A (New York City Subway service)

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The A Eighth Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored blue on route signs, station signs, and the official subway map, since it runs on the IND Eighth Avenue Line through Manhattan. It is the longest one-seat ride in the subway system: over 31 miles[1] (50 km) from 207th Street station in Inwood, Manhattan, to the Mott Avenue station in Far Rockaway, Queens.

The normal A service pattern is from 207th Street to Mott Avenue or to Lefferts Boulevard in Richmond Hill, Queens, running express in Manhattan and Brooklyn and local in Queens.

Five rush hour trips run from Beach 116th Street in Rockaway Park, Queens to Manhattan during the morning hours and five rush hour trips run to Beach 116th Street from Manhattan during the late afternoon hours. At all times, a 24 hour shuttle service (the Rockaway Park Shuttle) connects Rockaway Park to the mainline at Broad Channel.

During evenings (approximately 10:30pm to 12am), A service runs local in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Late nights (approximately 1am to 5:30am weeknights; 1am to 6am Saturdays; 1am to 7am Sundays) all service operates local to and from Far Rockaway only; during this time, a special shuttle (the Lefferts Boulevard Shuttle) runs from Euclid Avenue to Lefferts Boulevard.

Currently, the A fleet consists of R32/R32As and R38s (both car types are sometimes coupled to each other) as well as the R44s. R160Bs have been reported to run on the A line in the near future.

The following lines are used by the A service:

Line Tracks Time
IND Eighth Avenue Line north of 168th Street N/A always
IND Eighth Avenue Line south of 168th Street express all times except late nights
local late nights
IND Fulton Street Line north of Euclid Avenue express all times except late nights
local late nights
IND Fulton Street Line south of Euclid Avenue local always
IND Rockaway Line to Far Rockaway N/A always
IND Rockaway Line to Rockaway Park N/A rush hours, peak direction only

Contents

[edit] History

 
A

8TH AVE
 
AA

8TH AVE
R1 end rollsigns
 
A
 
 
AA
 
1967-1979 bullets (in a circle)

The A and AA were the first services on the IND Eighth Avenue Line when it opened on September 10, 1932. The A ran express between 207th Street and Hudson Terminal (today's World Trade Center station), and the AA was a local between 168th Street and Chambers Street (adjacent to Hudson Terminal). During late nights and Sundays, the A didn't run and the AA made all stops along the line.

The A was extended to Jay Street–Borough Hall on February 1, 1933, when the Cranberry Street Tunnel to Brooklyn opened; an extension to Bergen Street opened on March 20, and to Church Avenue on October 7.

On April 9, 1936, the IND Fulton Street Line was opened to Rockaway Avenue. On December 30, 1946 and November 28, 1948, the line was extended to Broadway–East New York (now Broadway Junction) and Euclid Avenue, respectively.

On April 29, 1956, Grant Avenue was opened, and the line was extended over the BMT Fulton Street Line to Lefferts Boulevard. Two months later, on June 28, 1956, the former Long Island Rail Road Rockaway Line was converted to subway specifications, and service began to Rockaway Park and Wavecrest (Beach 25th Street). At this time, rush hour express service on the Fulton Street Line with the E train began.

On January 16, 1958, a new terminal was created at Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue, and the through connection to the Long Island Rail Road's Far Rockaway station was severed. In 1963, the E train was extended to the Rockaways, and the A train ran local to Euclid Avenue or Lefferts Boulevard at all times. (CC shuttle service from Euclid Avenue provided all service to the Rockaways). On July 9, 1967, the A train was extended to Far Rockaway middays, evenings, and weekends, replacing the CC shuttle on that branch. Five years later, it would also be extended during rush hours. On January 2, 1973, the A train became the express service along Fulton Street and the E train became the local.

In 1986, the IND practice of using double letters to indicate local service was discontinued. The AA service was renamed the K. In 1988, it was discontinued and replaced by the C.

Until 1990, the main service was to Lefferts Boulevard, while the Far Rockaway service did not run late nights; at this time, a transfer to a shuttle at Euclid Avenue was available. In 1990, this pattern was switched, with late-night A service running to Far Rockaway only. A shuttle now provides service from Euclid Avenue to Lefferts Boulevard during late nights. A few years later, special A service began running from Rockaway Park to 59th Street-Columbus Circle during the morning rush, and from 59th Street–Columbus Circle to Rockaway Park during the evening rush.

In 1999, the A became the express on the Fulton Street Line on weekends after C service was moved from World Trade Center to Euclid Avenue during that time.

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.

[edit] Cultural references

  • "Take the A Train" is a jazz standard by Billy Strayhorn, referring to the A subway service that runs through New York City, 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. Part of the significance of this is sociological: it connected the two largest Black neighborhoods in New York City.
  • There is also a popular play by New York playwright Stephen Adly Guirges called "Jesus Hopped the A Train."

[edit] Stations

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


Station service legend
Stops all times Stops all times
Stops all times except late nights Stops all times except late nights
Stops late nights only Stops late nights only
Stops rush hours in peak direction only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
Time period details
A service Station Handicapped/disabled access Subway transfers Connections
Manhattan
Stops all times Inwood–207th Street Handicapped/disabled access
Stops all times Dyckman Street
Stops all times 190th Street
Stops all times 181st Street
Stops all times 175th Street Handicapped/disabled access George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal
Stops all times 168th Street 1 C (1234)
Stops late nights only 163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue
Stops late nights only 155th Street
Stops all times 145th Street B (123a) C (1234) D
Stops late nights only 135th Street
Stops all times 125th Street Handicapped/disabled access B (123a) C (1234) D M60 to LaGuardia Airport
Stops late nights only 116th Street
Stops late nights only 110th Street–Cathedral Parkway
Stops late nights only 103rd Street
Stops late nights only 96th Street
Stops late nights only 86th Street
Stops late nights only 81st Street–Museum of Natural History
Stops late nights only 72nd Street
Stops all times 59th Street–Columbus Circle 1 2(5) B (123a) C (1234) D
Stops late nights only 50th Street Handicapped/disabled access* E
Stops all times 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal Handicapped/disabled access 1 2 3(1234) 7 <7>(1a2a3c) C (1234) E N Q R (1234) S(1234) W (123a) Port Authority Bus Terminal
Stops all times 34th Street–Penn Station Handicapped/disabled access C (1234) E Amtrak, LIRR, NJ Transit at Pennsylvania Station
Stops late nights only 23rd Street E
Stops all times 14th Street Handicapped/disabled access C (1234) E L
Stops all times West Fourth Street–Washington Square Handicapped/disabled access B (123a) C (1234) D E F V (123) PATH at Ninth Street
Stops late nights only Spring Street E
Stops all times Canal Street C (1234) E
Stops all times Chambers Street 2 3(1234) C (1234) E PATH at World Trade Center
Stops all times Broadway–Nassau Street 2 3(1234) 4 5(1234) C (1234) J(1235a) M(1) Z(1a)
Brooklyn
Stops all times High Street–Brooklyn Bridge C (1234)
Stops all times Jay Street–Borough Hall C (1234) F
Stops all times Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets C (1234) G
Stops late nights only Lafayette Avenue
Stops late nights only Clinton–Washington Avenues
Stops late nights only Franklin Avenue Handicapped/disabled access S
Stops all times Nostrand Avenue C (1234) LIRR Atlantic Branch at Nostrand Avenue
Stops late nights only Kingston–Throop Avenues B15 to JFK Airport
Stops all times Utica Avenue C (1234)
Stops late nights only Ralph Avenue
Stops late nights only Rockaway Avenue
Stops all times Broadway Junction C (1234) J L 1a LIRR Atlantic Branch at East New York
Stops late nights only Liberty Avenue
Stops late nights only Van Siclen Avenue
Stops late nights only Shepherd Avenue
Stops all times Euclid Avenue Handicapped/disabled access C (1234)
Stops all times Grant Avenue
Queens
Stops all times 80th Street
Stops all times 88th Street
Stops all times Rockaway Boulevard

*50th Street station is accessible in the southbound direction only.

Lefferts Boulevard Branch
A service Station Handicapped/disabled access Subway transfers Connections
Stops all times Rockaway Boulevard
Stops all times except late nights 104th Street
Stops all times except late nights 111th Street
Stops all times except late nights Ozone Park–Lefferts Boulevard Q10 to JFK Airport
Far Rockaway Branch
A service Station Handicapped/disabled access Subway transfers Connections
Stops all times Rockaway Boulevard
Station closed Aqueduct Racetrack**
Stops all times Aqueduct–North Conduit Avenue
Stops all times Howard Beach–JFK Airport Handicapped/disabled access AirTrain JFK
Stops all times Broad Channel S
Stops all times Beach 67th Street
Stops all times Beach 60th Street
Stops all times Beach 44th Street
Stops all times Beach 36th Street
Stops all times Beach 25th Street
Stops all times Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue LIRR Far Rockaway Branch at Far Rockaway

**Aqueduct Racetrack station has one side platform, serving northbound A trains only. It is only open between 11:00 and 19:00 (11:00 AM–7:00 PM) on racing days at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Rockaway Park Branch
A service Station Handicapped/disabled access Subway transfers Connections
Stops all times Broad Channel S
Stops rush hours in peak direction only Beach 90th Street S
Stops rush hours in peak direction only Beach 98th Street S
Stops rush hours in peak direction only Beach 105th Street S
Stops rush hours in peak direction only Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street Handicapped/disabled access S

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ MTA NYC Transit — Info — Subways. Retrieved on 2006-07-08.

[edit] References

  • Line By Line History
  • IND Subway Services
  • "City Opens Subway to Brooklyn Today," New York Times, February 1, 1933; page 19
  • "City Subway Adds a New Link Today," New York Times, March 20, 1933; page 17
  • "New Bronx Subway Starts Operation," New York Times, July 1, 1933; page 15

[edit] External links


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