<P> The Great Blizzard of 1888 helped demonstrate the benefits of an underground transportation system . A plan for the construction of the subway was approved in 1894 , and construction began in 1900 . The first underground line of the subway opened on October 27 , 1904 , almost 36 years after the opening of the first elevated line in New York City , which became the IRT Ninth Avenue Line . The fare was $0.05 and on the first day the trains carried over 150,000 passengers . The oldest structure still in use opened in 1885 as part of the BMT Lexington Avenue Line in Brooklyn and is now part of the BMT Jamaica Line . The oldest right - of - way , which is part of the BMT West End Line near Coney Island Creek , was in use in 1864 as a steam railroad called the Brooklyn , Bath and Coney Island Rail Road . </P>
when did the subway open in new york
October 27 , 1904