For photos see www.nycsubway.org  

This route operates between Jamaica-179^th Street and Stillwell Ave-Coney Island, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  It operates express in Queens, between 21^st-Queensbridge and 71^st-Continental Avenues, and local in Manhattan and Brooklyn.  During AM and PM rush hours, alternate trains begin/end their trips at Gravesend/Kings Highway in Brooklyn, while other early AM trips begin at Avenue X.  North refers to Jamaica Queens while south refers to Coney Island.  The fleet consists of mostly R46 cars; however several R32 trainsets from Jamaica Yard have been used at various times of the day.  We board our F train at the departure platform at 179^th Street. 

179^th Street (179^th Street and Hillside Ave) opened 12/10/1950: This is a very large terminal station, and is the newest station on the Queens Blvd line.  The station has 4 tracks on 2 island platforms, beyond it at the eastern end lies 8 relay tracks, 4 on the upper level and 4 on the lower level.  F trains use either track on the northbound platform, discharge and fumigate the train, then use one of the 8 relay tracks to turn the train and come in on either track on  the southbound platform. The relay track configuration gives some theoretical evidence that the line was planned to be extended to Little Neck Parkway and Hillside Ave.  Some unnamed sources can confirm a partial tunnel was actually excavated beyond the 185th Street wall, and sidewalk gratings are present further up Hillside Ave.  A total of 13 street stairs are laid out over 3 blocks on Hillside Ave, and there are at least 5 stairs to each platform.  Full time booth is at east end of station between 179th and 180th Streets, with 8 street stairs.  The station is slated be ADA accessible; an elevator is under construction at the S/E corner of Hillside Ave and 179th Place. P/T booth is at 178th Street and has 5 street stairs.  A full length mezzanine connects both fare control areas.  Artwork is untitled and features two life-sized construction workers simulating that they are holding up the mezzanine’s ceiling. 

169^th Street (169^th Street and Hillside Ave)  Opened 4/24/1937: Local stop, 4 tracks on 2 side platforms,  full length mezzanine and 2 fare control areas, each having 4 street stairs.  F/T side at 169th Street, P/T side at 168th Street, in the 1990's the booth operations were switched.   At one time before Archer Ave opened in 1988 and when the E train also ran to 179th Street as a local, while the F was the Hillside express, it was considered to be the most congested station along the entire Queens Blvd line.  Numerous bus lines either started outside the station entrances or at the nearby 165th Street bus terminal.  There still exists crowd bars attached to each of the 7 Jamaica-bound staircases at platform level in order to "feed" the customers into the staircase, instead of crowding around it, which can create a dangerous condition if the bars were not installed.   Manhattan-bound side has 5 stairs to platform level.  A "DO NOT RUN" sign from decades ago is still visible at the F/T side, by the eastern end.                                                                                

Parsons Boulevard (Parsons Blvd and Hillside Ave) opened 4/24/1937:  Express stop, 4 tracks and 2 island platforms.  Only the F local uses the local tracks, the express tracks are use only for reroutes and an occasional reverse-peak E train in the afternoon.  Full length mezzanine with F/T side at Parsons Blvd, has 3 street stairs, one closed street stair at N/E corner.  P/T side at 153rd Street also has 3 street stairs, Ghost Booth and 24/7 HEET access.   The booth was removed in 2003.  The mezzanine allows full length passage both inside and outside fare control.  

Sutphin Boulevard (Sutphin Blvd and Ave Hillside) Opened 4/24/1937:  The film "Coming To America" where the woman whom Eddie Murphy (played by Prince Akeem) chases into the subway, is not the express stop as noted in the picture, when she says goodbye to him.  (All interior scenes were filmed at Hoyt Schermerhorn station).  It is actually a local stop, with 4 tracks and 2 side platforms, full length mezzanine inside fare control only.  F/T side is a Sutphin Blvd and has 3 street stairs.  P/T side at 144th Street has ghost booth (closed in 2003) and 2 street stairs.  5 stairs to each platform, a sixth stair is at Jamaica bound side and is HXT (exit only) to Sutphin Blvd side. 

Briarwood Van Wyck Boulevard (Van Wyck Expressway South service road, south of Queens Blvd and 84th Road) Opened 4/27/1934:  Local stop, 4 tracks, 2 side platforms.  The station's name tablets show the original name of Van Wyck Blvd (a street), before the Van Wyck Expressway was built in the 1950's, and remains unchanged.  Station has NYPD Transit Bureau District office at mezzanine level on the west side, the 1990's relocation of this district office forced the closure and removal of two stairs to each platform.  There is no crossover allowed at this station, unless you have any of the 4 Unlimited Ride card types, you must swipe the Unlimited card in order to access the opposite platform, the booth and fare controls are in the center of this mezzanine.  There are 3 street stairs, two of them through a passageway to Queens Blvd, the other outside the S/B Van Wyck Expressway service road, about 800 feet south of Queens Blvd.  The layout of this mezzanine does suggest a full length mezzanine inside fare control was possible; this would have to have a ghost booth.  Most likely the ghost booth would be at the Van Wyck Expressway side, while the F/T booth was at Queens Blvd side. 

Union Turnpike Kew Gardens Queens Blvd at Union Turnpike/Kew Gardens Road) opened 12/13/1936 Express stop, with 4 tracks on 2 island platforms.  We are now sharing space with the E Line from here to Roosevelt Ave.  We run express at all times.  Station has 2 mezzanines and was built around the same time the Interborough Parkway was constructed in the late 1930’s, now called the Jackie Robinson Parkway.  An interesting aspect of the station is the unique set of castle-like doors on both mezzanines; each one allows anyone to walk alongside the parkway for a brief minute before exiting through the standard subway staircases. (Don’t worry, there are wired fences to separate the cars from the pedestrians.).  However, the castle door exit at the P/T side is closed for unknown reasons.  Each mezzanine has 3 street stairs and 3 stairs to each platform, for a total of 6 exits and 6 sets of stairs to each platform.  F/T side is at east end, near Kew Gardens Road, it serves the Q10 bus to JFK Airport, as well as 3 other bus routes,  while P/T side is at 78^th Road, and is open daily from 6 AM to Midnight.  It was impossible to construct a full length mezzanine because the parkway splits in half. Tile band is medium yellow with black borders.  Full words UNION TURNPIKE are spelled out on the walls.  A tower is visible on the Manhattan-bound platform, active only on weekdays.  The station  is slated to be a key ADA station. 

75^th Avenue Puritan Avenue (75^th Avenue and Queens Blvd) Opened 12/13/1936:  Local stop, 4 tracks, and 2 side platforms.  Full length mezzanine, no crossover allowed.  Booth sits at center of mezzanine, giving further evidence that there were 2 booths when the station first opened, one booth for each end.  HEETs allow access to Manhattan-bound platform, without having to walk down to the middle of the mezzanine in order to enter fare control.  There a total of 3 street stairs, and 4 stairs to each platform, one stair to each platform is closed.  Tile band is light shade of green.  The station name on the map, and the station tablet both read 75th Ave, but until several years ago, the "Puritan Ave" was on the signs on platform columns. This was the original street name, before a massive conversion of Queens street names to numbered streets, took place in the early 20th century. 

71^st Avenue Continental Avenue Forest Hills (Queens Blvd @ 71^st Ave/108^th Street) Opened 12/13/1936:  Express stop, 4 tracks on 2 island platforms, and is the terminus of R, V, and part-time G trains( For local service between here and Court Square see the R  or V pages.).  There are 3 fare control areas along full width mezzanine.  2 of the 3 fare control areas are near each other along wraparound passageway outside of fare control. The F/T booth is near the east end and is closest to 71^st Ave/Queens Blvd staircase on south side.  The other P/T booth in the same area is in the middle and is closest to 108^th street71^st Avenue.  It is open during AM rush hours, other times; a couple of HEETs can be used.  The other P/T booth at the far west end is at 70^th Road/Queens Blvd and has only one street stair.  There are 7 street stairs to each platform.  On the platform, the platform wall has green tile band with black border.  Facing the express tracks are the vintage 1936 white signs with black lettering "  Contin-ental Ave Forest Hills" .A renovated and expanded tower is at the far eastern end of the Jamaica-bound platform, another mini-tower also sits on the center of the Manhattan-bound platform but it is seldom used.  Before we enter this station, there are a set of tracks rising from the lower level, one for each direction.  These tracks are used for local trains relaying back downtown, as well as yard moves to the massive Jamaica Yard facility nearby.  They come up and merge with both local and express tracks in “Y” track configuration.  Renovation is pending in the 2005-2009 MTA Capital Program, and is slated to be a key ADA station as well.

Roosevelt Avenue Jackson Heights is discussed on the Complexes Page 

After we bypass 36^th Street we diverge right and break away from the Queens Boulevard Line. We say goodbye to the E, R and V train, but the V train will rejoin us later in Manhattan. This newest section  of the IND is called the 63^rd Street Connector and opened on 12/16/2001, the opening was briefly delayed due to 9/11. After 35 years of planning to construction and $650 million later, the 63^rd Street "Stubway" or " tunnel to nowhere" actually is put to valuable use.

21^st Street Queensbridge (21^st Street at 41st Avenue) Opened 10/29/1989:  Originally a terminal stop for B/Q and late night F trains from 1989 to December 2001, it gain notorious fame as the "tunnel to nowhere".  2 tracks on 2 side platforms, the station is fully ADA accessible.  It serves the residents of Queensbridge houses, the city's largest housing project development, Silvercup Studios, and other industrial companies nearby.  The only mezzanine is towards the east end of station, 2 street stairs at N/E corner of 21st Street and 41st Ave.  Elevator and up/down escalator are at N/W corner of the same intersection.  Tower remains on west end of Manhattan-bound platform and can be used if necessary.  Double crossover switches remain to the west of the station, indicating it's presence as a terminal station.  The platform edge does not have the current yellow tactile strip with bumps like most stations being renovated at this time. 

Roosevelt Island (On Roosevelt Island, Main Street and about 500 feet north of the Tramway terminal) Opened 10/29/1989:  One of the deepest stations in the entire NYCT system, it takes  157 steps from the stationhouse at street level to either platform.  It has a nice WMATA (Washington D.C. Metro Subway) feel of a high arched ceiling.  The station walls are curved with beams at both platforms, the only NYCT station in the entire system to have this look.   There are 4 levels from mezzanine to platform level, a total of 10 escalators, 2 large staircases, and 2 smaller staircases 1 to each platform.  The balcony level above the platform, affords a nice view of the station and tunnel mouth facing the Queens end, as well as trains entering and leaving this station.  Station is fully ADA accessible, 1 elevator to each platform is located at opposite end of stairs/escalators to the stationhouse level.  This gives the clearest indication on how deep you are below the surface. politically It is a pert of Manhattan.

As we travel from Roosevelt Island to our next stop, Lexington Ave, we see bellmouths again at the 2nd Ave turnouts.  There will be planned connections to and from the 2nd Avenue subway line that will permit Q Broadway line trains from the West side of Manhattan to travel north on the 2nd Ave line, once Phase I of the SAS line is completed to 96th Street.  In addition, a non-revenue tunnel connection from the southern portion of the 2nd Ave line to/from the Queens bound direction on this line will also be built. 

Lexington Avenue 63^rd Street (Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street) Opened 10/29/1989: This is a bi-level station, with Downtown/Brooklyn bound trains using the upper level, while Queens bound trains use the lower level.  The station's walls are facing north, it could've have been island platforms instead.  Behind this wall, lies an unfinished station on each level and track leads than end at wall.  The walls can be removed and we would have 4 tracks on 2 island platforms instead of the current 2 tracks and 2 side platforms.  Wall tiles are red, similar to the red color in  the Bowling Green Station, and the brick red at 49th Street/BMT Broadway line station.  Station has a total of 10 escalators, 6 staircases and 2 elevators, full ADA access.  2 additional staircases from upper to lower level are at opposite end of platform, and behind elevator.  There are 1 set of escalators and 2 street stairs, separate fare controls to escalators and the ADA elevator exist.  It is possible, but rare, that the MTA's Capital Construction program that is the lead agency overseeing the Second Ave Subway project, to remove these walls and allow Q trains to use the north tracks, while F trains se the current southern 2 tracks.  In this manner, it would eliminate double switching and merging; under the current track configuration Q trains would be forced to merge with the heavily trafficked F lie before entering Lexington Avenue, only to diverge away after leaving this station.  Realigning the proposed Q line extension would now only eliminate this merge, but would actually allow cross-platform transfers between both lines.  The setup for the Q line at this station, is already there, all is needed is the connection to the N/B 2nd Ave line.  It is unclear whether the MTA is planning on this matter and how the Q line will be running at this point; this is only a suggestion by the authors of this page.                                           

57^th Street 6^th Avenue (57^th Street and Ave of the Americas) Opened 7/1/1968:  From 1968 to 1989, this was a terminal stop for B trains and rush hour K local trains (the KK was discontinued in 1976 for lack of patronage), and features one of the last surviving telephone booths inside one of the 3 fare control areas at mezzanine level.  The door on the telephone booth is broken and is unlikely to ever see any repair.  A plaque dedicating Ret. Col. John T. O'Neill, who served as NYCTA Chief Engineer, until his death in 1978, sits next to the booth on the west wall.  Except for the removal of the 1960's exit slam gates at fare controls; much of the station design remains unchanged from the initial 1968 opening. 6 stairs to island platform (2 tracks), and 8 street stairs spread out on both sides of Avenue of the Americas from 56th to 57th Streets.  Even the "Next Train" indicator lights are still hanging from the platform's ceiling.  The tower and crew area still exists, though it is abandoned after the 1989 63rd Street extension to 21st Street, Queensbridge, but was revived again in the late 1990's when Q express trains terminated once again at 57th Street due to long term construction work that necessitated a shuttle train from Queensbridge to 57th St/7th Ave on the Broadway line.  Once all construction work was completed on the 63rd Street connector to Queens Blvd in 2001, the tower was abandoned, permanently.  Station walls are plain white with 1960's "57th St" names on the wall. 

We leave 57/6 and are suddenly sandwiched in between 2 tunnels.  The V line is to the left of us, while the B and D line are to the right of us.  We diverge to the left and merge with the V line for the first time.  We also have the option of diverging to the right for the B and D lines, but that would take place during nightly/weekend G.O.s or an unplanned reroute.  After both tracks split away, the right side first then our left side, there is a short track that ends in bumper block.  It was installed for no apparent reason.  

47^th- 50^th Street Rockefeller Center (Ave of the Americas, between West 47^th and West 50^th Streets)   Opened 12/15/1940:   Very large station, it is an express stop along the prestigious Avenue of the Americas, with 4 tracks and 2 island platforms.  Ordinarily, we would be arriving on the local track.  Because of the tricky “T” shaped line configuration involving the E, F V and B/D lines traveling in different directions, southbound express and local trains come in on opposite sides, the B and D express trains use the local track, while F and V trains use the express track.  Station has numerous passageways and exits, a total count of at least 14 entrances from street level alone, were taken.  This does not include several passageways through Rockefeller Center, all outside fare control.  F/T booth is at north end of full-length mezzanine, at West 49^th Street, with 1 passageway through Rockefeller Center on the East side, and another set of passageways through various Concourse levels of office buildings along the west side of Avenue of the Americas.  A passageway to one northern P/T staircase leads to Radio City Music Hall/West 50^th Street and is open late during evening performances.  Another passageway along west side of 49^th Street was recently extended to connect with the BMT 49^th St station on the N, R and W lines (no free transfer). Middle fare control at West 48^th Street has ghost booth and all-day HEET access.  South fare control at West 47^th St has P/T booth and more staircases.  Eagle eye movie fans who saw the 1976 thriller “Marathon Man”, will note the old KK rush hour subway route on a street entrance of the east side of Ave of the Americas and West 47^th Street, before the routes’ demise.  Each platform has 7 stairs to mezzanine, the north end of the N/B platform has an active tower, and is depressed about 10 feet below the S/B platform.  This is to prepare the lines to be branched out towards the Bronx and Queens.  Color band is red, with dark brown borders, “47” and “50” alternate each other below the tile band 

42^nd Street Bryant Park is discussed on the complexes page 

34th Street Herald Square is discussed on the complexes page 

23d Street (23^rd Street and  6^th Avenue)  Opened 12/15/1940:  Local stop, 2 tracks along 2 separate side platforms.  Because the Hudson and Manhattan tunnels (now PATH) were constructed over 40 years prior to the IND, the local platforms do not allow any crossover or cross under, nor was any mezzanine ever constructed at this station (there is a mezzanine at 14th Street station, though.)  The F and V use the 2 outside tracks while inside the walls, the PATH trains use the 2 inner tracks.   The B and D express tracks are way below the PATH tracks, and were constructed using the "deep-bore" tunneling method in the mid 1960's.  Each mezzanine has 4 street stairs and a direct indoor entrance to the 23rd Street PATH station.  2 of the 4 entrances on each side appear to be part of the original 1911 PATH entrances.  Tile band is lime green.  The tile band on the track walls appears to be obscured by support beams directly underneath 23rd Street. 

14^th Street is discussed on the complexes page 

West 4^th Street-Washington Square opened on 9/10/1932 (Ave of the Americas between West 3^rd St and Waverly Place) Upper level opened 9/10/1932, Lower level opened 12/15/1940. has four tracks on the upper level, serving A,( see  A Lefferts and A Rockaway)  C and E trains, a lower Mezzanine and then a lower level serving B, D, F and V trains. The lower Mezzanine is full width and ramps length and also holds numerous offices for NYCT. The north end of the upper level has exits to the street. The south end of the upper level ramps up to a crossover and a booth. Full ADA is in progress via the south end.. A tower is at the south end of the southbound lower level platform. The North exit leads to West Eighth Street and the south to west Third Street. The exit to west Fourth Street has been removed. The station has a secondary name of Washington Square and is located under Sixth Avenue 

Broadway Lafayette (West Houston Street between Broadway and Lafayette Ave)   Opened 10/1/1936   Station has free transfer to IRT Downtown 6 train (4 trains stop here during late nights) at east end, and is approx 3 levels deep.  Renovated by a contractor, it still lacks the passageway from IND level to the Uptown IRT side and is the only transfer point where access is restricted to one-way.   Over the years, there were plans on the drawing boards to create a free transfer from the IND level to the Uptown IRT side at Bleecker Street, the plans keep getting shelved, mostly a lack of funding in the MTA’s Capital Program.  The 2005-2009 MTA Capital Program makes allowances to design and build the free transfer from the east end of the IND platform.  This area appears to be an entrance at one time that apparently never was finished, it is sealed as a false wall.  The relatively high ceiling at the same end indicates a ramp was planned somewhere also.  This station features only 1 F/T fare control area at Broadway and West Houston, with 2 street stairs.  Before the renovation, the fare control was situated in the middle, between the 2 Broadway entrances and the Lafayette Ave entrance.  The Lafayette Ave entrance on the south side is currently 24/7 HEET access.  A new entrance and booth on the North side of Lafayette Ave and Houston was constructed during the renovation, the booth fell victim to the 2003 ax, as is now listed a ghost booth and part-time HEET access.  There is an intermediate level between the mezzanine/IRT level and platform level, it contains artwork on the columns.  “Signal” by Mel Chin (1998) uses various materials to create a lighted appearance at the bottom of the column.  There are 3 stairs from each platform to intermediate level and an additional 2 stairs from intermediate to mezzanine level.  At the far western end (due north in accordance to lines traveled) is another set of stairs (1 for each side) that lead directly up to fare control, 3 levels and a steep walk up.  

2^nd Avenue Lower East Side (East Houston Street between 2^nd  Ave/Chrystie Street and  1^st   Avenue/Allen Street)  Opened 10/7/1933:   This is a terminal stop for V trains, it has 4 tracks, 2 island platforms and 2 mezzanines.  F/T side is at 1st Avenel/Allen Street, while P/T side is at 2nd Avenel/Chrystie Street.  When the station first opened, it had a full length mezzanine, both inside and outside fare control.   Clear evidence of this mezzanine points to the following:  1. partially obscured directional sign "2nd Ave" at the 1st Avenue end.  2. Three closed staircases from the closed mezzanine, to each platform.  Walk from one end of the platform to another and you will see a break in the ceiling's pattern from time to time, and 3. The mezzanine area is covered on both sides by various station and RTO facilities, along with the gates that would have separated the inside and outside fare control areas.  This would have been a transfer point to the IND's second system along 2nd Avenue, there is a small closed staircase found at the P/T side that confirms this.  The MTA is currently building the full length 2nd Ave line within 20 years, and a free transfer at the proposed Houston Street station, to this station is being considered.  The 2 "express" tracks end in a false wall, further evidence suggests that the 2 middle tracks were being planned to be routed into Brooklyn's South 4th Street line as part of the IND second system, none of which ever got past the planning stage. Tile band is purple    

Delancey Street/ Essex Street  is discussed  on the  complexes page