BMT Jamaica Line

The Jamaica Line (earlier also Broadway Line or Broadway (Brooklyn) Line) is an elevated rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway, in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It runs from the Williamsburg Bridge southeast over Broadway to East New York, Brooklyn, and then east over Fulton Street and Jamaica Avenue to Jamaica, Queens. In western Jamaica, the line goes into a tunnel, becoming the lower level of the Archer Avenue Line in central Jamaica. NYCS|J and NYCS|Z trains serve the entire length of the Jamaica Line, and the NYCS|M serves the line west of Myrtle Avenue.

The Jamaica Line includes the oldest existing elevated line on the subway system - the original 1885 line of the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad - between Gates Avenue and Van Siclen Avenue, as well as the newest elevated structure - the 1988 ramp into the underground Archer Avenue Line.

When the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) operated the line, north was towards Manhattan (compass west).Fact|date=April 2007 However, this resulted in services that ran through the BMT Nassau Street Line to Downtown Brooklyn having two south ends, and so by 1967, when the Chrystie Street Connection opened and services (QJ and RJ) began running in this manner, the directions were switched, and north was towards Jamaica. [The service table on the 1967 New York City Rapid Transit Map and Station Guide refers to southbound a.m. skip-stop service on the JJ and QJ.] However, the BMT Canarsie Line did not switch,Fact|date=April 2007 and so the JJ trips that switched to the Canarsie Line at Broadway Junction had two south ends. In addition, the KK (later K) had two north ends, since it used the Chrystie Street Connection from the Jamaica Line to the IND Sixth Avenue Line.

Description

The Jamaica Line includes a variety of structures. From Marcy Avenue to a point just before Alabama Avenue the line operates on the structure of old elevated railways, but substantially rebuilt and upgraded to a three-track line around World War I under the Dual Contracts of 1913. From Alabama Avenue to just before the current Cypress Hills station, the Jamaica Line operates on the oldest elevated structure in New York City, a steel-reinforced cast iron line opened in 1893. Interestingly enough, west of Alabama Avenue, a third middle trackway exists and elevates over the other two tracks, ending just west of the Alabama Avenue station. It is not immediately clear whether the trackway was intended to be a stub track or an express track.

At Cypress Hills, the line turns northeast onto Jamaica Avenue on what was known as the Jamaica Avenue Line, a Dual Contracts structure. This structure has provisions on its entire length for three tracks, but a center track was never built, with the exception of a layup track at 111th Street and another between 160th Street and 168th Street on the now-demolished original end of the line.

History

The Union Elevated Railroad, leased to the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad, opened an elevated line above Broadway from Gates Avenue northwest to Driggs Avenue in Williamsburg on June 25, 1888.cite BDE|title=The Broadway Line Opened|md=June 25|y=1888|page=6] This was a branch of the existing Lexington Avenue Elevated, which then ended at Van Siclen Avenue; Broadway trains ran between Driggs and Van Siclen Avenues.Fact|date=March 2007 A popular free transfer was available at Gates Avenue to Lexington Avenue trains towards Downtown Brooklyn. [cite BDE|title=Pushing the Road Along|md=July 20|y=1888|page=4] The Broadway Elevated was extended to Broadway Ferry on July 14, 1888.cite BDE|title=When the Union Road will be Finished|md=July 13|y=1888|page=1]

An extension of the Broadway Elevated east to Cypress Hills, over Fulton Street and Crescent Street, opened on May 30, 1893,cite BDE|title=Trains Running This Morning|md=May 30|y=1893|page=10] and the company extended both Lexington Avenue and Broadway trains to the new terminal.Fact|date=April 2007 This extension incorporated portions of the recently-demolished Park Avenue Elevated. [cite BDE|title=Elevated Railroad Extensions|md=May 28|y=1893|page=16]

ervice patterns

The line has had two major service patterns - the 14 Broadway (Brooklyn) Line (earlier called the Canarsie Line, before that line was connected to the 14th Street Line) and the 15 Jamaica Line. Eventually the 14 became the K and the 15 the J; the K was eliminated in 1976. The Z was introduced in 1988 to provide skip-stop service, which had been done by the 14/K and 15/J at times.

The line name

From its accession by the BRT to and beyond city ownership in 1940, the portion of the line from its western terminus to Cypress Hills was known as the Broadway El or the Broadway-Brooklyn Line. Beyond that point it was known as the Jamaica Avenue El or the Jamaica Line. Subsequent to city takeover, the dividing line between the Broadway and Jamaica Avenue Lines was often considered to be the more westerly station at Eastern Parkway, now known as Broadway Junction.

Since the discontinuance of separate Broadway-Brooklyn services, the entire line is now known as the Jamaica Line.

tation listing

NYCS service legend
alltimes = show
allexceptrush = show
allexceptnights = show
weekdaysonly = show
rushpeak = show

References