IND Crosstown Line

Extent and service

The bullets of the services that use the Crosstown Line are colored lime green.

The only service to use the Crosstown Line is the G. No revenue service runs over the line north of Court Square.

The north end of the Crosstown Line is a flying junction with the IND Queens Boulevard Line and 60th Street Tunnel Connection just south of Queens Plaza. The line then travels south as a two-track line, except for a center relay track south of Court Square. At the turn from Marcy Avenue to Lafayette Avenue, two center tracks appear, merging into one after crossovers to the main tracks. These tracks were to be used for a split to another line in a 1931 expansion plan. This center track continues through Bedford–Nostrand Avenues and then ends with crossovers to the main tracks, but space remains in the center through Classon Avenue for the third track.

At Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets, the Crosstown Line passes through the middle of the four-track IND Fulton Street Line. Cross-platform interchange is available between the lines, but no track connections exist. After Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets, the line turns south and ends as a merge into the local tracks of the IND Culver Line, just south of the split of that line into local and express tracks.

History

Plans for a crosstown line had been floated as early as 1912. In 1923, a plan for such a line, to be operated by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) from the Queensboro Bridge under Jackson Avenue, Manhattan Avenue, Roebling Street, Bedford Avenue, and Hancock Street to Franklin Avenue at the north end of the BMT Franklin Avenue Line, was adopted by the city. However, the following year, Mayor Hylan announced his opposition against it. In addition, residents of central Brooklyn, which was already heavily developed, opposed an elevated line because of noise and aesthetic concerns, but the BRT would not build a subway because an elevated was the cheapest option.

Eventually, the line was moved and incorporated into the city's Independent Subway System. The junction with the IND Queens Boulevard Line in Long Island City was originally supposed to have a second wye, with service from Manhattan via the 53rd Street tunnel planned to feed into the Crosstown Line. This would have been part of a loop service between the Crosstown and Eight Avenue Lines.

The portion of the line crossing Newtown Creek between Brooklyn and Queens, now known as the Greenpoint Tubes, was built without the use of a tunneling shield or compressed air, contrary to the convention of the time. The tunnel was bored through solid rock, crossing under the East River Tunnels of the Long Island Rail Road and the IRT Flushing Line, then lined with concrete.

On August 19, 1933, the line was opened north of Nassau Avenue, and the GG began operation to Queens Plaza. The entire Crosstown Line was completed and connected to the IND Culver Line on July 1, 1937, whereupon the GG was extended in both directions to Smith–Ninth Streets and Forest Hills–71st Avenue.

In 1946, as part of a $1 billion plan issued by the New York City Board of Transportation, a branch of the IND Crosstown Line would be built, with the routing via Franklin Avenue and connecting with the BMT Brighton Line. This would have replaced the BMT Franklin Avenue Line. Over the next 77 years, the termini for the GG (relabeled G in 1985) had varied, including being extended to Jamaica–179th Street or cut back to Queens Plaza or Long Island City–Court Square. Service was also extended to Church Avenue several times, the most recent extension being in 2009. During weekend service disruptions on the F service between Jay and Bergen Streets, trains were extended beyond Church Avenue to Coney Island. On April 19, 2010, G service was permanently cut back from the Queens Boulevard Line due to budget cuts.

Station listing

Every station is served by the G train from Court Square south to past Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets.