IRT Eastern Parkway Line

IRT Eastern Parkway Line
The 2, 3, 4 and 5 trains are the primary services at most IRT Eastern Parkway Line stations, and thus the only IRT services that travel to/from Brooklyn.
Overview
Type	Rapid transit
System	New York City Subway
Status	Operating
Locale	Brooklyn
Termini	Borough Hall Crown Heights–Utica Avenue
Stations	11
Daily ridership	214,906[1]
Operation
Opened	1908–1920
Owner	City of New York
Operator(s)	New York City Transit Authority
Character	Underground
Technical
Number of tracks	4
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification	600V DC third rail

The Eastern Parkway Line is one of the lines of the IRT division of the New York City Subway, stretching from Downtown Brooklyn south along Flatbush Avenue and east along Eastern Parkway to Crown Heights. After passing Utica Avenue, the line rises onto an elevated structure and becomes the New Lots Line to the end at New Lots Avenue in East New York, Brooklyn. The west end of the Eastern Parkway Line is at the Joralemon Street Tunnel under the East River.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]}

The IRT Nostrand Avenue Line splits from the local tracks of the Eastern Parkway Line south of the Franklin Avenue station.^[2]

History

The Eastern Parkway Line to Atlantic Avenue is part of Contract 2 of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company's plan to construct an extension of the original subway, Contract 1. Contract 2 extended the original line from City Hall in Manhattan to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, and the contract was signed on September 11, 1902. Construction commenced on Contract 2 on March 4, 1903.^[9] In order to cross the East River, a tunnel had to be constructed. That tunnel, the Joralemon Street Tunnel was the first underwater subway tunnel connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn and it opened on January 9, 1908, extending the subway from Bowling Green to Borough Hall.^[10][11][12] Clifford Milburn Holland served as the assistant engineer during the construction of the tunnel.^[13] It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on February 9, 2006.^[14]

On May 1, 1908, the construction of Contract 2 was completed when the line was extended from Borough Hall to Atlantic Avenue near the Flatbush Avenue LIRR station.^[9] With the opening of the IRT to Brooklyn, ridership fell off on the BRT's elevated and trolley lines over the Brooklyn Bridge with Brooklyn riders choosing to use the new subway.^[15] During the construction of the Brooklyn extension, provisions were made for future subway extensions in Brooklyn by the construction of four tracks between Borough Hall and Atlantic Avenue, and the construction of bellmouths at Fulton Street and Flatbush Avenue, at Flatbush Avenue and Lafayette Avenue, and at Atlantic Avenue and Fourth Avenue.^[16]

Due to overcrowding on the Joralemon Street Tunnel, Holland decided to build a second tunnel under Clark Street providing passengers with a direct route to travel between Brooklyn and the west side of Manhattan.^[17] Construction of the Clark Street Tunnel began on October 12, 1914, using a tunneling shield in conjunction with compressed air.^[18][19] The north tube was holed through on November 28, 1916.^[20] At 5,900 feet long, with about 3,100 feet underwater, the tunnel was finally opened for revenue service on April 15, 1919.^[21] The opening of the tunnel allowed access to Brooklyn via the IRT from both the East and West Sides of Manhattan.^[22]

This line was expanded as a part of the Dual Contracts from Atlantic Avenue east. The IRT Eastern Parkway Line was built from 1915 to 1918, from the section east of the Atlantic Avenue station to Utica Avenue and down the Nostrand Avenue Subway to Flatbush Avenue. On August 23, 1920, the Eastern Parkway Line was extended from Atlantic Avenue to Utica Avenue.^[23] The new trains would be served by trains from Seventh Avenue.^[24] Trains operated via the express track between Atlantic Avenue and Franklin Avenue because of the failure of the contractor to perform work as scheduled on the local stations. On October 10, 1920, the three stations that were not ready to be opened with the rest of the line, at Bergen Street, Grand Army Plaza and Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum, were opened.^[25][26]

On February 2, 1948 the platform extensions at Hoyt Street opened, allowing 10-car express trains to board as opposed to only 5-car trains.^[27]

In August 1961, the chairman of the New York City Transit Authority, Charles Patterson, announced a $2,500,000 project that would get rid of a trouble spot on the line between Nevins Street and Atlantic Avenue that slows service and backs up the IRT Division. The project was projected to take two years long and it would have involved the reconfiguration of the track layout in this area. The platforms at the two stations would be extended to accommodate 10-car trains, as opposed to the eight and nine-car trains that they could platform at the time. The tracks between the two stations would be straightened, removing some of the bend in the tracks, but not removing it entirely. The tracks were to be straightened enough to allow for the running time between the two stations to be cut by one to two minutes.^[28]

During the 1964–1965 fiscal year, the platforms at Bergen Street, Grand Army Plaza, Eastern Parkway, Nostrand Avenue and Kingston Avenue were lengthened to 525 feet to accommodate a ten-car train of 51-foot IRT cars.^[29]

Extent and service

IRT Eastern Parkway Line
IRT Lexington Avenue Line IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line East River Joralemon Street Tunnel | Clark Street Tunnel to BMT Montague Street Tunnel Clark Street Borough Hall ( except NB express plat) BMT Fourth Avenue Line IND Culver Line / IND Fulton Street Line Hoyt Street Nevins Street BMT Fourth Avenue Line Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center LIRR Atlantic Branch BMT Brighton Line Bergen Street Grand Army Plaza BMT Brighton Line Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum BMT Franklin Avenue Line Franklin Avenue IRT Nostrand Avenue Line Nostrand Avenue Kingston Avenue Crown Heights–Utica Avenue IRT New Lots Line | Express tracks dead- end at Ralph Avenue

The following services use part or all of the IRT Eastern Parkway Line:^[30]

	Time period			Section of line
	rush hours and middays	evenings and weekends	late nights
	local			north of Franklin Ave
	local		no service	full line
	express		local	north of Utica Ave (all except nights) full line (nights)
	express	no service		north of Franklin Ave

Route description

The IRT Eastern Parkway Line enters Brooklyn through the Joralemon Street Tunnel from the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and continues to run under the street that the tunnel was named after, until after Borough Hall. East of Adams Street and Boerum Plaza, the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line merges with the line and it runs under Fulton Street, then turns southeast under Flatbush Avenue, which also has the BMT Brighton Line beneath it. The first station along this segment is Nevins Street, which contains a never used lower level, and then joins Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center, the end of the oldest section of the line. Between Bergen Street and Grand Army Plaza, the line splits around the BMT Brighton Line.^[2]

East of Grand Army Plaza, the line finally moves under its namesake, the first station serving the Brooklyn Museum. The next station is a complex near the Brooklyn Botanic Garden that serves the above ground BMT Franklin Avenue Line and the beginning of the IRT Nostrand Avenue Line, which branches off to the south shortly afterwards at Nostrand Junction. The last three stations are a two-over-two track layout with a platform on each level. Afterwards, the IRT Eastern Parkway Line ends under Ralph Avenue, one block east of its originally intended terminus, whereas the local tracks become the IRT New Lots Line, branching off to the southeast emerging from the ground near Buffalo Avenue at Lincoln Terrace Park.^[2]

Station listing

Station service legend
	Stops all times
	Stops all times except late nights
	Stops late nights only
	Stops weekdays only
	Stops rush hours only
Time period details

Neighborhood (approximate)		Station	Tracks	Services	Opened	Transfers and notes
Express tracks continue from the IRT Lexington Avenue Line Express tracks via the Joralemon Street Tunnel (4  5 )
Downtown Brooklyn
	↑	Borough Hall	all	4  5	January 9, 1908[10][11]	2  3  (IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line) R  (BMT Fourth Avenue Line at Court Street) Station is ADA-accessible in the northbound direction only
	Local tracks continue from the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line Brooklyn Branch (2  3 )
		Hoyt Street	local	2  3	May 1, 1908[9]
		Nevins Street	all	2  3  4  5	May 1, 1908[9]	4  5  (On 2  3  Trains) 2  3  (On 4  5  Trains)
		Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center	all	2  3  4  5	May 1, 1908[9]	4  5  (On 2  3  Trains) 2  3  (On 4  5  Trains) B  Q  (BMT Brighton Line) D  N  R  W  (BMT Fourth Avenue Line) Connection to LIRR at Atlantic Terminal
Prospect Heights		Bergen Street	local	2  3  4  5	October 10, 1920[25]
		Grand Army Plaza	local	2  3  4  5	October 10, 1920[25]
		Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum	local	2  3  4  5	October 10, 1920[25]
Crown Heights		Franklin Avenue	all	2  3  4  5	August 23, 1920[24]	S  (BMT Franklin Avenue Line at Botanic Garden)
	IRT Nostrand Avenue Line splits from the local tracks (2  5 ) at Nostrand Junction
		Nostrand Avenue	local	2  3  4	August 23, 1920[24]	B44 Select Bus Service
		Kingston Avenue	local	2  3  4	August 23, 1920[24]
		Crown Heights–Utica Avenue	all	2  3  4  5	August 23, 1920[24]	B46 Select Bus Service
Express tracks end
Local tracks continue as the IRT New Lots Line (2  3  4  5 )

* Borough Hall is accessible in the northbound direction only

References

External links

Route map: Google

• Media related to IRT Eastern Parkway Line at Wikimedia Commons