127-551: The Chrystie Street Connection is a set of New York City Subway tunnels running the length of Chrystie Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan . It is one of the few track connections between lines of the former Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) and Independent Subway System (IND) divisions, which together constitute the system's B Division . A major branch of the IND Sixth Avenue Line , it connects
254-527: A cross-platform interchange between local and express services. Some four-track lines with express service have two tracks each on two levels and use both island and side platforms. Since the majority of the system was built before 1990, the year the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) went into effect, many New York City Subway stations were not designed to be accessible to all. Since then, elevators have been built in newly constructed stations to comply with
381-482: A short-turn local service and a full-length express services. The zone-express option was dismissed in favor of the skip-stop option because its operation has to be very precisely timed so as to not hinder reliability, because service in the outer zone past the boundary of zone express service at Crescent Street or 111th Street would be too infrequent, and because many stations would lose half their service. Outer-zone expresses, after Crescent Street would skip stops on
508-494: A Vignelli-style interactive subway map, "The Weekender", an online map that provides information about any planned work, from late Friday night to early Monday morning. In October 2020, the MTA launched a digital version of the map showing real-time service patterns and service changes, designed by Work & Co . Several privately produced schematics are available online or in printed form, such as those by Hagstrom Map . Out of
635-524: A direct connection to Midtown Manhattan via the Sixth Avenue Line by using the Williamsburg Bridge connection. The Chrystie Street Connection was the first actual integration of BMT and IND lines after the unification of all major lines under New York City municipal ownership in 1940. Prior to that, the nearest integration of the two previous systems was the operation of BMT trains over part of
762-619: A few stretches of track run at ground level; 40% of track is above ground. Many lines and stations have both express and local services. These lines have three or four tracks. Normally, the outer two are used by local trains, while the inner one or two are used by express trains. As of 2018 , the New York City Subway's budgetary burden for expenditures was $ 8.7 billion, supported by collection of fares, bridge tolls, and earmarked regional taxes and fees, as well as direct funding from state and local governments. Alfred Ely Beach built
889-764: A letter or a number and "lines" have names. Trains display their route designation. There are 28 train services in the subway system, including three short shuttles . Each route has a color and a local or express designation representing the Manhattan trunk line of the service. New York City residents seldom refer to services by color (e.g., "blue line" or "green line") but out-of-towners and tourists often do. The 1 , C , G , L , M , R , and W trains are fully local and make all stops. The 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , A , B , D , E , F , N , and Q trains have portions of express and local service. J , Z , 6 , and 7 trains vary by direction, day, or time of day. The letter S
1016-475: A month, after which contracts would be let for ventilation, drainage, lighting, and signals. In addition, the contract for the construction of an extension of the Sixth Avenue Line from 52nd Street to 58th Street for the new 57th Street terminal was expected to be put out for bidding in May. In August 1963, the project was expected to be completed in 1966. On January 23, 1964, the entire seven-block length of Chrystie Street
1143-529: A public authority presided by New York City, was created in 1953 to take over subway, bus, and streetcar operations from the city, and placed under control of the state-level Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1968. Organized in 1934 by transit workers of the BRT, IRT, and IND, the Transport Workers Union of America Local 100 remains the largest and most influential local of the labor unions. Since
1270-535: A single fare to enter the subway system and may transfer between trains at no extra cost until they exit via station turnstiles; the fare is a flat rate regardless of how far or how long the rider travels. Thus, riders must swipe their MetroCard or tap a contactless payment card or smartphone on an OMNY reader upon entering the subway system, but not a second time upon leaving. KK (New York City Subway service) The J Nassau Street Local and Z Nassau Street Express are two rapid transit services in
1397-482: A station, passengers may use station booths (formerly known as token booths) or vending machines to buy their fare, which is currently stored in a MetroCard or OMNY card. Each station has at least one booth, typically located at the busiest entrance. After swiping the card at a turnstile, customers enter the fare-controlled area of the station and continue to the platforms. Inside fare control are "Off-Hours Waiting Areas", which consist of benches and are identified by
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#17328455291781524-528: A total of 850 miles (1,370 km) including non-revenue trackage . Of the system's 28 routes or "services" (which usually share track or "lines" with other services), 25 pass through Manhattan, the exceptions being the G train, the Franklin Avenue Shuttle , and the Rockaway Park Shuttle . Large portions of the subway outside Manhattan are elevated, on embankments , or in open cuts , and
1651-534: A train along the new D route via Grand Street accidentally took his train to Canal Street , necessitating the discharge of 800 passengers from the train during a busy rush hour. Reaction among passengers was mixed, with one passenger hugging a conductor after the opening of the new Grand Street station in Manhattan, while another passenger complained about having to take a slow local train in Brooklyn. The following changes went into effect on July 1, 1968, concurrent with
1778-489: A yellow sign. A typical subway station has waiting platforms ranging from 480 to 600 feet (150 to 180 m) long. Some are longer. Platforms of former commuter rail stations—such as those on the IND Rockaway Line , are even longer. With the many different lines in the system, one platform often serves more than one service. Passengers need to look at the overhead signs to see which trains stop there and when, and at
1905-480: Is approximately 8 feet 9 inches (2.67 m) wide and 51 feet 4 inches (15.65 m) long, whereas B Division equipment is about 10 feet (3.05 m) wide and either 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) or 75 feet (22.86 m) long. The different lengths for the B Division fleet are necessary because 75-foot cars can not be used over the BMT Eastern Division . Cars purchased by
2032-406: Is no nightly system shutdown for maintenance, tracks and stations must be maintained while the system is operating. This work sometimes necessitates service changes during midday, overnight hours, and weekends. When parts of lines are temporarily shut down for construction purposes, the transit authority can substitute free shuttle buses (using MTA Regional Bus Operations bus fleet ) to replace
2159-427: Is smaller than the peak of the system. In addition to the demolition of former elevated lines, which collectively have resulted in the demolition of over a hundred stations, other closed stations and unused portions of existing stations remain in parts of the system. Many stations in the subway system have mezzanines . Mezzanines allow for passengers to enter from multiple locations at an intersection and proceed to
2286-547: Is used for three shuttle services: Franklin Avenue Shuttle , Rockaway Park Shuttle , and 42nd Street Shuttle . Though the subway system operates on a 24-hour basis , during late night hours some of the designated routes do not run, run as a shorter route (often referred to as the "shuttle train" version of its full-length counterpart) or run with a different stopping pattern. These are usually indicated by smaller, secondary route signage on station platforms. Because there
2413-567: The 142nd Street and Myrtle Avenue junctions, whose tracks intersect at the same level, as well as the same-direction pairs of tracks on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line at Rogers Junction . The 7,700 workers who built the original subway lines were mostly immigrants living in Manhattan. More recent projects use tunnel boring machines , which increase the cost. However, they minimize disruption at street level and avoid already existing utilities. Examples of such projects include
2540-516: The 169th Street station several blocks away. The J/Z skip-stop service was touted, in an attempt to relieve some crowding on the IND Queens Boulevard Line , as being faster to lower Manhattan than E, F, and R service. Because the MTA hoped that Queens passengers would use the J/Z instead of the E, F, and R, every subway car on the J and Z ' s fleet was completely graffiti -free. One of
2667-600: The 472 stations , 470 are served 24 hours a day. Underground stations in the New York City Subway are typically accessed by staircases going down from street level. Many of these staircases are painted in a common shade of green, with slight or significant variations in design. Other stations have unique entrances reflective of their location or date of construction. Several station entrance stairs, for example, are built into adjacent buildings. Nearly all station entrances feature color-coded globe or square lamps signifying their status as an entrance. The current number of stations
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#17328455291782794-532: The 63rd Street Lines , opened in 1989. The new South Ferry station was built and connected to the existing Whitehall Street–South Ferry station in 2009. The one-stop 7 Subway Extension to the west side of Manhattan, consisting of the 34th Street–Hudson Yards station, was opened in 2015, and three stations on the Second Avenue Subway in the Upper East Side were opened as part of Phase 1 of
2921-729: The B Division of the New York City Subway . Their route emblems, or "bullets", are colored brown since they use the BMT Nassau Street Line in Lower Manhattan . The J operates at all times while the Z, operating as its rush-hour variant, runs with six trips in each peak direction on weekdays. Both services run through the entirety of the BMT Archer Avenue and Jamaica lines, via the Williamsburg Bridge , and
3048-471: The BMT Nassau Street Line . In June 2010, as part of a round of service cuts, the M was rerouted via Chrystie Street onto the IND Sixth Avenue Line , continuing along the discontinued V service's former routing north of Broadway–Lafayette Street . As a road, Chrystie Street extends northward beyond Houston Street to become Manhattan 's Second Avenue , and the Chrystie Street Connection
3175-684: The Chicago "L" plans all stations to be accessible in the 2030s, the Toronto subway will be fully accessible by 2025, and Montreal Metro plans all stations to be accessible by 2038. Both the Boston and Chicago systems are as old or older than the New York City Subway, though all of these systems have fewer stations than the New York City Subway. Newer systems like the Washington Metro and Bay Area Rapid Transit have been fully accessible from their opening in
3302-711: The Dual Contracts , an extension from Cypress Hills east to Jamaica was completed on July 3, 1918, a third track was added west of East New York, and express trains began running on it in 1922. The Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation numbered its services in 1924, and the Canarsie and Jamaica services became 14 and 15. Both ran express during rush hours in the peak direction west of East New York. Express trains would only stop at Myrtle Avenue, Essex Street and Canal Street, before making local stops afterwards. Additional 14 trains, between Eastern Parkway or Atlantic Avenue on
3429-608: The IND Queens Boulevard Line via the BMT 60th Street Tunnel Connection connecting Lexington Avenue/59th Street on the BMT Broadway Line to Queens Plaza on the IND Queens Boulevard Line in 1955. In that case, however, BMT trains operated on the IND by trackage rights , using BMT equipment and crews. Two major service changes were inaugurated with the opening of the connection. The first went into effect on Sunday, November 26, 1967, when
3556-468: The IND Sixth Avenue Line was completed in 1940, the city went into great debt , and only 33 new stations have been added to the system since, nineteen of which were part of defunct railways that already existed. Five stations were on the abandoned New York, Westchester and Boston Railway , which was incorporated into the system in 1941 as the IRT Dyre Avenue Line . Fourteen more stations were on
3683-697: The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line , which ran directly underneath the World Trade Center . Sections of the tunnel, as well as the Cortlandt Street station, which was directly underneath the Twin Towers, were severely damaged. Rebuilding required the suspension of service on that line south of Chambers Street. Ten other nearby stations were closed for cleanup. By March 2002, seven of those stations had reopened. Except for Cortlandt Street,
3810-717: The IRT subway debuted in 1904, the typical tunnel construction method was cut-and-cover . The street was torn up to dig the tunnel below before being rebuilt from above. Traffic on the street above would be interrupted due to the digging up of the street. Temporary steel and wooden bridges carried surface traffic above the construction. Contractors in this type of construction faced many obstacles, both natural and human made. They had to deal with rock formations and groundwater, which required pumps. Twelve miles of sewers, as well as water and gas mains, electric conduits, and steam pipes had to be rerouted. Street railways had to be torn up to allow
3937-400: The K ) service, which used these tracks, proved unpopular; as such, it only operated from July 1, 1968, to August 29, 1976, when it was cut as part of an ongoing retrenchment of service during New York City's fiscal crisis. The connection was used for a time to move equipment to and from the BMT Eastern Division , but was not used in regular service again until budget cuts forced a reroute of
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4064-458: The M along the connection starting on June 27, 2010. The M had been rerouted to replace the discontinued V route on the IND Sixth Avenue Line and the IND Queens Boulevard Line to Forest Hills–71st Avenue . A plan similar to the Chrystie Street Connection was proposed as part of the Second Avenue Subway (SAS) under the Board of Transportation's 1944–1948 Capital Program, with connections from
4191-603: The R142 , R142A , R143 , R160 , R179 and R188 were placed into service. These cars are collectively known as New Technology Trains (NTTs) due to modern innovations such as LED and LCD route signs and information screens, as well as recorded train announcements and the ability to facilitate Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) . As part of the 2017–2020 MTA Financial Plan, 600 subway cars will have electronic display signs installed to improve customer experience. Riders pay
4318-405: The Williamsburg Bridge was closed for reconstruction. J trains ran only between Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer and Myrtle Avenue. J/Z skip-stop service operated in both directions between Jamaica Center and Eastern Parkway-Broadway Junction. During the closure, B39 bus service over the Williamsburg Bridge was free. The closure was anticipated to last until October 1999, but regular subway service
4445-523: The boroughs of Manhattan , Brooklyn , Queens , and the Bronx . It is 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 27, 1904, the New York City Subway is one of the world's oldest public transit systems, one of the most-used, and the one with
4572-423: The eleventh-busiest rapid transit rail system in the world. The subway carried 2,027,286,000 unlinked, non-unique riders in 2023. Daily ridership has been calculated since 1985; the record, over 6.2 million, was set on October 29, 2015. The system is also one of the world's longest. Overall, the system contains 248 miles (399 km) of routes, translating into 665 miles (1,070 km) of revenue track and
4699-626: The extension of the IRT Flushing Line and the IND Second Avenue Line . Since the opening of the original New York City Subway line in 1904, multiple official and planning agencies have proposed numerous extensions to the subway system. One of the more expansive proposals was the " IND Second System", part of a plan to construct new subway lines in addition to taking over existing subway lines and railroad rights-of-way. The most grandiose IND Second Subway plan, conceived in 1929,
4826-410: The 1970s. In November 2016, the New York City Subway had 6712 cars on the roster. A typical New York City Subway train consists of 8 to 11 cars, although shuttles can have as few as two, and the train can range from 150 to 600 feet (46 to 183 m) in length. The system maintains two separate fleets of cars, one for the A Division routes and another for the B Division routes. A Division equipment
4953-450: The 1980s, make the current fleet of subway cars graffiti-free, as well as order 1,775 new subway cars. By the early 1990s, conditions had improved significantly, although maintenance backlogs accumulated during those 20 years are still being fixed today. Entering the 21st century, progress continued despite several disasters. The September 11 attacks resulted in service disruptions on lines running through Lower Manhattan, particularly
5080-415: The 2020–2024 Capital Program. This would allow one of every two to four stations on every line to be accessible, so that all non-accessible stops would be a maximum of two stops from an accessible station. In 2022, the MTA agreed in a settlement to make 95 percent of subway and Staten Island Railway stations accessible by 2055. By comparison, all but one of Boston's MBTA subway stations are accessible,
5207-605: The 2nd Avenue line to the BMT Nassau Street Line , the Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges, as well as a new station at Grand and Chrystie Streets. This plan would have allowed service from Grand Street to run south to Chambers and Broad Streets on the BMT Nassau Street Line , providing an additional East River crossing via the Montague Street Tunnel . The New York City Board of Estimate voted in September 1951 to construct
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5334-521: The ADA. (Most grade-level stations required little modification to meet ADA standards.) Many accessible stations have AutoGate access. In addition, the MTA identified "key stations", high-traffic and/or geographically important stations, which must conform to the ADA when they are extensively renovated. Under plans from the MTA in 2016, the number of ADA accessible stations would go up to 144 by 2020. As of May 2024 , there were 145 ADA-accessible stations. Over
5461-715: The BOT's successor, the New York City Transit Authority , had asked the city for $ 37.3 million to begin constructing the Chrystie Street Connection. In 1955, the TA recommended that the Board of Estimate approve a contract to reconstruct a junction near the DeKalb Avenue station , on the Brooklyn side of the Manhattan Bridge, to eliminate a bottleneck there. This was the first step in a larger plan to improve transit service between Brooklyn and Manhattan. The Chrystie Street Connection would utilize
5588-456: The Broadway express tracks. The 14 was later cut back to only rush-hour service. On the Manhattan end, the first extension was made on September 16, 1908, when the Williamsburg Bridge subway tracks opened. Broadway and Canarsie trains were extended to the new Essex Street terminal, and further to Chambers Street when the line was extended on August 4, 1913. When the BMT Nassau Street Line
5715-628: The Canarsie Line and Manhattan provided rush-hour local service on Broadway. When the 14th Street–Eastern Line and Canarsie Line were connected on July 14, 1928, the old Canarsie Line service was renamed the Broadway (Brooklyn) Line , providing only weekday local service over the Broadway Elevated west of Eastern Parkway. The Atlantic Avenue trips remained, and rush-hour trains continued to serve Rockaway Parkway (Canarsie), though they did not use
5842-540: The City of New York since the inception of the IND and the other divisions beginning in 1948 are identified by the letter "R" followed by a number; e.g.: R32 . This number is the contract number under which the cars were purchased. Cars with nearby contract numbers (e.g.: R1 through R9 , or R26 through R29 , or R143 through R179 ) may be relatively identical, despite being purchased under different contracts and possibly built by different manufacturers. From 1999 to 2019,
5969-454: The Grand Street station a terminal for Grand Street Shuttle service to Broadway–Lafayette Street . The Manhattan Bridge reopened fully in 2004. The Chrystie Street Connection returned to full revenue service on June 28, 2010. The Manhattan Bridge connection continues to be used by the B and D services. The Williamsburg Bridge connection is now used by the M, which had formerly traveled down
6096-462: The Grand Street station opened on November 26, 1967, almost exactly 10 years after the project began. The Williamsburg Bridge connection and 57th Street station opened on July 1, 1968. The opening of the connection allowed greater flexibility in routings along BMT lines in Brooklyn. The Manhattan Bridge connection eliminated a bottleneck where trains using three of the four BMT Southern Division lines from Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue , were forced to use
6223-473: The J operates, serving every station on its entire route. The J/Z's current skip-stop pattern was implemented in 1988. The J/Z is derived from four routes: The Jamaica Line – then known as the Broadway Elevated – was one of the original elevated lines in Brooklyn, completed in 1893 from Cypress Hills west to Broadway Ferry in Williamsburg . It was then a two-track line, with a single local service between
6350-533: The J/Z ran every five minutes, an improvement over their previous headway of eight minutes. Skip-stop service ran to Manhattan in the morning between 7:15 and 8:15 a.m. and to Jamaica between 4:45 and 5:45 p.m. Midday express service was added with J service continuing to run express in the peak direction between Marcy and Myrtle. Surveys of ridership at local stops found that service could be adequately provided by midday M service. The running time for skip-stop service from Parsons Boulevard to Broad Street
6477-1215: The KK and QJ was discontinued due to rider complaints. On January 2, 1973, the QJ, which was the longest route in the transit system, was cut back to Broad Street and redesignated the J; and the M was extended to Coney Island in its place. At the same time, the KK was cut back to Eastern Parkway from 168th Street and renamed the K, and both skip-stop patterns were carried out by alternate J trains between 7:25 a.m. and 8:12 a.m.. J trains making A stops trains stopped at 168th Street, Sutphin Boulevard, Metropolitan Avenue, 111th Street, Woodhaven Boulevard, Elderts Lane, Cypress Hills, Norwood Avenue, Van Siclen Avenue, and Eastern Parkway, while trains making B stops stopped at 168th Street, 160th Street, Queens Boulevard, 121st Street, 102nd Street, Forest Parkway, Elderts Lane, Crescent Street, Cleveland Street, and Eastern Parkway. All J trains would run express between Eastern Parkway and Essex Street between 6:00 a.m. and 9:05 a.m. from 168th Street, and from 3:35 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. leaving Essex Street. The K
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#17328455291786604-418: The KK included Rockaway Parkway, Atlantic Avenue, Eastern Parkway and 111th Street. The KK provided service to 57th Street/6th Avenue, as the B served 168th Street-Washington Heights during rush hours; during non-rush hours, the B began serving 57th Street/6th Avenue. The MM (depicted with a dark green bullet on R27 signage) had been proposed as a supplement to the KK as a local to 57th Street–Sixth Avenue, but
6731-538: The MTA announced a slew of potential service cuts; among them was the potential elimination of Z service. In May 2009, after the New York State Legislature passed legislation to offer financial support to the MTA, this planned service cut was taken off the table. In May 2014, all trains began stopping at Alabama Avenue , presumably for the convenience of transit employees who work at the nearby East New York Yard and East New York Bus Depot . In July 2014,
6858-473: The MTA proposed that weekend J service be extended from Chambers Street to Broad Street . The service change went into effect on June 14, 2015. From June 26, 2017 to April 27, 2018, J and Z trains ran local between Broadway Junction and Marcy Avenue at all times, supplementing the M, due to the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line connection being closed for reconstruction. In March 2020, skip-stop service
6985-468: The Manhattan Bridge allowed the integration of four major routes of the combined system. The BB service of the IND was through-routed with the T BMT West End Line service as the B , and the D service of the IND was through-routed with the Q BMT Brighton Line service as the D. In 2004, the Brooklyn routes and terminals of the B and D trains were swapped as part of the Manhattan Bridge reconstruction from 1986 to 2004. The two tracks that connect to
7112-438: The Manhattan Bridge connection opened. The second occurred on Monday, July 1, 1968, when the Williamsburg Bridge connection opened. Additionally, for the 1967 opening, every service in the system was labeled with a letter or number and a color. On November 15, 1967, the TA published a subway map showing which routes would be changed when the Manhattan Bridge connection opened. After 940 new signs had already been installed across
7239-713: The Manhattan Bridge or the Montague Street Tunnel before going onto the BMT Broadway Line to Midtown Manhattan (or onto the Nassau Street Loop). The new connection thus permitted IND Sixth Avenue Line trains from Midtown to use the BMT lines toward Coney Island, while preserving Nassau Street service via the Montague Street Tunnel. Trains from the BMT Jamaica Line and other BMT Eastern Division lines also gained
7366-669: The Nassau Street Line between Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer in Jamaica, Queens , and Broad Street in Lower Manhattan. When the Z operates, the two services form a skip-stop pair between Sutphin Boulevard–JFK and Myrtle Avenue-Broadway . In addition during rush hours and middays in the peak direction, they run express in Brooklyn between Myrtle Avenue-Broadway and Marcy Avenue , bypassing three stations. At all other times, only
7493-415: The New York City Subway system, mayor John Lindsay wrote a letter to the TA in an attempt to delay the planned route changes. Lindsay dropped his objection on November 22, just hours before workers started installing heavy equipment to reroute the tracks. Two days later, a New York state judge dismissed a lawsuit against the route changes. The opening of the Manhattan Bridge connection on November 26, 1967,
7620-583: The PM, Nassau Street Line, Montague Street Tunnel, and BMT Fourth Avenue Line to 95th Street in Fort Hamilton . This service served two purposes: (1) early AM service from Jamaica prior to the first QJ trains got the equipment to 95th Street in Brooklyn in time for the AM rush, and obviated the need to have early service to Brighton Beach; and (2) in the evening, trains returned from 95th Street in Brooklyn to Jamaica, allowing
7747-476: The QJ to avoid having to run on the Brighton Line in the Manhattan direction post-rush hour. The next change was made on July 1, 1968, when the Chrystie Street Connection tracks to the Williamsburg Bridge opened. A new service, KK, was instituted that provided skip-stop service from 168th Street/Jamaica along with the QJ in both AM and PM rush hours; because of the limited skip-stop time spans, other terminals for
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#17328455291787874-625: The Second Avenue Subway and several related lines for $ 500 million. The next year, the New York City Board of Transportation (BOT) indicated that it would award contracts for the construction of an 890-foot-long (270 m) section of tunnel between Hester and Delancey Streets, including a station at Grand Street, as part of the SAS project. Work had been expected to begin in mid-1952 but was delayed because of engineering difficulties. By 1954,
8001-522: The Second and Sixth Avenue lines at Grand Street . Under current plans, Phase 4 of the future Second Avenue Subway will be built below the existing Sixth Avenue tracks. New York City Subway July 3, 1868 ; 156 years ago ( 1868-07-03 ) (first elevated, rapid transit operation) [REDACTED] The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving
8128-589: The Sixth Avenue Line to the BMT Brighton Line and BMT Fourth Avenue Line via the north side of the Manhattan Bridge and to the BMT Jamaica Line over the Williamsburg Bridge . The project, opened in 1967 and 1968, also includes the Sixth Avenue Line's Grand Street and 57th Street stations, the latter of which is not part of the connection itself. The connection was originally conceived as part of
8255-459: The Williamsburg Bridge split from the Sixth Avenue Line local tracks east of Broadway – Lafayette Street and feed into the BMT Nassau Street Line west of Essex Street . The purpose of this portion of the connector was to allow trains originating in northern and eastern Brooklyn and southern and eastern Queens to operate into Midtown Manhattan via the Sixth Avenue Line, rather than having to turn south along Nassau Street. The KK (later renamed
8382-595: The abandoned LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch (now the IND Rockaway Line ), which opened in 1955. Two stations ( 57th Street and Grand Street ) were part of the Chrystie Street Connection , and opened in 1968; the Harlem–148th Street terminal opened that same year in an unrelated project. Six were built as part of a 1968 plan : three on the Archer Avenue Lines , opened in 1988, and three on
8509-456: The additional capacity created by reconstructing the tracks around DeKalb Avenue. In mid-1957, the New York City government solicited bids from contractors to construct the various parts of the connection. That October, the Board of Estimate approved an initial $ 10.2 million for the connection. This initial funding would be used to construct the connection to the Williamsburg Bridge, as well as
8636-458: The affected stops. Weekend frequencies on the J route were increased in July 2023. From June 28 to September 3, 2024, to accommodate riders displaced by the suspension of the G for signal modernization, peak-direction express J/Z service between Myrtle Avenue and Marcy Avenue will be suspended, with trains operating local at all times along this segment. The following table shows the lines used by
8763-526: The arriving train to identify it. There are several common platform configurations. On a double track line, a station may have one center island platform used for trains in both directions, or two side platforms , one for each direction. For lines with three or four tracks with express service, local stops will have side platforms and the middle one or two tracks will not stop at the station. On these lines, express stations typically have two island platforms, one for each direction. Each island platform provides
8890-417: The change, J trains began running with four cars between 9:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. On May 2, 1977, J trains began running in skip-stop service between Eastern Parkway and Myrtle Avenue. Chauncey Street and Gates Avenue were designated as A stops, while Halsey Street and Kosciusko Street were designated as B stops. The following table summarizes the changes that were made between 1959 and 1976. The J
9017-410: The complexity of the system (Manhattan being the smallest borough, but having the most services), but they do show major city streets as an aid to navigation. The newest edition took effect on June 27, 2010, and makes Manhattan bigger and Staten Island smaller, with minor tweaks happening to the map when more permanent changes occur. Earlier diagrams of the subway, the first being produced in 1958, had
9144-404: The connection. In June 1965, completion of the section including the Grand Street station was expected in 1966, with the entire project's completion planned for 1967. To allow the Sixth Avenue Line express tracks to be connected, from July 11 to August 30, 1966, F trains terminated at Second Avenue instead of at the center tracks at Broadway–Lafayette Street . The Manhattan Bridge connection and
9271-425: The correct platform without having to cross the street before entering. Inside mezzanines are fare control areas, where passengers physically pay their fare to enter the subway system. In many older stations, the fare control area is at platform level with no mezzanine crossovers. Many elevated stations also have platform-level fare control with no common station house between directions of service. Upon entering
9398-688: The early 1960s. The BMT Jamaica services retained their numbers until November 1967. The 15 became the J (express), and the 14 became the JJ. When the Chrystie Street Connection opened on November 26, 1967, many services were changed. The two local services – the JJ (non-rush hour Jamaica local, and rush hour Broadway-Brooklyn local) – continued as the JJ without any major routing changes. Thus non-rush hour JJ trains ran between Jamaica and Broad Street, while morning rush hour JJ trains ran to Canal Street, and afternoon rush hour JJ trains ran between Canal Street and Atlantic Avenue or Crescent Street. The rush-hour express J
9525-489: The first demonstration for an underground transit system in New York City in 1869 and opened it in February 1870. His Beach Pneumatic Transit only extended 312 feet (95 m) under Broadway in Lower Manhattan operating from Warren Street to Murray Street and exhibited his idea for an atmospheric railway as a subway. The tunnel was never extended for political and financial reasons. Today, no part of this line remains as
9652-482: The five-cent fare of the time, or 10¢ ($ 3 in 2023 dollars ). In 1940, the city bought the two private systems. Some elevated lines ceased service immediately while others closed soon after. Integration was slow, but several connections were built between the IND and BMT. These now operate as one division, called the B Division . Since the former IRT tunnels are narrower, have sharper curves, and shorter station platforms, they cannot accommodate B Division cars, and
9779-400: The former IRT remains its own division, the A Division . Many passenger transfers between stations of all three former companies have been created, allowing the entire network to be treated as a single unit. During the late 1940s, the system recorded high ridership, and on December 23, 1946, the system-wide record of 8,872,249 fares was set. The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA),
9906-469: The goals of the Archer Avenue project was to make Jamaica Line service as attractive as possible, and as a result the TA planned to provide a form of express service. The two options considered to speed up Jamaica Line service were skip-stop service, which would have split Jamaica services into two patterns that served alternate stops, and a zone-express service, which would have split Jamaica services into
10033-480: The hurricane included the restoration of the new South Ferry station from 2012 to 2017; the full closure of the Montague Street Tunnel from 2013 to 2014; and the partial 14th Street Tunnel shutdown from 2019 to 2020. Annual ridership on the New York City Subway system, which totaled nearly 1.7 billion in 2019, declined dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic and did not surpass one billion again until 2022. When
10160-818: The latter. The second phase closed the Manhattan-bound platforms for both stops from early 2024 to mid-2024. Phase 3 will close down the Jamaica Center-bound platforms at Cypress Hills on July 22, 2024, and at 85th Street–Forest Parkway on August 12, 2024, for renovations until early 2025. Phase 4 will close the Manhattan-bound platforms down until late 2025. During those phases, J and Z trains will continue to operate skip-stop service between Myrtle Avenue-Broadway and Crescent Street, Brooklyn, but with both trains making all local stops to/from Sutphin Boulevard-Archer Avenue-JFK Airport, Queens, except for
10287-463: The line at the beginning of 2017. Many rapid transit systems run relatively static routings, so that a train "line" is more or less synonymous with a train "route". In New York City, routings change often, for various reasons. Within the nomenclature of the subway , the "line" describes the physical railroad track or series of tracks that a train "route" uses on its way from one terminal to another. "Routes" (also called "services") are distinguished by
10414-415: The line east from 121st Street to Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer . The Z train first ran that day, introducing the present J/Z skip-stop pattern. The new Z trains would go skip-stop between Jamaica Center and Broadway Junction (later extended to Myrtle Avenue ) during rush hours, then making all J stops to Broad Street. Bus service on several Queens bus routes was rerouted to serve Jamaica Center instead of
10541-403: The lines and leased them to the companies. The first line of the city-owned and operated Independent Subway System (IND) opened in 1932. This system was intended to compete with the private systems and allow some of the elevated railways to be torn down but stayed within the core of the city due to its small startup capital. This required it to be run 'at cost', necessitating fares up to double
10668-705: The local track until Eastern Parkway, from where it would run on the express track, stopping at Myrtle Avenue before going straight to Essex Street in Manhattan, skipping Marcy Avenue. Outer-zone expresses and inner-zone locals would have each been limited to frequencies of 10 minutes. The TA decided to implement skip-stop service with two services labeled "J" and "Z", with lightly-used stops designated as "J" or "Z" stops, and those with higher ridership being all-stop stations. The all-stop stations were Parsons Boulevard , Sutphin Boulevard , Woodhaven Boulevard , Crescent Street, Eastern Parkway , Myrtle Avenue , Marcy Avenue , and all stops in Manhattan except for Bowery , which
10795-409: The long delayed Second Avenue Subway , and, along with the three stations added with the opening of phase 1, is one of the few completed sections of the project. The two tracks that run the full length of the connection begin as a continuation of the IND Sixth Avenue Line express tracks east of Broadway–Lafayette Street. These tracks include the line's only station, Grand Street , and connections to
10922-628: The modern-day New York City Subway system were already in service by then. The oldest structure still in use opened in 1885 as part of the BMT Lexington Avenue Line in Brooklyn and is now part of the BMT Jamaica Line . The oldest right-of-way, which is part of the BMT West End Line near Coney Island Creek , was in use in 1864 as a steam railroad called the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road . The first underground line of
11049-518: The most stations, with 472 stations in operation (423, if stations connected by transfers are counted as single stations). The system has operated 24/7 service every day of the year throughout most of its history, barring emergencies and disasters. By annual ridership, the New York City Subway is the busiest rapid transit system in both the Western Hemisphere and the Western world , as well as
11176-474: The north side of the Manhattan Bridge formerly carried trains to the BMT Broadway Line , which now connects to the tracks on the south side of the bridge. The south side tracks had been connected to the BMT Nassau Street Line , carrying the Nassau Street Loop service via Chambers Street from 1915. The northern tracks of the bridge saw heavier traffic loads because it led to Midtown Manhattan, compared to
11303-495: The opening of the 57th Street station at Sixth Avenue and the bridge connection: The following adjustments to the new service were put into effect on August 18, 1968: These new services began to unravel in response to commuter complaints about the various routings. Many of the new extensions like the NX and RJ quickly disappeared (April 12, 1968, and June 28, 1968, respectively), although the RJ
11430-404: The perception of being more geographically inaccurate than the diagrams today. The design of the subway map by Massimo Vignelli , published by the MTA between 1972 and 1979, has become a modern classic but the MTA deemed the map flawed due to its placement of geographical elements. A late night-only version of the map was introduced on January 30, 2012. On September 16, 2011, the MTA introduced
11557-484: The project would be finished in three years. Workers were constructing the segment of the Manhattan Street connection beneath the existing Nassau Street Line by 1959. Concrete workers went on strike while the connection was under construction, raising concerns that the BMT tunnel could be undermined; to prevent the tunnel from collapsing, the concrete workers' union made an exception allowing workers to pour concrete for
11684-447: The rest reopened in September 2002, along with service south of Chambers Street. Cortlandt Street reopened in September 2018. In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy flooded several underwater tunnels and other facilities near New York Harbor , as well as trackage over Jamaica Bay . The immediate damage was fixed within six months, but long-term resiliency and rehabilitation projects continued for several years. The recovery projects after
11811-405: The routes proposed over the decades have never seen construction, discussion remains strong to develop some of these lines, to alleviate existing subway capacity constraints and overcrowding, the most notable being the proposals for the Second Avenue Subway . Plans for new lines date back to the early 1910s, and expansion plans have been proposed during many years of the system's existence. After
11938-403: The routes that would normally run on these lines. The Transit Authority announces planned service changes through its website, via placards that are posted on station and interior subway-car walls, and through its Twitter page. Current official transit maps of the New York City Subway are based on a 1979 design by Michael Hertz Associates . The maps are not geographically accurate due to
12065-402: The section of the Manhattan Bridge connection from Delancey to Stanton Street . A groundbreaking ceremony was held on November 25, 1957, with Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. and TA officials in attendance. The project was constructed in conjunction with the addition of express tracks on the Sixth Avenue Line between 34th Street and West 4th Street, adding capacity to the line. It was expected that
12192-564: The service plan for the extension at the MTA's February 1988 board meeting. She recommended that trains should use the express track between Myrtle Avenue and Eastern Parkway to reduce travel times, and that the Chrystie Street Connection be reused for service to the Jamaica Line. On September 30, 1990, weekend J service was cut back to Canal Street , but it was extended back to Chambers Street in January 1994. From May 1 to September 1, 1999,
12319-594: The six parts of the Second Avenue Subway that were built in the 1960s and 1970s—the other four parts being the BMT 63rd Street Line , two unused subway segments under Second Avenue in East Harlem (one of which was connected to the 63rd Street line for Phase 1 of the Second Avenue line, which opened in 2017), and an unused subway segment under Confucius Plaza just to the south. The Chrystie Street Connection would have facilitated cross-platform and track interchanges between
12446-457: The southern tracks, which made three stops in Lower Manhattan before returning to Brooklyn. As a result of the uneven traffic distribution, the Manhattan Bridge started tilting to its north side. The connection to the Nassau Street Line was cut north of Chambers Street at the Manhattan Bridge end and is used for storage from the Nassau Street end. The opening of the Chrystie Street Connection to
12573-727: The subway opened on October 27, 1904, almost 36 years after the opening of the first elevated line in New York City (which became the IRT Ninth Avenue Line ). The 9.1-mile (14.6 km) subway line, then called the "Manhattan Main Line", ran from City Hall station northward under Lafayette Street (then named Elm Street) and Park Avenue (then named Fourth Avenue) before turning westward at 42nd Street . It then curved northward again at Times Square , continuing under Broadway before terminating at 145th Street station in Harlem . Its operation
12700-508: The subway system runs on surface or elevated tracks, including steel or cast-iron elevated structures , concrete viaducts , embankments , open cuts and surface routes. As of 2019 , there are 168 miles (270 km) of elevated tracks. All of these construction methods are completely grade-separated from road and pedestrian crossings, and most crossings of two subway tracks are grade-separated with flying junctions . The sole exceptions of at-grade junctions of two lines in regular service are
12827-407: The tunnel was completely within the limits of the present-day City Hall station under Broadway. The Great Blizzard of 1888 helped demonstrate the benefits of an underground transportation system. A plan for the construction of the subway was approved in 1894, and construction began in 1900. Even though the underground portions of the subway had yet to be built, several above-ground segments of
12954-413: The tunnel. In 1962, the construction of an extension of the Sixth Avenue Line to a new terminal at 57th Street was announced. This would be the final major component of the plan to increase Brooklyn to Manhattan capacity. In February 1963, construction of the tunnel for the Chrystie Street Connection was 95 percent complete. It was expected that contracts for track work would be put out for bidding in about
13081-660: The two ends, and a second east of Gates Avenue , where the Lexington Avenue Elevated merged. This second service later became the 12 , and was eliminated on October 13, 1950, with the abandonment of the Lexington Avenue Elevated. The second major service on the Broadway Elevated ran between Canarsie and Williamsburg via the BMT Canarsie Line , started on July 30, 1906, when the Broadway and Canarsie tracks were connected at East New York. As part of
13208-545: The two northern tracks over the Manhattan Bridge. The IND Sixth Avenue Line express tracks formerly continued east, ending slightly east of the Second Avenue station, and were planned to extend into Brooklyn and beyond as part of a never-built major system expansion called the IND Second System . Those tracks still exist at Second Avenue station, but now connect to the local tracks west of the station. The two tracks on
13335-535: The union's founding, there have been three union strikes over contract disputes with the MTA: 12 days in 1966 , 11 days in 1980 , and three days in 2005 . By the 1970s and 1980s, the New York City Subway was at an all-time low. Ridership had dropped to 1910s levels, and graffiti and crime were rampant. Maintenance was poor, and delays and track problems were common. Still, the NYCTA managed to open six new subway stations in
13462-717: The work. The foundations of tall buildings often ran near the subway construction, and in some cases needed underpinning to ensure stability. This method worked well for digging soft dirt and gravel near the street surface. Tunnelling shields were required for deeper sections, such as the Harlem and East River tunnels, which used cast-iron tubes. Rock or concrete-lined tunnels were used on segments from 33rd to 42nd streets under Park Avenue ; 116th to 120th Streets under Broadway ; 145th to Dyckman Streets (Fort George) under Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue ; and 96th Street and Broadway to Central Park North and Lenox Avenue . About 40% of
13589-538: The years, the MTA has been involved in a number of lawsuits over the lack of accessibility in its stations. The Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association filed what may have been the first of these suits in 1979, based on state law. The lawsuits have relied on a number of different legal bases, but most have centered around the MTA's failure to include accessibility as a part of its plans for remodeling various stations. As of January 2022 , ADA-accessibility projects are expected to be started or completed at 51 stations as part of
13716-452: Was 48 minutes, compared to 54 + 1 ⁄ 2 minutes for all-local service and 52 for the E. It was expected that 2,250 Queens Boulevard riders would switch to the J and Z. To make J/Z service more attractive, all trains on those lines consisted of refurbished subway cars that were more quiet, graffiti-free, and had improved lighting and new floors. All cars on the J/Z were expected to have air-conditioning by summer 1989. Express service
13843-454: Was combined with the weekday QT Brighton Local via tunnel to form the weekday QJ, running between Jamaica and Brighton Beach via the Jamaica Line (express during rush hours in the peak direction), BMT Nassau Street Line , Montague Street Tunnel , and BMT Brighton Line (local). Finally, the RJ was a special peak-direction rush-hour service, running local on the Jamaica Line in the AM, express in
13970-400: Was completed on May 30, 1931, the 15 was extended to Broad Street , and the 14 was truncated to Canal Street . Weekday midday 14 Broadway-Brooklyn Local and midday 15 Jamaica Express service was discontinued on June 26, 1952. Some 14 trains began terminating at Crescent Street on the Jamaica Line in 1956. Manhattan-bound rush hour skip-stop service between Jamaica and East New York
14097-430: Was concurrent with the opening of the new express tracks on the Sixth Avenue Line between West Fourth Street–Washington Square and 34th Street , providing additional capacity for the extra trains on the IND via the connection. The following service changes were made, affecting about 200,000 passengers: These changes were reportedly so confusing to some motormen that on November 28, 1967, a motorman intending to operate
14224-494: Was discontinued entirely on August 30, 1976, eliminating the J skip-stop and express service east of Myrtle Avenue in the evening rush hour. Skip-stop service was retained toward Manhattan during the morning rush hour. One-way express service remained west of Myrtle Avenue, for the M was switched to the local tracks at that time. On January 24, 1977, as part of a series of NYCTA service cuts to save $ 13 million, many subway lines began running shorter trains during middays. As part of
14351-412: Was fully reopened to traffic. It had been subjected to different closures for six years for the construction of the line. Later that year, the tracks in the new connection were laid. In contrast to subway tracks on existing lines, which contained wooden cross ties , the new tracks were installed on rubber pads attached to the concrete track bed, thereby dampening noise from trains. In 1965, the connection
14478-575: Was implemented on June 18, 1959, with trains leaving 168th Street on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Express 15 trains served "A" stations, while the morning 14 became the Jamaica Local , running between Jamaica and Canal Street, and stopped at stations marked "B". Express 15 trains continued to run express between Eastern Parkway and Canal Street, making only stops at Myrtle Avenue, Essex Street, and Canal Street. These stations were as follows: Letters were assigned to most BMT services in
14605-469: Was kept as the M and extended from Chambers Street to Broad Street. The RJ was eliminated, being cut north of Chambers Street and relabeled as an RR variant, and the off-hour JJ was relabeled QJ. Less than two months later, on August 18, the QJ was extended to Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue , and the D cut back to Brighton Beach during QJ operating hours in order to avoid switching delays at Brighton Beach. On July 14, 1969, afternoon skip-stop service on
14732-606: Was leased to the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), and over 150,000 passengers paid the 5-cent fare ($ 2 in 2023 dollars ) to ride it on the first day of operation. By the late 1900s and early 1910s, the lines had been consolidated into two privately owned systems, the IRT and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT, later Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation , BMT). The city built most of
14859-524: Was not implemented between Broadway Junction and Myrtle Avenue because local service would have needed to be operated between those points in addition to the J and Z. The two terminals for such a service ( 57th Street and Broad Street ) lacked spare capacity, although it was acknowledged that 57th Street on the IND Sixth Avenue Line could be used as a terminal once Manhattan Bridge subway-track repairs were completed. Queens Borough President Claire Schulman made multiple recommendations about revisions to
14986-557: Was projected to cost $ 100 million (equivalent to $ 966,842,661 in 2023), and provide capacity for 52,000 additional riders per hour between Brooklyn and Manhattan. This included 14,000 additional riders on the BMT West End Line , 9,000 on the BMT Sea Beach Line , 17,000 on the BMT Brighton Line , and 12,000 on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line . By January of that year, lighting, power, and signal equipment had been installed on
15113-442: Was replaced with a shorter rush hour R service between Chambers Street and 95th Street-4th Avenue in Brooklyn. The KK (since renamed the K ) was discontinued in 1976 as a money-saving measure, ending service via the Williamsburg Bridge connection. Reconstruction of the Manhattan Bridge occurred from 1986 to 1988, in 1995, and from 2001 to 2004. At times, this made the Chrystie Street Connection unavailable for through trains, and made
15240-492: Was restored one month ahead of schedule. The project cost $ 130 million, including replacing the tracks support structure, signal system and other equipment. On September 1, 1999, J and Z trains, which previously skipped Bowery between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays, began stopping there at all times. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, service on the BMT Broadway Line in Lower Manhattan , as well as all R service,
15367-517: Was suspended due to track replacement on the lower levels of the Jamaica Center and Sutphin Boulevard stations. Skip-service to Jamaica Center was restored on September 19, 2022. On February 26, 2023, Jamaica Center-bound J and Z trains skipped 75th Street-Elderts Lane and Woodhaven Boulevard until January 2024 as part of a four-phase station renovation project for both stations as well as accessibility improvements and elevator installation for
15494-421: Was suspended. J trains were extended beyond Broad Street via the Montague Street Tunnel to replace the R to Bay Ridge–95th Street at all times except late nights, when it only ran to Broad Street and a shuttle ran in Brooklyn between 95th and 36th Streets . J/Z skip-stop service was suspended. Normal service on all three trains was restored on October 28. On November 20, 2008, in light of severe budget woes,
15621-497: Was temporarily suspended due to lack of ridership and train crew availability caused by the COVID-19 pandemic . Full service was restored in June 2020. From December 29, 2021, to January 19, 2022, skip-stop service was again suspended due to a shortage of crew members exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 1, 2022, J service was cut back to 121st Street , and skip-stop service
15748-410: Was the first part of the long-planned Second Avenue Subway to be opened to service. The connection is one of several vestiges of early efforts to build the Second Avenue Subway, and before the connection was built, the original IND construction for the line included a recession in the ceiling at Second Avenue station and a short tunnel under Bowery . The Chrystie Street Connection comprises two of
15875-410: Was to be part of the city-operated IND, and was to comprise almost 1 ⁄ 3 of the current subway system. By 1939, with unification planned, all three systems were included within the plan, which was ultimately never carried out. Many different plans were proposed over the years of the subway's existence, but expansion of the subway system mostly stopped during World War II . Though most of
16002-618: Was to be served by only the M train. Bowery's low ridership did not justify more than one service to stop at the station; the J stopped there evenings, nights and weekends when the M did not operate into Manhattan. The J-only stops while skip-stop was operating were 111th Street, Forest Parkway, Cypress Hills, Cleveland Street, Alabama Avenue, Halsey Street and Kosciusko Street. The Z-only stops were 121st Street, 102nd Street, Elderts Lane, Norwood Avenue, Van Siclen Avenue, Chauncey Street and Gates Avenue. To further speed up service, J and Z trains would run express between Myrtle and Marcy. Trains on
16129-403: Was truncated to Queens Boulevard just after midnight on September 11, 1977, and to 121st Street on April 15, 1985, as portions of the elevated Jamaica Line closed and were demolished. The Q49 shuttle bus replaced service at the closed stations until 1988. On December 1, 1980, AM rush hour skip-stop service was discontinued. The BMT Archer Avenue Line opened on December 11, 1988, extending
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