BMT Jamaica Line

BMT Jamaica Line
"J" train "M" train "Z" train
The J and Z trains serve the entire BMT Jamaica Line. The M serves the line west of Myrtle Avenue.
Overview
OwnerCity of New York
Termini
Stations22
Service
TypeRapid transit
SystemNew York City Subway
Operator(s)New York City Transit Authority
Daily ridership66,532 (2023)[1]
History
Opened1885-1918
Technical
Number of tracks2-3
CharacterElevated
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification600V DC third rail
Route map

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
Fulton Street Line
to Lefferts Boulevard
Broadway Junction
Fulton Street Line
to Jay Street–MetroTech
Chauncey Street
Halsey Street
Gates Avenue
Kosciuszko Street
Myrtle Avenue
(upper level abandoned)
Flushing Avenue
Lorimer Street
Hewes Street
Marcy Avenue
Legend

Closed station

The BMT Jamaica Line, also known as the Broadway - Brooklyn Line, is an elevated rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn and Queens. 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 lines 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 system – the original 1885 line of the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad, the former BMT Lexington Avenue Line between Gates Avenue and Van Siclen Avenue – as well as the newest elevated structure, the 1988 ramp into the Archer Avenue subway.

The Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) originally operated the line with "westbound" trains heading toward Manhattan and "eastbound" trains heading toward Canarsie, Middle Village, or Jamaica, generally in agreement with compass direction. However, NYCT's railroad directions, which are north and south, replaced the BMT's west and east railroad directions, 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.[2][3] The KK (later K) and current M services were an exception to this, with Jamaica, Broadway Junction, or Metropolitan Avenue remaining the south terminal, since they used the Chrystie Street Connection from the Jamaica Line to the IND Sixth Avenue Line.

  1. ^ "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.