BMT Fourth Avenue Line

BMT Fourth Avenue Line
D and N trains serve the majority of the BMT Fourth Avenue Line, while the R serves its entirety. The W provides occasional service during rush hours.
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	New York City
Locale	Brooklyn, New York City, NY
Termini	Court Street Bay Ridge–95th Street
Stations	16
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	New York City Subway
Operator(s)	New York City Transit Authority
Daily ridership	144,945[1]
History
Opened	1915–1925
Technical
Number of tracks	2–6
Character	Underground
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	600V DC third rail
Route map Legend Broadway Line (local | express) Nassau Street Line Sixth Avenue Line Montague Tunnel | Manhattan Bridge Court Street (Eastern Parkway Line) Myrtle Avenue Jay Street–MetroTech (Culver Line) DeKalb Avenue Fulton Street & Crosstown Lines Brighton Line Eastern Parkway Line Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center Union Street Ninth Street (Culver Line) Prospect Avenue 25th Street 36th Street Ninth Avenue former BMT Culver Line West End Line 45th Street 53rd Street 59th Street Sea Beach Line LIRR Bay Ridge Branch Bay Ridge Avenue 77th Street 86th Street Bay Ridge–95th Street Legend Express station Local station Closed station This diagram: view talk edit

The BMT Fourth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the New York City Subway, mainly running under Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn. The line is served by the D, N, and R at all times; the R typically runs local, while the D and N run express during the day and local at night. During rush hours, select W trains also serve the line.^[2] Northbound D and N trains run local along the line after 6:45 p.m. during weekdays as well. The line was originally built by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT; later Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation, or BMT) and is now internally operated as part of the New York City Subway's B Division.

The fully underground line starts as a two-track line in Downtown Brooklyn west of Court Street, connecting to the BMT Broadway Line and BMT Nassau Street Line in Manhattan via the Montague Street Tunnel under the East River. It travels east under Montague and Willoughby Streets to DeKalb Avenue, where it then turns southeast under Flatbush Avenue. At DeKalb Avenue, the express tracks, which continue from the Manhattan Bridge to the northwest, split off from the BMT Brighton Line and join the Fourth Avenue Line. At Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center, the line curves southwest under Fourth Avenue to the end of the line at Bay Ridge–95th Street. Going south from Atlantic Avenue, the BMT West End Line splits from both the local and express tracks south of 36th Street, while the express tracks continue as the BMT Sea Beach Line south of 59th Street.

Fourth Avenue never had a streetcar line or elevated railway due to the provisions of the assessment charged to neighboring property owners when the street was widened.^[3] Construction of the line was only undertaken because of the efforts of the local communities. After the line was opened, development resulting from the line's construction transformed communities such as Dyker Heights, Fort Hamilton, Bay Ridge, and Sunset Park. One station, Myrtle Avenue, was abandoned in 1956 as part of the reconfiguration of the busy DeKalb Avenue Junction.