B (New York City Subway service)

Template:NYCS logo The B Sixth Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange since it uses the IND Sixth Avenue Line through Manhattan. Its normal service pattern is from 145th Street in Harlem to Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, running local north of and express south of 59th Street–Columbus Circle. During rush hours, it is extended north on the IND Concourse Line local tracks to Bedford Park Boulevard. B service only runs weekdays from 06:00 to 21:50. At other times, local service on the IND Eighth Avenue Line is provided by the Template:NYCS C (Template:NYCS A during late nights), express service on the IND Sixth Avenue Line is provided by the Template:NYCS D, and service on the BMT Brighton Line in Brooklyn is provided by the Template:NYCS Q. The B is one of only two New York City Subway lines that have two or more stations with the same name (the other being the Template:NYCS R): It has two "Seventh Avenue" stations, one in Brooklyn and the other in Manhattan.

The following lines are used by the Template:NYCS B:

Line	Tracks	When
IND Concourse Line south of Bedford Park Boulevard	local	rush hours
IND Eighth Avenue Line from 145th Street to 59th Street–Columbus Circle	local	rush hours, middays and evenings
IND Sixth Avenue Line from 59th Street to Broadway–Lafayette Street	express	rush hours, middays and evenings
IND Chrystie Street Connection (full line)	express	rush hours, middays and evenings
Manhattan Bridge	north tracks	rush hours, middays and evenings
BMT Brighton Line north of Brighton Beach	express	rush hours, middays and evenings

Service history

B 6TH AVE   BB 6TH AVE R1 end rollsigns

B 1967-1979 bullet (in a circle)

The designation B was originally intended to designate express trains originating in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan and operating in midtown Manhattan on the IND Sixth Avenue Line. However, the original B service, beginning with the opening of the Sixth Avenue Line in 1940 and continuing until opening of the IND Chrystie Street Connection in 1967, ran only as a rush-hour local between Washington Heights and 34th Street–Herald Square. This service was designated BB in conformance with Independent Subway System protocol of using double letters to indicate local services.

Subsequent to the opening of the Chrystie Street Connection the former BB trains were combined with the former T service of the BMT West End Line, creating a through service from Washington Heights to Coney Island. This service was initially to have been signed BT but was simply signed B instead.

The partial closure of the Manhattan Bridge to subway service between 1986 and 2004 impacted B service by severing the connection between the northern and southern portions of the service. Beginning on April 26, 1986, the northern B (via Sixth Avenue, informally called "Orange B") and the southern B (via the BMT Broadway Line, informally called "Yellow B") operated as two different services. The Orange B more or less duplicated the former BB service, and the Yellow B imitated the old T service.

The former B service resumed December 11, 1988. On October 29, 1989, the IND 63rd Street Line opened, extending service to 21st Street–Queensbridge. B service ran through this new line on weekends. A year later, it would also run here on weekday evenings.

On April 30, 1995, the north side of the Manhattan Bridge was closed on midday and weekends until the following November. During this time, B trains ran only between Pacific Street and Stillwell Avenue, running local on the West End Line and express on the Fourth Avenue Line.

On February 22, 1998, B service was cut to 57th Street/Sixth Avenue on evenings and weekends as a result of the reconstruction of the IND 63rd Street Line. Service on that line was replaced by a shuttle to the BMT Broadway Line.

On March 1, 1998, the B and the Template:NYCS C switched northern terminals, severing the historic connection between the B and Washington Heights. The B was now routed on the IND Concourse Line during rush hours.

In 2000, B service was taken out of the IND 63rd Street Line for signal and track work. It now ran along Eighth Avenue to 145th Street (Bedford Park Boulevard during rush hours) at all times except late nights.

On July 22, 2001, B service over the Manhattan Bridge was again interrupted and service recast similarly to the 1986 changes. However, this time the West End Line portion of the run was redesignated as the Template:NYCS W. B service ran weekdays only, to Bedford Park Boulevard during rush hours and 145th Street during middays and evenings.

On February 22, 2004, the Manhattan Bridge was fully reopened to subway service. B trains were extended through Grand Street station and over the north tracks of the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn, replacing the Template:NYCS Q Diamond as the Brighton Express to Brighton Beach.

With this most recent service change, the only part of the original BB service of 1940 that remains signed as B is the local service between 145th Street and 34th Street in Manhattan.

Starting In September 9, 2006 There will be two B Lines. The Circle B Trains will run Between Bedford Park Boulevard Bronx - Stillwell Avenue Brooklyn Running Local on the Entire Route All Times. Late Nights Its Extended To Norwood. The B Diamond will run Between Bedford Park Boulevard or Washington Hits -Brighton Beach. On Weekdays it runs Local In The Bronx,and Upper Manhattan,and Express In Midtown Manhattan and Brooklyn. On Weekends It runs Between Washington Hits- Pacific Street but still Express In Midtown Manhattan. Late Nights the B Diamond will run local on the Entire Route and will run between Bedford Park Boulevard-Stillwell Avenue.

Station listing

For a more detailed station listing, see the articles on the lines listed above.

Station	When	Services	Accessible
Bronx
Bedford Park Boulevard	rush hours only	B and ​D
Kingsbridge Road	rush hours only	B and ​D
Fordham Road	rush hours only	B and ​D
182nd–183rd Streets	rush hours only	B and ​D
Tremont Avenue	rush hours only	B and ​D
174th–175th Streets	rush hours only	B and ​D
170th Street	rush hours only	B and ​D
167th Street	rush hours only	B and ​D
161st Street–River Avenue	rush hours only	B and ​D
Manhattan
155th Street–Eighth Avenue	rush hours only	B and ​D
145th Street	rush hours, middays and evenings	B and ​D A and ​C
135th Street	rush hours, middays and evenings	A, ​B, and ​C
125th Street	rush hours, middays and evenings	A, ​B, ​C, and ​D
116th Street	rush hours, middays and evenings	A, ​B, and ​C
110th Street–Cathedral Parkway	rush hours, middays and evenings	A, ​B, and ​C
103rd Street	rush hours, middays and evenings	A, ​B, and ​C
96th Street	rush hours, middays and evenings	A, ​B, and ​C
86th Street	rush hours, middays and evenings	A, ​B, and ​C
81st Street–Museum of Natural History	rush hours, middays and evenings	A, ​B, and ​C
72nd Street	rush hours, middays and evenings	A, ​B, and ​C
59th Street–Columbus Circle	rush hours, middays and evenings	A, ​B, ​C, and ​D 1 and ​2
Seventh Avenue	rush hours, middays and evenings	B and ​D E
47th-50th Streets–Rockefeller Center	rush hours, middays and evenings	B, ​D, ​F, <F>, and ​M
42nd Street–Bryant Park	rush hours, middays and evenings	B, ​D, ​F, <F>, and ​M 7 and <7>​
34th Street–Herald Square	rush hours, middays and evenings	B, ​D, ​F, <F>, and ​M N, ​Q, ​R, and ​W
West Fourth Street–Washington Square	rush hours, middays and evenings	B, ​D, ​F, <F>, and ​M A, ​C, and ​E
Broadway–Lafayette Street	rush hours, middays and evenings	B, ​D, ​F, <F>, and ​M 4, ​6, and <6> southbound
Grand Street	rush hours, middays and evenings	B and ​D
Brooklyn
DeKalb Avenue	rush hours, middays and evenings	B and ​Q N, R, and ​W
Atlantic Avenue	rush hours, middays and evenings	B and ​Q 2, ​3, ​4, and ​5 D, ​N, ​R, and ​W
Seventh Avenue	rush hours, middays and evenings	B and ​Q
Prospect Park	rush hours, middays and evenings	B and ​Q S
Church Avenue	rush hours, middays and evenings	B and ​Q
Newkirk Avenue	rush hours, middays and evenings	B and ​Q
Kings Highway	rush hours, middays and evenings	B and ​Q
Sheepshead Bay	rush hours, middays and evenings	B and ​Q
Brighton Beach	rush hours, middays and evenings	B and ​Q

External links

• MTA NYC Transit - B Sixth Avenue Express
• MTA NYC Transit - B schedule (PDF)

References

• Line By Line History