IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line
| IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line | |
|---|---|
Train services that use the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line have been colored red since 1979.
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| Overview | |
| Type | Rapid transit |
| System | New York City Subway |
| Termini | Van Cortlandt Park – 242nd Street South Ferry Borough Hall |
| Stations | 44 |
| Daily ridership | 1,093,105 (south of 96 Street) 348,027 (north of 96 Street)[1] |
| Operation | |
| Opening | 1904-1919 |
| Owner | City of New York |
| Operator(s) | New York City Transit Authority |
| Character | Underground (Most of Manhattan) Elevated (125th Street and North of Inwood) |
| Technical | |
| No. of tracks | 1–4 |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Electrification | Direct Current traction |
The IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line (also known as the Seventh Avenue Line or the West Side Line) is a New York City Subway line. It is one of several lines that serves the A Division (IRT), stretching from South Ferry in Lower Manhattan north to Van Cortlandt Park – 242nd Street in Riverdale, Bronx.[2][3] The Brooklyn Branch,[4] from the main line at Chambers Street southeast through the Clark Street Tunnel to Borough Hall in Downtown Brooklyn, is also part of the Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line.[5]
Contents
Description[edit]
The south end of the Brooklyn Branch is unclear. In a 1981 list of "most deteriorated subway stations", the MTA listed Borough Hall and Clark Street stations as part of the IRT New Lots Line.[6] However, as of 2007, emergency exit signs label Borough Hall as an IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line station, and the two parts of Borough Hall are signed as being along the Broadway – Seventh Avenue and IRT Eastern Parkway Lines. The chaining designations "K" (Clark Street Tunnel) and "M" (Joralemon Street Tunnel) join and become "E" (Eastern Parkway Line) at Borough Hall.
The line is also known as the IRT West Side Line, since it runs along the west side of Manhattan; the part north of 42nd Street was built as part of the first subway in New York. The line serves places such as Lincoln Center, Columbia University, and the City College of New York.
Train services that use the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line are colored tomato red on subway signage and literature. The line is served by the 1 2 3 trains, which operate together over much of the line. In the past, the 1 train operated as a skip-stop service in tandem with the 9, which was discontinued after May 27, 2005; from 1994 onward, this skip-stop separation existed only in Upper Manhattan during rush hours.
An unused third track along much of the line north of 96th Street has been used in the past for peak direction express service, at least between 96th Street and 137th Street.[7] Currently, this center track is used only during construction reroutes.
It is the only line to have elevated stations in Manhattan.
Clark Street Tunnel[edit]
The Clark Street Tunnel carries the 2 3 trains under the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. It was opened for revenue service on Tuesday, April 15, 1919, relieving crowding on the Joralemon Street Tunnel and providing passengers with a direct route to travel between Brooklyn and the west side of Manhattan.[8] It is about 5,900 feet long, with about 3,100 feet underwater.
Construction of the tunnel began on October 12, 1914, using a tunneling shield in conjunction with compressed air. The tunnel was designed by civil engineer Clifford Milburn Holland, who would later serve as the first chief engineer of the Holland Tunnel.[9][10] The north tube was holed through on November 28, 1916.[11]
On December 28, 1990, an electrical fire in the Clark Street Tunnel trapped passengers on a subway train for over half an hour, killed two people, and injured 149 passengers.[12]
History[edit]
When the first subway opened between 1904 and 1908, one of the main service patterns was the West Side Branch, running from Lower Manhattan to Van Cortlandt Park via what is now the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, 42nd Street Shuttle, and IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line. Both local and express trains were operated, with express trains using the express tracks south of 96th Street. Express trains ran through to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn during rush hours, while other express trains and all local trains turned around at City Hall or South Ferry.[13][14][15]
The first portion of the Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line south of Times Square – 42nd Street, a shuttle to 34th Street – Penn Station, opened on June 3, 1917.[16] This shuttle was extended south to South Ferry, with a shorter shuttle on the Brooklyn Branch between Chambers Street and Wall Street, on July 1, 1918.[17] Finally, the new "H" system was implemented on August 1, 1918, joining the two halves of the Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line and sending all West Side trains south from Times Square.[18]
On September 22, 1915 there was an explosion during construction of the 7th Avenue subway station between 23rd and 25th Street that caused the tunnel to collapse.[19]
The local tracks ran to South Ferry, while the express tracks used the Brooklyn Branch to Wall Street, extended into Brooklyn to Atlantic Avenue via the Clark Street Tunnel on April 15, 1919.[20] Extensions of the Eastern Parkway Line and the connecting Nostrand Avenue Line and New Lots Line opened in the next few years, with the end result being that West Side trains ran to Flatbush Avenue or New Lots Avenue.
On February 6, 1959, the 1 train became the West Side local. Previously, 1 trains ran express along the West Side and into Brooklyn, and the 3 was the local service to South Ferry. Since then, 1 train service has remained consistent.
On August 21, 1989, the 1/9 weekday skip-stop service was formed.[21] Skip-stop service operated north of 137th Street – City College.
In 1994, midday skip-stop service was discontinued.[22] By this time, 1 trains only skipped Marble Hill – 225th, 207th and 145th Streets and 9 trains only skipped 238th, 215th, Dyckman and 157th Streets.
After September 11, 2001, 1 trains had to be rerouted since the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line ran directly under the World Trade Center site and was heavily damaged in the collapse of the Twin Towers. It ran only between 242nd Street and 14th Street, running local north of and express south of 96th Street; the 9 train and skip-stop service were suspended at this time. On September 19, after a few switching delays at 96th Street, service was changed. 1 trains made all local stops from 242nd Street to New Lots Avenue via the Clark Street Tunnel and IRT Eastern Parkway Line, to replace 3 trains, which terminated at 14th Street, at all times except late nights, when it terminated at Chambers Street in Manhattan instead. On September 15, 2002, 1 trains returned to South Ferry and the 9 train and skip-stop service was restored.[23]
On May 27, 2005, the 9 train and skip-stop service was discontinued.[22]
On March 16, 2009, the 1 local via the South Ferry loop was discontinued and a new South Ferry terminal station opened.[24] This was the first new station to open since 1989 when the IND 63rd Street Line stations opened. Both loops at South Ferry remain in service to short-turn trains (such as the 5 train when it doesn't run to Brooklyn), but the platforms are now closed to passengers. The loop station reopened in April 2013 after the station that was built in 2009 was damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
Extent and service[edit]
The following services use part or all of the Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line, whose services' bullets are colored tomato red:
| Time period | Section of line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| All except late nights |
Late nights | ||
 |
local | full line to South Ferry | |
 |
express | local | south of 96th Street to Borough Hall |
 |
express | south of 96th Street to Borough Hall (all except late nights) between 96th Street and Times Square (late nights) |
|
Station listing[edit]
| Station service legend | |
|---|---|
 |
Stops all times |
 |
Stops all times except late nights |
 |
Stops late nights only |
 |
Stops weekdays only |
 |
Stops rush hours only |
 |
Stops rush hours in the peak direction only |
| Time period details | |
| Neighborhood (approximate) |
 |
Station | Tracks | Services | Opened | Transfers and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverdale | Van Cortlandt Park – 242nd Street | 1 |
August 1, 1908[25] | |||
| Center Express track begins (no regular service) | ||||||
| Connecting Tracks to 240th Street Yard | ||||||
| Kingsbridge and Riverdale | 238th Street | local | 1 |
August 1, 1908 | ||
|
231st Street | local | 1 |
January 27, 1907 | ||
| Marble Hill | Marble Hill – 225th Street | local | 1 |
January 14, 1907[26] | Connection to Metro-North Railroad (Hudson Line at Marble Hill) | |
| Broadway Bridge | ||||||
| Inwood | 215th Street | local | 1 |
March 12, 1906[27] | ||
| Connecting Track to 207th Street Yard | ||||||
| 207th Street | local | 1 |
March 16, 1906 | Bx12 Select Bus Service | ||
| Center Express track ends | ||||||
|
Dyckman Street | 1 |
March 12, 1906[27] | Station is ADA-accessible in the southbound direction only. | ||
| Washington Heights | 191st Street | 1 |
January 14, 1911[28] | |||
| 181st Street | 1 |
March 16, 1906 | ||||
| 168th Street | 1 |
April 14, 1906[29] | IND Eighth Avenue Line (A C ) |
|||
| 157th Street | 1 |
November 12, 1904[30] | ||||
| Center Express track begins (No Regular Service) | ||||||
| Harlem | 145th Street | local | 1 |
October 27, 1904[31] | ||
| 137th Street Yard tracks surround Main Line | ||||||
| 137th Street – City College | local | 1 |
October 27, 1904[31] | |||
| 125th Street | local | 1 |
October 27, 1904[31] | |||
| Morningside Heights | 116th Street – Columbia University | local | 1 |
October 27, 1904[31] | M60 Select Bus Service to LaGuardia Airport | |
| Cathedral Parkway – 110th Street | local | 1 |
October 27, 1904[31] | |||
| Upper West Side | 103rd Street | local | 1 |
October 27, 1904[31] | ||
| Center Express track ends | ||||||
| IRT Lenox Avenue Line joins as the express tracks (2 3 ) |
||||||
|
96th Street | all | 1 2 3 |
October 27, 1904[31] | ||
| 91st Street | local | October 27, 1904[31] | Closed February 2, 1959 | |||
| 86th Street | local | 1 2 |
October 27, 1904[31] | |||
| 79th Street | local | 1 2 |
October 27, 1904[31] | |||
|
72nd Street | all | 1 2 3 |
October 27, 1904[31] | ||
|
66th Street – Lincoln Center | local | 1 2 |
October 27, 1904[31] | ||
| Midtown | |
59th Street – Columbus Circle | local | 1 2 |
October 27, 1904[31] | IND Eighth Avenue Line (A B C D ) |
| 50th Street | local | 1 2 |
October 27, 1904[31] | |||
| merge on northbound local track to IRT 42nd Street Shuttle (no regular service) | ||||||
|
Times Square – 42nd Street | all | 1 2 3 |
June 3, 1917[32] | IRT Flushing Line (7 <7>) IND Eighth Avenue Line (A C E ) at 42nd Street – Port Authority Bus TerminalBMT Broadway Line (N Q R )42nd Street Shuttle (S )Port Authority Bus Terminal |
|
|
34th Street – Penn Station | all | 1 2 3 |
June 3, 1917[32] | Connection to Amtrak, LIRR, and N.J. Transit at Pennsylvania Station M34 / M34A Select Bus Service |
|
| Chelsea | 28th Street | local | 1 2 |
July 1, 1918 | ||
| 23rd Street | local | 1 2 |
July 1, 1918 | |||
| 18th Street | local | 1 2 |
July 1, 1918 | |||
| 14th Street | all | 1 2 3 |
July 1, 1918 | IND Sixth Avenue Line (F M ) at 14th Street BMT Canarsie Line (L ) at Sixth AvenueConnection to PATH at 14th Street |
||
| Greenwich Village | Christopher Street – Sheridan Square | local | 1 2 |
July 1, 1918 | Connection to PATH at Christopher Street | |
| Houston Street | local | 1 2 |
July 1, 1918 | |||
| TriBeCa | Canal Street | local | 1 2 |
July 1, 1918 | ||
| Franklin Street | local | 1 2 |
July 1, 1918 | |||
| Financial District | |
Chambers Street | all | 1 2 3 |
July 1, 1918[33] | |
| Express tracks split to Brooklyn Branch (2 3 ); Local tracks continue as Main line (1 ) |
||||||
| Cortlandt Street | local | July 1, 1918 | Closed since September 11, 2001 Connection to PATH at World Trade Center |
|||
| Rector Street | local | 1 |
July 1, 1918 | |||
| Split between Main line and Outer loop at South Ferry loops | ||||||
| South Ferry (Loop Platform) |
outer loop only | 1 |
July 1, 1918[33] | Closed on March 16, 2009 with the opening of the new terminal Reopened on April 4, 2013 as temporary station and terminal for the 1 train |
||
|
South Ferry (New Platform) |
local | March 16, 2009[24] | Closed November 2012 due to damage caused by Hurricane Sandy; pending reconstruction BMT Broadway Line (N R )M15 Select Bus Service Staten Island Ferry at South Ferry |
||
| Main line terminates (1 ) |
||||||
| Brooklyn Branch (2 3 ) |
||||||
| Financial District | Park Place | express | 2 3 |
August 1, 1918 | IND Eighth Avenue Line (A C ) at Chambers Street IND Eighth Avenue Line (E ) at World Trade CenterConnection to PATH at World Trade Center |
|
|
Fulton Street | express | 2 3 |
August 1, 1918 | IRT Lexington Avenue Line (4 5 ) IND Eighth Avenue Line (A C )BMT Nassau Street Line (J Z )Connection to BMT Broadway Line (N R ) at Cortlandt Street via Dey Street Passageway |
|
| Wall Street | express | 2 3 |
August 1, 1918 | |||
| Clark Street Tunnel | ||||||
| Brooklyn Heights | Clark Street | express | 2 3 |
April 15, 1919 | ||
| Downtown Brooklyn | |
Borough Hall | express | 2 3 |
April 15, 1919 | IRT Eastern Parkway Line (4 5 ) BMT Fourth Avenue Line (N R ) at Court Street |
| becomes the local tracks of the IRT Eastern Parkway Line (2 3 ) |
||||||
References[edit]
- ^ MTA. "Average weekday subway ridership". Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- ^ MTA Capital Construction - South Ferry Terminal Project, Environmental Assessment and Section 4(f) Evaluation, Chapter 5-13: Archaeological and Historic Resources PDF (198 KiB)
- ^ Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Proposed Program of Projects, Federal Fiscal Year 2007 PDF (362 KiB)
- ^ MTA Capital Construction, Status Report On the Programmatic Agreement regarding the Fulton Street Transit Center Project In New York City, New York PDF (838 KiB)
- ^ MTA Capital Construction, Second Avenue Subway, Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Chapter 5B: Transportation—Subway and Commuter Rail PDF (317 KiB)
- ^ New York Times, Agency Lists Its 69 Most Deteriorated Subway Stations, June 11, 1981, section B, page 5
- ^ New York Times, New Subway Expresses, November 18, 1906, page 3
- ^ "New Subway Service Between Brooklyn and Manhattan Boroughs". The New York Times. April 13, 1919. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ "Work Begins on New Tubes Under River". The New York Times. October 11, 1914. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ Aronson, Michael (June 15, 1999). "The Digger Clifford Holland". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- ^ "Under-River Tunnel Headings Meet". nycsubway.org. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ McFadden, Robert D. (December 29, 1990). "2 Subway Riders Die After Blast". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ Commerce and Industry Association of New York, Pocket Guide to New York, 1906, pp. 19-26
- ^ New York Times, Bronx to Montauk; One Change of Cars, April 30, 1908, page 4
- ^ Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac, 1916
- ^ New York Times, Three New Links of the Dual Subway System Opened, June 3, 1917, page 33
- ^ New York Times, Open New Subway to Regular Traffic, July 2, 1918, page 11
- ^ New York Times, Open New Subway Lines to Traffic, August 2, 1918, page 1
- ^ "Disaster at Rush Hour. Lays Work in New Tunnel from 23d to 25th St. in Tangled Ruin. Bursting Gas and Water Mains Impede Scores in Cavity Aiding the Wounded. Horrified Crowds Look On. Two Passengers Killed in Panic Among Struggling Victims in Wrecked Trolley. Gas or Free Dynamite May Be the Cause. Chief of Blasters Is Sought by the Police". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
Seven persons were killed and eighty-five injured shortly before 8 o'clock yesterday morning when a blast of dynamite in the excavation for the new Seventh Avenue subway carried away all the plank thoroughfare between Twenty-third and Twenty-fifth Streets, sweeping down into the great hole a crowded trolley car and a brewery automobile truck.
- ^ New York Times, Open Clark Street Line, April 16, 1919, page 18
- ^ "The New York City Transit Authority in the 1980s". nycsubway.org.
- ^ a b Chan, Sewell (January 12, 2005). "MTA Proposes Dropping No. 9 Train". New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ Lueck, Thomas J. (September 15, 2002). "Old Service, Old Stops Restored on West Side". New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ a b MTA Opens New South Ferry Station Retrieved March 16, 2009
- ^ New York Times, Our First Subway Completed at Last, August 2, 1908, page 10
- ^ New York Times, Farthest North in Town by the Interborough, January 14, 1907, page 18
- ^ a b New York Times, Trains to Ship Canal, March 13, 1906, page 16
- ^ New York Times, untitled, January 22, 1911, page X11
- ^ New York Times, New Subway Station Open, April 15, 1906, page 1
- ^ 157th Street station
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n New York Times, Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It, October 28, 1904
- ^ a b New York Times, Three New Links of the Dual Subway System Opened, June 3, 1917, page 33
- ^ a b New York Times, Open New Subway to Regular Traffic, July 2, 1918, page 11
External links[edit]
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Wikinews has related news: New York City Subway's skip-stop 9 service to make its last run May 27 |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line. |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1915 Seventh Avenue subway collapse. |
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