Interested
in Challenging our World Record?
THE RECORDS IN BRIEF
The Guinness World Record and
the Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee Class B Record of
24 hours, 54 minutes, 3 seconds was set by Bill Amarosa, Michael
Boyle, Brian Brockmeyer, Stefan Karpinski, Jason Laska and Andrew Weir
on December 28-29, 2006. Those rules treat each station in a
multi-station complex as a separate station (there are 468 in the
system) and they require riding local trains that stop at every
station.
The Amateur New York Subway Riding
Committee Class C Record of 24 hours, 2 minutes was set by
Matthew Green and Donald Badaczewski on August 23-24, 2006. The
Class C rules are less time-consuming as they treat multi-station
complexes as one station (there are 424 in the system) and allow
passing through stations by using express trains. Their record
is not the Guinness Record, nor did Matt and Don ever intend it to be when
they set out on their journey.
Both the Class B and C Amateur New
York Subway Riding Committee rules require the journey to be made on a
single fare while the Guinness rules do not.
There are rules for a Class
A Record for "Covering All Lines" as defined by the Amateur New York Subway Riding
Committee, however we are not aware that such a journey has ever been
completed or attempted. The qualifications for such a journey
state that "during the run, the contestants making the run must
traverse completely at least once each segment of right-of-way of the
Transit Authority system." Please visit the Amateur
New York Subway Riding Committee for more information
about the rules for a Class A Record.
CLASS B vs. CLASS
C RECORDS
Below are
descriptions of the two differences between the Class B and Class
C records along with examples to help clarify the rules:
RULE: Treat
each station in a multi-station complex as a separate station
(Class B) vs. treat all stations in a multi-station complex as
only one station (Class C).
EXAMPLE:
Times Square (5 stations) and Grand Central (3 stations) are both
multi-station complexes. Under the Class B rules you would
need to ride the S shuttle train between these two stations, while
under the Class C rules you would be allowed to bypass the shuttle
because those two stations would be covered by passing
through those multi-station complexes on different lines.
RULE: It is
necessary for a train to stop at the station for the visit to
count (Class B) vs. you can pass through stations by using express
trains.
EXAMPLE: When
riding from Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall to 125 St, under the Class B
rules you would be required to ride the 6 local train (or the 4
when it operates overnight) to get credit for
visiting all 20 stations on that ride, while under the Class C
rules you would be allowed to ride the 4 or 5 express train which makes
only 6 stops along the ride.
The Guinness / Class
B rules are obviously more time consuming, and as a matter of
comparison, the record holders for the Guinness / Class B Record
made 75 transfers during their journey, while the Class C Record
holders made 63 transfers.
STATION LISTS
So now you
understand the differences between the two records, but where do
you find a list of all the stations? If you download the
attachment at the end of this section, you will have the full 468
station list that you need for to set the Guinness / Class B
record. That same file also highlights which stations are
considered a part of multi-station complexes so you know which 424
stations / complexes to visit if you want to attempt a Class C
record.
Here is a table that
highlights the multi-station complexes in the system and how many
stations are considered a part of each complex.
| Complex |
Stations |
| Times
Square |
5 |
| Fulton
St/Bway-Nassau |
4 |
| Canal
St |
4 |
| Union
Sq |
3 |
| Grand
Central |
3 |
| Chambers/Park
Pl/WTC |
3 |
| Broadway
Junction |
3 |
| Borough
Hall/Court St |
3 |
| Atlantic/Pacific |
3 |
| 14St/6-7
Avs |
3 |
| Roosevelt
Av/74 St |
2 |
| Myrtle/Wyckoff |
2 |
| Lorimer/Metropolitan |
2 |
| Lex
Av-59 St |
2 |
| Lex
Av-51 St |
2 |
| Herald
Sq |
2 |
| Franklin/Fulton |
2 |
| Franklin/Botanic
Garden |
2 |
| Essex/Delancey |
2 |
| Columbus
Circle |
2 |
| Chambers/Bklyn
Bridge |
2 |
| Bway-Lafayette/Bleecker |
2 |
| 62St/New
Utrecht |
2 |
| 42
St/5-6 Avs |
2 |
| 23St/Court
Sq |
2 |
| 168th
Street |
2 |
| 161St-Yankee
Stadium |
2 |
| 149St/Gr
Conc |
2 |
| 14
St/8 Av |
2 |
| 9
St/4 Av |
2 |
| 30
Complexes |
74 Stations |
Click
here to download a complete list of station and station complexes
SKIPPING STATIONS
If you are attempting a
Class B record, it is important to note that all 468 stations in the
system are not always open at the same time, but your route must be
designed to accommodate such circumstances. Below is a list of requirements for ensuring that you visit all
stations.
-
Stations closed for
long-term constructions projects - currently includes Cortlandt
Street (RW line) for Fulton St Transit Center construction and
Cortlandt Street (1 train) for WTC redevelopment - these stations may
be passed through without stopping.
-
Part-time stations
(currently 148 St and 145 St/Lenox on the 3 train; Times Square
and Grand Central on the 42 St Shuttle; and Fulton St and Broad St
on the J/M/Z line) - these stations must
be visited during the hours when service is operating and
stopping there.
-
Seasonal stations
(currently includes Aqueduct Racetrack on the A train) - these
stations must be visited during the days and hours when service is
operating and stopping there.
-
Stations closed for
temporary scheduled service diversions - these stations must be
visited during hours when they are open; if they are closed in
one direction,
you must ride in the direction making all stops, even if it adds
doubling-back.
-
Trains may bypass
stations to catch up to schedule - you must de-board and wait
for the next train making all stops.
-
Trains may bypass
stations due to unplanned or emergency situations - these stations
may be passed if you determine by listening to
announcements or asking train crews or other officials that the
change affects all trains (i.e., waiting for the next train will
not allow you to stop at the station).
-
Route segments may
be closed due to an emergency - if the disruption is expected to
be brief, you should wait until it clears; if it is
extended, you may attempt to change your route so you can cover
the disrupted segment later.
GUINNESS RESPONSE ON STATION COUNT
The second
item in the
list of the official Guinness Guidelines reads as follows:
It is only
necessary to visit all the stations on the network, not to travel
every stretch of line. Thus, if a station is served by more
than one line it is not necessary to visit that station on each
line.
The second sentence
leaves some room for questioning whether each station in a
multi-station complex should be treat as a separate station.
We made an enquiry to
Guinness to clarify this question and actually only got a reply on the
morning of our record setting journey. We were planning on
visiting all 468 stations anyway, but it was a relief to know we
weren't doing that in vain.
-----Original
Message-----
From: crm@guinnessworldrecords.com
Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2006 6:32 AM
Subject: Guinness World Records - Tracking ID ####
Claim ID: ######
Membership Number: ######
Dear Mr. Amarosa,
Thanks for your enquiry.
All 468 stations should
be visited.
Many thanks
Yours sincerely,
Sophie Whiting
Guinness World Records
BATHROOMS
Bathroom breaks are
certainly necessary during a 24 hour subway ride, and we found
that the MTA was willing to provide restroom information for
us. Please contact them mta_nyc@custhelp.com
at for the most up-to-date list. We would happy to let you
know the restrooms we found during our attempt, please contact us
at news@rapidtransitchallenge.com.
