What’s it like to ride on New York City’s secret subway line?

The New York City subway system is one of the most fascinating networks in a city full of mysteries. Miles of underground track shrouded in darkness, littered with abandoned stations and secret passageways – it’s an object of desire for the urban explorers among us.

And, occasionally, New York City acknowledges the delightful mystery surrounding its 24-hour transport system. The annual Holiday Nostalgia train line is a perfect example of this.

The train line, consisting of eight vintage New York subway cars from several different eras, runs for a few weekends each year – from the Sunday after Thanksgiving to the end of the year, only on Sundays. It costs the same US$2.75 as any subway ride.

So what did we do? We got on the train and took a ride, of course!

This is what it’s like.

I got on at the Second Avenue stop in Manhattan – when I snapped these photos in 2016, the train ran between the Second Avenue stop in Manhattan and the Queens Plaza stop in Queens.

In 2019, the holiday train is running on the F line uptown starting at the 2nd Avenue station. It makes a handful of stops at major stations along the way – such as Columbus Circle and Herald Square. It stops every two hours from 10am to 4pm.

Additionally, the line will run downtown on the D line starting at 145th Street. It stops every two hours from 11am to 5pm.

As you can see from 2016’s schedule, the train ran throughout the day starting at 10am and concluding at about 5pm. It is similar in 2019, but there are a few changes.

You can also pick the line up at any of the stops it makes along the way.

Even though we arrived at 12:30pm, there were already a bunch of people waiting – some were clearly tourists; others were clearly New Yorkers.