Miss the Subway? There's an App for That

The NYC Subway Sounds app is a great tool for dealing with nostalgia for the old ways of life.

1 minute read

May 22, 2020, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


New York Public Transit

Roman Tiraspolsky / Shutterstock

Andrew J. Hawkins writes: "A month into quarantine in New York City, software developer Evan Lewis found himself missing the subway — maybe not so much the smells, but certainly the sounds. The screech of the brakes, the clack-clack of the train rolling over the tracks, the stern reminder to 'Stand clear of the closing doors please.'"

The app includes over two dozen classic sounds only encountered on the New York subway system, including "the 'ding dong' of the closing doors, the 'mind the gap' announcement, the harsh beep of a MetroCard swipe — as well as a handful of the busier station arrival announcements," according to Hawkins.

Thursday, May 21, 2020 in The Verge

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