B (New York City Subway service)
The B Sixth Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange since it uses the IND Sixth Avenue Line through midtown Manhattan. Its normal service pattern is from 145th Street in Harlem to Brighton Beach near Coney Island, running local north of and express south of 59th Street-Columbus Circle. During rush hours, it extends north on the local tracks to Bedford Park Boulevard. B service only runs until 21:00, and does not run during late nights or weekends. At those times, the D provides service in Manhattan, and the Q in Brooklyn (which runs local). However, the D is express throughout Manhattan, but the C provides that service at times other than late nights, when the A runs local.
The following lines are used by the B:
| Line | Tracks | When |
|---|---|---|
| IND Concourse Line south of Bedford Park Boulevard | local | rush hours |
| IND Eighth Avenue Line from 145th Street to 59th Street-Columbus Circle | local | rush hours, middays and early evenings |
| IND Sixth Avenue Line from 59th Street-Columbus Circle to Broadway-Lafayette Street | express | rush hours, middays and early evenings |
| IND Chrystie Street Connection (full line) | express | rush hours, middays and early evenings |
| BMT Manhattan Bridge north tracks (full line) | N/A | rush hours, middays and early evenings |
| BMT Brighton Line north of Brighton Beach | express | rush hours, middays and early evenings |
Table of contents |
Service history
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The designation B was originally intended to designate express trains originating in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan and operating in midtown Manhattan on the 6th Avenue Line. However, the original B service, beginning with the opening of the 6th Avenue Line in 1940 and continuing until opening of the Chrystie Street Connection in 1967 ran only as a local train between Washington Heights and 34th Street and 6th Avenue, near the Empire State Building and only during rush hours. This service was designated BB in conformance with Independent Subway System protocol of using double letters to indicate local services.
Subsequent to the opening of the Chrystie Street Connection the former BB trains were combined with the former T service of the West End Line, creating a through service from Washington Heights to Coney Island. This service was initially to have been signed BT but was simply signed B instead.
The partial closure of the Manhattan Bridge to subway service between 1986 and 2004 impacted B service by severing the connection between the northern and southern portions of the service. Beginning on April 26, 1986, the northern B (via 6th Avenue, informally called "Orange B" and the southern B (via Broadway, informally called "Yellow B") operated as two different services. The Orange B more or less duplicated the former BB service, and the Yellow B was like the old T service. The former B service resumed December 11, 1988.
On March 1, 1998, the B and the C switched northern terminals, severing the historic connection between the B and the Washington Heights Line. The B was now routed on the Concourse Line during rush hours.
On July 22, 2001, B service over the Manhattan Bridge was again interrupted and service recast similarly to the 1986 changes. However, this time the West End Line portion of the run was redesignated as the W.
On February 22, 2004, the Manhattan Bridge was fully reopened to subway service. The B train did not resume its former route via the West End Line, but instead became the Brighton Beach Express, the current service.
Station listing
For a more detailed station listing, see the articles on the lines listed above.
| Station | When | Services |
|---|---|---|
| Bronx | ||
| Bedford Park Boulevard | rush hours only | B (1) D |
| Kingsbridge Road | rush hours only | B (1) D |
| Fordham Road | rush hours only | B (1) D |
| 182nd-183rd Streets | rush hours only | B (1) D (1b2345) |
| Tremont Avenue | rush hours only | B (1) D |
| 174th-175th Streets | rush hours only | B (1) D (1b2345) |
| 170th Street | rush hours only | B (1) D (1b2345) |
| 167th Street | rush hours only | B (1) D (1b2345) |
| 161st Street-Yankee Stadium | rush hours only | B (1) D (1b2345) |
| Manhattan | ||
| 155th Street | rush hours only | B (1) D (1b2345) |
| 145th Street | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) D A C (1234) |
| 135th Street | rush hours, middays and early evenings | A (5) B (123a) C (1234) |
| 125th Street | rush hours, middays and early evenings | A B (123a) C (1234) D |
| 116th Street | rush hours, middays and early evenings | A (5) B (123a) C (1234) |
| 110th Street-Cathedral Parkway | rush hours, middays and early evenings | A (5) B (123a) C (1234) |
| 103rd Street | rush hours, middays and early evenings | A (5) B (123a) C (1234) |
| 96th Street | rush hours, middays and early evenings | A (5) B (123a) C (1234) |
| 86th Street | rush hours, middays and early evenings | A (5) B (123a) C (1234) |
| 81st Street-Museum of Natural History | rush hours, middays and early evenings | A (5) B (123a) C (1234) |
| 72nd Street | rush hours, middays and early evenings | A (5) B (123a) C (1234) |
| 59th Street-Columbus Circle | rush hours, middays and early evenings | A B (123a) C (1234) D 1 2 (5) |
| Seventh Avenue | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) D E |
| 47th-50th Streets-Rockefeller Center | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) D F V (123) |
| 42nd Street | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) D F V (123) 7 <7> (1a2a3b) |
| 34th Street-Herald Square | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) D F V (123) N Q R (1234) W (123a) PATH |
| West Fourth Street-Washington Square | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) D F V (123) A C (1234) E |
| Broadway-Lafayette Street | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) D F V (123) 4 (5) 6 <6> (12) southbound |
| Grand Street | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) D |
| Brooklyn | ||
| DeKalb Avenue | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) Q M (1) N (5) R (1234) |
| Atlantic Avenue | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) Q 2 3 (1234) 4 5 (1) <5> (1a) D M (1) N R (1234) LIRR |
| Seventh Avenue | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) Q |
| Prospect Park | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) Q S |
| Church Avenue | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) Q |
| Newkirk Avenue | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) Q |
| Kings Highway | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) Q |
| Sheepshead Bay | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) Q |
| Brighton Beach | rush hours, middays and early evenings | B (123a) Q |
| New York City Subway (official site) | |
| Services | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 A B C D E F G J L M N Q R V W Z |
| Shuttles (S) | 42nd Street – Franklin Avenue – Rockaway Park |
| Unused/defunct | 8 10 11 12 13 H K P T U X Y JFK Express BMT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 |
| Divisions | IRT – BMT – IND (Second System) |
| Lists | Lines – Services – Stations – Terminals – Inter-division connections – Inter-division transfers – Yards |
| Miscellaneous | Accessibility – Dual Contracts – Chaining – History – Nomenclature – Rolling stock – Straphanger |
| Other transit in NYC | Amtrak – LIRR – Metro-North – NJ Transit – PATH – Staten Island Railway – AirTrain – Roosevelt Island Tramway |
External links
References
Categories: New York City Subway services