centre st

The BMT Jamaica line is the second oldest continually operated rapid transit line in all of New York City (behind the Franklin Ave shuttle). Originally an elevated train from Driggs Ave in Williamsburg to Gates Ave where it connected with the existing Lexington Ave elevated (not to be confused with the Lexington Ave subway in Manhattan). Opened in 1885 the line was electrified and expanded east to Broadway Junction (1893) then to Jamaica (1913). When the Williamsburg Bridge opened in 1903 it was extended to an underground terminal at Delancey and Essex St on the Lower East Side.

In 1918 a subway was opened connecting the existing terminal at Essex St to a new terminal downtown at Chambers St under the newly constructed Municipal Building. While the elevated line in Brooklyn was only 3 tracks (2 in many places) the new subway under Delancey and Centre Sts was 4 tracks and allowed for express service. The subway was further extended to connect to the new BMT Broadway line subway for service back into Brooklyn.

Three trains run along the BMT Jamaica line. The J/Z runs local from Broad St in Manhattan weekdays (rush hours) and Chambers St all other times to Marcy Ave. After Marcy Ave at rush periods the J runs express to Myrtle Ave and Broadway Junction (running local all other times). After Broadway Junction the J and Z trains operate “skip-stop” service where each train alternates stops. Thus each train only stops at half of the stations. The original elevated track through Jamaica Center was demolished in the 1979 and service was rerouted along the new subway under Archer Ave.

M trains once ran along an elevated line, the Myrtle Ave elevated, from downtown Brooklyn out to Middle Village-Metropolitan Ave. In the 1950s the section of track from downtown to Broadway (Brooklyn) was torn down and service was run from Broad St to Middle Village along the northern portion of the tracks. The M train made this run until 2010 when it was rerouted through the Chrystie St cut to run as local service along 6th Ave. On nights and on weekends the M train is cut back to a shuttle service from Myrtle Ave to Middle Village.

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