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The Subway Challenge is a challenge in which participants must navigate the entire New York City Subway system in the shortest time possible. This ride is also known as the Rapid Transit Challenge and the Ultimate Ride. Although the challenge requires competitors to stop at all stations, no person currently holds that record. One competitor holds the record for 469 stations, as he had competed before the January 2017 opening of the
Second Avenue Subway The Second Avenue Subway (internally referred to as the IND Second Avenue Line by the MTA and abbreviated to SAS) is a New York City Subway line that runs under Second Avenue on the East Side of Manhattan. The first phase of this new line, ...
. Three teams held the Guinness record for 468 stations, as they had competed prior to both the September 2015 opening of the
7 Subway Extension The 7 Subway Extension is a subway extension of the New York City Subway's IRT Flushing Line, which is served by the local and express services. The extension stretches southwest from its previous terminus at Times Square, at Seventh Aven ...
and the January 2017 opening of the
Second Avenue Subway The Second Avenue Subway (internally referred to as the IND Second Avenue Line by the MTA and abbreviated to SAS) is a New York City Subway line that runs under Second Avenue on the East Side of Manhattan. The first phase of this new line, ...
, but after Dean Street station was closed in 1995. Records set before 1995 had a varying number of stations. There are three primary variations of this challenge: # Ride that requires a rider to traverse every line, but not necessarily the entire line. (Class A) # Full-system ride that requires a rider to stop at each station. (Class B) # Skip-stop ride that only requires a rider to pass through each station. (Class C) The three classes of rides (A, B and C) are defined by the Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee (ANYSRC), created by
Peter Samson Peter R. Samson (born 1941 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts) is an American computer scientist, best known for creating pioneering computer software for the TX-0 and PDP-1. Samson studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) between 195 ...
in 1966. In Class A, "the contestants making the run must traverse completely at least once each segment of right-of-way of the Transit Authority system. Each segment may be traversed either in one continuous transit or in any number of partial transits between stations on the segment."
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
recognizes what is essentially the Class B rules as the official world record. The only difference between the rides defined by Guinness and the ANYSRC is that per the ANYSRC, rides must be completed on a single fare, while the Guinness rules allow for transfers provided that they "be made by scheduled public transport or on foot."


History

On May 30, 1940, two days before the IRT, BMT, and IND were unified, Herman Rinke, an electric-railroad buff, became the first person to tour the entire system on a single 5-cent fare, doing it purely as a "sentimental gesture". Rinke rode the system for some 25 hours. Since then, more than 70 others – supposedly recorded in an unofficial file in the MTA Public Relations Department – rode the entire system. Kevin Foster held the Guinness World Record for the full-system ride for over 17 years. He set the mark of 26 hours, 21 minutes on October 25, 1989. Searching for a diversion while training to become the first person to bicycle the entire length of The Great Wall in China, Foster opened up the Guinness Book of World Records to find another challenge. He decided that to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the New York subway system he would spend 85 consecutive hours on the subway, during which time he broke the record for stopping at every station.


Guinness Record times

There are stations in the system (which must all be visited for the Class B record) and multi-station complexes (necessary for the Class C record), on routes. Challengers cover 662 miles of track in passenger service, while only being able to go to the toilet at 80 of the stations. All of the official record holders, except one, have held the record for 468 stations, since all official records are from before September 2015, when the
7 Subway Extension The 7 Subway Extension is a subway extension of the New York City Subway's IRT Flushing Line, which is served by the local and express services. The extension stretches southwest from its previous terminus at Times Square, at Seventh Aven ...
opened. One record holder has the record for the 469 stations, after the opening of the 7 Subway Extension but before the January 2017 opening of the
Second Avenue Subway The Second Avenue Subway (internally referred to as the IND Second Avenue Line by the MTA and abbreviated to SAS) is a New York City Subway line that runs under Second Avenue on the East Side of Manhattan. The first phase of this new line, ...
. there were no record holders for the -station challenge. The Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee mandates that rides must be completed on a single fare. The Guinness record rules allow a rider to exit and re-enter the system during the course of the run, and contestants may walk or take "scheduled public transport" between stations. According to the Guinness rules, "the use of private motor vehicles, taxis or any other form of privately arranged transport (bicycles, skateboards, etc.) is not allowed." Matthew Ahn's attempts, for instance, use the out-of-system transfers allowed under the Guinness rules. The complete Guinness rules can be found on the Rapid Transit Challenge website and are similar to the rules for the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...
's Tube Challenge. The Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee is not an official body and does not validate any record attempts, nor does the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.


468 stations

On August 23–24, 2006, Donald Badaczewski and Matt Green made a run setting the skip-stop record. During their run, a Class C attempt as defined by the Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee, they were required to pass through, but not necessarily stop at, each station. Thus they utilized express trains where possible to save time. They did this on a single fare, not exiting the system until the completion of the race. They posted a time of 24 hours, 2 minutes, breaking the previous Class C record of 25 hours, 11 minutes for this feat set in 1998 by
Salvatore Babones Salvatore Babones (born October 5, 1969) is an American sociologist, and an associate professor at the University of Sydney. Biography He received PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 2003. From 2003 to 2008 he has been a professor of sociology ...
and Mike Falsetta. ''
Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...
'' broke the story of this Class C record. An ''
AM New York ''AM New York Metro'' is a free daily newspaper that is published in New York City by Schneps Media. According to the company, the average Friday circulation in September 2013 was 335,900. When launched on October 10, 2003, ''AM New York'' was the ...
'' article suggested that the news environment at the time created a perfect opening for such a lighthearted story. Pundits frequently questioned the pair on how they had relieved themselves during their journey. The two invariably answered that they had "held it" or "toughed it out," despite the fact that "it was tough." On December 28–29, 2006, a Class B attempt was made by former classmates from Regis High School in Manhattan, representing all five boroughs of New York City, with a sixth member from New Jersey. In the press they were nicknamed "The Subway Six": Bill Amarosa was a lifelong
railfan A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter ( Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rai ...
and had discussed a record attempt while they were in high school, but it was a conversation at their 10-year reunion on June 17, 2006, that sparked planning for the attempt. From conception to execution, the record attempt took six months. Guinness World Records confirmed the record five months afterward and sent the team their official record certificate after nine months. On January 22, 2010, Matt Ferrisi and Chris Solarz set a new record with an official time of 22:52:36, confirmed by Guinness World Records on September 17, 2010. On November 18–19, 2013, the record was beaten by a team of six Britons, including Glen Bryant from
Emsworth Emsworth is a town in the Borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, England, near the border of West Sussex and located at by the south coast of England. It lies at the north end of an arm of Chichester Harbour, a large and shallow inlet fr ...
, with a new time of 22 hours, 26 minutes, and 2 seconds. The competitors used an unusual route, achieving a time 26 minutes shorter than the former record, as confirmed by Guinness World Records on May 30, 2014. Three members of the British team were former record holders for the Tube Challenge, and thus became the first people to achieve the feat on both sides of the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
. On January 19, 2015, a new record was set by Matthew Ahn, taking the 468-station record. He began his trip at Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue and finished at Flushing–Main Street, both in Queens.


469 stations

After the 7 Subway Extension opened in September 2015, Ahn's previous record was invalidated. On July 23, 2016, he completed another such trip, and despite the addition of one station, he beat his previous record while completing the new 469-station challenge. This record was officially validated by Guinness World Records on August 26, 2016. He began his trip at Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street in Queens and finished at Flushing–Main Street.


In popular culture

A 2004 Class B attempt to traverse the system was documented in a short film entitled ''New Lots''. A 2003 Class B attempt was the main topic of a
Discovery Times Channel Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Ameri ...
documentary on the subway.


Other systems

The corresponding record for the London Underground ( Tube Challenge) has had many holders since 1960. London and New York have always been the most notable systems for this record. Between 1967 and 1992, records for a few other subway networks were considered, attempted and appeared in the Guinness Books. Since 1993, only the London Underground record has been published with decreasing regularity, and Guinness only considered London and New York for this record category. However, since 2011, other systems have been considered again. The first other network to be granted a record was the
Paris Métro The Paris Métro (french: Métro de Paris ; short for Métropolitain ) is a rapid transit system in the Paris metropolitan area, France. A symbol of the city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform architec ...
; Alan Paul Jenkins achieved a time of 11 hours and 13 minutes for travelling to 270 stations (with 7 closed) on August 30, 1967. The next record was set on 13 August 2011 by Adham Fisher, who visited 300 stations in 13 hours, 37 minutes and 54 seconds. The
Berlin U-Bahn The Berlin U-Bahn (; short for , "underground railway") is a rapid transit system in Berlin, the capital and largest city of Germany, and a major part of the city's public transport system. Together with the S-Bahn, a network of suburban train li ...
had its first record set on May 2, 2014, by Michael Wurm, Henning Colsman-Freyberger, Rudolf von Grot and Oliver Ziemek. They visited the 173 stations in 7 hours, 33 minutes and 15 seconds. This was beaten by Adham Fisher on May 26, 2017, with a new time of 6 hours, 53 minutes and 24 seconds.


See also

*
New York City Subway stations The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system that serves four of the five boroughs of New York City, New York: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. Its operator is the New York City Transit Authority, which is itself controlled by ...
*
History of the New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system that serves four of the five boroughs of New York City, New York: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. Its operator is the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), which is controlled ...
* Tube Challenge, a similar challenge in London *
Travelling salesman problem The travelling salesman problem (also called the travelling salesperson problem or TSP) asks the following question: "Given a list of cities and the distances between each pair of cities, what is the shortest possible route that visits each cit ...
, a computational problem where the goal is to find the shortest route that runs through all points in a collection


References


Notes


Citations


External links


Rapid Transit Challenge
{{New York City Subway New York City Subway World records