IND Sixth Avenue Line

IND Sixth Avenue Line
"B" train "D" train "F" train "F" express train "M" train
The B, D, F, <F>, and M, which use the Sixth Avenue Line through Midtown Manhattan, are colored orange.
Overview
OwnerCity of New York
Termini
Stations14
Service
TypeRapid transit
SystemNew York City Subway
Operator(s)New York City Transit Authority
Daily ridership400,687[1]
History
Opened1936–1968
Technical
Number of tracks2–4
CharacterUnderground
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification600V DC using a third rail
Route map

57th Street
Seventh Avenue
47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center
42nd Street–Bryant Park
34th Street–Herald Square
23rd Street
14th Street
West 4th Street–Washington Square
(8th Avenue tracks above 6th Avenue tracks)
Broadway–Lafayette Street
Second Avenue
Delancey Street
Grand Street
East Broadway
York Street

The IND Sixth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in the United States. It runs mainly under Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, and continues south to Brooklyn. The B, D, F, and M trains, which use the Sixth Avenue Line through Midtown Manhattan, are colored orange. The B and D trains use the express tracks, while the F, <F> and M trains use the local tracks.

The Sixth Avenue Line, constructed in stages during the 1930s, was the last trunk line built by the Independent Subway System (IND) before it was incorporated into the modern-day New York City Subway. It was more difficult to build than other subway trunk lines in New York City because construction had to proceed around, over, and under existing tunnels and elevated structures. The Sixth Avenue Line replaced the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT)'s Sixth Avenue elevated, which closed in 1939. The first section of the line opened in 1936 from West Fourth Street to East Broadway with service provided by Eighth Avenue Line trains. This section was initially referred to as the Houston-Essex Street Route. The Sixth Avenue subway was completed in 1940, providing service north of West Fourth Street, connecting to the Queens Boulevard Line and the Eighth Avenue Line.

Initially, the Sixth Avenue Line carried only local service, since there were no express tracks between 34th Street and West 4th Street. In 1967 and 1968, the Chrystie Street Connection was completed, connecting the line with former BMT lines in Brooklyn via the Manhattan Bridge and with the BMT Jamaica Line over the Williamsburg Bridge. Two new stations at 57th Street and Grand Street, as well as a pair of express tracks between 34th and West 4th Streets, were built to provide the necessary capacity for the new service to Brooklyn.

There are branches on both ends of the line. On the south end, the express tracks used by the B and ​D trains diverge to Grand Street and the Manhattan Bridge. The local tracks continue through the Rutgers Street Tunnel and to York Street in Brooklyn (used by the F and <F>​ trains) or via the Chrystie Street Connection and the Williamsburg Bridge to the BMT Jamaica Line in Brooklyn (used by the M train). On the north end, north of 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center, the express tracks diverge to Seventh Avenue–53rd Street and the IND Eighth Avenue Line, while a spur used by the F and <F> train continues under Sixth Avenue to 57th Street and the 63rd Street Lines; the local tracks, used by the M train, merge with the IND Queens Boulevard Line and continue to Queens.

  1. ^ "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.