The Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown Line, often referred to as simply the Crosstown Line, is a rapid transit line of the Template:IND (NYCS) division of the New York City Subway. Along with the Franklin Avenue Shuttle and Rockaway Park Shuttle, it is one of the 3 lines that do not carry trains into Manhattan.
Extent and service
The only service to use the Crosstown Line is the G shown in lime green on the NYC Subway map, stations signs and on the front route signs on the subway cars. During rush hours and middays, no trains run over the line north of Long Island City–Court Square. At other times, the G service continues north along the local tracks of the IND Queens Boulevard Line, terminating at 71st–Continental Avenue.
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 the 1931 IND Second System plan. This center track continues through Bedford–Nostrand Avenues and then ends with crossovers to the main tracks, but space remains in the center at least through Classon Avenue for the third track.
At Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets, the Crosstown Line comes passes through the middle of the four-track IND Fulton Street Line. Cross-platform transfers are available between the lines, but no track connections exist. After Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street, 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
On August 19, 1933, service began operating between Queens Plaza and Nassau Avenue.
On July 1, 1937, the IND Crosstown Line was completed to Bergen Street and was connected to the BMT Culver Line. At this point, the G began terminating at Smith–Ninth Streets. Also, the G service became the Queens Boulevard Local to Forest Hills–71st Avenue.
From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, service was extended to Church Avenue, so that the F service could run express in Brooklyn. This service was ended because it did not provide passengers at local stations with a one-seat ride into Manhattan.
On May 24, 1987, the N and R servicesswitched terminals in Queens. As part of the reroute plan, Queens Plaza became the northern terminal for the G service on evenings, nights, and weekends.
On September 30, 1990, many lines, including the G, underwent service changes. F service terminated at 21st Street-Queensbridge during late nights and G service was extended to Jamaica-179th Street during this time.
In May 1997, the Queens Boulevard services underwent more changes for the construction of the 63rd Street Connector, which connected the IND 63rd Street Line to the Queens Boulevard Line. G trains terminated at Long Island City–Court Square on evenings, nights, and weekends during this period.
On December 16, 2001, the 63rd Street Connector opened. Since then, G trains have terminated at Long Island Square–Court Square during midday and rush hours (replaced by the V service). Service is supposed to be extended to Forest Hills–71st Avenue at all other times, but the MTA evades providing this service. Instead, most evenings and weekends, the trains terminate at Long Island Square–Court Square, despite increases in ridership stemming from increased population density in Brooklyn and western Queens.
Station listing
Every station is served by the G. It terminates at Court Square weekdays from 6:30 to 22:00. Other times, it is extended to 71st-Continental Avenue-Forest Hills
| Station | Opened | Transfers and notes |
|---|---|---|
| splits from the IND Queens Boulevard Line (E always, V all but weekends and late nights) and 60th Street Tunnel Connection (R all but late nights) | ||
| Long Island City–Court Square | August 19, 1933 | E and M (IND Queens Boulevard Line) 7 and <7> (IRT Flushing Line) (MetroCard only) |
| 21st Street-Van Alst | August 19, 1933 | |
| Greenpoint Avenue | August 19, 1933 | |
| Nassau Avenue | August 19, 1933 | |
| Metropolitan Avenue | July 1, 1937 | L (BMT Canarsie Line) |
| Broadway | July 1, 1937 | |
| Flushing Avenue | July 1, 1937 | |
| Myrtle–Willoughby Avenues | July 1, 1937 | |
| Bedford–Nostrand Avenues | July 1, 1937 | |
| Classon Avenue | July 1, 1937 | |
| Clinton–Washington Avenues | July 1, 1937 | |
| Fulton Street | July 1, 1937 | |
| Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets | July 1, 1937 | A and C (IND Fulton Street Line) |
| merges with the IND Culver Line (F always) | ||