Dual Contracts
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The '''Dual Contracts''' of [[1913]], also known as the '''Dual Subway System''', were [[contract]]s for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of [[rapid transit]] lines in the [[New York City|City of New York]]. The majority of the lines of the present-day [[New York Subway]] were built or reconstructed under these contracts. The contracts were "dual," in that they were signed between the City and two separate private companies.
==Background==
[[Image:1910 IRT plan.png|thumb|150px|1910 plan for IRT expansion]]
''Contract 3'' was signed between the City and the [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company|IRT]], operator of the original subway line in New York City. ''Contract 4'' was signed between the City and the Municipal Railway Company, a subsidiary of the [[Brooklyn Rapid Transit|BRT]]</pre> (later [[Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation|BMT]]), formed especially for the purpose of contracting with the City for construction of the lines. ''Contracts 1'' and ''2'' were the original subway contracts between the City and the [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company|IRT]] for the [[first subway (New York City)|first subway]] in New York. These contracts predated the Dual Contracts.
Under the terms of Contracts 3 and 4, the City would build new subway and [[elevated railroad|elevated line]]s, and rehabilitate and expand certain existing elevated lines, and lease them to the private companies for operation. The cost would be borne more-or-less equally by the City and the companies. The City's contribution was in cash raised by bond offerings, while the companies' contributions were variously by supplying cash, facilities and equipment to run the lines.
The contract negotiations were long and sometimes acrimonious. For instance, when the IRT was reluctant (if not totally opposed) to the BRT's proposed access to Midtown [[Manhattan]] via the [[BMT Broadway Line|Broadway Line]], the city and state negotiators immediately offered the BRT ''all'' of the lines under proposal - including such obvious IRT tie-ins such as the upper [[Lexington Avenue Line]], and both lines in Queens. The IRT quickly gave in the 'invasion' of Midtown Manhattan by the BRT.
The assignment of the proposed lines in [[Queens]] proved to be an imposition on both companies. Instead of one company enjoying a monopoly in that borough, both proposed lines — a short line to [[Astoria, Queens|Astoria]], and a longer line reaching initially to [[Corona, Queens|Corona]], and eventually to [[Flushing, Queens|Flushing]] — were assigned to ''both'' companies, to be operated in what was called "joint service." The lines would start from a huge station called [[Queensboro Plaza (New York City Subway)|Queensborough Plaza]]. The IRT would access the station from both the 1907 [[Steinway Tunnel]] and an extension of the [[IRT Second Avenue Line|Second Avenue Elevated]] from Manhattan over the [[Queensborough Bridge]]. The BRT would feed the Queens lines from a new tunnel from 60th Street in Manhattan. Technically the line was under IRT 'ownership', but the BRT/BMT was granted [[trackage rights]] in perpetuity, essentially making it theirs also.
The BRT had a big disadvantage, as both Queens lines were built to IRT specifications. This meant that IRT passengers would have a one-seat ride to Manhattan destinations, whereas BRT passengers had to make a change at Queensborough Plaza. This came to be important when service was extended for the [[1939 World's Fair]], as the IRT was able to offer direct express trains from [[Manhattan]], and the BRT was not. This practice lasted well into the municipal ownership of the lines, and was not ended until 1949. Both companies would share in the revenues from this service. To facilitate this arrangement originally, extra long platforms were constructed along both Queens routes, so separate fare controls/boarding areas could be established. This quickly turned out to be operationally unworkable, so eventually a proportionate formula was worked out. The bonus legacy of this construction was that the IRT was able to operate 11-car trains on this line, and when the BMT took over the [[BMT Astoria Line|Astoria Line]], minimal work had to done to accommodate 10-car BMT units.
Several provisions were imposed on the companies, which eventually led to their downfall and consolidation into City ownership in 1940:
*The fare was limited to five cents, and this led to financial troubles for the two companies after post-[[World War I]] inflation.
*The City had the right to "recapture" any of the lines it built, and run them as its own.
*The City was to share in the profits.
==IRT lines==
The following lines were built under the Dual Contracts for the [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company|IRT]]:
{{expand list}}
*[[BMT Astoria Line|Astoria Line]] and [[IRT Flushing Line|Flushing Line]]
*[[IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line|Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]] south of [[Times Square–42nd Street (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)|Times Square–42nd Street]], including the Brooklyn Branch
*[[IRT Lexington Avenue Line|Lexington Avenue Line]] north of [[42nd Street–Grand Central (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)|42nd Street–Grand Central]]
*[[IRT Jerome Avenue Line|Jerome Avenue Line]]
*[[IRT Ninth Avenue Line|Ninth Avenue Line]] from 155th Street to the Jerome Avenue Line
*[[IRT Pelham Line]]
*[[IRT White Plains Road Line|White Plains Road Line]] north of 177th Street
The following lines were rebuilt with extra tracks:
*[[IRT Ninth Avenue Line|Ninth Avenue Line]] from 125th Street to 155th Street (one new track)
==BMT lines==
[[Image:1924 BMT dual contracts map.jpg|thumb|200px|1924 map of the BMT Dual Contracts lines]]
All [[Manhattan]] and [[Queens]] [[Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation|BMT]] lines were built under the Dual Contracts, as were all subway and some elevated lines in Brooklyn.
===Lines and line segments built new===
*[[BMT Canarsie Line|14th Street Eastern Line]] west of [[Broadway Junction (BMT Canarsie Line)|Broadway Junction]]
*[[BMT Astoria Line|Astoria Line]] and [[IRT Flushing Line|Flushing Line]] east of [[Queensboro Plaza (BMT Astoria Line)|Queensboro Plaza]] ([[trackage rights]] over [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company|IRT]])
*[[BMT Broadway Line|Broadway Line]]
*[[BMT Brighton Line|Brighton Beach Line]] between [[DeKalb Avenue (BMT Broadway Line)|DeKalb Avenue]] and [[Prospect Park (BMT Brighton Line)|Prospect Park]]
*[[BMT Fourth Avenue Line|Fourth Avenue Line]]
*[[BMT Fulton Street Line|Fulton Street Line]] east of Grant Avenue
*[[BMT Jamaica Line|Jamaica Line]] east of [[Cypress Hills (BMT Jamaica Line)|Cypress Hills]]
*[[Manhattan Bridge]] tracks and approaches
*[[BMT Nassau Street Line|Nassau Street Line]] between [[Chambers Street (BMT Nassau Street Line)|Chambers Street]] to a merge with the [[Montague Street Tunnel]] to Brooklyn
===Grade-separated rights-of-way built to replace surface railroads===
[[Image:1911 BRT plan.jpg|thumb|300px|1911 plan, giving all the contracts to the BRT]]
*[[BMT Brighton Line|Brighton Beach Line]] between Neptune Avenue (south of [[Sheepshead Bay (BMT Brighton Line)|Sheepshead Bay]]) and [[Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (New York City Subway)|Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue]]. Four-track elevated structure.
*[[IND Culver Line|Culver Line]] between [[Ninth Avenue (BMT West End Line)|Ninth Avenue]] and [[West Eighth Street–New York Aquarium (New York City Subway)|West Eighth Street]] (merge with Brighton Beach Line). Three-track elevated structure.
*[[BMT Myrtle Avenue Line|Myrtle Avenue Line]] east of [[Wyckoff Avenue (BMT Myrtle Avenue Line)|Wyckoff Avenue]]. Two-track elevated structure.
*[[BMT Sea Beach Line|Sea Beach Line]] from Fourth Avenue Subway to [[Gravesend–86th Street (BMT Sea Beach Line)|Gravesend–86th Street]]. Four track open-cut.
*[[BMT West End Line|West End Line]] between [[Ninth Avenue (BMT West End Line)|Ninth Avenue]] and [[Bay 50th Street (BMT West End Line)|Bay 50th Street]]. Three-track elevated structure.
===Existing rights-of-way rehabilitated and expanded===
*[[BMT Brighton Line|Brighton Beach Line]] from [[Prospect Park (BMT Brighton Line)|Prospect Park]] to [[Church Avenue (BMT Brighton Line)|Church Avenue]]. Existing open cut widened and expanded from two to four tracks.
*[[BMT Jamaica Line|Jamaica Line]] from merge with line from [[Marcy Avenue (BMT Jamaica Line)|Marcy Avenue]] to [[Broadway Junction (BMT Jamaica Line)|Broadway Junction]]. Elevated line expanded from two to three tracks.
*[[BMT Myrtle Avenue Line|Myrtle Avenue Line]] from [[Myrtle Avenue (BMT Jamaica Line)|Broadway–Myrtle]] to [[Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues (BMT Myrtle Avenue Line)|Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues]], including track connection to [[BMT Jamaica Line|Jamaica Line]]. Elevated structure expanded from two to three tracks.
*[[BMT Fulton Street Line|Fulton Street Line]] from Nostrand Avenue to east of split from [[BMT Canarsie Line|Canarsie Line]] at Pitkin Avenue. Two track elevated expanded to three tracks and new [[flying junction]] complex with six tracks replaced two tracks between former Manhattan Junction in East New York and Pitkin Avenue. This portion gave the Canarsie Line two dedicated tracks.
==External links==
*[http://www.nycsubway.org/dualcontracts.html NYCsubway.org - The Dual Contracts]
*[http://thethirdrail.net/0011/64wf1.html Story including 50th anniversary of the contracts]
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[[Category:New York City Subway history]]
[[Category:Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation]]