J/Z (New York City Subway service)

infobox NYCS service
service=J
service2=Z
name=Nassau Street Express
terminals=Jamaica Center to Chambers Street or Broad StreetThe J Nassau Street Express and Z Nassau Street Express (earlier Jamaica Express) are two rapid transit services of the B Division of the New York City Subway. They are colored brown, since they use the BMT Nassau Street Line in Lower Manhattan. The J runs at all times, while the Z only operates during rush hours in the peak direction; both services use the entire BMT Archer Avenue Line and BMT Jamaica Line from Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer over the Williamsburg Bridge to Lower Manhattan. Rush hour service in the peak direction is express west of Myrtle Avenue, and the J and Z form a skip-stop pair east of Myrtle Avenue. During weekdays, the J and Z run to the southernmost station on the Nassau Street Line, Broad Street, but the J is cut back on weekends to Chambers Street. Broad Street and Fulton Street are thus the only two stations that are not served full-time.

Until 1976, the Jamaica Line (over Broadway west of East New York) was also served by the KK Broadway Brooklyn Local (K after 1973), which ran to 57th Street (IND Sixth Avenue Line) via the Chrystie Street Connection after 1968. This was the successor to the original BMT Canarsie Line service, which ran full-time until the 14th Street–Eastern Line was completed to East New York in 1928.

History

Before the Chrystie Street Connection

The Jamaica Line - then known as the Broadway Elevated - was one of the original elevated lines in Brooklyn, completed in 1893 from Cypress Hills west to Broadway Ferry in Williamsburg. [cite BDE|title=Trains Running This Morning|md=May 30|y=1893|page=10] It was then a two-track line, with a single local service between the two ends, and a second east of Gates Avenue, where the Lexington Avenue Elevated merged. [cite BDE|title=Better Service on the Brooklyn L|md=December 20|y=1893|page=12] This second service later became the 12, and was eliminated in 1950 with the abandonment of the Lexington Avenue el.

The second major service on the Broadway Elevated ran between Canarsie and Williamsburg via the BMT Canarsie Line, started on July 30, 1906 when the Broadway and Canarsie tracks were connected at East New York. [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00917F93F5912738DDDA80B94DF405B868CF1D3 The BRT Opens Its New Extension for Through Traffic] , July 31, 1906, page 12] As part of the Dual Contracts, an extension from Cypress Hills east to Jamaica was completed on July 3, 1918, [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20F1EF63B5F1B7A93C5A9178CD85F4C8185F9 New Subway Line] , July 7, 1918, page 30] a third express track was added west of East New York, and express trains began running in 1922.Fact|date=April 2007

The Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation numbered its services in 1924,Fact|date=April 2007 and the Canarsie and Jamaica services became 14 and 15. Both ran express during rush hours in the peak direction west of East New York, and additional 14 trains, between Eastern Parkway (now Broadway Junction) or Atlantic Avenue on the Canarsie Line and Manhattan provided rush-hour local service on Broadway. [Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation, , 1931] The 14 was later cut back to only rush-hour service.Fact|date=April 2007

On the Manhattan end, the first extension was made on September 16, 1908, when the Williamsburg Bridge subway tracks opened. [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0B16FC3C5D16738DDDAE0994D1405B888CF1D3 Mayor Runs a Train Over New Bridge] , September 17, 1908, page 16] Broadway and Canarsie trains were extended to the new Essex Street terminal, and further to Chambers Street when the line was extended on August 4, 1913. [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40C1EFC3A5F13738DDDAA0894D0405B838DF1D3 Bridge Loop to Open for One Line Only] , August 3, 1913, page 6] When the BMT Nassau Street Line was completed on May 30, 1931, the 15 was extended to Broad Street, [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50C1FFA3E5F11738DDDA80A94DD405B818FF1D3 Nassau St. Service Outlined by B. M. T.] , May 21, 1931, page 29] [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60B11F83E5E1B7A93C2AA178ED85F458385F9 Mayor Drives Train in New Subway Link] , May 30, 1931, page 11] and the 14 was truncated to Canal Street. Some 14 trains began terminating at Crescent Street on the Jamaica Line in 1956.Fact|date=April 2007

Inbound morning rush hour skip-stop service between Jamaica and East New York was implemented on June 18, 1959. [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20A11FA3558137B93C5A8178DD85F4D8585F9 Jamaica BMT to Start Speed-Up Tomorrow] , June 17, 1959] Express 15 trains served "A" stations, while the morning 14 became the "Jamaica Local", running between Jamaica and Canal Street, and stopped at stations marked "B". [New York City Transit Authority, [http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/caption.pl?/img/maps/system_1959_routeinfo.gifOfficial New York City Subway Map and Station Guide] , 1959] These stations were as follows: [New York City Transit Authority, [http://www.thejoekorner.com/brochures/jamaica-skip-indx.html Skip Stop on the BMT Jamaica Line] , 1959]
*All trains: 168th Street • Sutphin Boulevard • Elderts Lane • Eastern Parkway
*"A" stations: 168th Street • Sutphin Boulevard • 121st Street • 111th Street • Woodhaven Boulevard • Forest Parkway • Elderts Lane • Crescent Street • Cleveland Street • Eastern Parkway
*"B" stations: 168th Street • 160th Street • Sutphin Boulevard • Queens Boulevard • Metropolitan Avenue • 104th Street • Elderts Lane • Cypress Hills • Norwood Avenue • Van Siclen Avenue • Alabama Avenue • Eastern Parkway

Letters were assigned to most BMT services in the early 1960s. The 15 became the J (express) and JJ (local), and the 14 became the KK. [Joseph Cunningham and Leonard DeHart, A History of the New York City Subway System Part 2: Rapid Transit in Brooklyn, 1977]

Chrystie Street Connection to 1976

When the Chrystie Street Connection opened on November 26, 1967, many services were changed. The two local services - the JJ (non-rush hours) and KK (rush hours) - were combined as the JJ, but without any major routing changes. Thus non-rush hour JJ trains ran between Jamaica and Broad Street, while morning rush hour JJ trains ran to Canal Street, and afternoon rush hour JJ trains ran between Canal Street and Atlantic Avenue or Crescent Street. The rush-hour express J was combined with the weekday QT "Brighton Local via tunnel" to form the weekday QJ, running between Jamaica and Brighton Beach via the Jamaica Line (express during rush hours in the peak direction), BMT Nassau Street Line, Montague Street Tunnel, and BMT Brighton Line (local). Finally, the RJ was a special peak-direction rush-hour service, running fully local on the Jamaica Line, Nassau Street Line, Montague Street Tunnel, and BMT Fourth Avenue Line to 95th Street in Fort Hamilton. This was an extension of a former rush-hour RR service, and thus ran towards Jamaica in the morning and towards Fort Hamilton in the afternoon. [New York City Transit Authority, New York City Rapid Transit Map and Station Guide, 1967]

The next change was made on July 1, 1968, when the Chrystie Street Connection tracks to the Williamsburg Bridge opened. The Jamaica Line portion of the rush-hour JJ was modified to become a new rush-hour KK, running between Jamaica (peak direction) or Eastern Parkway (both directions) and the new 57th Street station on the IND Sixth Avenue Line in Manhattan. The RJ was eliminated, being cut back to an RR variant, and the off-hour JJ was relabeled QJ (but not extended to Brighton Beach). At the same time, the existing skip-stop service was extended to afternoon Jamaica-bound trains, with those QJ trains running express west of Eastern Parkway and service "A" stations east to Jamaica, and those KK trains serving "B" stations. Less than two months later, on August 18, the QJ was extended to Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue. [New York City Transit Authority, [http://www.thejoekorner.com/brochures/index.html Rapid Transit Service Changes] , 1968] [New York City Transit Authority, [http://www.thejoekorner.com/brochures/kkline-indx.html KK - a new service] , 1968]

These new services were slowly eliminated in the 1970s due to financial problems.Fact|date=April 2007 First, on January 2, 1973, the QJ was cut back full-time to Broad Street and renamed the J; the M was extended to Coney Island in its place. At the same time, the KK was cut back to Eastern Parkway and renamed the K, [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40C1EF73F551A7493C0A9178AD85F478785F9 Subway Schedules in Queens Changing Amid Some Protest] , January 2, 1973, page 46] and both skip-stop patterns were carried out by alternate J trains.Fact|date=April 2007 But that was not enough; the K was discontinued on August 30, 1976, [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20F15F73958167493C3AA1783D85F428785F9 Transit Agency Drops 215 Runs] , August 31, 1976, page 42] eliminating the J skip-stop and express service east of Myrtle Avenue. (One-way express service remained west of Myrtle Avenue, since the M was switched to the local tracks at that time.)Fact|date=April 2007

The following table summarizes the changes that were made between 1959 and 1976.

1976 to present

The J was truncated to Queens Boulevard just after midnight on September 11, 1977, [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0D16F8385A167493CBA91782D85F438785F9 A Sentimental Journey on the BMT...] , September 9, 1977, page 61] and to 121st Street on April 15, 1985,Fact|date=April 2007 concurrent with the cutting-back of the Jamaica Line. The BMT Archer Avenue Line (subway section in Jamaica, Queens) opened on December 11, 1988, extending the line back east from 121st Street, and the present J/Z skip-stop pattern was implemented. [New York Times, [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0717FC3B5E0C7A8CDDAB0994D0484D81 Big Changes for Subways are to Begin] , December 9, 1988, page B1]

In 1990, weekend service terminated at Canal Street, but was then extended back to Chambers Street in 1994.

From April 30 to September 1, 1999, the Williamsburg Bridge was closed for reconstruction. J trains ran only between Jamaica Center-Parsons Archer and Myrtle Avenue. J/Z skip-stop service was in both directions between Jamaica Center and Eastern Parkway-Broadway Junction.

After September 11, 2001, NYCS|R service was suspended. J trains were extended beyond Broad Street via the BMT Montague Street Tunnel to replace the R to Bay Ridge-95th Street at all times except late nights, when it only ran to Broad Street and a shuttle ran in Brooklyn between 95th and 36th Streets. J/Z skip-stop service was suspended. During this time, the J was the longest local line in the system. Normal service on all three lines was restored on October 28.

tations

For a more detailed station listing, see the articles on the lines listed above.For a more detailed station listing, see the articles on the lines listed above.NYCS service legend
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allexceptrush = show
allexceptnights = show
nightsonly = show
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rushonly =
rushpeak = show
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References

* [http://members.aol.com/bdmnqr2/linehistory.html Line By Line History]

External links

* [http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/jline.htm MTA NYC Transit - J Nassau Street Express]
* [http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/zline.htm MTA NYC Transit - Z Nassau Street Express]
*PDFlink| [http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/pdf/tjcur.pdf MTA NYC Transit - J–Z schedule] |224 KB

es:J/Z (Servicio del metro de Nueva York)