The original City Hall station with the vaulted roof and chandeliers 125th Street Station, with the Manhattan Valley Viaduct, part of the original IRT line
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company or IRT was the operator of the first underground metro line, opened in New York in 1904. In addition, the company operated a number of increased railways and other subway lines in that city.
The city of New York bought the IRT in June 1940. The former IRT lines are now part of the A Division, also known as the IRT Division.
The first IRT metro line ran between City Hall and 145th Street and was opened on October 27, 1904. The opening went more than twenty years of discussion in advance. The main dispute was the pros and cons of a metro line versus an increased railway line.
On April 1, 1903, one year before the first metro line was opened, the IRT rented the already existing Manhattan Railway, giving it a monopoly on fast passenger transport in Manhattan. Network
Since 1940, the IRT lines are part of the A Division of New York subway. The remaining lines are completely underground in Manhattan apart from a short distance through Harlem at 125th Street and the northernmost piece of Manhattan. Most of the lines in the Bronx are mostly above ground with only a few pieces underground. In some places, they use some of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway lines including the current Dyre Avenue Line. The Brooklyn lines are underground with a single stretch of raised railway line to New Lots Avenue. The Flushing Line, the only line of IRT in Queens, is above ground just a short distance near the East River tunnel and Main Street-Flushing Station. The Manhattan route is completely underground. The Flushing Line only has a connection to the rest of the metronet at Queensborough Plaza Station Media files
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