Photography Exhibit Showcasing the Behind the Scenes Work that Keeps Transit System Moving

Photo by Marc A. Hermann / MTA

In Service: MTA Photographs by Christopher Payne Gives Unprecedented Access to MTA Maintenance Shops and Manufacturing Plants Across the Country 

50 Images to be Displayed in All 52 Decommissioned Advertising Lightboxes at Five Major Hubs; First Lightbox Takeover in MTA Arts and Design History 

Project Pays Tribute to Unsung Workers and Highlights Investments Made Possible by Capital Plans; Caps MTA Arts and Design’s Year-Long 40th Anniversary Celebration 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced the opening of In Service: MTA Photographs by Christopher Payne, a series of 50 photographs giving riders a rare all-access look inside the maintenance shops and industrial facilities to showcase the people that help keep subways, buses, commuter railroads, bridges and tunnels running. Payne shot at 13 MTA facilities and manufacturing plants in four states, with a special focus on capturing the behind-the-scenes infrastructure work and specialized skills required to build and maintain the machines that move New York.

Payne photographed daily maintenance work at each of the agency’s divisions — New York City Transit, MTA Bus, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, and Bridges & Tunnels, depicting both the people and the machines they build and maintain. He also travelled across the county to document the construction of rolling stock, made possible by past and present capital plans, before it reaches the system. This included Kawasaki’s R211 subway car assembly sites in Yonkers, New York and Lincoln, Nebraska; New Flyer’s articulated bus production in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Jamestown, New York; and Siemens’ locomotive facility in Sacramento, California. 

For nearly four decades, MTA Arts & Design has converted decommissioned advertising lightboxes into photo galleries, with one artist’s work displayed in one station. The photographs in the In Service series will be displayed in all 52 lightboxes at five major transportation hubs for the next six months – the first artist lightbox takeover in MTA Arts and Design’s 40-year history.  

The stations are:  

• 42 St-Bryant Park (B, D, F, M, 7) —7 lightboxes 

• Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr (B, D, N, Q, R, 2, 3, 4, 5) — 8 lightboxes 

• Bowling Green (4, 5) — 7 lightboxes 

• Grand Central Terminal, Dining Concourse — 20 lightboxes 

• Grand Central Madison — 10 lightboxes 

In Service builds on Payne’s long-standing fascination with industrial manufacturing and the hidden infrastructure that powers the MTA system. The project is inspired by Payne’s MTA Overhaul Shops series, which was shot at the 207 St and Coney Island Overhaul Shops and was featured in a 2024 New York Times story on subway car repair. Ten photographs from that series anchor the exhibition; an additional 40 images were commissioned by MTA Arts & Design and produced between May and August 2026. 

The exhibit honors the past 40 years of the MTA Arts and Design program while pointing to the ambitions of its next chapter. Looking ahead, riders can expect continued large-scale presentations across the program’s areas including photography, digital art, graphic art, music, and more. 

About MTA Arts & Design 

Since 1985, MTA Arts & Design has delivered innovative arts programming throughout New York’s transit system. Over four decades, Arts & Design has built a collection of award-winning art that reflects the diversity of the New York City region and makes travel a more engaging experience for millions of riders every day. The program has commissioned more than 400 permanent artworks and activated subway and railroad stations, train cars, and bus depots with MTA Music performances, Poetry in Motion, posters, photography, digital art, and special events. 

About Christopher Payne  

Christopher Payne specializes in architectural photography and the large format documentation of America’s industrial heritage. Trained as an architect, he is fascinated by design, assembly, and the built form. Payne’s photographs invoke the former grandeur of the site over different seasons, capturing hints of buried streets and infrastructure now reclaimed by nature, while also providing a unique glimpse into a city’s future without people. Payne has been awarded grants from the Graham Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the New York Foundation for the Arts. His work has been featured in publications around the world and several times in special presentations by the New York Times Magazine.