B (New York City Subway service)

Chrystie Street

The Chrystie Street Connection and the express tracks of the Sixth Avenue Line opened on November 26, 1967, radically changing service. BB trains were combined with the former T service, which ran on the BMT West End Line in Brooklyn and the BMT Broadway Line in Manhattan. This created a through service from 168th Street to Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue via the Sixth Avenue Line express tracks and the Manhattan Bridge.^[6] This service was initially to have been signed BT but was simply signed B instead. During middays, service to and from Brooklyn terminated at West 4th Street, and during late night hours and Sundays B service did not operate, and TT shuttles continued to operate on the West End Line. Starting on July 1, 1968, the B was rerouted to terminate at 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan during middays and evenings, extending to 168th Street only during rush hours. The West End Line shuttles were also now part of the B route.

B service began running between 57th Street and Coney Island during all times on August 30, 1976. Also on this date, during rush hours, alternate B trains began to operate between 168th Street and Coney Island.^[7] Beginning on August 27, 1977, during late nights, B service only ran between 36th Street and Coney Island via the West End Line. A B shuttle also operated during late nights, running between 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center and 57th Street.^[8]

Manhattan Bridge reconstruction

The reconstruction of the Manhattan Bridge between 1986 and 2004 affected B service as the Bridge's north side tracks, leading to the Sixth Avenue Line, were closed multiple times. These closures severed the connection between the northern and southern portions of the route. On April 13, 1986, the B was split into two different services. The northern B service ran via Sixth Avenue, using an orange bullet, between 34th Street-Herald Square and 168th Street, rush hours only. The southern B service ran via the Bridge and BMT Broadway Line, using a yellow bullet. It ran from Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue and terminated at Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard rush hours, Queensboro Plaza middays, evenings and weekends and 36th Street late nights as a shuttle. The closure of the Bridge's north side tracks essentially caused the return of pre-1967 service patterns, before the opening of the Chrystie Street Connection: The orange B more-or-less duplicated the former BB service, and the yellow B imitated the old T service.^[9] On May 24, 1987, evening and weekend Broadway Line B service was cut back from Queensboro Plaza to 57th Street–Seventh Avenue.^[10]

Through B service on the Sixth Avenue Line resumed December 11, 1988, when the Manhattan Bridge's north side tracks reopened. Due to increased demand for Sixth Avenue service along Central Park West, B trains were extended to 168th Street on middays and evenings, partially replacing the discontinued K service.^[11]:17 During late nights, the B continued to operate as the West End Shuttle from 36th Street to Coney Island. B service operated to 57th Street during weekends. N service was increased to replace B service to Ditmars Boulevard.^[12][13]

Manhattan-bound B train of R68s at Kings Highway.

On October 29, 1989, the IND 63rd Street Line opened; B service was extended along the new line from 57th Street to 21st Street–Queensbridge on weekends.^[14] On September 30, 1990, evening service was rerouted Queensbridge to replace Q service with A service running local between 145th and 168th Streets in its place. Also on this date, because of N trains running via the Manhattan Bridge, B trains began skipping DeKalb Avenue.^[15][16]

On April 30, 1995, the north side of the Manhattan Bridge closed on middays and weekends until the following November. During this time, B trains ran only between Pacific Street and Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue, running local on the BMT West End Line and express on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line.^[4][17]

From February 22, 1998 to May 22, 1999, B service was cut to 57th Street on evenings and weekends due to reconstruction of the IND 63rd Street Line. Service on that line was replaced by a shuttle to the BMT Broadway Line.^[18]

On March 1, 1998, the B and the C switched northern terminals, ending the connection between the B and Washington Heights. The B was now routed onto the IND Concourse Line to Bedford Park Boulevard during rush hours. Midday service terminated at 145th Street.^[4][19]

In 2000, B service was taken off of the IND 63rd Street Line for signal and track work. It now ran along Central Park West to 145th Street (Bedford Park Boulevard during rush hours) at all times except late nights.^[20]

On July 22, 2001, the Manhattan Bridge's north side tracks closed and B service over the Manhattan Bridge was split into two services once again, similar to the 1986 changes. However, this time the southern half of the route, running on the Broadway Line, was named the W. B service ran weekdays only, from 34th Street to Bedford Park Boulevard during rush hours and from 34th Street to 145th Street during middays and evenings.^[21]

On February 22, 2004, the Manhattan Bridge was fully reopened to subway service. B trains were once again extended through Grand Street station and over the bridge's north tracks into Brooklyn. Now service operated between Brighton Beach and Bedford Park Boulevard during rush hours and Brighton Beach and 145th Street on weekday middays and evenings. The B now served the BMT Brighton Line in Brooklyn as the express (replacing the <Q>), instead of the West End Line, which it had served in some form since 1967 to combine two weekday-only services.^{[22][23][24][25]}

From September 14, 2009 to October 3, 2011, B trains ran local in Brooklyn due to station renovations on the Brighton Line.^[4][26]

Service pattern

The following table shows the lines used by the B, with shaded boxes indicating the route at the specified times:^[27]

Stations

For a more detailed station listing, see the articles on the lines listed above.

Station service legend
	Stops all times
	Stops all times except late nights
	Stops weekdays only
	Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction
	Stops rush hours only
	Station closed
	Stops weekdays in the peak direction only
Time period details
	Station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act
↑	Station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act in the indicated direction only
↓
	Elevator access to mezzanine only

	Stations		Subway transfers	Connections/Other Notes
The Bronx
Concourse Line
	Bedford Park Boulevard		D
	Kingsbridge Road		D	Some northbound a.m. rush hour trips terminate at this station
	Fordham Road		D	Bx12 Select Bus Service
	182nd–183rd Streets		D	Skipped by trains terminating at Kingsbridge Road
	Tremont Avenue		D
	174th–175th Streets		D	Station is closed for renovations as part of the Enhanced Station Initiative until early 2019.
	170th Street		D
	167th Street		D	Station is closed for renovations as part of the Enhanced Station Initiative until early 2019.
	161st Street–Yankee Stadium		D  4  (IRT Jerome Avenue Line)	Bx6 Select Bus Service
Manhattan
	155th Street		D
	145th Street		D  A  ​C  (IND Eighth Avenue Line)	Northern terminal for all midday and evening trains
Eighth Avenue Line
	135th Street		C
	125th Street		A  ​​C  ​D	M60 Select Bus Service to LaGuardia Airport
	116th Street		C
	Cathedral Parkway–110th Street		C
	103rd Street		C
	96th Street		C
	86th Street		C	M86 Select Bus Service Station is closed for renovations as part of the Enhanced Station Initiative until October 2018.
	81st Street–Museum of Natural History		C	M79 Select Bus Service
	72nd Street		C
	59th Street–Columbus Circle		A  ​​C  ​D  1  (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
Sixth Avenue Line
	Seventh Avenue/53rd Street		D  E  (IND Queens Boulevard Line)
	47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center		​D  ​F  ​M
	42nd Street–Bryant Park		​D  ​F  ​M  7  <7> ​ (IRT Flushing Line at Fifth Avenue)
	34th Street–Herald Square		​D  ​F  ​M  N  ​Q  ​R  ​W  (BMT Broadway Line)	M34 / M34A Select Bus Service PATH at 33rd Street Amtrak, LIRR, NJ Transit at Pennsylvania Station
	West Fourth Street–Washington Square		​D  ​F  ​M  A  ​C  ​E  (IND Eighth Avenue Line)	PATH at 9th Street
	Broadway–Lafayette Street		​D  ​F  ​M  6  <6> ​ (IRT Lexington Avenue Line at Bleecker Street)
Chrystie Street Branch
	Grand Street		D
Brooklyn
Brighton Line
	DeKalb Avenue		​Q  ​R  ​W
	Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center		Q  D  ​N  ​R  ​W  (BMT Fourth Avenue Line) 2  ​3  ​4  ​5  (IRT Eastern Parkway Line)	LIRR Atlantic Branch at Atlantic Terminal
	Seventh Avenue/Flatbush Avenue		Q
	Prospect Park		Q  S  (BMT Franklin Avenue Line)
	Church Avenue		Q
	Newkirk Plaza		Q
	Kings Highway		Q	B82 Select Bus Service
	Sheepshead Bay		Q
	Brighton Beach		Q