A-C (New York City Subway service)
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The A Eighth Avenue Express and C Eighth Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. They are colored blue, since they use the IND Eighth Avenue Line through midtown Manhattan. The longest one-seat ride on the subway system is on the Template:NYCS A, 31 miles (50 km) from Inwood to Far Rockaway. The normal Template:NYCS A service pattern is from Inwood-207th Street to Ozone Park-Lefferts Boulevard or Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue, running express in Manhattan and Brooklyn; some rush hour trips run to Rockaway Park-Beach 116th Street; the Template:NYCS S Rockaway Rockaway Park Shuttle goes there all the time. Template:NYCS C trains run local along this route from Washington Heights-168th Street to Euclid Avenue, which is exactly where the Template:NYCS A runs express. At late nights, Template:NYCS C service doesn't run, and Template:NYCS A service runs local, and only on the branch to Far Rockaway; a special shuttle (the Lefferts Boulevard Shuttle) runs from Euclid Avenue to Lefferts Boulevard.
Billy Strayhorn's jazz hit "Take the A Train" (popularized in 1941 by Duke Ellington) made the A train famous. It is among the better-known trains in the system.
The following lines are used by the Template:NYCS A and Template:NYCS C (the latter of which has no late night service):
Line | Tracks | When |
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IND Eighth Avenue Line north of Washington Heights-168th Street | N/A | always (Template:NYCS A only) |
IND Eighth Avenue Line south of Washington Heights-168th Street | Template:NYCS A express (local late nights) Template:NYCS C local | always |
IND Fulton Street Line north of Euclid Avenue | Template:NYCS A express (local late nights) Template:NYCS C local | always |
IND Fulton Street Line south of Euclid Avenue | local | always (Template:NYCS A only) |
IND Rockaway Line and IND Far Rockaway Branch (full line) | N/A | always (Template:NYCS A only) |
IND Rockaway Park Branch (full line) | N/A | Template:NYCS A rush hours in peak direction only |
Contents |
Service history
A and AA
Template:Rollsign | Template:Rollsign |
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The A and AA were the first services on the IND Eighth Avenue Line when it opened on September 10, 1932. The A ran express between 207th Street and Hudson Terminal, and the AA was a local between 168th Street and Chambers Street (adjacent to Hudson Terminal). During late nights and Sundays, the A didn't run and the AA made all stops along the line.
The A was extended to Jay Street-Borough Hall on February 1, 1933, when the Cranberry Street Tunnel to Brooklyn opened; an extension to Bergen Street opened on March 20, 1933.
C and CC
Template:Rollsign | Template:Rollsign |
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The C and CC began operation on July 1, 1933 over the new IND Concourse Line. The CC provided continuous local service between 205th Street and Hudson Terminal (possibly cut back to Bedford Park Boulevard while the C ran in that direction), while the C express ran only in the peak direction during rush hours, continuing through downtown to Bergen Street in Brooklyn.
Recent history
Until the early 1990s, the Lefferts Boulevard branch was the main branch and the Far Rockaway branch did not run during late night hours, when a transfer to a shuttle at Euclid Avenue in Brooklyn was made available; since then, it has been the Lefferts Boulevard branch which does not operate in the middle of the night.
On January 23, 2005, a control room in lower Manhattan caught fire, crippling Template:NYCS A and Template:NYCS C service. For more information, see Eighth Avenue Line#January 23, 2005 fire.
Station listing
For a more detailed station listing, see the articles on the lines listed above.
External links
- MTA NYC Transit - A Eighth Avenue Express (http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/aline.htm)
- MTA NYC Transit - C Eighth Avenue Local (http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/cline.htm)
- MTA NYC Transit - A schedule (http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/pdf/tacur.pdf) (PDF)
- MTA NYC Transit - C schedule (http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/pdf/tccur.pdf) (PDF)
References
- Line By Line History (http://members.aol.com/bdmnqr2/linehistory.html)
- IND Subway Services (http://thejoekorner.quuxuum.org/Indhistory.htm)
- City Opens Subway to Brooklyn Today, New York Times February 1, 1933 page 19
- City Subway Adds a New Link Today, New York Times March 20, 1933 page 17
- New Bronx Subway Starts Operation, New York Times July 1, 1933 page 15