IRT Flushing Line

IRT Flushing Line
The 7 train serves the entire IRT Flushing Line at all times. The 7 Express train serves the entire IRT Flushing Line during rush hours in the peak direction.
Overview
Type	Rapid transit
System	New York City Subway
Termini	Flushing – Main Street Times Square
Stations	21
Operation
Opened	1915-1928
Owner	City of New York
Operator(s)	New York City Transit Authority
Character	Underground (Manhattan, Western Queens and Main Street) Elevated (Most of Queens)
Technical
No. of tracks	2-5
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	600 V DC third rail

The Flushing Line is a rapid transit route of the New York City Subway system, operated as part of the IRT Division and designated the 7 route. It runs from Flushing in Queens to Times Square in Manhattan, carrying trains of the 7 local service (as well as the express <7> rush hours in the peak direction), and is shown in the color raspberry on station signs, the NYC Subway Map and route signs on the front and sides of the subway cars. Before the line was opened all the way to Flushing, it was known as the Corona Line or Woodside and Corona Line. Prior to the discontinuance of BMT services in 1949, the portion of the IRT Flushing Line between Times Square and Queensboro Plaza was known as the Queensboro Line. Express trains run to Manhattan from 06:00 am to 10:00 am (6:00 to 10:00 ET) and from Manhattan from 3:00 pm to 9:30 pm (15:00 to 21:30 ET). Express service is also provided during New York Mets games and U.S. Open matches.

The Flushing Line has various styles of architecture, which range from steel girder elevated structures to European-style concrete viaducts. The underground stations have some unique designs as well, such as Hunters Point Avenue, which is in an Italianate style and Grand Central – 42nd Street, which is a single round tube similar to a London Underground station.

Extent and service

Queens Boulevard viaduct

The line has two distinct sections, split by the Queensboro Plaza station. It begins as a three-track subway, with the center track used for express service, at Flushing – Main Street. It quickly leaves the ground onto a steel elevated structure above Roosevelt Avenue, passing Citi Field and the USTA National Tennis Center. A flying junction between Mets – Willets Point and 111th Street provides access to Corona Yard from the local tracks. At 48th Street in Sunnyside, the line switches to Queens Boulevard and an ornate concrete viaduct begins. The express track ends between 33rd Street – Rawson Street and Queensboro Plaza.

At Queensboro Plaza, the eastbound track (railroad north) is above the westbound track, with both Flushing Line tracks on the south side of the island platforms. On the north side of these platforms is the BMT Astoria Line. East of this point, both the Flushing Line and the Astoria Line were operated by the IRT and the BMT; details on that dual operation are in the Background section. Connections still exist between the eastbound tracks just east of the platforms, but they cannot be used for revenue service because BMT trains are wider than IRT trains. This is the only track connection between the Flushing Line and the rest of the subway system.

West of Queensboro Plaza, the line immediately turns south onto an elevated structure over 23rd Street. It heads into the west end of Amtrak's Sunnyside Yard, and passes through two underground stations before entering Manhattan via the Steinway Tunnel under the East River. In Manhattan, the line runs under 42nd Street, with part directly underneath the 42nd Street Shuttle (S train), before angling towards 41st Street and ending at the huge Times Square – 42nd Street station, with no track connections to other lines.

Plans are underway to extend the Flushing Line west to Manhattan's Far West Side. A decommissioned lower level at the IND Eighth Avenue Line's 42nd Street – Port Authority Bus Terminal station formerly blocked the way; it had been rumored that the IND built it to keep the IRT from extending the Flushing Line, although all initial blueprints indicate that the IRT never planned such an expansion. While some have questioned the necessity of the plan, with London receiving the 2012 Summer Olympics, as of September 2009 the plan is still going forward.

The Flushing Line is one of only two New York City non-shuttle subway lines that hosts only a single service and does not share operating trackage with any other line or service; the other is the BMT Canarsie Line, carrying the L service. Because of this, there are plans to automate the line with new trains using communication-based train control (CBTC), similar to the Canarsie Line.

The IRT Flushing Line has the distinction of running the longest trains on the New York City Subway, by number of cars. Flushing Line trains are eleven cars long; most other New York City Subway services run ten or eight-car trains. The trains are not the longest by total length, however, as an IND/BMT ten-car train is still 39 feet (12 m) longer than an eleven-car IRT train.

History

IRT Flushing Line

Legend LIRR Port Washington Branch Flushing – Main Street/ LIRR at Flushing Main Street Former LIRR Whitestone Branch Mets – Willets Point/ LIRR at Mets – Willets Point LIRR Port Washington Branch Approach to Corona Yard 111th Street 103rd Street – Corona Plaza Junction Boulevard 90th Street – Elmhurst Avenue 82nd Street – Jackson Heights 74th Street – Broadway IND Queens Boulevard Line 69th Street 61st Street – Woodside LIRR at Woodside 52nd Street 46th Street – Bliss Street 40th Street – Lowery Street 33rd Street – Rawson Street LIRR Main Line IND Queens Boulevard Line Queensboro Plaza/ BMT Astoria Line 60th Street Tunnel Connection to BMT Broadway Line former connection to the IRT Second Avenue Line Court Square – 23rd Street / IND Queens Boulevard Line Court Square IND Crosstown Line Former Inspection Track (1917–1928) Hunters Point Avenue IND Crosstown Line Vernon Boulevard – Jackson Avenue Steinway Tunnel Grand Central/ IRT Lexington Avenue Line Fifth Avenue 42nd Street - Bryant Park IND Sixth Avenue Line BMT Broadway Line Times Square/ IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line / IRT 42nd Street Shuttle IND Eighth Avenue Line 10th Avenue (proposed; not funded) 34th Street (under construction)

The earliest origins of the Flushing Line emerged on February 25, 1885, with the construction of the East River Tunnel Railroad, with an objective to connect the Long Island Rail Road with the New York Central railroads. Although a such a plan was studied, no action was taken upon the plan, and the railroad was redesignated as the New York and Long Island Railroad Company in 1887. To run from West 42nd Street and Tenth Avenue to Van Alst Avenue after crossing under the East River, the remainder of the line was planned to be constructed on private lands; as such, numerous alterations were made to the proposal. In 1890, William Steinway advised the company to utilize electricity to power the tunnels, believing that the construction of the tunnel would increase the value of his properties within the vicinity. On June 3, 1892, building of the tunnel commenced near the intersection of 50th Avenue and Vernon and Jackson Avenues; however, several failures and hindrances, which included an underground spring preventing the extraction of rubble, resulted in the termination of the project on February 2, 1893. Several calls for the resumption of the project between 1893 and 1896, in addition to a proposed extension to New Jersey, were futile.

Queensboro Plaza and beyond

Train of R36 "Redbird" cars at 33rd Street – Rawson Street northbound; prior to their retirement

At Queensboro Plaza, the line met the BMT's 60th Street Tunnel, as well as a spur from the elevated IRT Second Avenue Line on the Queensboro Bridge. From this point east, the Flushing and Astoria Lines were built by the City of New York as part of the Dual Contracts. They were officially IRT lines on which the BMT held irrevocable and equal trackage rights. Because BMT trains were wider, and the platforms had been built for the IRT, normal BMT trains ran only to Queensboro Plaza, with a transfer to shuttles, using elevated cars, that alternated between the Astoria – Ditmars Boulevard and Flushing – Main Street terminals. IRT trains simply continued from the Queensboro Line and Queensboro Bridge onto the lines to Astoria and Flushing, originally called the Corona Line or Woodside and Corona Line before it was completed to Flushing.

The line was opened from Queensboro Plaza to 103rd Street – Corona Plaza on April 21, 1917. BMT shuttles began to use the line (and the BMT Astoria Line) on April 8, 1923. East of there, sources conflict on when each section opened. A New York Times article from May 8 reports that service began on May 7 to what is now the Mets – Willets Point station, and mentions delays due to the structure sinking. Articles from May 13 and May 15 cover a celebration to coincide with the opening to the Willets Point stop on May 14. Finally, a January 22, 1928 article reports that the line had ended at 103rd Street–Corona Plaza until January 21; the extension had been finished over a year earlier but had to be strengthened due to structural problems.

Flushing – Main Street was not originally intended to be the end of the line. The Public Service Commission, in June 1913, was actively engaged in considering extensions of the line beyond Flushing, but these extensions, later planned as part of a large system expansion, were never built.

Currently and historically, IRT subway services on the Flushing Line were assigned the number 7, though this did not appear on any equipment until the introduction of the R12 class cars in 1948. The BMT services were assigned the BMT number 9, used on maps but not trains.

Western extensions were also built, with part underneath the 42nd Street Shuttle:

• Grand Central to Fifth Avenue on March 22, 1926
• west to Times Square on March 14, 1927

For the 1939 New York World's Fair, the Mets – Willets Point station was rebuilt and centered on 123rd Street, just west of where the station originally lay. Some remnants of the old station are still visible; ironwork tends to indicate where the older outside-platform stations were, and the remains of the fare entry area can be seen east of the current station. The original Willets Point Boulevard station was a "minor" stop on the Flushing Line; it had only two stairways and short station canopies at platform level. It was rebuilt into the much larger station in use today, and the ramp used during two World's Fairs still exists, but is only used during special events, such as the US Open (tennis). Express service to the World's Fair began on the Flushing Line on April 24, 1939. This was the first time the middle express track had been used for revenue service; prior to the fair, the express track had only been used for non-revenue moves and re-routes during construction.

Rolling stock on the line for World's Fairs

In 1938, an order of all-new World's Fair cars was placed with the St. Louis Car Company. These cars broke from IRT "tradition" in that they did not have vestibules at each car end. In addition, because the IRT was bankrupt at the time, the cars were built as single ended cars, with train controls for the motorman on one side and door controls for the conductor on the other. These cars spent their last days on the elevated IRT Third Avenue Line in The Bronx.

Not to be outdone, the BMT rebuilt 90 open gate cars into closed-end cars that became known as the Q Types (named because they operated in Queens). The Q Types were built as three car sets, and only the cars at the ends were fitted with traction motors and motorman controls. For the World's Fair, the equipment was repainted in the now famous blue and orange, the World's Fair colors. In 1949, nine years after the closing of the Fair, the BMT Q Types were moved to the elevated IRT Third Avenue Line in Manhattan using old IRT Composite car trucks, and ran only as expresses, because their weight was a bit too high for the older, local tracks. Therefore, the last BMT-designed car ran on the last IRT elevated in Manhattan. Like BMT Q-types replacing the older gate cars that rode on the line for the opening of the 1939 New York World's Fair, the procedure would be repeated again when, in 1964, the picture window R36 World's Fair cars replaced the older R15's for the 1964 New York World's Fair.

Service curtailments in the 1940s & 50s

In 1942, when IRT Second Avenue Line service ended, major overhauls for the Corona fleet were transferred to the Coney Island shop. In addition, free transfers to the IRT Third Avenue Line were offered at Grand Central from June 13, 1942 (when Second Avenue Line service ended, including the Queensboro Bridge connection) until May 12, 1955 (when Third Avenue Line service ended). In the fall of 1949, the joint BMT/IRT service arrangement ended. The Flushing Line became the responsibility of IRT. The Astoria Line had its platforms shaved back, and became BMT-only. Because of this, routes through the then eight-track Queensboro Plaza station were consolidated and the northern half of the structure was later torn down. Evidence of where the torn-down platforms were, as well as the trackways that approached this area, can still be seen in the ironwork at the station. The Flushing Line's extra-long platforms, which allow for 11-car operation, are also a remnant of the joint service period.

The R33 / R36 World's Fair cars served the Flushing Line exclusively from 1964 until 2002. Most cars have been scrapped and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean as artificial barrier and coral reefs. On November 3, 2003, the last Redbird train made its final scheduled trip on this line, making all stops between Times Square and Willets Point – Shea Stadium (now known as Mets – Willets Point). Replacing these cars on this line are the Bombardier built R62A series.

Automation of the line

In January 2012, the MTA began installing a communications-based train control (CBTC) system as part of the plan to automate the line. This was the second installation of CBTC following the BMT Canarsie Line.

Future extension westward

Main article: 7 Subway Extension

The IRT Flushing Line is being extended westward and southward in Manhattan, expected to be completed in June 2014. There will be only one new station at 34th Street and Eleventh Avenue to serve Jacob Javits Convention Center; formerly there was another station under construction at Tenth Avenue and 41st Street (Manhattan). Funding is in place and construction began in late 2007.

Station listing

Station service legend
	Stops all times
	Stops all times except late nights
	Stops late nights and weekends only
	Stops weekdays only
	Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
Time period details

Neighborhood (approximate)		Station	Tracks	Services	Opened	Transfers and notes
Begins as a three track line
Flushing		Flushing – Main Street	all	7  <7>	January 21, 1928	Connection to LIRR at Flushing Main Street originally Main Street
Willets Point		Mets – Willets Point	all	7  <7>	January 21, 1928	Connection to LIRR at Mets – Willets Point (special events only) formerly Willets Point–Shea Stadium originally Willets Point Boulevard
Corona	connecting tracks to Corona Yard
		111th Street	local	7	January 21, 1928
		103rd Street – Corona Plaza	local	7	April 21, 1917	originally Alburtis Avenue
		Junction Boulevard	all	7  <7>	April 21, 1917	originally Junction Avenue
Elmhurst		90th Street – Elmhurst Avenue	local	7	April 21, 1917	originally Elmhurst Avenue
Jackson Heights		82nd Street – Jackson Heights	local	7	April 21, 1917	originally 25th Street–Jackson Heights
		74th Street – Broadway	local	7	April 21, 1917	E  F  M  R  (IND Queens Boulevard Line at Jackson Heights – Roosevelt Avenue) originally Broadway
Woodside		69th Street	local	7	April 21, 1917	originally Fisk Avenue
		61st Street – Woodside	all	7  <7>	April 21, 1917	originally Woodside Connection to LIRR at Woodside
		52nd Street	local	7	April 21, 1917	originally Lincoln Avenue
Sunnyside		46th Street – Bliss Street	local	7	April 21, 1917	originally Bliss Street
		40th Street – Lowery Street	local	7	April 21, 1917	originally Lowery Street
		33rd Street – Rawson Street	local	7	April 21, 1917	originally Rawson Street
Center Express track ends
connecting tracks to BMT Astoria Line (No regular service)
Long Island City		Queensboro Plaza	all	7  <7>	November 5, 1916	N  Q  (BMT Astoria Line)
		Court Square	all	7  <7>	November 5, 1916	originally 45th Road – Court House Square G  (IND Crosstown Line) E  M  (IND Queens Boulevard Line)
		Hunters Point Avenue	all	7  <7>	February 15, 1916	Connection to LIRR at Hunterspoint Avenue
		Vernon Boulevard – Jackson Avenue	all	7  <7>	June 22, 1915	originally Vernon-Jackson Avenues Connection to LIRR at Long Island City
Steinway Tunnel under the East River
Midtown Manhattan		Grand Central	all	7  <7>	June 22, 1915	4  5  6  <6> (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) S  (IRT 42nd Street Shuttle) Connection to Metro-North Railroad at Grand Central Terminal
		Fifth Avenue	all	7  <7>	March 22, 1926	B  D  F  M  (IND Sixth Avenue Line at 42nd Street – Bryant Park)
		Times Square	all	7  <7>	March 14, 1927	N  Q  R  (BMT Broadway Line) 1  2  3  (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line) A  C  E  (IND Eighth Avenue Line at 42nd Street – Port Authority Bus Terminal) S  (IRT 42nd Street Shuttle) Port Authority Bus Terminal
		34th Street			under construction

External links

• NYCsubway.org - IRT Corona/Flushing Line (text used with permission)
• Corona Yard-unofficial page dedicated to the 7 Train
• Barry Popik on origin of "Orient Express" nickname
• BMT and IRT Joint Operation on the Flushing Line
• "Flushing Extension of Corona Subway Ready to Open". The New York Times. January 8, 1928. p. 189. Retrieved 2011-10-02.