B (New York City Subway service)

Sixth Avenue Express
A Brooklyn-bound B train of R68As at Seventh Avenue
Note: dotted line shows rush hour only service
Northern end	Bedford Park Boulevard (rush hours) or 145th Street
Southern end	Brighton Beach
Stations	27 37 (limited service)
Rolling stock	R68 R68A[1][2] (Rolling stock assignments subject to change)
Depot	Coney Island Yard
Started service	December 15, 1940; 83 years ago (1940-12-15)
Route map Legend to Norwood via Concourse  B  (rush hours) Bedford Park Boulevard Kingsbridge Road Fordham Road 182nd–183rd Streets Tremont Avenue 174th–175th Streets 170th Street 167th Street 161st Street–Yankee Stadium The Bronx Manhattan 155th Street ​ to 168th Street or 207th Street via 8th Avenue  B  (weekdays) 145th Street 135th Street 125th Street 116th Street Cathedral Parkway–110th Street 103rd Street 96th Street 86th Street 81st Street–Museum of Natural History 72nd Street 59th Street–Columbus Circle ​​ Downtown & Brooklyn via 8th Avenue Seventh Avenue ​ East Side & Queens via 53rd Street Uptown & Queens via 63rd Street 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center 42nd Street–Bryant Park 34th Street–Herald Square bypassed local section 23rd Street textttt 14th Street West Fourth Street–Washington Square Broadway–Lafayette Street ​ Downtown & Brooklyn via 6th Avenue Grand Street ​ Uptown & Queens via Broadway Manhattan Brooklyn Manhattan & Queens via 4th Avenue Myrtle Avenue (closed) DeKalb Avenue ​​​​ to Bay Ridge & Coney Island via 4th Avenue Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center Seventh Avenue via Franklin Avenue Shuttle Prospect Park (  S ) bypassed local section Parkside Avenue Church Avenue bypassed local section Beverley Road Cortelyou Road Newkirk Plaza bypassed local section Avenue H ( southbound only) Avenue J Avenue M Kings Highway bypassed local section Avenue U Neck Road Sheepshead Bay Brighton Beach  B  Coney Island via Brighton Legend Lines used by the Other services sharing tracks with the Unused lines, connections, or service patterns  B  Termini of services Cross-platform interchange Platforms on different levels This diagram: view talk edit

The B Sixth Avenue Express^[3] is a rapid transit service in the B Division of the New York City Subway. Its route emblem, or "bullet", is colored orange, since it uses the IND Sixth Avenue Line in Manhattan.^[4]

The B operates only on weekdays between Brighton Beach in Brooklyn and 145th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, making express stops in Brooklyn along the BMT Brighton Line and in Manhattan along Sixth Avenue, and making local stops along Central Park West. During rush hours, the B is extended beyond 145th Street to and from Bedford Park Boulevard in the Bronx, making local stops along Grand Concourse.

Prior to November 1967 (1967-11) the B ran almost exclusively in Manhattan, as the BB, from 168th Street in Washington Heights during rush hours to 34th Street–Herald Square in Midtown Manhattan. Upon the opening of the Chrystie Street Connection, the B started running via the BMT West End Line (local) and BMT Fourth Avenue Line (express) in Brooklyn. A short-lived B service marked with a yellow bullet ran via the BMT Broadway Line in Manhattan and the BMT West End Line in Brooklyn from 1986 to 1988 due to Manhattan Bridge renovation, while orange B service traveled the pre-1967 route between 168th and 34th Streets. After 1989, the B north of 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center used the IND Eighth Avenue Line to 168th Street on weekdays, and the IND 63rd Street Line on evenings and weekends. Late night service ran as a shuttle on the West End Line. Weekday service was rerouted to the Concourse Line in 1998, while off-peak service along 63rd Street ceased in 2000. The B started using the Brighton Line in 2004 after work on the north side of the Manhattan Bridge was completed.