18th Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

18th Street is a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 18th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times and by the 2 train during late nights.

 18 Street
 
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Platform view
Station statistics
AddressWest 18th Street & Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10011
BoroughManhattan
LocaleChelsea
Coordinates40.741°N 73.998°W / 40.741; -73.998
DivisionA (IRT)
Line      IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services      1  (all times)
​      2  (late nights)
Transit connections NYCT Bus: M7, M20
StructureUnderground
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks4
Other information
OpenedJuly 1, 1918 (1918-07-01)
Station code321[1]
Wireless service[2]
Opposite-direction transfer availableNo
Traffic
Passengers (2019)2,649,616[3]  1.3%
Rank184 out of 424[3]
Station succession
Next north23rd Street: 1  ​2 
Next south14th Street: 1  ​2 

History

The Dual Contracts, which were signed on March 19, 1913, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the City of New York. The contracts were "dual" in that they were signed between the City and two separate private companies (the Interborough Rapid Transit Companyand the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company), all working together to make the construction of the Dual Contracts possible. The Dual Contracts promised the construction of several lines in Brooklyn. As part of Contract 4, the IRT agreed to build a branch of the original subway line south down Seventh Avenue, Varick Street, and West Broadway to serve the West Side of Manhattan.[4][5][6] The construction of this line, in conjunction with the construction of the Lexington Avenue Line, would change the operations of the IRT system. Instead of having trains go via Broadway, turning onto 42nd Street, before finally turning onto Park Avenue, there would be two trunk lines connected by the 42nd Street Shuttle. The system would be changed from looking like a "Z" system on a map to an "H" system. One trunk would run via the new Lexington Avenue Line down Park Avenue, and the other trunk would run via the new Seventh Avenue Line up Broadway. In order for the line to continue down Varick Street and West Broadway, these streets needed to be widened, and two new streets were built, the Seventh Avenue Extension and the Varick Street Extension.[7] It was predicted that the subway extension would lead to the growth of the Lower West Side, and to neighborhoods such as Chelsea and Greenwich Village.[8][9]

18th Street opened as the line was extended south to South Ferry from 34th Street–Penn Station on July 1, 1918, and was served by a shuttle.[10] The new "H" system was implemented on August 1, 1918, joining the two halves of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and sending all West Side trains south from Times Square.[11] An immediate result of the switch was the need to transfer using the 42nd Street Shuttle. The completion of the "H" system doubled the capacity of the IRT system.[12]

Station layout
Track layout
to 23 St
to 14 St
G Street level Exit/entrance
P
Platform level		 Side platform
Northbound local ← toward 242nd Street (23rd Street)
← toward 241st Street late nights (23rd Street)
Northbound express ← do not stop here
Southbound express → do not stop here →
Southbound local → toward South Ferry (14th Street) →
→ toward Flatbush Avenue late nights (14th Street) →
Side platform

This station has two side platforms and four tracks. The two express tracks are used by the 2 and 3 trains during daytime hours. It was renovated in 1991–92, but retains its original trim line and name tablet mosaics and no artwork was installed. Beige columns run along the entire length of both platforms with every other one having a name tablet.

Exits

Each platform has a same-level fare control area that is staffed full-time and contains a turnstile bank, token booth, and two street stairs. The southbound side leads to both western corners of Seventh Avenue and 18th Street while the northbound side leads to the eastern corners.[13]

Each platform has an exit-only at the north end containing a platform level turnstile and emergency gate and single street staircase leading to 19th Street and Seventh Avenue (the southwest corner for the southbound side and southeast corner for the northbound one).[13]

  • Frieze mosaics with number "18"
  • Exit-only on the southbound platform
  • NE corner stairs at 18th Street and 7th Avenue

References
  1. "Station Developers' Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  2. "NYC Subway Wireless – Active Stations". Transit Wireless Wifi. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  3. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2014–2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  4. "Terms and Conditions of Dual System Contracts". nycsubway.org. Public Service Commission. March 19, 1913. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  5. "The Dual System of Rapid Transit (1912)". nycsubway.org. Public Service Commission. September 1912. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  6. "Most Recent Map of the Dual Subway System WhIch Shows How Brooklyn Borough Is Favored In New Transit Lines". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 9, 1917. p. 37. Retrieved August 23, 2016 – via Brooklyn Newspapers.
  7. Engineering News-record. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. 1916.
  8. Whitney, Travis H. (March 10, 1918). "The Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subways Will Revive Dormant Sections — Change in Operation That Will Transform Original Four-Tracked Subway Into Two Four-Tracked Systems and Double Present Capacity of the Interborough" (PDF). The New York Times. p. 12. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  9. "Public Service Commission Fixes July 15 For Opening of The New Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subway Lines — Will Afford Better Service and Less Crowding — Shuttle Service for Forty-Second Street — How the Various Lines of the Dual System Are Grouped for Operation and List of Stations on All Lines" (PDF). The New York Times. May 19, 1918. p. 32. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  10. "Open New Subway to Regular Traffic — First Train on Seventh Avenue Line Carries Mayor and Other Officials — To Serve Lower West Side — Whitney Predicts an Awakening of the District — New Extensions of Elevated Railroad Service" (PDF). The New York Times. July 2, 1918. p. 11. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  11. "Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph — Great H System Put in Operation Marks an Era in Railroad Construction — No Hitch in the Plans — But Public Gropes Blindly to Find the Way in Maze of New Stations — Thousands Go Astray — Leaders in City's Life Hail Accomplishment of Great Task at Meeting at the Astor" (PDF). The New York Times. August 2, 1918. p. 1. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  12. Whitney, Travis H. (March 10, 1918). "The Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subways Will Revive Dormant Sections — Change in Operation That Will Transform Original Four-Tracked Subway Into Two Four-Tracked Systems and Double Present Capacity of the Interborough" (PDF). The New York Times. p. 12. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  13. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: 18 St (1)" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
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