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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Waiting, Below Union Square

Tracks, 14th Street
Photo by myself on the subway platform at 14th Street, Union Square.

The subway tracks look rather clean in this photo.

Usually, there are puddles in the subway tracks, stray newspapers, bottles and the occasional rat. The rats are not as big as dogs or cats, though people joke about it. They are more like large squirrels. Or simply rats.

The yellow strip of tiles near the edge of the tracks have warning bumps on them for the visually impaired. The edge of the tracks is precarious, without gates or rails. People are mindful of the edge, and usually the platforms are not overcrowded.

I have to wonder whether the New York subway will ever be as modern as the trains in Japan, which run so well. Some Japanese stations have rails along the sides. The trains pull into the station exactly, so the doors align with the spaces between the rails.

Apologies for the grainy photo. I've been using my small camera which is good in low light, but not nearly as fantastic as my big one.

For a photo of a Japanese train from our trip to Japan last August, click here.

Related posts: Tempting Fate, On the Subway Platform and on Parade and What's Hopping, Below Ground.

6 comments:

Cesc Sales said...

Next train maybe the last train...

Anonymous said...

I have seen some big rats. None here though. It looks pretty clean to me. Nice shot under the circumstances. It is sometimes hard to get nice picture from a subway tunnel.

Terry at Blue Kitchen said...

I love the New York subway system, Kitty. For me, shots like this one are absolutely evocative of many wonderful visits there. Thanks for putting me in a New York state of mind.

Leif Hagen said...

I wonder if Maria just missed the last train? Hopefully, another subway train will arrive shortly....

Kitty said...

ha, thanks fellas.

I'm surprised how empty the platform looks, this was taken around 9 pm on a weeknight. Usually it's very busy at that time.

kousuke said...

Good work and thank you, Kitty.

In Japan, the yellow tiles are pasted like this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nagoya-subway-M18-Nagoya-daigaku-station-platform-20100316.jpg

Don't the tiles on the edge lead visually handicapped person outside of the platform?