BMT 63rd Street Line

The BMT 63rd Street Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT division of the New York City Subway system. It runs from a connection with the BMT Broadway Line at 57th Street and 7th Avenue north and east to Lexington Avenue–63rd Street, where it stub-ends; a scissors crossover just west of Lexington Avenue provides a connection to the IND 63rd Street Line. There are plans to continue it east and north to merge with the planned T line; together, these services will comprise the Second Avenue Subway.

Extent and service

The BMT 63rd Street line is normally used only for non-revenue movesclarifyme|post-text =, needs definition, switching to the IND 63rd Street Line west of Lexington Avenue. Future plans for the BMT 63rd Street line have it carrying extended NYCS service|Q service from its current terminus at 7th Avenue and 57th Street to a connection with the proposed Second Avenue Line, when that long planned line is finally in service (scheduled for 2012). Once the Second Avenue Line connection is up and running, NYCS service|Q line service will use the BMT 63rd Street line as a connection for direct service from the Upper East Side to Lower Manhattan, via the existing Broadway Line express service. The BMT 63rd Street line is occasionally used for revenue service as a bypass during service outages and maintenance activities, and hosted shuttle service to Long Island City, Queens, via the 63rd Street Tunnel for a while during that tube's construction. The tracks are coded as BMT chaining route "G", the same as the 60th Street Tunnel and Astoria Line as tracks G3 and G4 to distinguish them from the pre-existing G1 and G2 tracks. The BMT tracks end at bumper blocks east of Lexington Avenue and are to be connected to the Second Avenue Line in the future.

The line shares only one point of contact with its IND twin; west of Lexington Avenue, a double crossover allows northbound and southbound trains of either line to cross over to the other line. At Lexington Avenue, a double-decked station will allow cross-platform transfers between the two lines, similar to the arrangement at Queensboro Plaza. Trains to Queens (and later Upper Manhattan) use the upper level and trains to Midtown and Lower Manhattan the lower level. Currently the BMT tracks are behind a wall on the platforms on each level; these will be removed when the tracks are activated.

Background

The BMT 63rd Street line opened on October 29, 1989. It was built for future service options, including a connection to the proposed Second Avenue Subway for service from the Upper East Side to Lower Manhattan.

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External links

* [http://nycsubway.org/ind/6thave/ NYCsubway.org - IND 6th Ave/63rd St Line]