The metro systems weird?

Question

I find it so annoying after I transfered into New York. Previously with Seoul/Tokyo metro, one line had just 2 platforms one going west/east or north/south. Also, each lines had different colours e.g. Line 5 was coloured violet, and trains were coloured violet or Line 2 was coloured green, and trains coloured green. However, with the NYC metro, things just dont seem to be in order. Why? Just a while ago I was about too board the wrong train, when I suddenly realized that this was the wrong train, /line, yet shares the similar colour and codes... So frustrating. Can anyone explain why the whole systems like this? Or how I have to cope it with for the next 2 years?

Answer 1

Here is why the lines are color-coded:

In 1979, the current color code was introduced, grouping trains by main line. A new map was introduced, and new signage was rapidly installed using the colors as background for the number and letter circles on signs. The color code greatly simplified the map and groups the trains into logical families.

Unfortunately, the color code has yet to be used to full advantage. Lines are not referred to by color, as "the red line", nor by names corresponding to colors, as "the Seventh Ave line". Instead, signage and official announcements continue to identify lines by fussy details of train letters and numbers.

For example, an express station on the 7th Ave subway "red line" downtown is marked at the entrance with numbers 1, 2, 3 and 9 each in a red circle and would be referred to in announcements as the "1-2-3-9 line". This usage requires changes in maps and station signs for service changes entirely within one "line". For example, when the Brooklyn terminals of the 2 and 3 were swapped, if maps and station signs had used "Seventh Ave Line", no change would have been required, since all stations with "red line" service continued to have it.

Answer 2

It's a NYC thing. NYC's system is very old and hasn't changed much over the last hundred years. It was build in the late 1800's. Modern Subways in Los Angeles and other major American cities work more like the rest of the world with simple color coded lines indicating specific routes.

Answer 3

you can get used to it.

keep in mind, the NYC system was once three competing companies! As recently as the 1970s, you sometimes had to exit to the street, go around the corner, and re-enter (and pay again) to transfer to another line. It's actually a LOT easier now!

You can get used to it, especially with repitition. Anything new or different or more complex can be a system shock. There is an order to it; it's just different.