A (New York City Subway service)

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New York City Subway service

New York City Subway service

The A Eighth Avenue Express[4] is a rapid transit service in the B Division of the New York City Subway. Its route emblem, or “bullet”, is colored blue since it uses the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan.[5]

The A operates at all times. Daytime service operates between 207th Street in Inwood, Manhattan and Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway, Queens or Lefferts Boulevard in Richmond Hill, Queens, making express stops in Manhattan and Brooklyn and local stops in Queens. Limited rush-hour service also operates to or from Beach 116th Street in Rockaway Park, Queens. Late night service operates only between 207th Street and Far Rockaway, making local stops along its entire route; during this time, a shuttle train (the Lefferts Boulevard Shuttle) operates between Euclid Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard.[a][6]

The A provides the longest one-seat ride in the system—at 32.39 miles (52.13 km), between Inwood and Far Rockaway—and has a weekday ridership of 600,000.[7]

History

Early history

The A and AA were the first services on the IND Eighth Avenue Line when it opened on September 10, 1932. The Independent Subway System (IND) used single letters to refer to express services and double letters for local services. The A ran express between 207th Street and Chambers Street, and the AA ran local between 168th Street and Chambers Street, known at the time as Hudson Terminal. During late-night hours (from 1:45 a.m. to 5:45 a.m.) and on Sundays, the A did not run and the AA made all stops along the line.[8][9]: 15 

The A was extended to Jay Street–Borough Hall when the Cranberry Street Tunnel to Brooklyn opened on February 1, 1933,[10][11] and to Bergen Street, when the extension opened on March 20.[12] On July 1, the A began running express at all times, stopping at 155th Street and 163rd Street during late nights.[9]: 82  The A was extended to Church Avenue on October 7.[13]

On April 9, 1936, the IND Fulton Street Line was opened to Rockaway Avenue.[14] The 1936 extension played an integral part in the establishment of Bedford-Stuyvesant as Brooklyn’s central African American community. The A train connected Harlem, Manhattan’s central African American community, to areas of Bedford-Stuyvesant that provided residential opportunities for African Americans not found throughout the rest of New York City.[15]

On December 30, 1946 and November 28, 1948, the line was extended to Broadway–East New York (now Broadway Junction) and Euclid Avenue, respectively.[16][9]: 82  On October 24, 1949, express service in Brooklyn to Broadway–East New York began with the A running express during rush hours, with the E extended to provide local service.[13][17]

Extensions to Ozone Park and the Rockaways

A poster commemorating the opening of the IND Rockaway Line

On April 29, 1956, Grant Avenue was opened and the line was extended over the BMT Fulton Street Line to Lefferts Boulevard.[18] On weekdays except midnights, alternate trains terminated at Lefferts Boulevard and at Euclid Avenue. During weekends, they terminated at Euclid Avenue with a shuttle to Lefferts Boulevard.[13][19]

Two months later, on June 28, 1956, the former Long Island Rail Road Rockaway Beach Branch, having been rebuilt to subway specifications,[20] began service to Rockaway Park[21] and Wavecrest (Beach 25th Street).[22][23] At this time, rush hour express service on the Fulton Street Line with the E train began.

On September 16, 1956, the A was extended to the Rockaways, replacing the E. At the time, alternate trains continued running to Lefferts Boulevard.[13] On January 27, 1957, non-rush hour through service to the Rockaways was discontinued and was replaced by a shuttle running between Euclid Avenue and Wavecrest (now Beach 25th Street). Non-rush hour A train service was now to Lefferts Boulevard.

On June 18, 1957, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) announced plans to have Rockaway-bound A trains skip Grant Avenue, Hudson Street, and Boyd Street during rush hours on a one-month pilot, to take effect July 1. The change was made to determine whether ten minutes could be reduced off of travel times to the Rockaways; the NYCTA only believed it would save three minutes.[24][25] In the face of community opposition, the NYCTA announced that it would take more time to review the change, meaning that it ultimately did not take effect on July 1.[26]

On January 16, 1958, with the opening of the new terminal Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue, rush hour A service was extended. On September 8, 1958, the A train replaced the E train in the Rockaways again, and A trains resumed alternating between Euclid Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard. “Round-robin” service from Euclid Avenue to both Rockaway terminals began during non-rush hours, while through A service ran to Lefferts Boulevard.[27] On September 8, 1959, the A began to run local in Brooklyn during rush hours, making it local at all times in Brooklyn, as the E became express in Brooklyn during rush hours. On July 9, 1967, the A trains running to Euclid Avenue were extended to Far Rockaway middays, evenings, and weekends, replacing the HH shuttle on that branch.[28][29]

Simplifying service patterns

As part of systemwide changes in bus and subway service, major changes were made to A service in Brooklyn and Queens on January 2, 1973. The A train became the express service along Fulton Street and the E train became the local during rush hours.[30][31] Express service would be provided for a longer period during rush hours as the span of E service to Brooklyn, which would cover local stops, was also increased.[32] In addition, the A trips that terminated at Euclid Avenue during rush hours were extended to Far Rockaway, replacing E service. Service would now run to Far Rockaway between 5:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m..[33][28] A trains would alternate between Lefferts Boulevard and Far Rockaway. These changes were initially supposed to take effect on September 11, 1972.[34]

On August 30, 1976, the CC became the Fulton Street Local during rush hours, replacing E service.[35] On August 27, 1977, the A began making local stops in Manhattan during late nights, when the AA was not running.[36]

On December 11, 1988, A trains began running local between 145th Street and 168th Street on weekends to replace the discontinued K (formerly AA) service, and express on the IND Fulton Street Line in Brooklyn during middays and rush hours, with the C providing local service during those times.[37] On September 30, 1990, A trains began operating local between 145th Street and 168th Street during weekday evenings.[38]

In 1991, at a series of meetings, the NYCTA presented proposed changes to A, C, and H service that would shorten the length of the C, simplify the service pattern during late nights to most efficiently serve the majority of riders, provide direct express service to Rockaway Park during rush hours in the peak direction, and provide shuttle connections during non-peak periods between Rockaway Park and through A train service. The service pattern devised was designed to improve operations by reducing route length and complexity, making service more attractive, simplifying confusing service patterns, and reducing transfers for passengers traveling during late nights.[39]

At the time, A service ran to Lefferts Boulevard and Far Rockaway during the day while the C ran to Rockaway Park during rush hours. During late nights, A service ran to Lefferts Boulevard, while service to both branches in the Rockaways was provided by round-robin H shuttle service to Euclid Avenue. As part of the changes proposed, round-robin shuttle service would be discontinued, through A late night service would run to Far Rockaway, and service to Lefferts Boulevard and Rockaway Park would be provided by separate shuttle services with timed transfers to through A service. Rush hour local C service to Rockaway Park would be replaced by through A express service that ran every 20 minutes in the peak direction for a period of one hour and twenty minutes in rush hours to and from 59th Street–Columbus Circle. The initial proposal had these trips terminate at 34th Street, but this was changed to 59th Street following public comments. These five rush hour express trips were marketed as a “commuter rail style service”, and special efforts were to be made to follow the arrival and departure times listed in the route’s timetable, which was publicly distributed to riders. In addition, H service to Rockaway Park would be replaced by the Rockaway Park Shuttle, which would run between Broad Channel and Rockaway Park, and C service would be truncated to Euclid Avenue.[39]

In April 1992, the MTA Board approved the proposed change to service in the Rockaways, which were expected to encourage ridership growth in the long term, and reduced NYCTA’s annual operating budget by $20,000.[39] The changes took effect on October 23, 1992 with modification: Late night shuttle service to Lefferts Boulevard would terminate at Euclid Avenue, not Rockaway Boulevard.[40] Later on, the rush hour A trips to Rockaway Park were extended from 59th Street to Dyckman Street and Inwood–207th Street.[41]

On May 29, 1994, A trains began running express on weekends from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. between 168th Street and 145th Street, with C trains trains being extended from 145th Street to 168th Street to cover local stops.[42] A corresponding change was made to weekday midday A service on April 30, 1995, though this change was discontinued on November 12, 1995. On March 1, 1998, A trains began running express between 168th Street and 145th Street during middays and early evenings, with local service provided by extended C service. On May 2, 1999, the A became the express on the Fulton Street Line at all times except late nights, and C service was extended from World Trade Center to Euclid Avenue during late weekday evenings and weekends to provide local service along the line.[28][7]

21st century

On January 23, 2005, a fire at the Chambers Street signal room crippled A and C service. Initial assessments suggested that it would take several years to restore normal service, but the damaged equipment was replaced with available spare parts, and normal service resumed on April 21.[43][44]

A service was affected by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, due to extreme damage to the IND Rockaway Line. Trains that normally traveled to Far Rockaway or Rockaway Park terminated at Howard Beach–JFK Airport. Service to the Rockaways resumed on May 30, 2013.[45][46] The Far Rockaway part of the route was served by the temporary free H shuttle that ran between Far Rockaway and Beach 90th Street via the connecting track at Hammels Wye.[47][48][49]

As a result of a two-phase program of flood mitigation work along the Hammels Wye, between April 9 and May 18, 2018, limited rush hour A service to/from Rockaway Park was suspended.[b] The second phase, from July 1 to September 3, diverted all Far Rockaway-bound A trips to Rockaway Park, with Rockaway Park Shuttle trains being rerouted to the Far Rockaway branch through the southern leg of Hammels Wye.[50]

From midday on March 29, 2020[51][52] to April 28, 2020,[53] due to the suspension of C train service caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, A trains to Lefferts Boulevard ran local,[54] while A trains to the Rockaways ran express.[55]

Route

Service pattern

The following table shows the lines used by the A, with shaded boxes indicating the route at the specified times:[c][56]

Stations

For a more detailed station listing, see the articles on the lines listed above.[4]

For clarity, the A‘s branches are shown separately in the following table. The leftmost column shows the Lefferts Boulevard service; the second column shows the Far Rockaway service; and the third column shows the Rockaway Park service.

In popular culture

“Take the ‘A’ Train” is a jazz standard by Billy Strayhorn, referring to the A train, going at that time from eastern Brooklyn up into Harlem and northern Manhattan, using the express tracks in Manhattan. It became the signature tune of Duke Ellington and often opened the shows of Ella Fitzgerald.[58] Part of the significance of this is sociological; it connected Harlem and Bedford–Stuyvesant, the two largest African American neighborhoods in New York City.

Notes

  1. ^ The separate shuttle service is identified on the late night map as NYCS-bull-trans-A gray.svg, and in the schedule and on trains as NYCS-bull-trans-S blue.svg.
  2. ^ Limited rush-hour service that normally begins or ends at Rockaway Park began or ended at Euclid Avenue instead.
  3. ^ There are several local A trains each late evening and early mornings which travel to and from Lefferts Boulevard.
  4. ^ Northbound trains from Rockaway Park end at 207th Street, but southbound trains to Rockaway Park begin at either Dyckman or 168th Streets
  5. ^ a b Trains terminate at this station during the a.m. rush and originate at this station during the p.m. rush
  6. ^ Chambers Street–World Trade Center are actually counted as two separate stations by the MTA. E trains terminate at World Trade Center while A and ​C trains have through service at Chambers Street.[57]

References

  1. ^ ‘Subdivision ‘B’ Car Assignment Effective December 19, 2021′. New York City Transit, Operations Planning. December 17, 2021.
  2. ^ “Subdivision ‘B’ Car Assignments: Cars Required November 1, 2021” (PDF). The Bulletin. Electric Railroaders’ Association. 64 (12): 3. December 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  3. ^ “MTA on Twitter “That moment when you’re waiting for the train and ✨this✨ pulls up”“. Twitter. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  4. ^ a b “A Subway Timetable, Effective June 26, 2022”. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  5. ^ “mta.info – Line Colors”. mta.info.
  6. ^ “Late Night Subway Service” (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  7. ^ a b “Review of the A and C Lines” (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 11, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  8. ^ “Gay Midnight Crowd Rides First Trains in New Subway”. The New York Times. September 10, 1932. p. 1.
  9. ^ a b c Cunningham, Joseph; DeHart, Leonard O. (1993). A History of the New York City Subway System. J. Schmidt, R. Giglio, and K. Lang.
  10. ^ “CITY OPENS SUBWAY TO BROOKLYN TODAY; Regular Express Service on the Extension of Independent Line Starts at 6:05 A.M. 3 LARGE STATIONS ADDED Fast Trains to Make Run From 207th St. to Borough Hall in 37 Minutes. 43 MORE MEN ON JOBS Officials Look for Rise in income as Financial District Is Brought Into New Route”. The New York Times. February 1, 1933. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  11. ^ “NEW SUBWAY LINK OPENS WEDNESDAY; Independent Line Will Offer Express Service to Borough Hall in Brooklyn. KEY STATION TO BE ADDED Broadway-Nassau St. Platform to Connect With B.M.T. and East and West Side I.R.T. ADDED REVENUE EXPECTED 2-Way Rush-Hour Traffic Hoped For by Officials — Local Trains to Be Speeded Slightly”. The New York Times. January 29, 1933. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  12. ^ “CITY SUBWAY OPENS NEW LINK MARCH 20; Brooklyn Extension to Bergen and Smith Streets to Add One More Station. RISE IN REVENUE CERTAIN Further Cut Into Traffic of Rival Systems at Terminal Point Is Predicted. GROWTH WILL CONTINUE Station-by-Siation Completion to Church Avenue Before September Is Planned”. The New York Times. March 12, 1933. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  13. ^ a b c d “NYCT Line by Line History”. erictb.info.
  14. ^ “NEW SUBWAY LINK OPENED BY MAYOR; He Tells 15,000 in Brooklyn It Will Be Extended to Queens When Red Tape Is Cut”. The New York Times. April 9, 1936. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  15. ^ Echanove, Matias. “Bed-Stuy on the Move” Archived September 16, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Master thesis. Urban Planning Program. Columbia University. Urbanology.org. 2003.
  16. ^ Williams, Keith. “Weaving the Broadway Junction tapestry”. The Weekly Nabe. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  17. ^ “IND Faster Service Will Start Sunday” (PDF). The New York Times. October 20, 1949. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  18. ^ “Notice To Passengers”. Flickr. New York City Transit Authority. April 1956. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  19. ^ “First Leg of Rockaways Transit Opened at Cost of $10,154,702; Station and Subway Section Put Into Use–Service Is Expected on June 28”. The New York Times. April 30, 1956. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  20. ^ “PRR Chronology, 1956” (PDF). (45.9 KiB), December 2004 Edition
  21. ^ “ROCKAWAY PARK”. arrts-arrchives.com.
  22. ^ “LONG ISLAND STATION HISTORY”. trainsarefun.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  23. ^ Freejman), Ira Henry (June 29, 1956). “FREE RIDE OPENS ROCKAWAYS LINE; Fete Marks Longest Single Extension of Rapid Transit in History of the City Commissioner’s Children Help Mayor Arrives Late”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  24. ^ “IND Time Test to Skip 3 Brooklyn Stations”. New York Daily News. June 19, 1957. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  25. ^ “Rockaway Transit Speedup Assailed”. New York Daily News. June 25, 1957. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  26. ^ “TA Puts Off Speedup For Rockaway Line”. New York Daily News. June 27, 1957. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  27. ^ Linder, Bernard (October 1968). “Independent Subway Service History” (PDF). New York Division Bulletin. Electric Railroaders’ Association.
  28. ^ a b c Chiasson, George (February 2012). “History of the A Train” (PDF). The Bulletin. Electric Railroaders’ Association. 55 (2).
  29. ^ “Train Stepup To Far Rock”. New York Daily News. July 5, 1967. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  30. ^ “Subway Schedules In Queens Changing Amid Some Protest”. The New York Times. January 2, 1973. p. 46. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  31. ^ “Changes Set for Jan. 2 Praised” (PDF). The New York Times. November 25, 1972. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  32. ^ “To serve you better… ….On E and F Trains in Queens and Manhattan”. Flickr. New York City Transit Authority. 1972. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  33. ^ “To serve you better… Changes in subway service will become effective 6 AM Tues, Jan. 2”. Flickr. New York City Transit Authority. 1972. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  34. ^ “Improved Service Begins Sept 11”. Flickr. New York City Transit Authority. 1972. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  35. ^ “Service Adjustment on BMT and IND Lines Effective 1 A.M. Monday, Aug. 30”. Flickr. New York City Transit Authority. August 1976. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  36. ^ “Service Adjustments on the BMT and IND Lines Effective Midnight, Saturday, August 27”. Flickr. New York City Transit Authority. 1977. Retrieved June 9, 2016.
  37. ^ “System-Wide Changes In Subway Service Effective Sunday, December 11, 1988”. Flickr. New York City Transit Authority. 1988. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  38. ^ “Service Changes September 30, 1990” (PDF). subwaynut.com. New York City Transit Authority. September 30, 1990. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  39. ^ a b c *Transit Authority Committee Agenda April 1992. New York City Transit Authority. April 16, 1992. pp. E.1.

  40. ^ “October 1992 New York City Subway Map”. Flickr. New York City Transit Authority. October 1992. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  41. ^ “A Subway Timetable” (PDF). mta.info.
  42. ^ “May 1994 Subway Map”. Flickr. New York City Transit. May 1994. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  43. ^ Chan, Sewell (January 25, 2005). “2 Subway Lines Crippled by Fire; Long Repair Seen”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  44. ^ “Remembering a fire at Chambers St”. Second Ave. Sagas. August 24, 2010.
  45. ^ “Rebuilding the Rockaways After Hurricane Sandy”. mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on November 29, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  46. ^ Cuomo: MTA To Restore A Train Subway Service To The Rockaways May 30
  47. ^ “MTA on Twitter”. Twitter.
  48. ^ “Hurricane Sandy Recovery Service. As of November 20” (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2013.
  49. ^ “MTA News”. mta.info.
  50. ^ “Train Change: A/ Shuttle Service to be Impacted Starting in April”. The Rockaway Times. March 8, 2018. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  51. ^ “MANH/BKLYN, A and C Train, No C Train Service”. mymtaalerts.com. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 29, 2020. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  52. ^ Berger, Paul (March 31, 2020). “New York Transit Struggles Under Coronavirus Worker Shortage”. Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  53. ^ Martinez, Jose (April 28, 2020). “Subway Service Slowly Gets Back On Track As Transit Workers Return”. The City. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  54. ^ “Update: QNS, C Train, No Scheduled Service”. mymtaalerts.com. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. April 28, 2020. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  55. ^ “A 8 Avenue Express”. transitfeeds.com. Open Mobility Data. April 28, 2020. Archived from the original on April 28, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  56. ^ “Subway Service Guide” (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  57. ^ “Station Complexes”. mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  58. ^ Cohen, Billie (January 2, 2008). “The A Train”. The New York Times. Retrieved October 14, 2015.

External links