> They present the [[Classical mythology|classical myth]] of [[Persephone#Abduction myth|Persephone]] set against the backdrop of the subway.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MTA Arts & Design |title=Podcast episode "Jack Beal, The Return of Spring/The Onset of Winter, 2001/2005" |url=http://web.mta.info/mta/aft/webcasts/yt_mta.html?video=8LIIFCKjQx0 |access-date=January 2, 2023}}</ref>

[[Jacob Lawrence]] created a mosaic mural called ''New York in Transit'', which was installed in 2001 above the BMT mezzanine, and depicts several topics related to New York City.<ref name="MTA New York in Transit">{{cite web |title=New York in Transit |url=https://new.mta.info/agency/arts-design/collection/new-york-in-transit |access-date=February 12, 2023 |website=MTA}}</ref> ''New York in Transit'' was Lawrence's last public work before his 2000 death.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Times Square Subway Mural Unveiled |url=http://www.mta.info/mta/news/releases/index.html?agency=hq&en=011107 |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority |date=November 7, 2001 |access-date=April 11, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605235752/http://www.mta.info/mta/news/releases/index.html?agency=hq&en=011107 |archive-date=June 5, 2011}}</ref> Near the BMT mezzanine's connection with the shuttle platform, [[Roy Lichtenstein]] created ''[[Times Square Mural]]'', which was installed in 2002.<ref name="MTA Times Square Mural" /> ''Times Square Mural'' is made from porcelain enamel on steel and measures {{convert|6|by|53|ft}};<ref name="Vogel" /> it depicts an elongated car traveling through a subway station.<ref name="MTA Times Square Mural">{{cite web |title=Times Square Mural |url=https://new.mta.info/agency/arts-design/collection/times-square-mural |access-date=February 12, 2023 |website=MTA}}</ref> Lichtenstein died in 1997 before the mural could be installed; he had completed ''Times Square Mural'' in 1994, but installation was delayed until after the station complex's renovation.<ref name="Vogel">{{cite web |last=Vogel |first=Carol |title=Times Square Mural |url=http://www.lichtensteinfoundation.org/timesqmural.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100201042728/http://www.lichtensteinfoundation.org/timesqmural.htm |archive-date=February 1, 2010 |access-date=April 11, 2010 |publisher=The Roy Lichtenstein Foundation}}</ref> The mezzanine between 41st and 42nd Street contains the artwork ''Times Square Times: 35 Times'' by [[Toby Buonagurio]], which was installed in 2005. The artwork consists of tiles depicting fashion, performing arts, or [[wiktionary:streetlife|streetlife]], which are embedded in a glass-brick wall.<ref name="MTA Times Square Times 35 Times">{{cite web |title=Times Square Times: 35 Times |url=https://new.mta.info/agency/arts-design/collection/times-square-times-35-times |access-date=February 12, 2023 |website=MTA}}</ref> The mezzanine under the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line at 41st Street contains a mosaic artwork by [[Jane Dickson]], ''Revelers''. The mosaics depict about 70 life-size people who are moving around in groups.<ref name="MTA Revelers">{{cite web |title=Revelers |url=https://new.mta.info/agency/arts-design/collection/revelers |access-date=February 12, 2023 |website=MTA}}</ref>

The shuttle station contains the artworks ''Each One'', ''Every One'' and ''Equal All'', all installed in 2021 and designed by [[Nick Cave (performance artist)|Nick Cave]].<ref name="Rajamani 2022">{{cite web |last=Rajamani |first=Maya |date=May 16, 2022 |title=MTA unveils new entrance, artwork at Times Square subway station |url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2022/05/16/mta-unveils-new-entrance--artwork-at-times-square-subway-station |access-date=February 12, 2023 |website=Spectrum News NY1 New York City}}</ref><ref name="Rahmanan 2022">{{cite web |last=Rahmanan |first=Anna |date=May 18, 2022 |title=See this massive mosaic inside the new Times Square subway entrance |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/see-this-massive-mosaic-inside-the-new-times-square-subway-entrance-051822 |access-date=February 12, 2023 |website=Time Out New York}}</ref> ''Every One'' (2021), in the passageway between the Times Square and 42nd Street–Bryant Park stations, consists of a mosaic flanking 11 digital screens; one side of the mosaic measures {{convert|143|ft}} long and the other measures {{convert|179|ft}} long.<ref name="nyt20210906">{{Cite news |last=Zornosa |first=Laura |date=September 6, 2021 |title=Nick Cave Digs Deep, With a Symphony in Glass |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/06/arts/design/nick-cave-42nd-street-subway.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=September 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619171816/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/06/arts/design/nick-cave-42nd-street-subway.html |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The mosaic and screens both depict figures in "[[Nick Cave (performance artist)#Soundsuits|Soundsuits]]", sculptural costumes made in a variety of materials. The two other artworks are ''Each One'' at the new shuttle entrance and ''Equal All'' on the island platform.<ref name="Yakas 2021">{{cite web |last=Yakas |first=Ben |date=September 8, 2021 |title=Photos: Nick Cave's Mosaics Grace New 42nd Street Shuttle Connector |url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/photos-nick-caves-mosaics-grace-new-42nd-street-shuttle-connector |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910172453/https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/photos-nick-caves-mosaics-grace-new-42nd-street-shuttle-connector |archive-date=September 10, 2021 |access-date=September 10, 2021 |website=Gothamist}}</ref><ref name="nyt20210906" />

<gallery mode="packed">
File:42ART mural.jpg|''Times Square Mural''
File:42nd Street artwork vc.jpg|''The Onset of Winter''
File:42ART revelers.jpg|''The Revelers'' and ''The Commuter's Lament''
File:42ART transit.jpg|''New York in Transit''
File:Times Square Times vc.jpg|''Times Square Times:'' ''35 Times''
File:42ART every.jpg|''Every One''
</gallery>

== References ==

=== Notes ===
{{Notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== Further reading ===

* {{cite book |last=Stookey |first=Lee |title=Subway ceramics : a history and iconography of mosaic and bas relief signs and plaques in the New York City subway system |publisher=L. Stookey |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-9635486-1-0 |location=Brattleboro, Vt |oclc=31901471}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Times Square – 42nd Street / Port Authority Bus Terminal (New York City Subway)}}

* nycsubway.org – [http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Station:_42nd_Street-Times_Square#IRT_Contract_One_.28Shuttle.29_Station IRT Grand Central/Times Square Shuttle: Times Square] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628173558/http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Station:_42nd_Street-Times_Square#IRT_Contract_One_.28Shuttle.29_Station |date=June 28, 2020 }}
* nycsubway.org – [http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/IRT_Flushing_Line#Times_Square IRT Flushing Line: Times Square]
* nycsubway.org – [http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Station:_42nd_Street-Times_Square#IRT_West_Side_Line_Station IRT West Side Line: Times Square/42nd Street] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628173558/http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Station:_42nd_Street-Times_Square#IRT_West_Side_Line_Station |date=June 28, 2020 }} 
* nycsubway.org – [http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Station:_42nd_Street-Times_Square#BMT_Broadway_Line_Station BMT Broadway Subway: Times Square/42nd Street] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628173558/http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Station:_42nd_Street-Times_Square#BMT_Broadway_Line_Station |date=June 28, 2020 }}

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{{Times Square}}
{{Midtown North, Manhattan}}
{{Midtown South, Manhattan}}
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[[Category:42nd Street (Manhattan)]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:BMT Broadway Line stations]]
[[Category:Broadway (Manhattan)]]
[[Category:IRT 42nd Street Shuttle stations]]
[[Category:IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line stations]]
[[Category:IRT Flushing Line stations]]
[[Category:New York City Subway stations in Manhattan]]
[[Category:New York City Subway terminals]]
[[Category:New York City Subway transfer stations]]
[[Category:Railway and subway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)]]
[[Category:Times Square]]