A money train is one or more

railcar A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a dri ...

s used to collect cash fare revenue from stations on a

subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Intercontin ...

system and return it to a central location for processing. This train was typically used to carry money bags guarded by

transit police Transit police (also known as transport police, railway police, railroad police and several other terms) are specialized police agencies employed either by a common carrier (a transit district, railway, railroad, bus line, or any other mass tr ...

to deter robberies. On the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October ...

, a “money train” was first mentioned in 1905, a year after the system opened. Their trains were converted from subway cars that have been removed from passenger service. This has since been discontinued, with the last service running in January 2006. Two of the cars are preserved by the

New York Transit Museum The New York Transit Museum (also called the NYC Transit Museum) is a museum that displays historical artifacts of the New York City Subway, bus, and commuter rail systems in the greater New York City metropolitan region. The main museum is lo ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. The use of a train was necessary because of difficulties in getting to and from stations using over-street transport, and because, since the subway reaches every station, the rail system itself can be used to collect money from

ticket machine A ticket machine, also known as a ticket vending machine (TVM), is a vending machine that produces paper or electronic tickets, or recharges a stored-value card or smart card or the user's mobile wallet, typically on a smartphone. For instanc ...

s. The 1995 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

thriller film '' Money Train'' depicts a robbery of such a train. Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit system introduced a four-car money train when the system was commissioned in 1987. Used to transfer cash trolleys from stations to a counting facility at

Bishan Depot Bishan Depot is a depot located on the Mass Rapid Transit in Bishan, Singapore. It was completed in 1987 by American architect Vikas M. Gore and the 12,000 square metres maintenance area at cost of S$300 million. The depot comprises a s ...

, the increased use of stored value tickets resulted in the train being decommissioned in 2007. The

Washington Metro The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,Google Books search/preview

system continues to use money trains as of 2021. The Light Rail in Hong Kong uses money trains, which are regular passenger trains taken out of service, to collect fares from the ticket vending machines.

Pay car

In Australia, the reverse procedure occurred with the

New South Wales Government Railways The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. Management The agency was managed by a range of differen ...

fleet of pay buses. A small self-powered railcar, they were used to deliver pay packets containing cash to employees at remote railway stations, as well as maintenance gangs working on the tracks. This operation remained in service until the 1980s when it was supplanted by electronic payments.

References

Fare collection systems New York City Subway fare payment Trains {{NYC-transport-stub