BMT Canarsie Line

BMT Canarsie Line
The L, which uses the entire Canarsie Line, is colored gray.
Overview
Owner	City of New York
Termini	Eighth Avenue Rockaway Parkway
Stations	27 (3 demolished)
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	New York City Subway
Operator(s)	New York City Transit Authority
Daily ridership	228,540[1]
History
Opened	1865–1931
Technical
Number of tracks	2
Character	At-grade (eastbound track at Wilson Avenue, section from East 105th Street to Rockaway Parkway) Elevated (eastbound track south of Wilson Avenue, Broadway Jct. to north of East 105th Street) Underground (north of Broadway Jct. except for eastbound track at Wilson Avenue)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	600V DC third rail
Route map Legend Eighth Avenue (Eighth Avenue Line) 14th Street (Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) Sixth Avenue (Sixth Avenue Line and PATH) Union Square (Broadway Line) Lexington Avenue Line Third Avenue First Avenue East River via 14th Street Tunnel Bedford Avenue Lorimer Street (Crosstown Line) Graham Avenue Grand Street Montrose Avenue Morgan Avenue Jefferson Street DeKalb Avenue Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues (Myrtle Avenue Line) Halsey Street LIRR Bay Ridge Branch former LIRR Evergreen Branch Cooper Avenue Junction Wilson Avenue ( northbound only) LIRR East New York Tunnels Bushwick Avenue–Aberdeen Street East New York Yard Jamaica Line Broadway Junction Fulton Street Line Fulton Street Elevated (closed 1956) LIRR Atlantic Branch (East New York) Atlantic Avenue Fulton Street Elevated (closed 1956) Sutter Avenue Livonia Avenue New Lots Line (Junius Street) former LIRR connection New Lots Avenue Linden Shops LIRR Bay Ridge Branch East 105th Street Canarsie–Rockaway Parkway (Canarsie Yard) Flatlands Avenue (closed 1942) Avenue L (closed 1942) Canarsie Pier (closed 1942) This diagram: view talk edit

The BMT Canarsie Line (sometimes referred to as the 14th Street–Eastern Line) is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway system, named after its terminus in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn. It is served by the L train at all times, which is shown in medium gray on the New York City Subway map and on station signs.

The line is part of the BMT Eastern Division, and is occasionally referred to as the Eastern District Line. This refers to Williamsburg, which was described as Brooklyn's "Eastern District" when the City of Williamsburg was annexed by the former City of Brooklyn. This was the location where the original Brooklyn subway portions of the line were laid out. Only later was the line connected to the tracks leading to Canarsie. Eastern District High School, near the line's Grand Street station, had preserved this toponym until it was closed in 1996, later reopened as Grand Street Educational Campus.

The Canarsie Line was first a steam railroad, then a Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT), later Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), elevated line. It was extended into Manhattan via subway in 1924–1928. Since the early 2000s, the line's signal system has been converted to an automated system. The Manhattan section of the line was partially closed during off-peak hours from early 2019 to April 2020 to allow for a renovation of the 14th Street Tunnel, which the line uses to cross the East River.