The B Sixth Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange since it uses the IND Sixth Avenue Line through midtown Manhattan. Its normal service pattern is from 145th Street in Harlem to Brighton Beach near Coney Island, running local north of and express south of 59th Street-Columbus Circle . During rush hours, it extends north on the local tracks to Bedford Park Boulevard. service only runs until 21:00, and does not run during late nights or weekends. At those times, the provides service in Manhattan, and the in Brooklyn (which runs local). However, the D is express throughout Manhattan, but the provides that service at times other than late nights, when the runs local.

The following lines are used by the B:

Service history

The designation B was originally intended to designate express trains originating in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan and operating in midtown Manhattan on the 6th Avenue Line. However, the original B service, beginning with the opening of the 6th Avenue Line in 1940 and continuing until opening of the Chrystie Street Connection in 1967 ran only as a local train between Washington Heights and 34th Street and 6th Avenue, near the Empire State Building and only during rush hours. This service was designated BB in conformance with Independent Subway System protocol of using double letters to indicate local services.

Subsequent to the opening of the Chrystie Street Connection the former BB trains were combined with the former service of the West End Line, creating a through service from Washington Heights to Coney Island. This service was initially to have been signed BT but was simply signed B instead.

The partial closure of the Manhattan Bridge to subway service between 1986 and 2004 impacted B service by severing the connection between the northern and southern portions of the service. Beginning on April 26, 1986, the northern B (via 6th Avenue, informally called "Orange B" and the southern B (via Broadway, informally called "Yellow B") operated as two different services. The Orange B more or less duplicated the former BB service, and the Yellow B was like the old T service. The former B service resumed December 11, 1988.

On March 1, 1998, the B and the C switched northern terminals, severing the historic connection between the B and the Washington Heights Line. The B was now routed on the Concourse Line during rush hours.

On July 22, 2001, B service over the Manhattan Bridge was again interrupted and service recast similarly to the 1986 changes. However, this time the West End Line portion of the run was redesignated as the .

On February 22, 2004, the Manhattan Bridge was fully reopened to subway service. The B train did not resume its former route via the West End Line, but instead became the Brighton Beach Express, the current service.

Station listing

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

External links

• MTA NYC Transit - B Sixth Avenue Express
• MTA NYC Transit - B schedule (PDF)

References

• Line By Line History