and East Side (now the Lenox Avenue Line). West Side local trains had their southern terminus at City Hall during rush hours and South Ferry at other times, and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street. East Side local trains ran from City Hall to Lenox Avenue (145th Street). To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening platforms at stations along the original IRT subway. As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts, made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to $ million in ) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 () was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent. Both platforms at the 33rd Street station was extended to the south. New "electric manholes", passageways leading to the equipment closets, were built at the southern ends of the platforms. Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910. The Lexington Avenue Line opened north of Grand Central–42nd Street in 1918, thereby dividing the original line into an "H"-shaped system. All local trains were sent via the Lexington Avenue Line, running along the Pelham Line in the Bronx. In December 1922, the Transit Commission approved a proposal to convert the 33rd Street station into an express stop. It was estimated that the extra time spent by express trains at 33rd Street would be offset by the reduced dwell times at Grand Central. Local business owners supported the proposal, but the IRT opposed the plan, which would cost the company $750,000. In October 1923, the plan was postponed for a year due to a lack of funds. The Fifth Avenue Association requested in January 1924 that the Transit Commission again consider converting the 33rd Street station into an express stop, citing the fact that a 35-story structure was to be built immediately adjacent to the station. The express-stop proposal was postponed indefinitely in 1925. The Fifth Avenue Association requested in 1929 that the express-station proposal be reconsidered. The association said the conversion would "complete a quadrilateral of express stops" that included 34th Street–Penn Station, Times Square–42nd Street, and Grand Central–42nd Street. In 1928, to alleviate overcrowding on the Lexington Avenue Line, a consulting engineer for the New York State Transit Commission proposed the construction of