59th Street (BMT Fourth Avenue Line)

59th Street New York City Subway rapid transit station
Western street stairs
Station statistics
Address	59th Street & Fourth Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11220
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Sunset Park
Coordinates	40°38′27.88″N 74°1′5.45″W
Division	B (BMT)
Line	BMT Fourth Avenue Line
Services	N  (all times)       R  (all times)
Connection	New York City Bus: B9
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 island platforms cross-platform interchange
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	June 22, 1915 (June 22, 1915)
Other entrances/ exits	Fourth Avenue & 60th Street, Fourth Ave & 59th Street
Traffic
Passengers (2010)	3,867,990  3.5%
Rank	117 out of 422
Station succession
Next north	53rd Street (local): N  R  36th Street (express): N  R
Next south	Bay Ridge Avenue: R  Eighth Avenue (Sea Beach local): N  Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue (Sea Beach express): no regular service
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops in station at all times Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekends only Stops weekdays only Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except weekdays Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Station is closed (Details about time periods)

59th Street is an express station on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at 59th Street and Fourth Avenue, in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Sunset Park, it is served by the N and R trains at all times.

This is the southernmost four-track express station with two island platforms. The local tracks continue along Fourth Avenue to Bay Ridge – 95th Street while the express tracks turn east to become the tracks of the BMT Sea Beach Line. South of the station are diamond crossovers between both the local and express tracks in both directions.

The N normally stops at the express tracks since it provide express service to Manhattan via the Manhattan Bridge, while the R stops at the local ones and provide service to Lower Manhattan via the Montague Street Tunnel. During late nights, N trains use the crossovers to switch between the local tracks and the Sea Beach tracks (making all stops in place of the R train, through Lower Manhattan via the Montague Street Tunnel) while northbound R shuttle trains use the crossovers as well to switch from the local track to the express track in order to short turn at 36th Street.

The street-level entrance is at the southern end of the station, at 60th Street. There is also an exit at the north end of the station. This station was overhauled in the late 1970s.

Immediately south of the station, one can see tunnel stub headings running straight from the local tracks. They run for about 150 feet and would have been for a line to Staten Island via a tunnel under The Narrows. There is a Maintenance of Way shed that was built on the southbound trackway. The northbound trackway is unobstructed, albeit much darker. The northbound trackway ends on a brick wall, with evidence of some sort of space beyond. South of this station, the bridge over the LIRR Bay Ridge Branch has four trackways, with the R train occupying the two western ones. The tracks of the BMT Fourth Avenue Line are under the western half of Fourth Avenue at this point so that two additional tracks could be laid in the future if traffic ever warranted it.

Portions of what was to be two additional tracks for the Fourth Avenue subway south of this station were constructed by the then Brooklyn Edison Company initially for use as circuit breaker chambers.

The Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a major architectural landmark of Brooklyn, is nearby.

External links

Media related to 59th Street (BMT Fourth Avenue Line) at Wikimedia Commons

• nycsubway.org — BMT 4th Avenue Line: 59th Street
• Station Reporter — N Train
• Station Reporter — R Train
• The Subway Nut — 59th Street Pictures
• 59th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 60th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View

Northbound platform