Roosevelt Island Tramway

Overview

The Roosevelt Island Tramway is an aerial tramway in New York City that spans the East River and connects Roosevelt Island to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The tramway is the first commuter aerial tramway in North America, having opened in 1976.

The tram consists of two capsules 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, but uses that system's MetroCard and has free transfers to that system.

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 125 people and makes approximately 115 trips per day. The tram moves at about 16 mph (26 km/h) and travels 3,100 feet (940 m) in 3 minutes. At its peak it climbs to 250 feet (76 m) above the East River as it follows its route on the north side of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, providing views of the East Side of Midtown Manhattan. 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 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.

In Manhattan, the entrance to the system is at Tram Plaza at 60th Street and Second Avenue, with transfers to the M15, M15 SBS, M31, M57, Q32, Q60 and Q101. The closest New York City Subway station is the complex at Lexington Avenue/59th Street, served by the 4, 5, 6, <6>, N, R, and W trains. Lexington Avenue-53rd Street, served by the E and M trains, and Lexington Avenue-63rd Street on the F, <F>, N, Q, and R trains 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 Roosevelt Island subway station, serving the F and <F> trains, is located north of the tramway entrance.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Roosevelt Island Tramway", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0