Unlike most cities, the subway — not the roads — is New York City’s circulatory system. Several subway lines were disrupted when the World Trade Center was destroyed, and their restoration was an early sign that things were getting back to normal. In an astonishingly short time, transit officials opened train lines that ran next to, but not quite under, the towers. In one case, a station is being bypassed, but even there ongoing repairs are evident.
The train line that runs down the West Side of Manhattan to the ferry terminal was directly under the towers. It’s been out of commission since September 11, but even that line will be back sooner than most people had imagined. From the NY Times:
A Subway Interrupted Awaits Its Imminent Resurgence. As the debate continues over what to build above ground at ground zero, a few hundred men are already rebuilding what was once below the ground.
