Chrystie Street Connection

[v · Legend BMT Broadway Line / IRT Lexington Avenue Line Broadway – Lafayette Street / Bleecker Street Second Avenue Delancey Street / Essex Street BMT Jamaica Line Bowery / Grand Street East Broadway Rutgers Street Tunnel IND Culver Line Canal Street Former BMT Broadway Line connection Former Nassau Street Loop Manhattan Bridge BMT Fourth Avenue Line (local tracks) DeKalb Avenue BMT Brighton Line BMT Fourth Avenue Line

The Chrystie Street Connection is a major connecting line of the New York City Subway, and is one of the few connections between lines of the (former) BMT and IND divisions. As a road, Chrystie Street extends northward beyond Houston Street to become Manhattan's Second Avenue, and to date the Chrystie Street Connection's two parts are the only part of the long-planned Second Avenue Subway to be completed and opened to service.

Extent and service

The line, which opened on November 26, 1967, connects the IND Sixth Avenue Line east of Broadway – Lafayette Street with the Williamsburg Bridge (via the BMT Nassau Street Line) and the Manhattan Bridge. It 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 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.

Manhattan Bridge connection

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 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 major system expansion. Those tracks still exist at Second Avenue station, but now connect to the local tracks west of the station.

The two tracks on the north side of the Manhattan Bridge formerly carried trains to the BMT Broadway Line. The Broadway Line now connects to the tracks on the south side of the bridge, which before 1967 had connected to the BMT Nassau Street Line, carrying the Nassau Street Loop service via Chambers Street. The connection to the Nassau Street Line was cut at the Manhattan Bridge end, and is used for storage from the Nassau Street end.

The opening of the Chrystie Street Connection to the Manhattan Bridge allowed the integration of four major lines of the combined system. The BB service of the IND was through-routed with the T West End Line service as the B (today's D), and the D service of the IND was through-routed with the Q BMT Brighton Line service.

Williamsburg Bridge connection

The two tracks that connect to 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. This service did not prove popular, and 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 only service on these tracks during that time was the KK, later renamed to the K. The connection was used for a time to move equipment to and from the BMT Eastern Division. As part of the June 27, 2010 service changes, the connection was re-activated for the newly re-routed M train. It was rerouted to replace the V train to the IND Sixth Avenue Line and then to 71st – Continental Avenues station in Queens.

The rerouting of M service via the Chrystie Street Connection marked the first time since 1976 that there had been a regularly scheduled service which originated in Queens, went through Brooklyn and Manhattan, and ended back in Queens. However, from 1989 to 1990, when the IND 63rd Street Line first opened, the JFK Express's northern terminal was 21st Street – Queensbridge.

Service changes

Two major service changes were inaugurated with the opening of the connection. The first went into effect on Sunday, November 26, 1967, when 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.

Manhattan Bridge connection opening

The opening of the Manhattan Bridge connection on November 26, 1967 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:

• The rush-hour only BB, which had run between Washington Heights – 168th Street on the IND Eighth Avenue Line and 34th Street, was relabeled the B. It was extended via the new Sixth Avenue Line express tracks and the Chrystie Street Connection, then express on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line and local on the BMT West End Line, terminating at Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue. This latter segment replaced the T (express via bridge) and TT (local via tunnel) services, leaving only the TT West End Shuttle from the BMT Fourth Avenue Line running to Coney Island during late evenings, late nights and all day Sundays. B service was added during middays, early evenings, and the same time on Saturdays, but only south of West Fourth Street – Washington Square.

• The Q (BMT Brighton Line express) service was "absorbed" by a rerouted D, which used the Sixth Avenue Line local tracks (except rush hours, when it ran express). It used the Chrystie Street Connection to the BMT Brighton Line to Stillwell Avenue (running express in Brooklyn from morning rush hours through early evenings). Formerly, the Q had run local in Brooklyn (except during morning rush hours and early evenings) and express on the BMT Broadway Line in Manhattan, terminating at 57th Street. The pre-1967 Q ran only weekdays until the mid-evening. The D had previously used the Sixth Avenue Line and IND Culver Line to Coney Island; this service was replaced by the F (see below).

• The EE service was added, running weekday rush hours, middays and early evenings, as a local train between Forest Hills – 71st Avenue on the IND Queens Boulevard Line and Whitehall Street – South Ferry on the Broadway Line via the BMT 60th Street Tunnel Connection and the Broadway Line in Manhattan. This replaced the RR, which had formerly used the 60th Street connection during the same times (and was cut back to 57th Street in Manhattan other times). The RR was rerouted to Astoria – Ditmars Boulevard full time. The QT and QB had served Astoria from the BMT Brighton Line; the QT was partly replaced with the QJ (see below), and the QB was truncated to 57th Street for rush hour-only service. The D (see above) now served the Brighton Line.

• In a major rerouting affecting Queens riders, the F train was considerably extended from its original terminal stops, Broadway – Lafayette Street (morning rush hour to early evening) and 34th Street on the Sixth Avenue Line (other times), into Brooklyn to Stillwell Avenue along the Culver Line (previously serviced by the D). It continued to run express east of Forest Hills – 71st Avenue only during rush hours. For the first time, riders from central Queens had a "one-seat" ride to southern Brooklyn destinations and Coney Island.

• The QJ was added as a rerouting of the old QT, combined with an extension of the old J Jamaica Express, entering Manhattan via the tunnel and extending via the BMT Jamaica Line to 168th Street. Its service hours remained the same, running from morning rush hours through early evening. It continued to run express in western Brooklyn and skip-stop in morning rush hours only in eastern Brooklyn.

• The RJ service was added as an extension of former RR special service on the Nassau Street line, continuing local along the Jamaica Line to 168th Street. It operated only during rush hours.

• The NX was added for a "super-express" service from Brighton Beach through the Stillwell Avenue terminal (the only service to do so) and along the BMT Sea Beach Line and Fourth Avenue Line to 57th Street in Manhattan.

• A free transfer was established between the Atlantic Avenue on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line and Atlantic Avenue on the BMT Brighton Line. While these two stations are both adjacent to the LIRR Atlantic Terminal and each other, their respective fare-control zones had previously been separated.

Williamsburg Bridge connection opening

The following changes went into effect on July 1, 1968, concurrent with the opening of the 57th Street station at Sixth Avenue and the bridge connection:

• The KK service commenced between the new 57th Street station at Sixth Avenue and 168th Street in Jamaica, the only service to use this connection. It operated only during rush hours, running skip-stop with the QJ on the BMT Jamaica Line east of Broadway Junction and then local into Manhattan. In Brooklyn, the KK (rush hours) and QJ (other times) replaced the JJ service, which was discontinued. The KK served "A" stops on the skip-stop portion of the BMT Jamaica Line, and the QJ served "B" stops. This skip-stop pattern, which had operated only in morning rush hours, was extended into afternoon rush hours, but still ran only in the peak direction.

• The B service was extended during non-rush hours from its former terminus at West Fourth Street – Washington Square to the new 57th Street station, using the local tracks of the IND Sixth Avenue Line. Rush hour trains continued on the established route to Washington Heights – 168th Street via the express tracks (and the local tracks of the IND Eighth Avenue Line). The TT shuttle on the BMT West End Line in late evenings, late nights and all day Sunday, was discontinued and replaced by additional B service.

• The D service now bypassed 14th Street and 23rd Street via the express tracks of the IND Sixth Avenue Line at all times. It had previously done this only during rush hours. This service is taken over by the B and KK.

• The M (rush hour service) was extended from Chambers Street to Broad Street due to the additional capacity available from the rerouting of the JJ (as the KK).

• A free transfer was added between 42nd Street – Bryant Park on the IND Sixth Avenue Line and Fifth Avenue – Bryant Park on the IRT Flushing Line from 05:00 to 20:00 weekdays. A passageway connecting the stations directly was built later on.

The following adjustments to the new service were put into effect on August 18, 1968:

• The D service was truncated to Brighton Beach when it ran express on the BMT Brighton Line (morning rush hours through early evenings). The QB (rush-hour peak direction only) and QJ (morning rush hours through early evenings) were extended from Brighton Beach to Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue.

• The F ran express on the IND Culver Line during rush hours north of Church Avenue. Several peak-direction rush hour trains were truncated to Kings Highway; the rest provide express service north of Kings Highway. The GG train was extended to Church Avenue during rush hours to replace F local service (this service pattern was discontinued on January 18, 1976).

Later changes

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[1]). The KK (since renamed the K) was discontinued in 1976, ending service via the Williamsburg Bridge connection. Manhattan Bridge reconstruction began in 1986, at times making the Chrystie Street Connection unavailable for through trains, and making the Grand Street station a terminal for shuttle service along Houston Street. The Manhattan Bridge re-opened fully in 2004.

Current Changes

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, both of which operate into the Bronx along the IND Concourse Line, one local and the other express north of 59th Street in Manhattan, and both of which head south towards Coney Island. The Williamsburg Bridge connection is now used by the M service, which had formerly come into Manhattan on the BMT Nassau Street Line. The M was re-routed via Chrystie Street onto the IND Sixth Avenue Line, continuing from there along the route formerly taken by the V service, which was eliminated in a round of service cuts to close a budget gap. As of 2010, the M service makes all former V stops (except for Second Avenue), starting from Broadway – Lafayette Street, and terminating at Forest Hills – 71st Avenue.

Routing and station listing

Station service legend
	Stops all times
	Stops weekdays only
Time period details

	Station	Tracks	Services	Opened	Notes
Williamsburg Bridge Connection: begins as a split from the IND Sixth Avenue Line local tracks south of Broadway – Lafayette Street
	(no stations)	local	M	July 1, 1968	unused in revenue service 1976-2010
connects with the BMT Nassau Street Line railroad north (compass west) of Essex Street, and then over the Williamsburg Bridge
Manhattan Bridge Connection: begins as a ramp from the IND Sixth Avenue Line express tracks south of Broadway – Lafayette Street
	Grand Street	express	B  D	November 26, 1967
continues over the Manhattan Bridge, north tracks

References

Notes

Sources

• NYCsubway.org - Historical Maps
• Line by Line History
• Subway Route Changes Put in Effect, The New York Times November 26, 1967 page 59
• BMT-IND Changes Bewilder Many, The New York Times November 27, 1967 page 1
• Skip-Stop Subway Begins Run Today, The New York Times July 1, 1968 page 25
• Rapid Transit Service Changes, TA brochure, 1968
• Subways to Trim Service in Rush Hours on Jan. 18, The New York Times December 18, 1975 page 1
• Transit Agency Drops 215 Runs, The New York Times August 31, 1976 page 42