IND Sixth Avenue Line

IND Sixth Avenue Line
The B, D, F, <F>, and M, which use the Sixth Avenue Line through Midtown Manhattan, are colored orange.
Overview
Owner	City of New York
Termini	South of 59th Street–Columbus Circle; 57th Street North of Jay Street–MetroTech; south of Grand Street
Stations	14
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	New York City Subway
Operator(s)	New York City Transit Authority
Daily ridership	400,687[1]
History
Opened	1936–1968
Technical
Number of tracks	2–4
Character	Underground
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	600V DC using a third rail
Route map Legend 63rd Street Line Eighth Avenue Line 57th Street Seventh Avenue Queens Boulevard Line 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center 42nd Street Shuttle 42nd Street–Bryant Park (Flushing Line) 34th Street–Herald Square (Broadway Line) 33rd Street 23rd Street (PATH) 14th Street (PATH) (Canarsie Line) Ninth Street to Hoboken or Journal Square West 4th Street–Washington Square (8th Avenue tracks above 6th Avenue tracks) Eighth Avenue Line Broadway Line Broadway–Lafayette Street Bleecker Street (Lexington Avenue Line) Chrystie Street Connection Second Avenue Delancey Street (Nassau Street Line) Grand Street East Broadway Manhattan Bridge | Rutgers Street Tunnel York Street Culver Line Brighton Line Fourth Avenue Line This diagram: view talk edit

The IND Sixth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in the United States. It runs mainly under Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, and continues south to Brooklyn. The B, D, F, and M trains, which use the Sixth Avenue Line through Midtown Manhattan, are colored orange. The B and D trains use the express tracks, while the F, <F> and M trains use the local tracks.

The Sixth Avenue Line, constructed in stages during the 1930s, was the last trunk line built by the Independent Subway System (IND) before it was incorporated into the modern-day New York City Subway. It was more difficult to build than other subway trunk lines in New York City because construction had to proceed around, over, and under existing tunnels and elevated structures. The Sixth Avenue Line replaced the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT)'s Sixth Avenue elevated, which closed in 1939. The first section of the line opened in 1936 from West Fourth Street to East Broadway with service provided by Eighth Avenue Line trains. This section was initially referred to as the Houston-Essex Street Route. The Sixth Avenue subway was completed in 1940, providing service north of West Fourth Street, connecting to the Queens Boulevard Line and the Eighth Avenue Line.

Initially, the Sixth Avenue Line carried only local service, since there were no express tracks between 34th Street and West 4th Street. In 1967 and 1968, the Chrystie Street Connection was completed, connecting the line with former BMT lines in Brooklyn via the Manhattan Bridge and with the BMT Jamaica Line over the Williamsburg Bridge. Two new stations at 57th Street and Grand Street, as well as a pair of express tracks between 34th and West 4th Streets, were built to provide the necessary capacity for the new service to Brooklyn.

There are branches on both ends of the line. On the south end, the express tracks used by the B and ​D trains diverge to Grand Street and the Manhattan Bridge. The local tracks continue through the Rutgers Street Tunnel and to York Street in Brooklyn (used by the F and <F>​ trains) or via the Chrystie Street Connection and the Williamsburg Bridge to the BMT Jamaica Line in Brooklyn (used by the M train). On the north end, north of 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center, the express tracks diverge to Seventh Avenue–53rd Street and the IND Eighth Avenue Line, while a spur used by the F and <F> train continues under Sixth Avenue to 57th Street and the 63rd Street Lines; the local tracks, used by the M train, merge with the IND Queens Boulevard Line and continue to Queens.