IND Sixth Avenue Line - History

History

The IND Sixth Avenue Line was built to replace the elevated IRT Sixth Avenue Line, which was closed and demolished in 1939). The first portion of the line to open was the part not under Sixth Avenue. What was then known as the Houston–Essex Street Line began operations at noon on January 1, 1936 with two local tracks from a junction with the Washington Heights, Eighth Avenue and Church Street Line (Eighth Avenue Line) south of West Fourth Street – Washington Square east under Houston Street and south under Essex Street to a temporary terminal at East Broadway. E trains, which ran from Jackson Heights, Queens to Hudson Terminal, were shifted to the new line to East Broadway. Two express tracks were built on the portion under Houston Street until Essex Street-Avenue A; the tracks were intended to travel under the East River and connect with the never-built IND Worth Street Line in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Just after midnight on April 9, 1936, trains began running under the East River via the Rutgers Street Tunnel, which connected the Houston-Essex Street Line with the north end of the Jay–Smith–Ninth Street Line at a junction with the Eighth Avenue Line north of Jay Street – Borough Hall. E trains were sent through the connection to Church Avenue. Simultaneously, the Fulton Street Line was opened to Rockaway Avenue and the A and C trains, which had used Smith Street, were rerouted to Fulton Street.

At first the city intended to take over the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (PATH) tunnel in Sixth Avenue for express tracks at a future time, building a new subway at a lower level for the H&M.

The stubs that now become the IND 63rd Street Line were built for a proposed extension under Central Park to Harlem.

The local tracks on the main part of the line opened at 00:01 on December 15, 1940. The following service changes were made:

• AA (Washington Heights Local) was brought back for non-rush-hour service between 168th Street and Hudson Terminal via the Eighth Avenue Line.
• BB (Washington Heights Local) was added for rush-hour only service between 168th Street and Hudson Terminal via the Sixth Avenue Line.
• D (Bronx Concourse Express) was added for service between Norwood – 205th Street and Hudson Terminal via the Sixth Avenue Line.
• E (Queens–Manhattan Express) service was cut back from Church Avenue to Broadway – Lafayette Street.
• F (Queens–Manhattan Express) was added for service between Parsons Boulevard and Church Avenue via the Sixth Avenue Line.
• Q (Broadway Express) ran via IND Sixth Avenue line from 1988 till 2001.