BMT Broadway Line

BMT Broadway Line
"N" train "Q" train "R" train "W" train
The N, Q, R, and W, which use the Broadway Line through Midtown Manhattan, are colored yellow.
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerCity of New York
LocaleManhattan, New York City, New York
Termini
Stations16
Service
TypeRapid transit line
SystemNew York City Subway
Operator(s)New York City Transit Authority
Daily ridership445,799[1]
History
OpenedApril 9, 1917; 107 years ago (1917-04-09)
Technical
CharacterUnderground
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification600V DC third rail
Route map

Lexington Avenue–59th Street
Fifth Avenue–59th Street
57th Street–Seventh Avenue
49th Street
Times Square–42nd Street
34th Street–Herald Square
28th Street
23rd Street
14th Street–Union Square
Eighth Street–New York University
Prince Street
Canal Street
City Hall
(lower level storage tracks)
Cortlandt Street
Rector Street
Whitehall Street–South Ferry
Legend

Express station
Local station

The BMT Broadway Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan. As of November 2016, it is served by four services, all colored yellow: the N and ​Q trains on the express tracks and the R and ​W trains on the local tracks during weekdays (the N and Q trains make local stops during late nights, as do the N and R trains on weekends). The line is often referred to as the "N and R",[2][3] since those were the only services on the line from 1988 to 2001, when the Manhattan Bridge's southern tracks were closed for rebuilding. The Broadway Line was built to give the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (later the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation, or BMT) access to Midtown Manhattan.

The line is named for its location under Broadway between Vesey Street and Seventh Avenue/45th Street (Times Square). It also passes under Vesey Street, Whitehall Street, Trinity Place, and Church Street in Lower Manhattan, and Seventh Avenue, 59th Street, and 60th Street in Midtown. The local tracks stretch the entire length between the two East River tunnels: the Montague Street Tunnel to the BMT Fourth Avenue Line in Brooklyn and the 60th Street Tunnel to the BMT Astoria Line and 60th Street Tunnel Connection in Queens. Center express tracks exist between Canal Street and 57th Street, turning off at Canal Street to feed the south tracks on the Manhattan Bridge, and continuing north and east under Central Park as the IND/BMT 63rd Street Line (connecting with the Second Avenue Subway). The Broadway Line was the only Manhattan outlet north of Delancey Street for the BMT's Brooklyn lines until 1967, when the opening of the Chrystie Street Connection allowed most BMT Brighton Line and BMT West End Line service to be moved to the IND Sixth Avenue Line.

  1. ^ "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  2. ^ Kennedy, Randy (October 31, 2000). "Honoring the Champions". The New York Times. p. B10. ISSN 0362-4331. And the only reason she was standing in the middle of Broadway was that she was below it. Underground. In the N and R subway station.
  3. ^ Saulny, Susan (December 5, 2000). "In Subway Changes, W Follows V, but for Riders It's Not So Simple". The New York Times. p. B1. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019. The Q, N, R and W trains would all run on N and R tracks in Manhattan.