V (New York City Subway service)

infobox NYCS service
service=V
name=Sixth Avenue Local
terminals=
all terminals shown above

east term=Forest Hills–71st Avenue
west term=Lower East Side–Second AvenueThe V Sixth Avenue Local is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange on the route sign and on station signs and the NYC Subway map, as it represents a service provided on the IND Sixth Avenue Line through midtown Manhattan.

The NYCS service|V service operates weekdays only from approximately 6:30 a.m. to midnight, from Forest Hills–71st Avenue to Lower East Side–Second Avenue, making local stops on its entire route.

The following lines are used by the and NYCS service|V service train:

ervice history

The NYCS service|V train is the New York City Subway's newest service. It made its debut on December 17, 2001, replacing the NYCS service|G train on the local tracks of the IND Queens Boulevard Line in Queens and the NYCS service|F train on the 53rd Street Tunnel route to Manhattan on weekdays only. The NYCS service|F train was re-routed through the IND 63rd Street Line, which opened for full-time service the day before. In Manhattan, between 47th–50th Streets and the NYCS service|V train's Lower East Side–Second Avenue terminal station, NYCS service|V and NYCS service|F made identical stops.

On January 23, 2005, a fire destroyed the signal room of Chambers Street on the IND Eighth Avenue Line. NYCS service|V service was temporarily extended to Euclid Avenue until NYCS service|C service was restored on February 2.

New service plan and controversy

The NYCS service|V was introduced to give residents along the Queens Blvd line direct local service to 53rd Street and the Sixth Avenue Line, solving overcrowding issues at 23rd Street-Ely Avenue. Introduction of the NYCS service|V service added nine additional peak-hour trains coming into Manhattan on the IND Queens Boulevard Line. [Sarah Kershaw, "Proposed Line Would Lighten Subway Crush," "The New York Times", December 2, 2000] However, to make room for the NYCS service|V train on Queens Boulevard, the NYCS service|G train was given a new weekday terminal at Long Island City–Court Square, and the NYCS service|F train was re-routed through the 63rd Street Tunnel.

The new service plan was designed to redistribute Queens-bound passenger loads in the heavily-used IND Sixth Av corridor, by encouraging use of the additional local trains provided for shorter trips, and to improve service and transfer opportunities for passengers using local stations along Queens Blvd. The New York Times described the service plan as "complex and heavily criticized." NY Times columnist Randy Kennedy noted, however, that four months after it opened, the line was operating at only 49% of capacity. However, ridership had "increased 30 percent since it began, and every new V rider, as lonely as he or she might be, relieves crowding on the E." [Randy Kennedy, "When One New Train Equals One Less Express," "The New York Times", July 9, 2002] Several years experience with the service running, has shown its value and seen further gains. V trains, while by no means consistently full, have taken some load off the F train; however, some riders have complained that the passenger load on the E train has worsened, while others said it has gotten better. In response to complaints from NYCS|G riders who aired them at public hearings, (they were about to lose their transfer to Manhattan-bound trains at Queens Plaza), the MTA agreed to a number of concessions. MTA agreed to install an underground moving walkway between Court Square and 23rd Street–Ely Avenue (NYCS Queens 53rd) on the Queens Boulevard Line. In addition, a free out-of-system MetroCard transfer to 45th Road–Court House Square (NYCS Flushing) on the IRT Flushing Line was created at those two stations—one of only two such transfers in the system. The MTA is pursuing other physical improvements to stations in the Long Island City, Queens area.

The MTA also agreed to extend the NYCS|G to 71st Avenue during evenings and weekends, and to operate the service more frequently. The authority "had spent several hundred thousand dollars on tests, trying to figure out a way to keep the G train running past the Court Square Station and farther into Queens on weekdays. But because of the addition of the V train, which will share space along the Queens Boulevard lines with the trains already there—the E, F and R—G trains could not fit during the daytime, when service is heaviest." [cite news|first=Randy|last=Kennedy|title=Panel Approves New V Train but Shortens G Line to Make Room|work=The New York Times|date=2001-05-25]

Not all F riders were happy, of course. Columnist Kennedy sought out and interviewed some who were not happy with the NYCS service|V's debut:

:Last week, there were two express trains (the E and the F) running along Queens Boulevard to 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue, the station where many people catch the Lexington line. Now, there is only one express (the E) and a local (the V) going to that popular station. And the other express (the F) detours to a less popular station, 63rd and Lexington, where you cannot transfer to the Lexington line without walking outside for a few blocks.

:So the questions being asked privately, and sometimes very publicly, in Queens stations yesterday were: Do I take a train not going where I'm going and — God forbid — transfer? Do I take a relatively uncrowded train that goes where I'm going but that gives me the scenic tour of subterranean Queens? [Randy Kennedy, "Lonesome Newcomer, Taking It Slowly, Seeks Riders," "The New York Times", December 18, 2001.]

tations

NYCS service legend
alltimes = show
allexceptrush =
allexceptnights = show
nightsonly =
nightsweekends = show
weekdaysonly = show
rushonly =
rushpeak = show
closed =

External links

* [http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/vline.htm MTA NYC Transit — V Sixth Avenue Local]
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References

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