West Fourth Street–Washington Square (New York City Subway)

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West Fourth Street–Washington Square
New York City Subway station

Station information
Lines	IND Eighth Avenue Line IND Sixth Avenue Line
Services	A (all times) B (weekdays until 9:30 p.m.) C (all except late nights) D (all times) E (all times) F (all times) V (weekdays until midnight)
Platforms	4 island platforms (2 on each level)
Tracks	8 (4 on each level)
Passengers (2006)	11.649 million ▲ 4%
Other
Borough	Manhattan
Opened	September 10, 1932^[1] (upper level) December 15, 1940 (lower level)
Accessible
Connection	PATH at 9th Street
Next north	14th Street (8th): A C E 14th Street (6th local): F V 34th Street–Herald Square (6th express): B D
Next south	Spring Street (8th local): A C E Canal Street (8th express): A Broadway–Lafayette Street (6th): B D F V

West Fourth Street–Washington Square is a station on the IND Sixth Avenue and IND Eighth Avenue Lines of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of West Fourth Street and Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. It is served at all times by the A, E, D, and F trains; by the B and V trains on weekdays; and by the C at all times except late nights.

The upper level.

This bi-level station was built by the IND as the major transfer point between its two Manhattan trunk lines. Each level has two island platforms and four tracks; the upper level is served by the IND Eighth Avenue Line and the lower by the IND Sixth Avenue Line, with a full-length mezzanine sandwiched between the two. The upper level began service first, in September 1932. Service on the lower level began in January 1936 with a shuttle service to Second Avenue;^{[citation needed]} through service on the Sixth Avenue local tracks began in December 1940. The Sixth Avenue express tracks were built later and were put into through service on July 1, 1968; prior to then, the express tracks here and at 34th Street–Herald Square were used as terminal tracks only.

There are two fare control areas, one at each end of the station. Both lead directly to the Eighth Avenue Line at the upper level platforms; access to the Sixth Avenue Line at the lower level is via the upper level only. Recent renovations have added ADA-compliant elevators, providing access to both levels and to the mezzanine. Curiously, this massive station has unexpectedly few exits, and those that do exist are relatively small. This illustrates the station's main purpose as the major transfer point between the IND trunk lines. Furthermore, the station does not actually have an exit to Fourth Street itself. The north exit is at Waverly Place and the south exit is at West 3rd Street.

The naming of the station as "West Fourth Street," as opposed to merely "Fourth Street," is apparently due to clear up confusion between this station and a proposed station on the never-built IND Second System at South Fourth Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.