<P> By the time the first subway opened in 1904 , the lines had been consolidated into two privately owned systems , the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company ( BRT , later Brooklyn -- Manhattan Transit Corporation , BMT ) and the Interborough Rapid Transit Company ( IRT ) . The city built most of the lines and leased them to the companies . The first line of the city - owned and operated Independent Subway System ( IND ) opened in 1932 ; this system was intended to compete with the private systems and allow some of the elevated railways to be torn down , but stayed within the core of the City due to its small startup capital . This required it to be run ' at cost ' , necessitating fares up to double the five - cent fare popular at the time . </P>
<P> By the time the first subway opened in 1904 , the lines had been consolidated into two privately owned systems , the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company ( BRT , later Brooklyn -- Manhattan Transit Corporation , BMT ) and the Interborough Rapid Transit Company ( IRT ) . The city built most of the lines and leased them to the companies . The first line of the city - owned and operated Independent Subway System ( IND ) opened in 1932 ; this system was intended to compete with the private systems and allow some of the elevated railways to be torn down , but stayed within the core of the City due to its small startup capital . This required it to be run ' at cost ' , necessitating fares up to double the five - cent fare popular at the time . </P>
when was the subway in new york built
when was the subway in new york built
1904
1904