The South Ferry subway station in the Financial District is back, almost five years after Hurricane Sandy pretty much destroyed it.
The rehabilitated # 1 South Ferry Terminal station, devastated by Super Storm Sandy 5yrs ago, will return to service later today.
— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) June 27, 2017
South Ferry reopened Tuesday after a four-year, $350 million repair project — and the current station known as old South Ferry, which straphangers have been using again to catch the 1 train since 2013, goes back into oblivion, NY1 reported.
It’s OK if that sounds a bit confusing if you’re not one of the thousands of New Yorkers who regularly use South Ferry and who have been living with the confusion for the past few years.
The South Ferry station that has been in use since repairs began in 2013 was an old terminal that was built in 1905 and closed in 2009 when the new, more modern station opened.
Just three years later, South Ferry’s new station smell had barely worn off when Hurricane Sandy devastated much of the East Coast, including many parts of the New York metro region, including Lower Manhattan. The new station, which was built below the original one, was completely flooded, destroying mechanical equipment such as switches and escalators. The MTA estimated when repairs began in 2013 that the work would cost $600 million, ABC7 reported.
The old South Ferry station, part of the city’s original transit system, is a bit unique as it only fits the first five cars of modern MTA subway trains, which consist of 10 cars. That means that the trains would travel along a loop to circle back uptown, and if you were on one of the rear five cars, you’d find yourself heading back uptown.
The new station allowed modern trains to terminate at South Ferry, then head back uptown from the same platform, similar to how E trains operate at Chambers Street.
