Northern end 168th Street Depot 207th Street Yard | Southern end Euclid Avenue Stations 40 | |
 | ||
Rolling stock 64 R32s (8 trains, AM rush)
80 R160As (10 trains)
56 R32s (7 trains, AM rush) Started service July 1, 1933; 83 years ago (1933-07-01) | ||
The C Eighth Avenue Local is a 19-mile-long (31 km) rapid transit service in the B Division of the New York City Subway. Its route emblem, or "bullet", is colored vivid blue since it uses the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan. The C operates at all times except late nights, making all stops between 168th Street in Washington Heights, Manhattan, and Euclid Avenue in East New York, Brooklyn via Central Park West / Eighth Avenue in Manhattan and Fulton Street in Brooklyn. During late night hours, the A train, which runs express along the entire C route during daytime hours, makes all stops.
Contents
History
The C and CC services began operation on July 1, 1933 when the IND Concourse Line opened. The Independent Subway System (IND) used single letters to refer to express services and double letters to local services. The CC provided local service between Bedford Park Boulevard and Chambers Street/World Trade Center (known at the time as Hudson Terminal) during rush hours, and was extended to 205th Street during non-rush hours. The C ran express, from 205th Street to Bergen Street in Brooklyn during rush hours.
Beginning August 19, 1933, C service was cut back from Bergen Street, but started operating during non-rush hours. At the same time, CC service was cut back from 205th Street during non-rush hours.
On January 1, 1936, C service was extended to Jay Street–Borough Hall. On April 9, 1937, C service was extended to Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets. After July 1, 1937, a few C trains continued to run to Bergen Street southbound in the AM rush hour and northbound in the PM rush hour. Also on the same date, weekend C service was discontinued, and CC service was extended to 205th Street to compensate.
Beginning December 15, 1940, the D train entered service with the opening of the IND Sixth Avenue Line. It joined the C as the peak direction Concourse Express. CC trains now ran between Hudson Terminal and Bedford Park during rush hours and on Saturdays and during other times, the D made local stops in the Bronx, replacing CC service. On the same date, limited morning rush hour service began between 205th Street, Bronx and Utica Avenue, Brooklyn, making local stops on the IND Fulton Street Line.
Beginning October 10, 1944, C trains no longer ran on Saturdays.
On October 24, 1949, C express service was discontinued. Additional D service was added to offset this loss. The CC, which only ran during rush hours, began terminating at Broadway–Lafayette Street Mondays to Fridays, and on Saturdays CC service continued to operate to Hudson Terminal.
On December 29, 1951, CC trains were discontinued on Saturdays.
On October 30, 1954, CC trains returned to its previous terminal at Hudson Terminal.
On August 30, 1976, the CC train replaced the E train as the local along Fulton Street and to Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street. It became the only subway train to run through all four boroughs served by the subway. It ran from Bedford Park Boulevard in the Bronx, though Manhattan via Central Park West and Eighth Avenue, into Brooklyn via the Cranberry Street Tunnel, and then on the Fulton Street Line and Jamaica Bay Crossing to Rockaway Park in Queens. The Rockaway Park Shuttle service at this time was renamed "CC"; before then, it was named the HH. This shuttle was the only non-rush CC service.
On May 6, 1985, the IND practice of using double letters to indicate local service was discontinued. The CC service was renamed the C. The Rockaway Park Shuttle is renamed H.
On December 10, 1988, the K train was discontinued, and the next day the C train was expanded to run at all times except late nights. It ran from Bedford Park Boulevard to Rockaway Park rush hours, 145th Street to Euclid Avenue middays, and from 145th Street to World Trade Center during evenings and weekends. At this time, the A began to run express in Brooklyn, with the C running to Euclid Avenue, and other times the A ran local.
On October 23, 1992, rush hour C service was cut back from Rockaway Park – Beach 116th Street to Euclid Avenue.
Beginning April 1995, C service was extended to 168th Street during middays and weekends. In November 1995, midday service was cut back to 145th Street.
On March 1, 1998, the B and C, which both ran local along Central Park West, switched northern terminals, ending the connection between the C and The Bronx. Instead of alternating between three different terminals depending on the time of day, the C now terminates at 168th Street whenever it operates.
Starting in April 1999, C trains were extended to Euclid Avenue on evenings and weekends; the C now ran local in Brooklyn, and the A ran express in Brooklyn at all times except late nights.
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.
On January 23, 2005, a fire at the Chambers Street signal room crippled A and C service. C service was suspended until February 2. 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.
Maintenance and rider issues
In August 2012, the Straphangers Campaign rated the C train the worst of the city's subway services for the fourth straight year. No other service has ranked worst for more than three years in a row. The group found that the C performed worst in three of the six categories in its annual State of the Subways Report Card: amount of scheduled service, interior cleanliness, and breakdown rate. It also ranked next-to-worst in car announcement quality, after the 7, but performed above average in regularity of service and crowding. The New York Times called the C the "least loved of New York City subway lines", citing its fleet of R32s, which are the oldest cars in the system at 53 years old. For the summers of 2011 and 2012, R46 cars ran on this service while R32s were moved to the A to save their older air conditioning units from having to work underground at all times. Since 2013, some R160A cars have operated on this service, first during the summer months, then permanently; some of the R32s were transferred to the J/Z for the same reason. By May 2015, half of the C train fleet utilized R160As.
Service pattern
The following table shows the lines used by the C:
Stations
For a more detailed station listing, see the articles on the lines listed above.