Roosevelt Island Tram Station
Owner City of New York Established 2020
Purpose Public Transportation
Status 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. (3:30 a.m. on weekends)

Towering high over the streets of Roosevelt Island, running parallel to the Queensboro Bridge, the iron tower of the Roosevelt Island Tramway no longer points toward what is now the Manhattan Exclusion Zone, but toward a sister tram station in Jackson Heights. The Roosevelt Island Tramway contains two cabins that each run back and forth, suspended from their own pair of cables. Each cabin has a capacity of up to 125 people and makes approximately 115 trips per day. The tram moves at about 16 mph and travels 3,100 feet in roughly 3 minutes. At its peak the cars climbs to 250 feet above the East River as it follows its route on the north side of the Queensboro Bridge, providing views of the the jagged Manhattan Exclusion Zone skyline and Jackson Heights. The tram runs every seven and half minutes from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. (3:30 a.m. on weekends) and runs continuously during rush hours.

With much of the surrounding area beneath the Queensboro Bridge, noise from the traffic of the bridge deck overhead drowns out other, quieter sounds and creates an almost constant sound of mechanical noise in the area, along with the creak and groan of straining metal from the tram station.

The tram is wheelchair accessible. Bicycles are permitted on the tram.

Roosevelt Island Tram Station

Additional Info

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