NEW YORK — The New York City Subway has reopened a subway that closed following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The new WTC Cortlandt subway station was largely built within the footprint of the former Cortlandt Street station on the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line and serving trains on the 1 Line. The subway built the new station with fewer columns, providing direct views into the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, officials said.
“The opening of WTC Cortlandt returns a subway station to a vibrant neighborhood and represents a major milestone in the recovery and growth of downtown Manhattan,” Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman Joseph Lhota said in a news release. “WTC Cortlandt is more than a new subway station. It is symbolic of New Yorkers’ resolve in restoring and substantially improving the entire World Trade Center site.”
The station’s name harkens back to its location at the center of the World Trade Center and Cortlandt Street. The original station opened in 1918 and was overhauled in the late 1960s during the construction of the World Trade Center.
Service along the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line was restored in Lower Manhattan in 2002, but the station remained closed.
“All roads lead to Lower Manhattan. This neighborhood is one of the best connected places in the city with unparalleled access to public transportation by subways, ferries, buses and bikes, and that has played a major role in our recovery,” Jessica Lappin, President of Alliance for Downtown New York, said in a news release. “Not only does the opening of the WTC Cortlandt station mark a physical milestone in the WTC efforts but it brings a renewed sense of pride across the Downtown community.”
