Ditmas Avenue station

Ditmas Avenue  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Southbound platform
Station statistics
Address	Ditmas Avenue & McDonald Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11218
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Kensington
Division	B (IND, formerly BMT)
Line	IND Culver Line
Services	F  (all times) <F>  (two rush hour trains, peak direction)​
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	3 (2 in regular service)
Other information
Opened	July 16, 1919 (1919-07-16)
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Traffic
2023	848,061  10.4%
Rank	320 out of 423
Station succession
Next north	Template:NYCS next 13th Avenue (BMT Culver Line; demolished)
Next south	Template:NYCS next
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times

Ditmas Avenue is a local station on the IND Culver Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Ditmas and McDonald Avenues in Kensington, Brooklyn, it is served by the F train at all times.

History

style="color:white;background:#Template:NYCS color;text-align:center;padding:5px"| Track layout
to Church Av Trackway of former Culver Shuttle spur to 18 Av

North of Ditmas Avenue, the Culver Line expands into four tracks, two local, and two express tracks and enters the tunnel into Church Avenue, allowing access to IND lines in the other boroughs. Before this connection opened on October 30, 1954, this station was the first on the former BMT section of the line and the Coney Island-bound platform was formerly an island platform with an extra track.

The line ran between 37th and 38th Streets, making stops at 13th Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway before entering the lower level of the Ninth Avenue station, where it would continue along the current route to the BMT Fourth Avenue Line (or Fifth Avenue elevated before it ceased operation in 1940).

After the connection to Church Avenue and the IND opened, the Culver Line north of Ditmas Avenue was reduced to a single-track shuttle. The shuttle ceased operation on May 11, 1975 due to decreasing ridership and most of the structure above 37th-38th Streets were demolished. The fourth track at Ditmas Avenue was removed and the Coney Island-bound platform was converted back to a side platform.

Station layout

Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Norwood–205th Street (}})
	Peak-direction express	→ No regular service
	Southbound local	→ toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (}}) →
	Side platform
Mezzanine		Fare control, station agent, MetroCard and OMNY machines
Ground	Street level	Entrance/exit

Remains of the Culver Shuttle

This elevated station, opened on July 16, 1919, has three tracks and two side platforms. The center track is not used in revenue service. Both platforms have beige windscreens along their entire lengths except for a small section at the north end. Brown canopies with green frames and support columns run along the center of the platforms. The station signs are in the standard black plates in white lettering. There is an abandoned tower on the extreme south end of the Manhattan-bound platform.

Along the west side of McDonald Avenue, the remains of the Culver Shuttle's fourth track are visible behind the windscreens of the Coney Island-bound platform and more remains show the two-track turnoff just before entering Ditmas Avenue.

This station has two entrances/exits, both of which are elevated station houses beneath the tracks. The full-time one is at the south end. Two staircases from each platform outside the canopies go down to a waiting area/crossover, where a turnstile bank of three provides entrance/exit from the station. Outside fare control, there is a token booth and two staircases going down to either southern corners of McDonald Avenue and Ditmas Avenue.

The other station house at the north end also has one staircase from each platform, a waiting area/crossover, and two staircases going down to either side of McDonald Avenue between Cortelyou Road and Ditmas Avenue. However, the station house is unstaffed, containing two High Entry/Exit Turnstiles. Both station house balconies have a high turnstile to allow passengers to enter or exit the station without having to go through the station house. The one on the Manhattan-bound staircase is entry and exit while the one on the Coney Island-bound staircase is exit-only.

Track layout

South of the station there is a double crossover between the southbound local track and the center express track. Also south of this station, there is a switch from the center express track to the northbound local track. There was formerly a switch to the south of the station, from the shuttle track to the southbound local track.

North of the station, the three tracks expand into four tracks. The express tracks split in two, and simultaneously with this split, there is a switch from the northbound local track to the northbound express track, as well as a switch where the southbound express and local tracks merge. The extra track is the southbound local track from Church Avenue, which merges with the southbound express track just north of this station.

References

Rehabilitation of the undemolished northwest stair

External links

• nycsubway.org – BMT Culver Line: Ditmas Avenue
• Station Reporter — F Train
• The Subway Nut — Ditmas Avenue Pictures
• Ditmas Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Cortelyou Road entrance from Google Maps Street View