L (New York City Subway service)

Early history

June 1979 – May 6, 1985 bullet

November 26, 1967 – June 1979 bullet

Original 16 designation for the BMT Canarsie Line service

The L, being a local train, was originally given the LL designation when letters were assigned to the BMT division. From 1928 to 1967, the same service was assigned the BMT number 16.

In 1924, part of the eventual 14th Street–Canarsie Line opened, called the "14th Street–Eastern District Line" (commonly the "14th Street–Eastern Line"), and was given the number 16. This was extended east, and in 1928 it was joined to the existing BMT Canarsie Line east of Broadway Junction. Since that time, the 14th Street–Canarsie Line service has operated as it is today, except for an extension from Sixth Avenue to Eighth Avenue, which opened on May 30, 1931 to connect to the new Eighth Avenue Subway. The Eighth Avenue Terminal was originally built in IND style and has been restored to BMT style like Fulton Street and Broad Street. During rush hours, express service ran nonstop between Lorimer Street and Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues. (Locals usually ran from Eighth Avenue to Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues or Atlantic Avenue at these times.)^[5]

Before the 14th Street–Eastern and Canarsie Lines were connected, the Canarsie part of the line already had a number, 14, running from Lower Manhattan via the Broadway Elevated and called the Canarsie Line.^[6] When the 14th Street–Eastern Line was connected in 1928, this was renamed the Broadway (Brooklyn) Line, but continued to operate to Rockaway Parkway.^[7]

This brochure describes the inauguration of special rush-hour through service in 1936 for the BMT between Lefferts Avenue and 8th Avenue.

Starting on September 23, 1936, express trains ran to Lefferts Boulevard via the connection with the Fulton Street Elevated at Atlantic Avenue.^[8] This connection was severed on April 30, 1956, then the service ran to Rockaway Parkway again, but was discontinued on August 23. The R27 to R38's roll signs had both L and LL for express and local service, even though the express never ran thereafter.

On November 26, 1967, with the opening of the Chrystie Street Connection, the BMT Eastern Division lines were given letters. The 14 to Canarsie was given the label JJ (though the 14 main line was designated KK, continuing east from Broadway Junction towards Jamaica). On the other hand, the 16 became the LL.^[9] Canarsie service to Lower Manhattan was discontinued in 1968.^[10] When double letters were dropped on May 5, 1985, the LL became the L, and it still has that designation.^[11] Skip-stop was proposed in the 1990s, but was never implemented.

Modernization and rehabilitation

Countdown clock at the Lorimer Street station

Manhattan-bound L train of R160s at New Lots Avenue

Ridership on the L has increased dramatically since 2000, since many neighborhoods along the route have experienced gentrification. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's $443 million fleet of subway cars on the L was introduced in 2002, but by 2006 was already too small to handle growing ridership. The Transit Authority had projected that 212 Kawasaki-made R143 subway cars would be enough to accommodate ridership demands for years to come, but ridership has risen higher than expected. Therefore, sixty-four new R160A cars manufactured by Alstom have been equipped with CBTC in order to run on the L.

The BMT Canarsie Line tracks underwent an extensive retrofit over to CBTC, a system that controls the trains via a computer on board, as opposed manually operated by a human operator. This was completed in April 2012.^[14] While the retrofit has resulted in nearly two years of service changes and station closings, this system will eventually allow trains to run closer together, and enables in-station "countdown clock" displays to note the exact time until the next train arrives. The line also used OPTO (one person train operation) beginning in June 2005, but a combination of public outcry regarding perceived safety issues, which increased after the July 2005 London tube bombings, heavy lobbying by the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), as well as an arbitration ruling that MTA had breached its contract with TWU caused the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to end OPTO the following September. However, the MTA's successful implementation of countdown clocks on the L has been the first in the system.^[15]

From April 2019 to at least July 2020, service will be suspended between Eighth Avenue and Bedford Avenue to allow for repairs on the Canarsie Line tunnels under the East River, which were damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.^[16][17]

Service pattern

The L uses the following lines with the same service pattern at all times.^[18]

Stations

For a more detailed station listing, see BMT Canarsie Line.

Station service legend
	Stops all times
	Stops all times except late nights
	Stops weekdays only
	Station closed
	Stops rush hours/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
Manhattan
Canarsie Line
	Eighth Avenue		A  ​C  ​E  (IND Eighth Avenue Line)
	Sixth Avenue		1  ​2  ​3  (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line at 14th Street) F  ​M  (IND Sixth Avenue Line at 14th Street)	PATH at 14th Street
	Union Square		4  ​5  ​6  <6> (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) N  ​Q  ​R  ​W  (BMT Broadway Line)
	Third Avenue
	First Avenue			Northbound M15 Select Bus Service
Brooklyn
	Bedford Avenue
	Lorimer Street		G  (IND Crosstown Line at Metropolitan Avenue)
	Graham Avenue
	Grand Street
	Montrose Avenue
	Morgan Avenue
	Jefferson Street
	DeKalb Avenue
	Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues		M  (BMT Myrtle Avenue Line)	Some a.m. rush hour trips begin or end their runs to/from Eighth Avenue at this station[lower-alpha 1]
	Halsey Street
	Wilson Avenue	↑		Station is ADA-accessible in the northbound direction only.
	Bushwick Avenue–Aberdeen Street
	Broadway Junction		A  ​C  (IND Fulton Street Line) J  ​Z  (BMT Jamaica Line)
	Atlantic Avenue			LIRR Atlantic Branch at East New York
	Sutter Avenue
	Livonia Avenue
	New Lots Avenue			B15 bus to JFK Int'l Airport
	East 105th Street			Some northbound rush hour trips begin at this station
	Canarsie–Rockaway Parkway			B82 Select Bus Service