getting around

The A Train Commute That’s an Extreme Sport

Photo: Felix Lipov/Shutterstock

All three escalators at the Fort Washington and 181st Street A train station in Washington Heights are out, meaning riders are faced with getting a spot on the elevators — or walking up an estimated 120 feet of stairs. (The station’s elevators were recently replaced, which seems like a good thing here.) As NBC New York reported, signs were put up on Monday informing riders that the escalators in one of the city’s deepest subway stations wouldn’t be replaced until February 2023.

The MTA explained to NBC New York that all the escalators are “connected to the same machines,” which means that “unfortunately the only way to properly replace them is to do them all at once.” (This seems like a bad design.)

What does walking up ten flights of stairs feel like? It’s approximately 120 steps, which is 48 more than Rocky ran up before he got strong. It is, however, one flight less than Joaquin Phoenix danced down after he truly became the Joker. Either way, it’s a lot of walking.

The A Train Commute That’s an Extreme Sport