- IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Infobox rail line
name = IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
image_width = 150 px
caption =
type =Rapid transit
system =New York City Subway
status =
locale =
start = Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street
end = South Ferry
Borough Hall
stations = 44
routes =
ridership =
open = 1904-1919
close =
owner = City of New York
operator =New York City Transit Authority
character = Underground, elevated
stock = R62
R62A
R142
linelength =
tracklength =
notrack = 1–4
gauge = RailGauge|ussg
el = Direct Current traction
speed =
elevation =The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line (also known as the Seventh Avenue Line) is a
New York City Subway line. It is one of several lines that serves the A Division (IRT), stretching from South Ferry inLower Manhattan north to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street inRiverdale, Bronx . [MTA Capital Construction -South Ferry Terminal Project , [http://www.mta.info/capconstr/sft/dea.htm Environmental Assessment and Section 4(f) Evaluation] , PDFlink| [http://www.mta.info/capconstr/sft/documents/chapters/513_archaeo_and_historic_resources.pdf Chapter 5-13: Archaeological and Historic Resources] |198 KiB ] [Metropolitan Transportation Authority, PDFlink| [http://www.mta.info/mta/news/hearings/Public_Hearings_2006.pdf Proposed Program of Projects, Federal Fiscal Year 2007] |362 KiB ] The Brooklyn Branch, [MTA Capital Construction , PDFlink| [http://www.mta.info/capconstr/fstc/documents/pa_summ_0306.pdf Status Report On the Programmatic Agreement regarding the Fulton Street Transit Center Project In New York City, New York] |838 KiB ] from the main line at Chambers Street southeast through theClark Street Tunnel to Borough Hall inDowntown Brooklyn , is also part of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. [MTA Capital Construction ,Second Avenue Subway , [http://www.mta.info/capconstr/sas/sdeis.htm Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement] , PDFlink| [http://www.mta.info/capconstr/sas/documents/sdeis/chapter5b.pdf Chapter 5B: Transportation—Subway and Commuter Rail] |317 KiB ]The south end of the Brooklyn Branch is unclear. In a 1981 list of "most deteriorated subway stations", the MTA listed Borough Hall and Court Street stations as part of the
IRT New Lots Line . [New York Times , Agency Lists Its 69 Most Deteriorated Subway Stations,June 11 ,1981 , section B, page 5] However, as of 2007, emergency exit signs label Court Street as an IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line station, and the two parts of Borough Hall are signed as being along the Broadway–Seventh Avenue andIRT Lexington Avenue Line s. 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 asLincoln Center ,Columbia University , and theCity College of New York .Train services that use the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line have been colored red on subway signage and literature since 1979. The line is served by the NYCS|1, NYCS|2, and NYCS|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 NYCS|9, which was discontinued afterMay 27 ,2005 ; this skip-stop separation existed only inUpper 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. [
New York Times , [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F2091EF93D5512738DDDA10994D9415B868CF1D3 New Subway Expresses] ,November 18 ,1906 , page 3]History
When the first subway opened between 1904 and 1908, one of the main service patterns was the West Side Branch, running from
Lower Manhattan toVan Cortlandt Park via what is now theIRT Lexington Avenue Line ,42nd Street Shuttle , andIRT 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. [Commerce and Industry Association of New York, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC09291039&id=2OXifdf0CbUC Pocket Guide to New York] , 1906, pp. 19-26] [New York Times , [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0613FC3D5517738DDDA90B94DC405B888CF1D3 Bronx to Montauk; One Change of Cars] ,April 30 ,1908 , page 4]Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac, 1916]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 . [New York Times , [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10817FF385F1B7A93C1A9178DD85F438185F9 Three New Links of the Dual Subway System Opened] ,June 3 ,1917 , page 33] This shuttle was extended south to South Ferry, with a shorter shuttle on theBrooklyn Branch between Chambers Street and Wall Street, onJuly 1 ,1918 . [New York Times , [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20811FB3C5F15738DDDAB0894DF405B888DF1D3 Open New Subway to Regular Traffic] ,July 2 ,1918 , page 11] Finally, the new "H" system was implemented onAugust 1 ,1918 , joining the two halves of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and sending all West Side trains south from Times Square. [New York Times , [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D1FFF3C5D147A93C0A91783D85F4C8185F9 Open New Subway Lines to Traffic] ,August 2 ,1918 , page 1]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 onApril 15 ,1919 . [New York Times , [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00D11FA395C1B728DDDAF0994DC405B898DF1D3 Open Clark Street Line] ,April 16 ,1919 , page 18] Extensions of theEastern Parkway Line and the connecting Nostrand Avenue Line andNew 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. [cite news|title=The New York City Transit Authority in the 1980s|url=http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/history-nycta1980s.html|work= [http://nycsubway.org nycsubway.org] ] Skip-stop service operated north of 137th Street–City College.In 1994, midday skip-stop service was discontinued.cite news|title=MTA Proposes Dropping No. 9 Train|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07E5D71638F931A25752C0A9639C8B63|work=
New York Times |date=January 12 ,2005 ] 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. OnSeptember 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. OnSeptember 15 2002 , 1 trains returned to South Ferry and the 9 train and skip-stop service was restored. [cite news|title=Old Service, Old Stops Restored on West Side|url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30C10FE3D540C768DDDA00894DA404482|work=New York Times |date=September 15 ,2002 ]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
