BMT Jamaica Line

BMT Jamaica Line
The J and Z trains serve the entire BMT Jamaica Line. The M serves the line west of Myrtle Avenue.
Overview
Type	Rapid transit
System	New York City Subway
Termini	Marcy Avenue 121st Street
Stations	22
Operation
Opened	1885-1918
Owner	City of New York
Operator(s)	New York City Transit Authority
Character	Elevated
Technical
Number of tracks	2-3
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	600V DC third rail

BMT Jamaica Line
Legend
168th Street (demolished) 160th Street (demolished) Sutphin Boulevard (demolished) Queens Boulevard (demolished) Metropolitan Avenue (demolished) BMT Archer Avenue Line 121st Street 111th Street 104th Street Woodhaven Boulevard 85th Street – Forest Parkway 75th Street – Elderts Lane Cypress Hills Crescent Street Norwood Avenue Cleveland Street Van Siclen Avenue Alabama Avenue IND Fulton Street Line East New York Yard BMT Canarsie Line Broadway Junction IND Fulton Street Line Chauncey Street Halsey Street Gates Avenue former connection to BMT Lexington Avenue Line Kosciuszko Street BMT Myrtle Avenue Line Myrtle Avenue (upper level abandoned) BMT Myrtle Avenue Line Park Avenue (demolished) Flushing Avenue Lorimer Street IND Crosstown Line Hewes Street Marcy Avenue Driggs Avenue (demolished) Broadway Ferry (demolished) Williamsburg Bridge over East River BMT Nassau Street Line

The Jamaica Line (also known as the 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. The J and Z trains serve the entire length of the Jamaica Line, and the M serves the line west of Myrtle Avenue.

The longest elevated line in the system, the Jamaica Line includes the oldest existing elevated structure in the subway system - the original 1885 line of the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad, the BMT Lexington Avenue Line - 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 railroad directions were east and west, generally in agreement with compass direction. However under NYCT, the directions used are north and south, which replaced the BMT's old west and east respectively. This reclassification resulted in services which ran through the BMT Nassau Street Line to Downtown Brooklyn having two south ends. To eliminate any confusion, the directions of train services in the eastern division were switched, with trains running towards Jamaica being considered Northbound.^[1] The KK (later K) and current M services were an exception to this, with Jamaica or Metropolitan Avenue remaining the south terminal, since they used the Chrystie Street Connection from the Jamaica Line to the IND Sixth Avenue Line.

Description

Three tracks over Broadway

Powerhouse formerly adjacent to elevated tracks

Elevated ramp to Archer Avenue

The Jamaica Line includes a variety of structures. The original BMT Jamaica Line started from Broadway Ferry, Brooklyn. The line was two tracks, and connected with Marcy Avenue, from the west. This section, which was called the "Broadway Spur", has a short, but easily seen remnant (about one-half of a block in length, no tracks, just maintenance buildings) west and south of where the line curves toward the Williamsburg Bridge.

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. This track was intended to be an express track,^[2] but engineering studies completed after the work started indicated that the vibration of trains passing over the stations would be too severe and would literally shake the stations apart.

Between Crescent Street station and Cypress Hills, the line runs on an "S-curve", turning north from Fulton Street onto Crescent Street, then east onto Jamaica Avenue. The curves are at nearly-90 degree angles, forcing trains to drastically reduce speed to 15 miles per hour in order to traverse them.^[3] The line east of Cypress Hills is known as the Jamaica Avenue Line, the newest section of the line which was built under the Dual Contracts. This structure has provisions on its entire length for three tracks,^[4][5][6] 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.

Four curves on the line, including the two on the Jamaica Avenue "S-curve", rank among the 30 sharpest curves in the subway system.^[3]

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.^[7] 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.^[8] A popular free transfer was available at Gates Avenue to Lexington Avenue trains towards Downtown Brooklyn.^[9] The Broadway Elevated was extended to Broadway Ferry on July 14, 1888.^[10]

An extension of the Broadway Elevated east to Cypress Hills, over Fulton Street and Crescent Street, opened on May 30, 1893,^[11] and the company extended both Lexington Avenue and Broadway trains to the new terminal.^[11] This extension incorporated portions of the recently demolished Park Avenue Elevated.^[12] The eastern extension along Jamaica Avenue to 168th Street was opened on July 3, 1918.^[4][13]

Service patterns

	Time period			Section of line
	Rush hours	Middays, evenings, and weekends	Late nights
	peak-direction express west of Myrtle Avenue skip-stop east of Myrtle Avenue	local		entire line
		no service
	local			north of Myrtle Avenue (all times except nights) Myrtle Avenue only (late nights)

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 KK (which became the K in 1974) 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.

Etymology

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.

Station listing

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

Neighborhood (approximate)		Station	Tracks	Services	Opened	Transfers and notes
Jamaica	demolished section of original line
		168th Street			July 3, 1918[4]	Closed September 10, 1977,[14] replaced by Q49 bus. Bus abandoned December 11, 1988.
		160th Street			July 3, 1918[4]	Closed September 10, 1977,[15] replaced by Q49 bus. Bus abandoned December 11, 1988.
		Sutphin Boulevard			July 3, 1918[4]	Closed September 10, 1977,[15] replaced by Q49 bus. Bus abandoned December 11, 1988.
		Queens Boulevard			July 3, 1918[4]	Closed April 15, 1985,[16] replaced by Q49 bus. Bus abandoned December 11, 1988.
		Metropolitan Avenue			July 3, 1918[4]	Closed April 15, 1985,[17] replaced by Q49 bus. Bus abandoned December 11, 1988.
begins as continuation of BMT Archer Avenue Line (J  Z )
Richmond Hill		121st Street	all	J  Z	July 3, 1918[4]	Q10 bus to JFK Airport
		111th Street	all	J	May 28, 1917[18]
		104th Street	all	J  Z	May 28, 1917[18]	Earlier 102nd Street
Woodhaven		Woodhaven Boulevard	all	J  Z	May 28, 1917[18]
		85th Street – Forest Parkway	all	J	May 28, 1917[18]	Earlier Forest Parkway
		75th Street – Elderts Lane	all	J  Z	May 28, 1917[18]	Earlier Elderts Lane
Cypress Hills		Cypress Hills	all	J	May 30, 1893[11]
		Crescent Street	all	J  Z	May 30, 1893[11]
		Norwood Avenue	all	J  Z	May 30, 1893[11]
		Cleveland Street	all	J	May 30, 1893[11]	Earlier Cleveland Avenue
East New York		Van Siclen Avenue	all	J  Z	December 3, 1885[19]
		Alabama Avenue	all	J  Z	September 5, 1885[20]
	connecting tracks to East New York Yard
	Center Express track begins (No Regular Service to Myrtle Ave)
	merge to local tracks with connection from BMT Canarsie Line (no regular service)
		Broadway Junction	all	J  Z	June 14, 1885[21]	A  C  (IND Fulton Street Line) L  (BMT Canarsie Line) Connection to LIRR at East New York Earlier Manhattan Beach Crossing or Manhattan Junction or Eastern Parkway
connecting track to East New York Yard
Bedford–Stuyvesant/ Bushwick		Chauncey Street	local	J  Z	July 18, 1885[22]
		Halsey Street	local	J	August 19, 1885[23]
		Gates Avenue	local	J  Z	May 13, 1885[24]
		Kosciuszko Street	local	J	June 25, 1888[7]
	merge with BMT Myrtle Avenue Line (M )
		Myrtle Avenue	all	J  M  Z	June 25, 1888[7]	moved from Stuyvesant Avenue for the Myrtle Avenue Elevated transfer in April 1889[25]
		Park Avenue			June 25, 1888[7]	Closed and demolished between 1912 and 1924
Williamsburg		Flushing Avenue	local	J  M	June 25, 1888[7]
		Lorimer Street	local	J  M	June 25, 1888[7]
		Hewes Street	local	J  M	June 25, 1888[7]
	Crossovers to local tracks (J  Z )
		Marcy Avenue	local	J  M  Z	June 25, 1888
	Center Express track ends as stub within Marcy Ave station
continues over Williamsburg Bridge and becomes the BMT Nassau Street Line (J  M  Z )
Williamsburg	demolished section of original line
		Driggs Avenue			June 25, 1888[7]	Closed July 3, 1916[26]
		Broadway Ferry			July 14, 1888[10]	Closed July 3, 1916[27]

References

1. 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.
2. "City Transit Unit Seeks 141 Million: Funds for Buses and BMT Cars Included in Budget". The New York Times. July 18, 1962. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
3. "Broadway Junction Transportation Study: NYC Department of City Planning Final Report-November 2008" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Department of City Planning. November 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
4. • New York Times, New Subway Line: Affords a Five-Cent Fare Between Manhattan and Jamaica, L.I., July 7, 1918, page 30
   • "OPEN NEW SUBWAY TO REGULAR TRAFFIC; First Train on Seventh Avenue Line Carries Mayor and Other Officials ... New Extensions of Elevated Railroad Service … Currents of Travel to Change" (July 2, 1918). New York Times Company. July 2, 1918. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
   • "'L' Trains Now Run Through to Jamaica" (PDF) (July 4, 1918). Leader Observer (Queens/Brooklyn, NY). July 4, 1918. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
   • Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York, Volume 1. New York State Public Service Commission. January 10, 1919. pp. 61,71,285,286. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
5. "Construction of Foundations and Structure: Section 1, Jamaica Line" (PDF). New York Municipal Railway Corporation. 1915. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
6. "Annual Report of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Co. for The Year Ending June 30, 1912" (PDF). bmt-lines.com. Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. June 30, 1912. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
7. "The Broadway Line Opened". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). June 25, 1888. p. 6.
8. "Trains Running This Morning". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). May 30, 1893. p. 10.
9. "Pushing the Road Along". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). July 20, 1888. p. 4.
10. "When the Union Road will be Finished". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). July 13, 1888. p. 1.
11. "Trains Running This Morning". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). May 30, 1893. p. 10.
12. "Elevated Railroad Extensions". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). May 28, 1893. p. 16.
13. "Annual Report of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Co. for The Year Ending June 30, 1918" (PDF). bmt-lines.com. Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
14. Dembart, Lee (September 9, 1977). "A Sentimental Journey on the BMT...". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
15. Lee Dembart, New York Times, A Sentimental Journey on the BMT, September 9, 1977, page 61
16. "www.nycsubway.org". www.nycsubway.org.
17. "www.nycsubway.org". www.nycsubway.org.
18. • "TO OPEN JAMAICA AV. LINE.; Nearly Two and a Half Miles Ready for Operation Tonight" (May 27, 1917). New York Times Company. May 27, 1917. p. 24. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
    • "Jamaica Avenue 'L' is an Old Story Already" (PDF) (May 31, 1917). Leader Observer (Queens/Brooklyn, NY). May 31, 1917. p. 1. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
    • Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York, Volume 1. New York State Public Service Commission. January 15, 1918. pp. 73, 81, 312–314. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
19. "Finished at Last". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). December 3, 1885. p. 4.
20. "Still Extending Its Lines". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). September 5, 1885. p. 6.
21. "East New York". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). June 13, 1885. p. 6.
22. "A New Station Opened". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). July 18, 1885. p. 4.
23. "Halsey Street Station Opened". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). August 19, 1885. p. 4.
24. "Done at Last". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). May 13, 1885. p. 1.
25. "It Reaches Broadway". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). April 5, 1889. p. 6.
26. BMT Lines: Brooklyn Manhattan Transit: A History as Seen Through the Company's Maps, Guides and other Documents: 1923-1939," by James Poulous
27. BMT Lines: Brooklyn Manhattan Transit: A History as Seen Through the Company's Maps, Guides and other Documents: 1923-1939," by James Poulous

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Media related to BMT Jamaica Line at Wikimedia Commons