Legend

to Prospect Park to Parkside Avenue to Beverley Road to Newkirk Plaza

Street map

Station service legend
Symbol	Description
	Stops all times
	Stops weekdays during the day

The Church Avenue station is an express station on the BMT Brighton Line of the New York City Subway, located at Church Avenue near East 18th Street in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. The station is served by the Q train at all times and by the B train on weekdays only. The southbound platform will be closed from August 5, 2024 until early October 2024 for accessibility upgrades.

The original station at this location was a two-track side platform station that ran south from Church Avenue, whereas the current station runs to the north. At a point about 150 feet (46 m) south of Church Avenue, a clear difference in the form of the concrete retaining wall is visible on both sides of the right-of-way. This marks the point where the original Brighton Beach Line transitioned from an open-cut line depressed below ground level to a surface railroad for the remainder of the run to Coney Island. The line south of this point was converted from a two-track surface line to a four-track grade-separated line in 1907, and the portion north of this point was rebuilt from a two-track open cut to a four-track open cut in 1919.

On August 1, 1920, a tunnel under Flatbush Avenue opened, connecting the Brighton Line to the Broadway subway in Manhattan. At the same time, the line's former track connections to the Fulton Street Elevated were severed. Subway trains from Manhattan and elevated trains from Franklin Avenue served Brighton Line stations, sharing the line to Coney Island.

During the 1964–1965 fiscal year, the platforms at Church Avenue, along with those at six other stations on the Brighton Line, were lengthened to 615 feet (187 m) to accommodate a ten-car train of 60 foot (18 m)-long IND cars, or a nine-car train of 67 foot (20 m)-long BMT cars.

In 1981, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system. In 1982, the MTA began renovating the station.

In 2019, as part of an initiative to increase the accessibility of the New York City Subway system, the MTA announced that it would install elevators at the Church Avenue station as part of the MTA's 2020–2024 Capital Program. In November 2022, the MTA announced that it would award a $965 million contract for the installation of 21 elevators across eight stations, including Church Avenue. A joint venture of ASTM and Halmar International would construct the elevators under a public-private partnership. The project included two new stairs and two elevators. To accommodate the work, all B trains were rerouted to run local between Prospect Park and Kings Highway. Also to accommodate the work, southbound trains are bypassing the station from August 4, 2024. to an unspecified date in fall 2024, and northbound trains would bypass the station at the end of 2024.

Ground	Street level	Entrances/exits, station house and agent, MetroCard and OMNY machines
Platform level	Northbound local	← toward 96th Street, toward Bedford Park Boulevard or 145th Street (Parkside Avenue)
	Island platform
	Northbound express	→ No regular service (Next stop: Prospect Park)
	Southbound express	→ No regular service (Next stop: Newkirk Plaza)
	Island platform
	Southbound local	← toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue, toward Brighton Beach (Beverley Road) →

Church Avenue is an open-cut express station with short tunnels at each end to carry the line between cross streets. The station has four tracks and two island platforms. Each platform has two staircases, leading to a station-house at each end. The Q stops here at all times and is local, while the B stops here only on weekdays during the day and is express. The next stop to the north is Parkside Avenue for local trains and Prospect Park for express trains, while the next stop to the south is Beverley Road for local trains and Newkirk Plaza for express trains.

There are two exits and entrances to the station, both through stationhouses. The full-time end of the station is at Church Avenue, to the south. The original stationhouse was demolished and replaced with the current structure. Plain white tiles dot the interior and exterior of this entrance. There are restrooms inside fare control to the right side. The part-time entrance is at the north end of the station by Caton Avenue and St. Pauls Place, and the stationhouse there retains the original c.1918 exterior. This end of the station originally had a part-time booth during the morning rush; a high-exit turnstile was open at all other times.

After the 1980s renovation, the station was converted to booth operations from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM every day. All of the platform columns were covered with steel supports during the renovation.

Before the station was renovated for ADA-accessibility in the mid-2020s, the southbound platform had an abandoned exit to East 18th Street between Church and Caton Avenues. The exit had a small structure made from brick and stucco, and was added in the early 1960s. The exit was demolished to make way for the ADA-accessible entrance, which has an entrance/exit to the same location.

Exit location	Number of exits	Platform served
NW corner of E 18th Street & Church Avenue	1	Both
SE corner of St Pauls Place & Caton Avenue	1	Both

• Church Avenue (IRT Nostrand Avenue Line)
• Church Avenue (IND Culver Line)
• Church Avenue Line (surface)
• IND Church Avenue Line

• nycsubway.org – BMT Brighton Line: Church Avenue
• Station Reporter — B Train
• Station Reporter — Q Train
• The Subway Nut — Church Avenue Pictures Archived 2017-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
• Church Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Caton Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platform from Google Maps Street View