Congratulations to Chris Solarz (left)and Matt Ferrisi who broke the world record for visiting all 468 subway stations in the New York City network . The broke the previous record of 24 hours and 54 minutes, set in 2006 by an incredible 2 hours and 3 minutes. The new record is now 22 hours and 51 minutes. That's an 8% reduction.
The key to success was to develop a mathematical model of the routes and then to test different portions of the schedule in 6-hour chunks. They had lots of preparation and redundancy including redundant cameras and backup batteries for the backup cameras. No doubt, they had contingencies and strategies for waste disposal and meals on the run handled by Ferrisi's wife Elizabeth. Of course, the greatest risk to this endeavor was unanticipated station closures, bad weather or other factors that would slow one or more trains.
Congratulations!
