#MotionPicture – The taking of Pelham 123

The Taking of Pelham 123 is a 2009 American action thriller film directed by Tony Scott. It is the third film adaptation of the John Godey novel of the same name (following the 1974 theatrical film and 1998 television film). The film is about a train dispatcher (Denzel Washington), who is pressed into the role of negotiator after a criminal (John Travolta) hijacks a subway car of passengers. The film was released on June 12, 2009. It grossed $150 million against a production budget of about $100 million and received mixed reviews from critics.

Production began in March 2008 with all cast and crew being required to attend a track safety course taught by MTA personnel, as much of the filming would take place in the subway on active tracks. For the initial hijack sequence at Grand Central on the Flushing Line, the crew used the westbound track during late night hours while regular 7 train service operated in both directions on the eastbound track. An R142A train (the model previously used on the 6 train at the time) was used for the Grand Central sequence. Many locations in Brooklyn were used during filming. A large portion was filmed on the Transit Museum local track between the Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets station and the New York Transit Museum on the Fulton Street Line.

For exterior filming only, R62A car #2079 was used during filming to give the appearance of an R142A car. Interior car scenes were filmed at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens on a set that more closely resembles the newer and larger R160B (which were still being delivered at the time of filming). Outdoor street filming locations were the lower level of the Manhattan Bridge; Tudor City, including the First Avenue tunnel near the Headquarters of the United Nations; the Upper East Side; Times Square and the Theater District area; the Whitlock Avenue station on the Pelham Line in Hunts Point, Bronx; and Turtle Bay. Some scenes were also shot in Lower Manhattan.

The scene with the police leaving the Brooklyn Federal Reserve, which does not exist, was actually the rear of the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General, located next to the World Trade Center, in front of the PATH station entrance.

The film was originally scheduled to release on July 31, 2009, but the release was moved earlier to June 12, 2009. The first theatrical poster was released on February 10, 2009, while the first trailer for the film debuted at the screenings of The International on February 13, 2009.

John Travolta decided against promoting the film, as it was released just five months after the death of his 16-year-old son, Jett. He stated that he still was not ready to step back into the spotlight.