Engineering the New York City Subway: The Thinking Behind the World’s Fastest and Most Convenient Rapid Transit System

Kyle M. Kirschling

2021-01 · Kyle Mark Kirschling

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Why does New York City have a subway system, and why does it have such an unusual design? Railroad engineers developed its bold and ambitious design in 1891 for the purposes of speed and convenience, above all else.

By understanding the original thinking behind the subway, we can see beneath the grit and appreciate the true beauty of the system…and be inspired to build even bigger and better things in the future.

The subway possesses a combination of design elements that make it unequalled among the world’s major rapid transit systems. The pillars of the system’s design are the high-speed right-of-way and trains, being underground but close to the surface, having extensive four-track mainlines with all tracks on the same level, and providing bi-directional local and express service.

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Kyle M. Kirschling is an urbanist and management consultant who specializes in improving cities’ infrastructure. He is a licensed CPA and holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from Columbia University. 

As an advisor to the New York City Transit Authority, Kyle sped up subway trains (reversing a 23-year trend) by conceiving a new operations strategy, saving two to four minutes per train trip and increasing on-time performance from 67% to 81% in 12 months, at zero cost (includes the “Save Safe Seconds” campaign and “SPEED Unit,” as reported in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and elsewhere).

He is the author of An Economic Analysis of Rapid Transit in New York, 1870-2010, an evaluation of the impact of private, public, and hybrid institutions for transit ownership and operation.

Kyle presently runs an internal management consulting group at the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority focused on asset management and on improving infrastructure maintenance for the subway division.