The Roosevelt Island Tramway is an

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

that spans the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Que ...

and connects

Roosevelt Island Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. Running from the equivalent of East 46th to 8 ...

to the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street (Man ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

. The tramway is the first commuter aerial tramway in North America, having opened in 1976. Since then, over 26 million passengers have ridden the tram. The tram consists of two cars that run back and forth on two parallel tracks. It is one of the few forms of mass transit in New York City not run by the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in t ...

, although it uses the MTA's

MetroCard The MetroCard is a magnetic stripe card used for fare payment on transportation in New York City, transportation in the New York City area. It is the primary payment method for the New York City Subway (including the Staten Island Railway), New ...

and has free transfers to the subway system. The tram is operated by Leitner-Poma on behalf of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation of the State of New York, a state

public benefit corporation Public-benefit corporation may refer to several types of corporate entity: United Kingdom * public benefit corporation, the legal form of NHS foundation trusts United States * Benefit corporation or public-benefit corporation, for profit but with ...

created in 1984 to run services on the island.

History

Roosevelt Island had been connected to Manhattan by a

trolley Trolley may refer to: Vehicles and components * Tram, or trolley or streetcar, a rail vehicle that runs on tramway tracks * Trolleybus, or trolley, an electric bus drawing power from overhead wires using trolley poles ** Trolleytruck, a trolleyb ...

(streetcar) line that crossed over the

Queensboro Bridge The Queensboro Bridge, officially named the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, is a cantilever bridge over the East River in New York City. Completed in 1909, it connects the neighborhood of Long Island City in the borough of Queens with the Upper East ...

from its opening in 1909. Trolleys to and from Queens stopped in the middle of the bridge to meet an elevator, which then took passengers down to the island. As the only connection to the rest of the city from the island, the trolley remained in service until April 7, 1957, long after most other trolley service had been dismantled in the city, and was the last trolley line in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

State; it was replaced by buses. At that time, a bridge to Queens was completed, requiring a roundabout trip to reach Manhattan.

Early history

Beginning in the mid-1970s, Roosevelt Island was redeveloped to accommodate low- to mid-income

housing project Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

s, necessitating the construction of a new public transit connection to the city. The trolley tracks had deteriorated beyond repair and the Roosevelt Island subway station serving the island via the 63rd Street subway connection had not yet been completed. In 1971, the Urban Development Corporation retained Lev Zetlin Associates to select and design a transit connection to Roosevelt Island. James A O'Kon PE led the LZA team in carrying out a feasibility study and design. Three alternate modes were studied: a ferry, an elevator from the bridge, and the aerial tramway. The tramway was selected and the system was designed for bidding.

Von Roll Von Roll Holding AG is a Swiss industrial group that operates worldwide. It was founded in 1803. As one of Switzerland’s longest-established industrial companies, Von Roll focuses today on products and systems for electrical applications such ...

was selected to supply and erect the tram and its equipment. With the elevator to Roosevelt Island closed, the footpath on the bridge was shuttered in 1974, with the expectation that the tramway would open soon. The towers for the tram system were erected by July 1975, with completion projected for December of that year. The tram system was opened in July 1976 as a temporary solution for the island's commuting needs. As the subway project fell further behind schedule, the "tram" became more popular and was converted into a permanent facility, and the tram held a monopoly for service between Roosevelt Island and the rest of Manhattan until the subway connection to the island was finally completed in October 1989. Before the subway opened, though, there were two major disruptions in service: in 1978, for replacement of deteriorated cables, and in 1986, after the liability insurance policy for the tramway expired. After the 63rd Street Subway was completed, daily ridership declined sharply, from 5,500 daily riders in 1989 to 3,000 by 1993. The tram was closed from October 1993 to January 1994 for repairs. The tram was the last holdout for the use of tokens in the

New York City transit system The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City. P ...

. Initially, it used a special token, which was later replaced by the standard variety for subways and buses. Although tokens were phased out in favor of the

by 2003, the tram did not start to accept MetroCards until March 1, 2004. The fare is the same as that on the buses and subways: U.S. $2.75 for a one-way trip, with free transfers to the subway and buses. During the

2005 New York City transit strike The 2005 New York City transit strike, held from December 20 through 22, 2005, was the third strike ever by the Transport Workers Union Local 100 against New York City's Transit Authority and involved between 32,000 and 34,000 strikers. In Dece ...

, the tramway was one of the few intra-city public transportation systems still in operation, since it was privately operated.

Breakdowns

On April 18, 2006, at about 5:22 p.m. EDT, the two trams were stuck over the

for over eleven hours because of mechanical problems, trapping 69 people. Rescue baskets capable of holding up to 15 people were sent up to the stranded cable cars at 10:55 p.m., with children and elderly going first, and each rescue taking about 20 minutes. These baskets also carried supplies to the trams, such as blankets, baby formula, and food, for the remaining passengers. Passengers on the Roosevelt Island–bound tram were rescued by about 2:55 a.m. on April 19, while those on the Manhattan-bound tram were not rescued until 4:07 a.m. The April 2006 incident had been the second time in eight months that the tram system lost power. On September 2, 2005, more than 80 people were trapped on the tram for over 90 minutes. After that incident, state inspectors cited the Roosevelt Island Tramway for not having an operational diesel backup, or motor-generator system. The State Department of Labor said the system did not pass electrical inspection and could not run when the April 18 power outage took place. The tramway suspended operations after the April 2006 incident, reopening on September 1, 2006. The tram's backup electrical systems were refurbished, and "in case of an emergency, each car now is equipped with blankets, water, food, and a toilet with a privacy curtain. Car attendants will carry cell phones with their radios."

Renovation

On March 1, 2010, the tramway was closed as part of a $25 million project to upgrade and modernize the system. With the help of the French company

Poma Poma, incorporated as Pomagalski S.A., and sometimes referred to as the Poma Group, is a French company which manufactures cable-driven lift systems, including fixed and detachable chairlifts, gondola lifts, funiculars, aerial tramways, peo ...

, all components were replaced except for the three tower bases. Among the improvements, the new tram cables and cars are now allowed to operate independently of each other in a "dual-haul" system. Prior to this, the cars had to travel at the same time, which presented maintenance and emergency response issues. The old cabins may be preserved on Roosevelt Island and/or in a museum. The tramway reopened November 30, 2010. The project was completed in nine months, two months longer than originally planned.

Characteristics

The Roosevelt Island Tramway contains two cabins that each run back and forth, suspended from their own pair of cables. Each cabin has a capacity of up to 110 people and makes approximately 115 trips per day. The tram moves at about and travels in 3 minutes. At its peak it climbs to above the East River as it follows its route on the north side of the

, providing views of the East Side of

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...

. The tram runs every seven and half minutes from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. (3:30 a.m. on weekends) and runs continuously during rush hours. The tramway's original operating components and cabins (prior to the 2010 renovation) are identical to the "Skyride" to access Grouse Mountain in Vancouver, Canada. The Roosevelt Island Tramway was the only aerial commuter tram in the US from 1976 until 2006, when the Portland Aerial Tram opened.

Accessibility and transfers

The tram is wheelchair accessible. Bicycles are permitted on the tram. MetroCard is accepted on the Roosevelt Island Tramway, and riders can transfer to or from buses and subway stations on either end for free. , the OMNY fare-payment system is not accepted on the Roosevelt Island Tramway. In Manhattan, the entrance to the system is at Tram Plaza at 60th Street and Second Avenue, with transfers to the . The closest New York City Subway station is the complex at Lexington Avenue/59th Street, served by the . Lexington Avenue–53rd Street, served by the , and Lexington Avenue–63rd Street on the are also nearby. On Roosevelt Island, the " Red Bus" route meets the tram and offers transportation around the island for free. During the tramway reconstruction, the Red Bus was extended to Queens Plaza and the Manhattan side of the Queensboro Bridge. The publicly operated Q102 bus also provides transportation on the island. The

subway station, serving the , is north of the tramway entrance.

References

External links

* ** *Pictorials ** ** ** ** {{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place =

, bridge = Roosevelt Island Tramway , bridge signs = , upstream =

63rd Street Tunnel The 63rd Street Tunnel is a double-deck subway and railroad tunnel under the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Queens in New York City. Opened in 1989, it is the newest of the East River tunnels, as well as the newest rail rive ...

, upstream signs = {{NYCS 63rd IND, time=bullets , downstream =

60th Street Tunnel The 60th Street Tunnel carries the of the New York City Subway under the East River and Roosevelt Island between Manhattan and Queens. History Construction and opening The tunnel was built as part of the Dual Contracts, which expanded the ...

, downstream signs = {{NYCS Broadway 60th, time=bullets Public transportation in New York City East River Aerial tramways in the United States Roosevelt Island 1976 establishments in New York City