IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line

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IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Info
Type	Rapid transit
System	New York City Subway
Termini	Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street South Ferry Borough Hall
No. of stations	44
Operation
Opened	1904-1919
Owner	City of New York
Operator(s)	New York City Transit Authority
Character	Underground, elevated
Rolling stock	R62 R62A R142
Technical
No. of tracks	1–4
Gauge	4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Direct Current traction

IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line

Legend Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street 240th Street Yard 238th Street 231st Street Marble Hill–225th Street Broadway Bridge 215th Street 207th Street Yard 207th Street Dyckman Street 191st Street 181st Street 168th Street 157th Street 145th Street 137th Street Yard 137th Street–City College 125th Street 116th Street–Columbia University 110th Street–Cathedral Parkway 103rd Street IRT Lenox Avenue Line 96th Street 91st Street 86th Street 79th Street 72nd Street 66th Street–Lincoln Center 59th Street–Columbus Circle 50th Street 42nd Street Shuttle Times Square–42nd Street 34th Street–Penn Station 28th Street 23rd Street 18th Street 14th Street Christopher Street–Sheridan Square Houston Street Canal Street Chambers Street Park Place Fulton Street Wall Street Clark Street Tunnel Clark Street Borough Hall IRT Eastern Parkway Line Cortlandt Street Rector Street IRT Lexington Avenue Line South Ferry (New Station - Under Construction)

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 in Lower Manhattan north to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street in Riverdale, Bronx.^[1][2] The Brooklyn Branch,^[3] from the main line at Chambers Street southeast through the Clark Street Tunnel to Borough Hall in Downtown Brooklyn, is also part of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line.^[4]

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.^[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 and IRT Lexington Avenue Lines. 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 as Lincoln Center, Columbia University, and the City 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 1, 2, and 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 9, which was discontinued after May 27, 2005; this skip-stop separation existed only in Upper 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.^[6]

[edit] 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 to Van Cortlandt Park via what is now the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, 42nd Street Shuttle, and IRT 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.^[7][8][9]

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.^[10] This shuttle was extended south to South Ferry, with a shorter shuttle on the Brooklyn Branch between Chambers Street and Wall Street, on July 1, 1918.^[11] Finally, the new "H" system was implemented on August 1, 1918, joining the two halves of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and sending all West Side trains south from Times Square.^[12]

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 on April 15, 1919.^[13] Extensions of the Eastern Parkway Line and the connecting Nostrand Avenue Line and New 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.^[14] Skip-stop service operated north of 137th Street–City College.

In 1994, midday skip-stop service was discontinued.^[15] 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. On September 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. On September 15, 2002, 1 trains returned to South Ferry and the 9 train and skip-stop service was restored.^[16]

On May 27, 2005, the 9 train and skip-stop service was discontinued.^[15]

[edit] Extent and service

The following services use part or all of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line:

[edit] Station listing

Station service legend
	Stops all times
	Stops all times except late nights
	Stops late nights only
	Stops weekdays only
	Stops rush hours only
	Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
Time period details

	Station	Tracks	Services	Opened	Transfers and notes
Begins as a three track line; No Regular Service on center express track
	Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street	local	1	August 1, 1908[17]
	238th Street	local	1	August 1, 1908
	231st Street	local	1	January 27, 1907
	Marble Hill–225th Street	local	1	January 14, 1907[18]	Metro-North Railroad Hudson Line at Marble Hill
Broadway Bridge
	215th Street	local	1	March 12, 1906[19]
	207th Street	local	1	March 16, 1906
Center Express track ends
	Dyckman Street		1	March 12, 1906[19]
	191st Street		1	January 14, 1911[20]
	181st Street		1	March 16, 1906
	168th Street		1	April 14, 1906[21]	IND Eighth Avenue Line (A  C )
	157th Street		1	November 12, 1904[citation needed]
Center Express track begins (No Regular Service)
	145th Street	local	1	October 27, 1904[22]
	137th Street–City College	local	1	October 27, 1904[22]
	125th Street	local	1	October 27, 1904[22]
	116th Street–Columbia University	local	1	October 27, 1904[22]	M60 bus to LaGuardia Airport
	Cathedral Parkway–110th Street	local	1	October 27, 1904[22]	M60 bus to LaGuardia Airport
	103rd Street	local	1	October 27, 1904[22]
Center Express track ends
IRT Lenox Avenue Line joins as the express tracks (2  3 )
	96th Street	all	1  2  3	October 27, 1904[22]
	91st Street	local		October 27, 1904[22]	Closed February 2, 1959
	86th Street	local	1  2	October 27, 1904[22]
	79th Street	local	1  2	October 27, 1904[22]
	72nd Street	all	1  2  3	October 27,