W (New York City Subway service)

Broadway Local

A train made of R160 cars in W service at 36th Avenue in Queens.

Note: This map shows the final W service pattern from February 22, 2004 until June 25, 2010.
Northern end Astoria – Ditmars Boulevard
Southern end Whitehall Street – South Ferry
Stations 23
Discontinued June 25, 2010 (2010-06-25)

The W Broadway Local was a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway's B Division, which ran from July 21, 2001 to June 25, 2010.[1][2][3] Its route emblem, or "bullet", was colored sunflower yellow since it used the BMT Broadway Line in Manhattan. In addition to the Broadway Line, the W served the BMT Astoria Line in Queens, using the 60th Street Tunnel to travel under the East River between Queens and Manhattan during its nine-year history.[4] It also ran in Brooklyn until 2004, serving the BMT Fourth Avenue and West End lines.

As part of the updated service pattern to accommodate the opening of the Second Avenue Subway, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) proposes to restore the W in November 2016, using its original emblem and 2004–10 routing.[3][5]

Service history

A train made of R40 cars in W service at 34th Street – Herald Square.
A train made of R68A cars in W service at 28th Street.

The W was originally conceived as an extra Broadway Line local service running on the Astoria and Broadway lines to Whitehall Street. Reconstruction of the Manhattan Bridge between 1986 and 2004 forced the N train, which normally ran express on the Broadway Line and on the Bridge, to run local via the Montague Street Tunnel. This service change precluded W local service from running as envisioned. The W bullet appeared on roll signs as a yellow diamond bullet, but on the R68s and R68As, round bullet signs were installed. The W also appeared on the digital signs of the R44s and R46s with any route and designation combination that could be used for the Broadway Line.[6]

The W was introduced on July 22, 2001 when the Manhattan Bridge north tracks (leading to the IND Sixth Avenue Line) closed for reconstruction. The Bridge's south side tracks, which led to the Broadway Line, reopened after being closed since 1988. The B had run full-time from Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue to Manhattan via the BMT West End Line and Manhattan Bridge north tracks onto the Sixth Avenue Line, but it had to be split when the north side tracks closed.[7] This split had already been made from 1986 to 1988, when a part-time orange B only ran north of 34th Street on the Sixth Avenue Line. At the same time, a full-time yellow B ran from Coney Island in Brooklyn across the south side of the bridge and up the BMT Broadway Line into Queens (at nights however, this yellow B only ran in Brooklyn). This old pattern was effectively restored in 2001, but instead of having two "B" services, the yellow B was instead named the W. This route began at Coney Island and ran up the West End Line (local), BMT Fourth Avenue Line (express), Manhattan Bridge south tracks, Broadway Line (express, switching to the local tracks for 49th Street), and BMT Astoria Line (express during rush hours in the peak direction until 9:30 PM, local otherwise)[8] to Astoria – Ditmars Boulevard. Evening service ended at 57th Street in Manhattan (using the express tracks and bypassing 49th Street), late night service at 36th Street in Brooklyn, and weekend service at Atlantic Avenue – Pacific Street in Brooklyn.[9]

After September 11, 2001, Broadway Line service in Lower Manhattan was suspended; the N was completely suspended and W trains ran at all times between Ditmars Boulevard and Coney Island. It made all stops except in Brooklyn north of 36th Street. During late nights, it ran in two sections, between Ditmars Boulevard and 34th Street (skipping 49th Street northbound) and in Brooklyn between 36th Street and Coney Island. Normal service on both trains resumed on October 28, 2001.

The Astoria express service, being unpopular with residents, was discontinued on January 15, 2002. Around that time, evening service was extended from 57th Street to Astoria.[10]

Beginning on September 8, 2002, when Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue station underwent reconstruction, the W became a full-time Coney Island–Astoria service; at the time, it was the only line directly serving Coney Island, as all the other lines that normally did so had been cut short. Late night and weekend service was sent via the Montague Street Tunnel and the local tracks of the Fourth Avenue and Broadway Lines; the N ran only in Brooklyn at those times.[11][12][6]

When all four tracks on the Manhattan Bridge were restored to service on February 22, 2004, the W was changed to its final service pattern, running weekdays only from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. (7:00 to 21:30) as an entirely local service between Ditmars Boulevard and Whitehall Street – South Ferry, Lower Manhattan. The Brooklyn portion was replaced by the D, which was extended over the north side of the bridge and down the West End Line.[6][13] Because there was not enough room to store W trains at City Hall, the first three W trains of the day entered service at 86th Street in Gravesend, Brooklyn and the last three trains of the night continued in service to Kings Highway. These trips ran local in Brooklyn via the Montague Street Tunnel, BMT Fourth Avenue and BMT Sea Beach lines.[14][15]

On July 27, 2008, the W was extended to run until 11:00 p.m.[16]

On March 24, 2010, the MTA announced the elimination of the W due to financial shortfalls with the N and Q replacing it. The N train became a full-time local, making all stops north of Canal Street. The Q was extended to Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard on weekdays. Passengers riding between Canal Street and Whitehall Street would have to switch to the R. The W ceased operation on Friday, June 25, 2010, along with the V, with the last train bound for Astoria – Ditmars Boulevard leaving Whitehall Street – South Ferry at 10:50 p.m.[6]

Proposed reintroduction

In July 2015, the MTA announced that it was considering restoring the W in its 2004-2010 service pattern once the first phase of the new Second Avenue Subway opens. When this new line opens (expected for December 2016), the Q would be rerouted from the Astoria Line to 96th Street on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The W would replace the Q in Astoria, maintaining the same level of service in Queens.[17]

On February 19, 2016, the MTA announced that the W may be restored in November 2016, before the Second Avenue Line opens; the Q would be temporarily cut back to 57th Street – 7th Avenue. This would allow for a seamless extension of Q service to the Second Avenue Line when it does open.[1][2][3]

Final route

Service pattern

The following lines were used by the W:

Line Tracks Time
BMT Astoria Line (full line) local weekdays only
BMT Broadway Line (full line)

Stations

For a more detailed station listing, see the articles on the lines listed above.

Station service legend
Stops all times
Stops all times except late nights
Stops weekdays only
Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
Stops weekdays in the peak direction only
Time period details
Stations Subway transfers Connections and notes
Queens
Astoria Line
Astoria – Ditmars Boulevard N 
Astoria Boulevard N  M60 Select Bus Service bus to LaGuardia Airport
30th Avenue N 
Broadway N 
36th Avenue N 
39th Avenue N 
Queensboro Plaza N 
7  <7> (IRT Flushing Line)
Manhattan
Broadway Line
Lexington Avenue / 59th Street N  R 
4  5  6  <6> (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
F  (IND 63rd Street Line at Lexington Avenue – 63rd Street; MetroCard-only transfer)		 Roosevelt Island Tramway
Fifth Avenue / 59th Street N  R 
57th Street – Seventh Avenue N  Q  R 
49th Street N  R  Station is accessible in the northbound direction only.
Times Square – 42nd Street N  Q  R 
1  2  3  (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line)
7  <7> (IRT Flushing Line)
S  (42nd Street Shuttle)
A  C  E  (IND Eighth Avenue Line at 42nd Street – Port Authority Bus Terminal)		 Port Authority Bus Terminal
34th Street – Herald Square N  Q  R 
B  D  F  M  (IND Sixth Avenue Line)		 PATH at 33rd Street
28th Street R 
23rd Street R 
14th Street – Union Square N  Q  R 
L  (BMT Canarsie Line)
4  5  6  <6> (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
Eighth Street – New York University R 
Prince Street R 
Canal Street N  Q  R 
6  <6> (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
J  Z  (BMT Nassau Street Line)
City Hall R 
Cortlandt Street R  PATH at World Trade Center
Rector Street R 
Whitehall Street – South Ferry R 
1  (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line)		 Staten Island Ferry at Whitehall Terminal

References

  1. 1 2 "Ahead of 2nd Ave. Subway opening, MTA officially set to restore W service to Astoria". Second Ave. Sagas. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  2. 1 2 "MTA Confirms W Train is Coming Back". TWC News. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  3. 1 2 3 "MTA | Press Release | NYC Transit | MTA Advances Work On Second Avenue Subway Service". www.mta.info. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  4. ↑ MTA New York City Transit, W Broadway Local
  5. ↑ "Transit & Bus Committee Meeting February 2016" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. February 20, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "NYCT Line by Line History". erictb.info.
  7. ↑ "New Subway Routes Take Effect Today". New York Times. July 22, 2001. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  8. ↑ "NYC Transit Subway Schedules". 2001-11-11. Archived from the original on November 11, 2001. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  9. ↑ "Brochure & Service Changes Index". Thejoekorner.com. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
  10. ↑ New York City Transit Authority, W Line from July 28, 2002, via the Internet Archive
  11. ↑ "No Trains Over The Williamsburg Bridge Take One(Jpg)". The Subway Nut. 2004-02-03. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
  12. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20031204032030/http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/pdf/twcur.pdf
  13. ↑ "The JoeKorNer Brochures". Thejoekorner.com. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
  14. ↑ "Rail-Ly Big Day In Subway". Nydailynews.com. 2004-02-24. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
  15. ↑ A search using the MTA's trip planner using "Whitehall Street" and "Kings Highway" as stations and setting the time to the appropriate hour (6:00 am into Manhattan; 9:00pm out of Manhattan) turned out results that showed the W as a possible travel option. Clicking the departure time also showed two additional times.
  16. ↑
  17. ↑ "MTA considers bringing back W train from Astoria to lower Manhattan". amNewYork. 2015-07-12. Retrieved 2015-07-15.

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