Most of the line has four tracks, with one local and one express track in each direction, except for the extreme north and south ends, where only the two express tracks continue. Internally, the line is chained as Line "A", with tracks A1, A3, A4, and A2 from west to east, running from approximately 800 at the south end to 1540 at the north end (measured in hectofeet).
The whole line is served at all times by the A train, which runs express except during late nights. The C provides local service south of 168th Street while the A runs express. In addition, the B provides weekday local service and the D full-time express service between the Concourse Line (145th Street) and Sixth Avenue Line (59th Street–Columbus Circle) junctions, and the E runs local from the Queens Boulevard Line junction at 50th Street south to World Trade Center. The A, C, and E are colored blue on signs because they run via Eighth Avenue through Midtown Manhattan, while the B and D are orange since they use the Sixth Avenue Line through Midtown Manhattan.
Extent and service
The following services use part or all of the Eighth Avenue Line. The trunk line's bullets are colored blue:
The small 174th Street Yard lies under Broadway, with two tracks exiting to the south under that roadway. When the George Washington Bridge was designed in the 1920s, provisions were made for a lower deck that would carry these two tracks north from the yard and across the bridge, as well as two commuter rail tracks. However, when the lower level was added in 1962, it instead carried a roadway.
The two main tracks from Fort Washington Avenue enter Broadway near 172nd Street, curving and running underneath a public school (PS173M) at 174th Street, and other private property, and the yard tracks in a double-decker tunnel. A few blocks later, the lower tracks separate to straddle the yard tracks at 168th Street. The local/express split begins here, with the local tracks coming from the yard and the express tracks coming from Inwood. Contrary to standard practice, the two local tracks are in the center and the two express tracks are on the outside. Except during late nights, the local service (C) ends at 168th Street, reversing direction on the yard tracks; the A runs to 207th Street at all times, express except during late nights. South of 168th Street, the express (outer) tracks lower below the local tracks, forming another double-decker tunnel, this time under St. Nicholas Avenue.
North of 145th Street, the lower (express) tracks rise into the center, and the three-track IND Concourse Line enters St. Nicholas Avenue below the four-track Eighth Avenue Line. 145th Street is a two-level transfer station, with two island platforms on each level. To the south, the Concourse Line tracks rise and merge with the Eighth Avenue Line, carrying the B onto the local tracks and the D onto the express tracks. The resulting four-track line continues south under St. Nicholas Avenue and Eighth Avenue (Frederick Douglass Boulevard), which becomes Central Park West at 110th Street.
Most of the line under Central Park West is built on two levels with both local tracks to the west and only local stations. The two northbound tracks are above the two southbound tracks. Approaching 59th Street–Columbus Circle, where Central Park West becomes Eighth Avenue, the subway again spreads out into a single four-track level.
A flying junction south of 59th Street takes B and D trains east under 53rd Street, merging with two tracks from 57th Street to become the four-track IND Sixth Avenue Line. The two-track IND Queens Boulevard Line, also in 53rd Street, curves south into a lower level of the 50th Street station, and merges to the south, taking E trains onto the local tracks. An unused southbound-only lower level at 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal was formerly accessed only from the southbound track from the Queens Boulevard Line. Plans for the 7 Subway Extension required partially demolishing the lower level to make room for the new IRT Flushing Line tracks.
The four-track line continues south under Eighth Avenue to 14th Street, where it turns southeast under Greenwich Avenue and south under Sixth Avenue, above the four-track IND Sixth Avenue Line. The two-level West Fourth Street–Washington Square station allows easy transfers between the two lines. Just to the south are track connections between the local tracks of each line, not used by current normal service patterns. The Sixth Avenue Line turns east into Houston Street after passing the connections.
Canal Street, under Sixth Avenue, is the last normal four-track station on the line. Crossovers in each direction, beyond the station, take C and late night A trains between the local tracks to the north and the express tracks to the south. As the subway turns from Sixth Avenue into Church Street, the southbound local track passes under the express tracks, bringing E trains to the east. At this point, a bellmouth originally intended for the never-built IND Worth Street Line is present on the east side of the tunnel. It has been proposed to use this to bring Long Island Rail RoadAtlantic Branch trains to Lower Manhattan as part of the Lower Manhattan-Jamaica/JFK Transportation Project.
As early as March 1918, soon after the BMT Broadway Line opened to Times Square–42nd Street, plans were being considered for an extension of that line beyond the stubs at 57th Street–Seventh Avenue to the Upper West Side and Washington Heights via Central Park West (Eighth Avenue). On August 3, 1923, the New York City Board of Estimate approved the Washington Heights Line, an extension of the Broadway Line to Washington Heights. The line was to have four tracks from Central Park West at 64th Street under Central Park West, Eighth Avenue, Saint Nicholas Avenue, and private property to 173rd Street, and two tracks under Fort Washington Avenue to 193rd Street. South of 64th Street, one two-track line would connect to the Broadway Line stubs at 57th Street, and another would continue under Eighth Avenue to 30th Street at Penn Station, with provisions to continue downtown.
Mayor John Hylan instead wanted to build an independent subway system, operated by the city. The New York City Board of Transportation (NYCBOT) gave preliminary approval to several lines in Manhattan, including one on Eighth Avenue, on December 9, 1924. The main portion of the already-approved Washington Heights Line—the mostly-four track line north of 64th Street—was included, but was to continue north from 193rd Street to 207th Street. South of 64th Street, the plan called for four tracks in Eighth Avenue, Greenwich Avenue, the planned extension of Sixth Avenue, and Church Street. Two tracks would turn east under Fulton Street or Wall Street and under the East River to Downtown Brooklyn.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held at St. Nicholas Avenue and 123rd Street on March 14, 1925. Most of the Eighth Avenue Line was dug using a cheap cut-and-cover method, where the street above was excavated. Still, the construction of the line was difficult, as it had to go under or over several subway lines. At 59th Street–Columbus Circle, workers had to be careful to not disrupt the existing IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line overhead. 42nd Street, the longest station along the line at 1,115 feet (340 m), was expected to be a major express station with large platforms, so the platforms were staggered away from each other in order to avoid going under property lines. Additionally, several workers died in cave-ins during construction.
In the summer of 1926 the BOT held a public hearing and agreed upon the details of the construction of the subway line under Church Street. As part of the construction of the line, Church Street was widened from being 40 feet (12 m) wide to being 90 feet (27 m) wide to accommodate the subway underneath and was connected with a southern diagonal extension of Sixth Avenue, which was 100 feet (30 m). Had the street not been widened the construction would have cost an additional $7 million for the construction of a two-level subway structure. In January 1929, the city paid money awarded to adjacent property owners for property taken and awarded contracts for 15 feet (4.6 m)-wide sidewalks and a 60 feet (18 m)-wide roadway. The sidewalks had been 10 feet (3.0 m) wide and the roadway had been 20 feet (6.1 m) wide. New buildings were built on the west sides of Church Street. The east side of the street was not affected by the construction. $9,631,760 was awarded to 161 property owners whose property had been taken. 168,888 square feet of land had to be acquired to widen Church Street between Park Place and Canal Street.
In 1926 construction began on the extension of Sixth Avenue south from Carmine Street to Canal Street, to allow for the construction of the Eighth Avenue Line (which runs under the street south of Eighth Street), and to provide access to the Holland Tunnel. The construction of the extension was completed in 1930. The city condemned entire lots, displacing 10,000 people, to build the extension and used leftover land for parks.
The stations on the line were built with 600 feet (180 m) long platforms, but they had provisions to lengthen them to 660 feet (200 m) to accommodate eleven-car trains. Four of the express stations (at Fulton, 14th, 42nd, and 59th Streets) were built with long mezzanines so that passengers could walk the entire length of the mezzanines without having to pay a fare. It was proposed to develop the mezzanines of these four stations with shops, so that they would become retail corridors, similar to the underground mall of the under-construction Rockefeller Center. The new subway required 800 cars and 1,500 staff. In June 1932, The New York Times reported that seven-car express trains would run between 168th and Chambers Streets, while five-car local trains would run between 207th and Chambers Streets. Both express and local trains would run at intervals of four to twelve minutes depending on the time of day. The new IND subway line also used a five-color pattern of tiles to facilitate navigation for travelers going away from Manhattan; the colors of the tiles changed at each express station.
Early operation
Lower-level local station on Central Park West (86th Street)
The majority of the Eighth Avenue Line, from Chambers Street north to 207th Street, was opened to the public just after midnight on September 10, 1932, after three days of operation on a normal schedule but without passengers. The Cranberry Street Tunnel, extending the express tracks east under Fulton Street to Jay Street–Borough Hall in Brooklyn, was opened for the morning rush hour on February 1, 1933, with the exception of the station at High Street, which opened on June 24, 1933. Initially, only the Fulton Street entrance was open; the Adams Street entrance would open later once its escalators were completed. The Jay–Smith–Ninth Street Line opened on March 20, 1933, extending the line beyond Jay Street–Borough Hall.
When the subway opened in 1932, express (A) and local (AA) trains served the line; expresses did not run during late nights or Sundays. Expresses and late night/Sunday locals were sent south into Brooklyn on February 1, 1933, and, when the IND Concourse Line opened on July 1, 1933, the C was added to the express service, while all locals became CC trains to the Concourse Line, forcing A trains to run local north of 145th Street. The E was added to the local tracks south of 50th Street on August 19, 1933, when the IND Queens Boulevard Line opened.
The final major change came on December 15, 1940, when the IND Sixth Avenue Line opened. The AA was brought back as a non-rush hour local service, becoming the BB and switching to the Sixth Avenue Line at 59th Street–Columbus Circle during rush hours. The CC was kept only during rush hours to provide local service south past 59th Street. Additionally the C became a rush hour-only service, replaced by a full-time D over the express tracks between the Concourse and Sixth Avenue Lines. This created the pattern that has remained to this day, with five services during normal hours: the A express, B part-time local via Sixth Avenue (then BB), C local (then AA and CC), D express via Sixth Avenue, and E local from Queens.
Later years
In 1953, the platforms were lengthened at Spring Street and Canal Street to 660 feet (200 m) to allow E trains to run eleven-car trains. The E began running eleven-car trains during rush hours on September 8, 1953. The extra train car increased the total carrying capacity by 4,000 passengers. The lengthening project cost $400,000.
Southbound E trains began stopping at the lower level of the 42nd Street station during rush hours on March 23, 1970, to reduce delays by relieving congestion on the station's platforms.
Brochure showing the elimination of double letters
On August 28, 1977, late night AA service was eliminated. The A began making local stops in Manhattan during late nights, when the AA was not running. On May 6, 1985, the IND practice of using double letters to indicate local service was discontinued. The AA was renamed the K and rush hour CC service was renamed C. This change was not officially reflected in schedules until May 24, 1987.
On December 10, 1988, the K designation was discontinued and merged into the C, which now ran at all times except late nights. The C ran from Bedford Park Boulevard to Rockaway Park during rush hours, 145th Street to Euclid Avenue during middays, and from 145th Street to World Trade Center during evenings and weekends. The A now ran express in Brooklyn during middays, and the B was extended to 168th Street during middays and early evenings.
On May 29, 1994, weekend C service between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. was extended to 168th Street to allow A trains to run express. Beginning April 30, 1995, C service was extended to 168th Street during middays as construction on the Manhattan Bridge cut B service from Manhattan. On November 11, 1995, midday service was cut back to 145th Street after B service to 168th Street was restored. The change was made to reduce crowding on the C and to reduce passenger confusion about the C's route.
The B and the C, which both ran local along Central Park West, switched northern terminals on March 1, 1998, ending the connection between the C and the Bronx. Instead of alternating between three different terminals depending on the time of day, all C service now terminated at 168th Street.
In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, World Trade Center station was temporarily unusable as a terminal for the E. C service was suspended until September 24, 2001. Local service along Central Park West was replaced by the A and D, and the E was extended from Canal Street to Euclid Avenue replacing C service in Brooklyn.
Pump train in the Cranberry Street Tunnel after Hurricane Sandy
On January 23, 2005, a fire at the Chambers Street signal room crippled A and C service. C service was suspended until February 2 and was replaced by the A, B, D, E, and V trains along different parts of its route. Initial assessments suggested that it would take several years to restore normal service, but the damaged equipment was replaced with available spare parts, and normal service resumed on April 21.
The 2015–2019 Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Plan called for five of the Eighth Avenue Line's stations, along with 28 others, to undergo a complete overhaul as part of the Enhanced Station Initiative. The stations receiving renovations are 34th Street–Penn Station, 72nd Street, 86th Street, Cathedral Parkway–110th Street, and 163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue. Updates included cellular service, Wi-Fi, USB charging stations, interactive service advisories and maps, improved signage, and improved station lighting. As part of the renovations, 72nd Street was closed from May 7, 2018, to October 4, 2018, and 86th Street was closed from June 4, 2018, to October 26, 2018. In addition, the Cathedral Parkway–110th Street station was closed from April 9, 2018, to the week of September 2–4, 2018, and 163rd Street was closed from March 12, 2018, to September 27, 2018.
Funding for the design of CBTC on the IND Eighth Avenue Line from 59th Street–Columbus Circle to High Street is provided in the 2015–2019 Capital Program, along with the modernization of interlockings at 30th Street and north of 42nd Street, and the removal of an unused interlocking south of 42nd Street. The design of the Eighth Avenue Line CBTC project will be done concurrently with the Queens Boulevard Line West and East automation, allowing the E route to be semi-automated when the project is done. It will get two new electrical substations to support CBTC upgrades. Additionally, the R179 and R211 fleets will be made compatible with CBTC. Construction was originally scheduled to begin in October 2018, but a contract for CBTC installation was later pushed back to the first quarter of 2019. In March 2019, in preparation for the implementation of CBTC on the Eighth Avenue Line, the MTA board ratified a contract with Thales Group for the installation of CBTC equipment on the R211 fleet.
On January 13, 2020, the MTA announced that it had awarded the contract to L. K. Comstock & Company, Inc. for $245.8 million. The signaling for the contract will be provided by Siemens. This will be the first CBTC project in the system to use axle-counters instead of insulated joints and track circuits. Axle counters are more resilient to debris and water, making them more reliable, and have been used for decades in systems around the world, and will reduce the time it takes to complete CBTC projects, the cost of completing work, and maintenance and life-cycle costs. Axle counters also allow CBTC testing before cutovers, reducing the time it takes to complete cutovers and any risks associated with them. As of November 2020, the entire project is budgeted at $733.6 million. The project will be completed by January 2025. Work was 57 percent complete in April 2022. Due to delays in the completion of the R211 rolling stock contract, an alternative cutover plan was developed to allow CBTC on the local tracks to be placed into use before the express tracks.
The IND Worth Street Line was a proposed major expansion of the IND Eighth Avenue Line. The line would have branched off of the line's local tracks at the intersection of Church Street and Franklin Street to the south of the Canal Street station and would have turned southeast into Worth Street. This route would have traveled in a two-track tunnel. It would have probably stopped at Foley Square (Lafayette and Centre Streets, on the north side of Federal Plaza), Chatham Square (with a possible connection to the Second Avenue Subway), Rutgers Street–East Broadway (with a connection to the IND Rutgers Street Line), and a station in the Lower East Side (possibly Pitt Street and Grand Street). This portion would have been about 1.95 miles (3.14 km) long and would have cost about $13 million. Crossing to Williamsburg, the line was to have stops at Havemeyer Street and Union Avenue, the latter of which would have had connections to the IND Crosstown Line and a major junction to the IND Houston Street Line, the IND Utica Avenue Line, and a connection to the Rockaways.
In March 1930, public hearings were held by the BOT concerning the construction and planning of this line. At the March 12 hearing, the project's construction was endorsed by east side civic organizations. In June 1930, the Board of Estimate approved the construction of the line, and in July Chairman Delaney sent letters to 450 real estate owners outlining the planned route and requested their consent for the construction of the project, of which the Board needed 50%. On August 23, 1930, bids on the construction of the connection (bellmouths) between the Eighth Avenue Line and the proposed Worth Street Line were put up for bid by the Board of Transportation. These bellmouths were constructed to allow work on the Worth Street Line to be done without interrupting service on the Eighth Avenue Line. This route was expected to the first line of the IND Second System to be built. At the time it was anticipated that the line would open a year or so after the completion of the Eighth Avenue Line under the East River to Brooklyn. However, the construction of the line was delayed due to the city's lack of funding after 1932. The Board of Transportation resumed efforts to build the line after a study of existing conditions in the area was completed, and on the basis that funding would be provided from government and private sources. The plans were truncated to a three-stop crosstown line entirely within Manhattan. Stops would have been located at Foley Square, Rutgers Street, and Lewis Street. The Lewis Street stop, located in the Lower East Side, would have been the line's terminal. Construction was expected to begin in 1937 and be complete by 1944. In 1938 the cost of the line was pegged by the BOT to be $16.73 million.
Even though these bellmouths were never used and the line was never completed, the bellmouths are still visible south of Canal Street adjacent to the local tracks. Other provisions were built in anticipation of the construction of the line. A large open space above the platform level at the East Broadway station on the Sixth Avenue Line was intended to become a two-track station. Above the tunnel north of the Broadway station on the Crosstown Line, a six-track station shell was partially completed. This station would have provided service to the IND Worth Street and the Houston Street Lines.
^The line is also referred to using different names, such as the IND Central Park West Line, IND Washington Heights Line, or IND Eighth Avenue-Fulton Street Line. The line is chained to the same channel as the IND Fulton Street Line.
^"Old Jamaica Farm Divided for Homes". The New York Times. October 8, 1939. p. 153. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.: "the property is near the Woodhaven Boulevard station of the Eighth Avenue subway"
^"Delaney Assails Transit Sitdowns". The New York Times. January 31, 1943. p. 26. Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2018.: "the Jamaica inspection barn of the Eighth Avenue Subway System, in Kew Gardens, Queens"
^ Korman, Joseph. "IND Subway Services". ERA NY Division Bulletins October and November 1968. Archived from the original on November 22, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2018 – via thejoekorner.com.
^"MTAStations"(PDF). governor.ny.gov. Government of the State of New York. Archived(PDF) from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
Note that this is a list of New York City Subway lines, which are the physical infrastructure over which services operate. Lines with colors next to them are trunk lines; trunk lines determine the color of New York City Subway service bullets, except for shuttles, which are dark gray.
