New York City Subway nomenclature
1440202
225800091
2008-07-15T13:38:34Z
Marc Shepherd
1190598
endash corrections
{{Citations missing|date=March 2007}}
[[Image:InsideStation.JPG|thumb|300px|Signs for southbound ("Downtown & Brooklyn") and northbound ("Uptown & The Bronx") platforms]]
'''New York City Subway nomenclature''' describes terminology used in the [[New York City Subway]] system as derived from railroading practice, historical origins of the system, and engineering, publicity, and legal usage. These include ''line'' names, which refer to individual sections of subway, like the [[BMT Brighton Line]]; ''service'' labels, like the [[B (NYCS)|B]], which is a single train route along several lines; and ''station'' names, like [[Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (New York City Subway)|Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue]].
==Current status==
{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em;"
|-
! Trunk line
! Service bullets
|-
| [[BMT Broadway Line|Broadway (BMT) Line]] || [[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-N.svg|20px]][[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-Q.svg|20px]][[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-R.svg|20px]][[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-W.svg|20px]]
|-
| [[IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line]] || [[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-1.svg|20px]][[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-2.svg|20px]][[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-3.svg|20px]]
|-
| [[BMT Canarsie Line|Canarsie Line]] || [[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-L.svg|20px]]
|-
| [[IND Crosstown Line|Crosstown Line]] || [[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-G.svg|20px]]
|-
| [[IND Eighth Avenue Line|Eighth Avenue Line]] || [[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-A.svg|20px]][[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-C.svg|20px]][[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-E.svg|20px]]
|-
| [[IRT Flushing Line|Flushing Line]] || [[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-7.svg|20px]][[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-7d.svg|20px]]
|-
| [[IRT Lexington Avenue Line|Lexington Avenue Line]] || [[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-4.svg|20px]][[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-5.svg|20px]][[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-6.svg|20px]][[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-6d.svg|20px]]
|-
| [[BMT Nassau Street Line|Nassau Street Line]] || [[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-J.svg|20px]][[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-M.svg|20px]][[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-Z.svg|20px]]
|-
| [[S (New York City Subway service)|Shuttles]] || [[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-S.svg|20px]]
|-
| [[IND Sixth Avenue Line|Sixth Avenue]] || [[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-B.svg|20px]][[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-D.svg|20px]][[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-F.svg|20px]][[Image:NYCS-bull-trans-V.svg|20px]]
|}
Each section of subway has three identifying characteristics, ''line'', ''service'' and ''color''. The most constant is the ''line'', the physical structure and tracks that trains run over. Each section of the system is assigned a unique line name, usually paired with the division ([[Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation]] (BMT), [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company]] (IRT), [[Independent Subway System]] (IND)). For example, the line under [[Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)|Eighth Avenue]] is the [[IND Eighth Avenue Line]]. Some lines have changed names (and even divisions), but this happens relatively infrequently.
Public usage of the line names varies widely. Internally, the MTA uses the names, both for legal reasons and to describe lines, services and locations without ambiguity. Although the three major subway systems are now unified, the terms BMT, IRT and IND are still used in line, structure and building descriptions and capital contract specifications.
Each operating ''service'' or ''route'' is assigned a letter or number. This is a path that the train service uses along the various ''lines''. These are the most familiar names among the public, but may change frequently during construction or as services are rerouted to make best use of the network. Former [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company|IRT]] services (now known as ''Division A'') are assigned numbers, and former [[Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation|BMT]] and [[Independent Subway System|IND]] services (now known as ''Division B'') are assigned letters. IRT trains and tunnels are narrower, so the two do not mix in revenue service.
Each service is also assigned a ''color'', corresponding to the downtown [[Manhattan]] trunk line it uses; the Crosstown Line, which doesn't carry services to Manhattan, is colored light green, and all shuttles are colored dark gray.
''Stations'' usually bear [[street name]]s, but may also be named after neighborhoods or prominent locations (e.g., "[[Brighton Beach (BMT Brighton Line)|Brighton Beach]]", "[[Cypress Hills (BMT Jamaica Line)|Cypress Hills]]") or combinations of these (e.g., "[[Times Square–42nd Street (New York City Subway)|Times Square–42nd Street]]", "[[47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center (IND Sixth Avenue Line)|47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center]]"). Others are named after major destinations along with the street names (e.g., "[[68th Street–Hunter College (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)|68th Street–Hunter College]]", "[[81st Street–Museum of Natural History (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|81st Street–Museum of Natural History]]"). Many stations share names, so to uniquely identify a station, the line name or cross street must be specified. (For example, there are three stations at [[Kings Highway (New York City Subway)|Kings Highway]] in [[Brooklyn]].) Usually, identifying the service is also sufficient, but as services are transient, this is not a permanent label.
[[Image:R68A 5092.jpg|thumb|left|205px|A rollsign reading on a [[R68A (New York City Subway car)|R68A]] car. The sign reads:<br><br><center>[[57th Street (BMT Broadway Line)|Midtown<br>57 St/7 Av]]<br>-----<br>
[[Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue (New York City Subway)|Coney Island]]]]
In addition to the typical street or location names assigned to most stations, ''terminals'' (the ends of lines and/or services) also usually bear the name of the local community (e.g., "[[Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue (BMT Myrtle Avenue Line)|Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue]]"), especially on maps and signs.
===Diamond services===
[[Image:NYCS-line-black-Flushing.svg|frame|Normal and diamond [[7 (NYCS)|7]] bullets.]]
Despite its efforts toward single identifiers for each service, the MTA has adopted a variation of a signage practice that began with [[street railway]]s, in which a variant service is identified with a special color or symbol on the route number signs. For example, if a service was designated 10, a short-line of the service might have a diagonal stroke through the number. This informed boarding riders that the car would not travel all the way to its usual destination.
This has been implemented on the subway by use of ''diamond services''. Since a route letter or number is ordinarily presented inside a circle, variants of the same service are shown as the same letter or number inside a diamond shape.
Current diamond services are:
*[[6 (NYCS)|6]] regular service all local; daytime directional diamond service express in the Bronx (with local service in the same direction cut back to [[Parkchester (IRT Pelham Line)|Parkchester]])
*[[7 (NYCS)|7]] regular service all local; daytime directional diamond service express in Queens
;Former diamond services
Until the end of May 2005,{{Fact|date=May 2007}} [[5 (NYCS)|5]] rush hour trips to 238th Street in the Bronx were marked with a diamond, with regular service to Dyre Avenue. Both services run express in the Bronx between East 180th Street and 3rd Avenue/149th Street during rush hours in the peak direction.
Current [[rollsign]]s include several unused options to replace these. To replace the green 5 and 6 diamond services are green 8, 10 and 12 circles, and a purple 11 circle is present for a replacement of the 7 diamond.{{Or|date=September 2007}} The rollsigns also have the regular diamonds, but with the word "Express" under the bullet for the 6 and 7.
On the other hand, the rush-hour only [[skip-stop]] service that complements the [[J (NYCS)|J]] is designated [[Z (NYCS)|Z]] rather than with diamonds. Similarly the [[9 (NYCS)|9]] ran skip-stop with the [[1 (NYCS)|1]] until May 2005.
Diamond service was also introduced on the [[BMT Brighton Line]] during the Manhattan Bridge closure, with Brooklyn locals being the [[Q (NYCS)|Q]] circle and expresses being the Q diamond. Other services have also used the diamond before and during the closure; at least one (the [[R (NYCS)|R]] diamond) dated from a [[Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation|BMT]] special service using the same number ([[2 (BMT)|2]]) as the main service that became the R.
In addition to the 5,<!--Brooklyn service shown with diamond on schedules but not maps--> 6, and 7, official maps and schedules used to show several other rush-hour only services with a diamond, including the [[4 (NYCS)|4]] bypassing [[138th Street (IRT Jerome Avenue Line)|138th Street]],<!--not on schedules--> [[A (NYCS)|A]] to [[Rockaway Park (IND Rockaway Line)|Rockaway Park]],<ref>[[New York City Transit Authority]], {{PDFlink|[http://web.archive.org/web/20040219025932/http://mta.info/nyct/service/pdf/ttcur.pdf A Train Timetable: Far Rockaway or Lefferts Blvd, Queens, and 59 St, Manhattan]|151 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 155491 bytes -->}}, effective fall 2003</ref> [[B (NYCS)|B]] to [[Bedford Park Boulevard (IND Concourse Line)|Bedford Park Boulevard]],<ref>[[New York City Transit Authority]], {{PDFlink|[http://web.archive.org/web/20030629092241/http://mta.info/nyct/service/pdf/tdcur.pdf B/D/S Manhattan Bridge Service Change Train Timetable]|98.4 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 100838 bytes -->}}, effective April 2003</ref><!--not on the February 22, 2004 schedule though--> [[D (NYCS)|D]] express on the [[IND Concourse Line]],<!--not on schedules--> and [[M (NYCS)|M]] to [[Bay Parkway (BMT West End Line)|Bay Parkway]].<ref>[[New York City Transit Authority]], {{PDFlink|[http://web.archive.org/web/20030607111302/http://mta.info/nyct/service/pdf/tmcur.pdf M Train Timetable]|73.3 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 75117 bytes -->}}, effective April 2003</ref> In early 2004, soon after the [[Manhattan Bridge subway tracks]] were completely reopened, the map was changed to show only the diamond 6 and 7.<ref>[[New York City Transit Authority]], {{PDFlink|[http://web.archive.org/web/20040326024754/http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/subwaymap.pdf MTA New York City Subway with bus, railroad, and ferry connections]|802 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 821854 bytes -->}}, February 2004</ref><ref>[[New York City Transit Authority]], {{PDFlink|[http://web.archive.org/web/20041106081012/http://mta.info/nyct/maps/subwaymap.pdf MTA New York City Subway with bus, railroad, and ferry connections]|790 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 809037 bytes -->}}, May 2004</ref>
==Describing directions==
===Public information===
Directions along a line in [[Manhattan]] or the [[Bronx]] are usually described as ''uptown'' and ''downtown'', roughly corresponding to [[compass]] [[north]] and [[south]]. Uptown and downtown are not always meaningful on lines in the other [[Political subdivisions of New York State#Borough|boroughs]] or on the crosstown [[IRT Flushing Line|IRT Flushing]] and [[BMT Canarsie Line]]s or the downtown-only [[BMT Nassau Street Line]].
On the [[Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation|BMT]] system, most in-station signage specified '''To City''' and '''From City'''. Currently signs typically read '''To Manhattan''' and '''To Coney Island''', '''To Flushing''', or any other outer borough destination. If the train is headed to a different borough, it is described as '''''Borough''-bound''', for example, '''Manhattan-bound''' or '''Brooklyn-bound'''. If its terminus is in the same borough, it will be described as '''''Terminus''-bound''', for example, '''8th Avenue-bound''' or '''Canarsie-bound'''. An exception is the [[BMT Fourth Avenue Line]] in [[Brooklyn]], where ''uptown'' means toward [[Bay Ridge-95th Street (BMT Fourth Avenue Line)|95th Street]] in [[Bay Ridge, Brooklyn|Bay Ridge]], which is compass south, and ''downtown'' means to Downtown Brooklyn, which is compass north.
===Internal usage===
In the [[United States of America|U.S.]], most railroads have only two [[railroad directions]]. In this vein, all New York City subway lines are deemed to run north-south. In many cases, this is close to the related compass direction, but this is not always possible. Any line that enters Manhattan from the Bronx or Queens heads south into Manhattan; any line entering Manhattan from Brooklyn goes north into Manhattan, with the [[BMT Nassau Street Line]] being the only exception, as it heads further south into Manhattan's Financial District after entering Manhattan over the [[Williamsburg Bridge]]. Directions of other lines are determined by following the services that run over them; except for the [[Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation|BMT]] Eastern Division services (over the [[Williamsburg Bridge]]), which change direction at [[Chambers Street (BMT Nassau Street Line)|Chambers Street]], every service has one north end and one south end. On the [[42nd Street Shuttle]], railroad north is compass west, due to the line's former status as part of the main line.
In fact, very few track connections exist to allow a train to reverse railroad direction without running around a loop or literally reversing direction by backing up. The [[Independent Subway System|IND]] system (except on the ex-[[Long Island Rail Road|LIRR]] [[IND Rockaway Line|Rockaway Line]]) has none of these; this philosophy may explain the lack of track connections between parallel [[Independent Subway System|IND]] lines at [[Seventh Avenue (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|Seventh Avenue]] and [[Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets (New York City Subway)|Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets]].
Before unification, all BMT lines ran east-west, west being towards Manhattan. After Unification, west became north and east became south.
==History==
This nomenclature has been complicated by the differing systems and cultures of the former private companies that operated parts of the system, by the need for non-ambiguous names in a city where there are stations with the same name on different lines in different locations and even different [[Political subdivisions of New York State#Borough|Boroughs]], and by changing perceptions of the best way to communicate information to a diverse public.
Up until 1940, there were three major operators of New York subway and elevated lines, the [[Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation]] (BMT), the [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company]] (IRT) and the [[Independent Subway System]] (ISS or ICOS before 1940, now IND).
Service labels have always been assigned based on their outer line (Brooklyn on the BMT, Bronx on the IRT and IND) and then by the Manhattan trunk if necessary to distinguish multiple services on the same line.
===BMT===
{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; width: 40%;"
|+ BMT numbers, 1924–1967
|-
!
! Line
! Division
|-
! [[BMT 1|1]]
| [[BMT Brighton Line|Brighton Beach Line]]
| rowspan=4 | Southern Division (subway)
|-
! [[BMT 2|2]]
| [[BMT Fourth Avenue Line|Fourth Avenue Line]]
|-
! [[BMT 3|3]]
| [[BMT West End Line|West End Line]]
|-
! [[BMT 4|4]]
| [[BMT Sea Beach Line|Sea Beach Line]]
|-
! [[BMT 5|5]]
| [[IND Culver Line|Culver Line]]
| rowspan=3 | Southern Division (elevated)
|-
! [[BMT 6|6]]
| [[BMT Fifth Avenue Line|Fifth Avenue–Bay Ridge Line]]
|-
! [[BMT 7|7]]
| [[BMT Franklin Avenue Line|Brighton–Franklin Line]]
|-
! [[BMT 8|8]]
| [[BMT Astoria Line|Astoria Line]]
| rowspan=2 | Queens Division (elevated)
|-
! [[BMT 9|9]]
| [[IRT Flushing Line|Flushing Line]]
|-
! [[BMT 10|10]]
| [[BMT Myrtle Avenue Line|Myrtle Avenue–Chambers Street Line]]
| rowspan=6 | Eastern Division (elevated)
|-
! [[BMT 11|11]]
| [[BMT Myrtle Avenue Line|Myrtle Avenue Line]]
|-
! [[BMT 12|12]]
| [[BMT Lexington Avenue Line|Lexington Avenue Line]]
|-
! [[BMT 13|13]]
| [[BMT Fulton Street Line|Fulton Street Line]]
|-
! [[BMT 14|14]]
| [[BMT Jamaica Line|Broadway–Brooklyn Line]]
|-
! [[BMT 15|15]]
| [[BMT Jamaica Line|Jamaica Line]]
|-
! [[BMT 16|16]]
| [[BMT Canarsie Line|14th Street–Canarsie Line]]
| Eastern Division (subway)
|}
[[Image:R1 BMT 13 14th.gif|thumb|100px|left|Typical pre-1967 BMT [[rollsign]] number]]
The [[Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation|BMT]] was the inheritor of [[rapid transit|subway]], elevated and surface [[rapid transit]] lines that had been built in Brooklyn and Queens by a variety of previous operators, mainly surface steam railroads to [[Coney Island]] and [[elevated railroad]]s in more populated areas. The BMT identified most of its lines by the common names given to them, often going well back into the 19th century. Services on these lines usually had the same name as the branch line they ran on; for example, the line that the current [[F (NYCS)|F]] service runs on in Brooklyn was (and is) the [[IND Culver Line|Culver Line]], and the BMT signed these trains ''Culver Local'' or ''Culver Express''.
Partly as a result of its steam railroad history, BMT terminals were far more likely to be named after neighborhoods or towns, rather than streets, so trains were signed for ''Coney Island'', ''Canarsie'' and ''Jamaica'' rather than ''Stillwell Avenue'', ''Rockaway Parkway'' and ''168th Street''. Stations also tended to use local names, but this gradually changed, especially as lines were upgraded, so that stations like [[Bath Junction]] on the [[BMT Sea Beach Line|Sea Beach Line]] became ''New Utrecht Avenue'' and [[Manhattan Terrace]] on the [[BMT Brighton Line|Brighton Line]] became ''Avenue J''.
The BMT introduced numbers for all its services in 1924 but these were mostly for map purposes, since none of equipment displayed line numbers until the [[D-type Triplex (New York City Subway car)|D-type Triplex]] cars were introduced as prototypes in 1925, and then in production in 1927, and these only on the front of the trains (but after 1953 on R16 equipment also on the sides[http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3033]). In 1931 these numbers were also used on 16 IND [[R1 (New York City Subway car)|R1]] cars when they were tested by the City on BMT lines.
<br style="clear: right;" />
===IRT===
{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; width: 40%"
|+ Early IRT numbers
!
! Uptown branch
! Manhattan trunk line
|-
| [[1 (NYCS)|1]]
| [[Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line]]
| rowspan=3 | [[IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line|Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line]]
|-
| [[2 (NYCS)|2]]
| [[IRT White Plains Road Line|White Plains Road Line]]
|-
| [[3 (NYCS)|3]]
| [[IRT Lenox Avenue Line|Lenox Avenue Line]]
|-
| [[4 (NYCS)|4]]
| [[IRT Jerome Avenue Line]]
| rowspan=3 | [[IRT Lexington Avenue Line|Lexington Avenue Line]]
|-
| [[5 (NYCS)|5]]
| [[IRT White Plains Road Line|White Plains Road Line]]
|-
| [[6 (NYCS)|6]]
| [[IRT Pelham Line|Pelham Line]]
|-
| [[7 (NYCS)|7]]
| [[IRT Flushing Line|Flushing Line]]
| rowspan=2 | [[Queensborough Line]]
|-
| [[8 (NYCS)|8]]
| [[BMT Astoria Line|Astoria Line]]
|-
| [[9 (NYCS)|9]]
| colspan=2 | [[IRT Dyre Avenue Line|Dyre Avenue Shuttle]] (non-Manhattan service)
|}
[[Image:R12 IRT 9.gif|thumb|100px|left|Typical pre-1967 IRT [[rollsign]] number]]
The [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company|IRT]] was the contractor with the [[City of New York]] to operate the [[first subway (New York City)|first subway]] lines; by that time it was already leasing all the [[elevated railway]]s in Manhattan. Unlike the BMT, the IRT had multiple long mainlines (eventually six of them) from which several branch lines extended into the [[Bronx]], [[Queens]] and [[Brooklyn]]. The IRT therefore named their services for these mainlines rather than their branches. The branch lines were mentioned on the destination signs instead, to that typical signage read ''Lexington Avenue Express'' to ''Woodlawn - Jerome'' and ''Utica Avenue - Brooklyn'', meaning Woodlawn on the Jerome Avenue Line and Utica Avenue on the Brooklyn Line. Where a service ended in downtown [[Manhattan]], it simply carried the destination name, for example ''South Ferry'' or ''Chatham Square''.
The IRT subways used a logical numbering system, but the numbers were not used publicly until the [[R12 (New York City Subway)|R12]] cars were introduced in 1948, under City management. Due to the lack of new IRT construction, this system has largely stayed intact to this day, with the only major changes being at the [[Brooklyn]] end.
<br style="clear: right;" />
===IND===
{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; width: 40%"
|+ Early IND letters
!
! Uptown branch
! Manhattan trunk line
|-
| [[A (NYCS)|A]]
| rowspan=2 | [[IND Eighth Avenue Line|Washington Heights Line]]
| [[IND Eighth Avenue Line|Eighth Avenue Line]]
|-
| [[B (NYCS)|B]]
| [[IND Sixth Avenue Line|Sixth Avenue Line]]
|-
| [[C (NYCS)|C]]
| rowspan=2 | [[IND Concourse Line|Concourse Line]]
| [[IND Eighth Avenue Line|Eighth Avenue Line]]
|-
| [[D (NYCS)|D]]
| [[IND Sixth Avenue Line|Sixth Avenue Line]]
|-
| [[E (NYCS)|E]]
| rowspan=2 | [[IND Queens Boulevard Line|Queens Boulevard Line]]
| [[IND Eighth Avenue Line|Eighth Avenue Line]]
|-
| [[F (NYCS)|F]]
| [[IND Sixth Avenue Line|Sixth Avenue Line]]
|-
| [[G (NYCS)|G]]
| colspan=2 | [[IND Crosstown Line|Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown Line]] (non-Manhattan service)
|-
| [[H (NYCS)|H]]
| colspan=2 | [[IND Fulton Street Line|Fulton Street Line]] (non-Manhattan service)
|-
| [[S (NYCS)|S]]
| colspan=2 | Specials (no consistent usage)
|}
[[Image:R1 IND HH.gif|thumb|100px|left|Typical pre-1967 IND [[rollsign]] letter]]
The [[Independent Subway System|IND]] adopted the IRT system whole but reversed the terminal and line name on the destination signs: ''Queens - 179th St.'' for 179th Street terminal on the [[IND Queens Boulevard Line|Queens Boulevard Line]]. The IND also adopted a similar logical labeling system, but used them publicly on trains and maps. Single letters were used to indicate an express service and double letters indicates locals. For example, the [[CC (NYCS)|CC]] ran local and the C ran express on the Concourse and Eighth Avenue Lines.
Unlike the IRT labels, the IND letters no longer follow the original pattern; the uptown branches of the [[B (NYCS)|B]] and [[C (NYCS)|C]] services have been switched via a complex process that involved the former [[AA (NYCS)|AA]] eventually becoming the [[C (NYCS)|C]] and the [[B (NYCS)|B]] moving to the Concourse Line. Again, major changes have been made at the Brooklyn end (and in downtown Manhattan), but the system was designed for flexibility on that end.
<br style="clear: right;" />
==Unification and BMT/IND service integration==
When all three systems came under city ownership in 1940, essentially nothing was done to regularize signage for two decades. Stations on the IRT and BMT still said ''INTERBOROUGH'' or ''BMT LINES'' or sometimes older designations. Services continued to be signed by their traditional methods for each system. IND and post-[[Second World War]] ("R-type") equipment used BMT numbers when operating on BMT services. With the introduction of [[R12 (New York City Subway car)|R12]] equipment on the IRT in 1948, IRT subway services (except for the [[42nd Street Shuttle]]) began using the route numbers still used today, which had been used internally but not on trains or maps. [[BMT Astoria Line|Astoria Line]] trains were only signed as [[8 (NYCS)|8]] for a year, after which the line, which had been shared with the [[Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation|BMT]], was converted for BMT operation only (and the [[IRT Flushing Line|Flushing Line]] carried only IRT trains).
{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; margin: 1em 0 1em 1em; width: 40%"
|+ BMT letters and old numbers, 1960 mapping
|-
! Letter
! Old number
! Line
|-
! [[J (NYCS)|J]]
| align="center" | '''15'''
| [[BMT Jamaica Line|Jamaica Line]] (express)
|-
! [[K (Broadway Brooklyn Local)|K]]
| align="center" | '''14'''
| [[BMT Jamaica Line|Broadway–Brooklyn Line]] to Canarsie Line or Jamaica Line (local)
|-
! [[L (NYCS)|L]]
| align="center" | '''16'''
| [[BMT Canarsie Line|Canarsie Line]] via 14th Street
|-
! [[M (NYCS)|M]]
| align="center" | '''10'''
| [[BMT Myrtle Avenue Line|Myrtle Avenue Line]] from Lower Manhattan
|-
! [[M (New York City Subway service)|MJ]]
| align="center" | '''11'''
| Myrtle Avenue Line from Downtown Brooklyn
|-
! [[N (NYCS)|N]]
| align="center" | '''4'''
| [[BMT Sea Beach Line|Sea Beach Line]]
|-
! [[Q (NYCS)|Q]]
| align="center" | '''1'''
| [[BMT Brighton Line|Brighton Beach Line]]
|-
! [[R (NYCS)|R]]
| align="center" | '''2'''
| [[BMT Fourth Avenue Line|Fourth Avenue Line]]
|-
! [[T (NYCS)|T]]
| align="center" | '''3'''
| [[BMT West End Line|West End Line]]
|-
! [[Culver Shuttle|SS]]
| align="center" | '''5'''
| [[Culver Shuttle|Culver Line]]
|-
! [[Franklin Avenue Shuttle|S]]
| align="center" | '''7'''
| [[BMT Franklin Avenue Line|Brighton–Franklin Line]]
|}
In 1960, with the delivery of the first [[R27 (New York City Subway car)|R27]] class cars for the BMT, the [[New York City Transit Authority]] (TA), which had become the operator of the combined system in 1953, began the introduction of letters for BMT services in anticipation of integrating the BMT and IND operationally. The last IND letter used was '''H''', and the letter '''I''' was skipped as being too similar to the number '''1'''. The BMT Eastern Division services got the letters [[J (NYCS)|J]], [[K (Broadway Brooklyn Local)|K]], [[L (NYCS)|L]] and [[M (NYCS)|M]]. The BMT Southern Division services were designated [[N (NYCS)|N]], [[Q (NYCS)|Q]], [[R (NYCS)|R]] and [[T (NYCS)|T]]. [[P (NYCS)|P]] was for some reason skipped over, and while one theory says this was because it might lend itself to [[bathroom humor]], the letter's unusability for this reason would seem to be disproven by the fact that the letter was later proposed for an emergency line that would replace [[Long Island Rail Road]] service to Penn station in the event of a strike, and the fact that other cities like [[San Francisco]] use the letter. A more likely theory suggests that it was originally planned for the last segment of Culver service to Manhattan, which was cut back to a shuttle permanently, right before the letters were introduced. '''S''' was still reserved for "Special" and '''SS''' began to be used for shuttles.
Since the BMT was not amenable to the neat IND system, the TA had to make some compromises. They tried to follow the IND system of single-letter expresses and double-letter locals, but the system began to break down under the complex BMT routings. Where on the IND a local simply doubled the express letter ([[A (NYCS)|A]] Eighth Avenue Express, [[AA (NYCS)|AA]] Eighth Avenue Local), some lines had multiple local services with different routings. For instance the two Brighton Local services, one via the [[Manhattan Bridge]] and the other via the [[Montague Street Tunnel]], were designated [[QB (NYCS)|QB]] and [[QT (NYCS)|QT]] respectively. The TA had no specific lettering plan for the two Wall Street special rush-hour services, so it just designated these [[M (NYCS)|M]] (Nassau Street Express) temporarily, a letter reserved for use on the [[BMT Myrtle Avenue Line]]'s Nassau Street service.{{Fact|date=March 2007}}
During this period, the TA did not change sign rolls on BMT equipment (the [[D-type Triplex (New York City Subway car)|D-type]]s and [[R16 (New York City Subway car)|R16]]s) that carried numbers, so that on the Brighton Line, the [[R27 (New York City Subway car)|R27]]-operated locals were signed [[QB (NYCS)|QB]] or [[QT (NYCS)|QT]] but the D-type-operated expresses continued to carry the number '''1'''.
<br clear=right>
{| class="wikitable" align=right style="clear:right;"
|align=center|
{| cellpadding=4
|-
|width=12.5% align=center bgcolor=F56600|'''[[1 (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>1]]'''
|width=12.5% align=center bgcolor=E60D2E|'''[[2 (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>2]]'''
|width=12.5% align=center bgcolor=00ABC9|'''[[3 (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>3]]'''
|width=12.5% align=center bgcolor=E026A3|'''[[4 (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>4]]'''
|width=12.5% align=center bgcolor=332B24|'''[[5 (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>5]]'''
|width=12.5% align=center bgcolor=E6B012|'''[[6 (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>6]]'''
|width=12.5% align=center bgcolor=F56600|'''[[7 (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>7]]'''
|width=12.5% align=center bgcolor=00ABC9|'''[[8 (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>8]]'''
|-
|align=center bgcolor=006EC7|'''[[A (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>A]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=E026A3|'''[[AA (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>AA]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=332B24|'''[[B (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>B]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=00B052|'''[[CC (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>CC]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=F56600|'''[[D (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>D]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=00ABC9|'''[[E (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>E]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=F56600|'''[[EE (1967-1976 New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>EE]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=E026A3|'''[[F (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>F]]'''
|-
|align=center bgcolor=00B052|'''[[GG (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>GG]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=E60D2E|'''[[HH (Rockaway Shuttle)|<font color=ffffff>HH]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=332B24|'''[[J (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>J]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=F56600|'''[[JJ (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>JJ]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=006EC7|'''[[K (Broadway Brooklyn Local)|<font color=ffffff>K]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=006EC7|'''[[KK (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>KK]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=332B24|'''[[LL (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>LL]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=00ABC9|'''[[M (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>M]]'''
|-
|align=center bgcolor=E026A3|'''[[MJ (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>MJ]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=E6B012|'''[[N (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>N]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=00ABC9|'''[[NX (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>NX]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=E60D2E|'''[[QB (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>QB]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=332B24|'''[[QJ (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>QJ]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=00B052|'''[[RR (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>RR]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=E60D2E|'''[[RJ (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>RJ]]'''
|align=center bgcolor=006EC7|'''[[TT (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>TT]]'''
|-
|align=center bgcolor=332B24|'''[[SS (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>SS]]'''
|colspan=3|145 St<br>135 St
|align=center bgcolor=00B052|'''[[SS (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>SS]]'''
|colspan=3|Dyre Av<br>E 180 St
|-
|align=center bgcolor=006EC7|'''[[SS (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>SS]]'''
|colspan=3|Bowling Green<br>South Ferry
|align=center bgcolor=00ABC9|'''[[42nd Street Shuttle|<font color=ffffff>SS]]'''
|colspan=3|Grand Central<br>Times Square
|-
|align=center bgcolor=E6B012|'''[[Franklin Avenue Shuttle|<font color=ffffff>SS]]'''
|colspan=3|Prospect Park<br>Franklin Av
|align=center bgcolor=F56600|'''[[SS (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>SS]]'''
|colspan=3|9 Av<br>Ditmas Av
|}
|-
|align=center|Former service colors, 1967-1979<br>(shuttles all became green in 1968)
|}
[[Image:Sample post Chrystie rollsign.png|thumb|left|200px|A typical post-1967 side [[rollsign]]]]
In anticipation of the 1967 opening of the [[Chrystie Street Connection]], which combined two major BMT and IND services as single routes and resulted in numerous other changes (especially on the '''[[BMT 14|14]]''' and '''[[BMT 15|15]]'''), the TA decided to adopt universal systems of signage and nomenclature. The rationale was that this would make the system more consistent and more understandable for newcomers to the city and [[tourist]]s, who were presumed to be uninterested or even confused in historic or community names, or might not be native [[English language|English]] speakers.
#Branch line names would be eliminated from signage and maps; all services that had Manhattan mainlines would be identified by those names only.
#Services would be identified only by letters or numbers wherever possible, even when announcing reroutings.
#Terminals would be identified by street names rather than community names where that existed. This had actually begun with the introduction of R-type equipment, when destinations such as ''Woodlawn'' and ''Canarsie'' were changed to read ''Woodlawn Road'' (which is no longer the name of a road) and ''Rockaway Parkway''.
#All services would be color-coded for [[map]] and [[rollsign]] purposes. This proved a daunting task, since the TA wanted to ensure that no two services with the exact same color would operate over the same line. With a lot of imagination and a lot of color variations, this goal was achieved but proved unwieldy. The colors didn't have any particular logic and still produced ambiguity; notably the [[A (NYCS)|A]] service and the [[E (NYCS)|E]] service shared miles of line between [[Midtown Manhattan]] and the [[IND Rockaway Line|Rockaway Line]] in Queens, one as an express, the other as a local. But the [[A (NYCS)|A]] was assigned dark blue and the [[E (NYCS)|E]] light blue, not always easily distinguishable.
The [[8 (NYCS)|8]] designation was brought back for the only remaining [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company|IRT]] [[elevated railway|elevated]] service, the [[IRT Third Avenue Line]] in [[the Bronx]] but trains never displayed the number. When the Lo-V cars (which did not have front signs) were replaced by [[R12 (New York City Subway car)|R12]] cars the front roll signs in use did not contain the number 8 and instead diplayed the word SHUTTLE. For map and sign purposes [[MJ (NYCS)|MJ]] was assigned to the last old-style elevated line, standing for "Myrtle Avenue Line to Jay Street", while the "Myrtle Avenue line to Chambers St." subway service would finally receive its [[M (NYCS)|M]] designation.
The short-lived new [[BMT Sea Beach Line|Sea Beach Line]] super-express service was made [[NX (NYCS)|NX]]. The [[Q (NYCS)|Q]], [[QT (NYCS)|QT]] and [[T (NYCS)|T]] disappeared when the Chrystie Street Connection opened; thus they never had colors (until after the elimination of double letters, when the [[Q (NYCS)|Q]] came back; by that time the current color system was in place). By 1968, all shuttles ('''SS''') were green. For a short time, the off-hour shuttle between Metropolitan Avenue and Myrtle Avenue was added in 1969 when the [[MJ (NYCS)|MJ]] service to Jay St. was discontinued, and that part of the line abandoned. The shuttle was soon renamed "M", however, as it only ran when the M to Manhattan didn't run.
==After Chrystie Street==
The system immediately showed evidence of problems for various reasons:
#Different services at common stations shared common destinations by different routes. [[N (NYCS)|N]], [[B (NYCS)|B]] and [[QJ (NYCS)|QJ]] services arriving at [[DeKalb Avenue (BMT Broadway Line)|DeKalb Avenue]], for example, all had [[Coney Island]] as a destination, but had no mention of the widely separated routes ([[BMT Sea Beach Line|Sea Beach Line]], [[BMT West End Line|West End Line]], [[BMT Brighton Line|Brighton Line]]) used to get there.
#Service labels are ephemeral. The TA has frequently shifted lettered routes from one branch line to another, and introduced, changed or deleted letters, making a description like "the D Line" meaningless. The [[D (NYCS)|D]] service has been on three completely different [[Brooklyn]] branch lines since 1954. [[K (Broadway Brooklyn Local)|K]] was introduced for a service on the [[BMT Jamaica Line|Broadway-Brooklyn Line]] but was later used for the [[IND Eighth Avenue Line]] local which had formerly been [[AA (NYCS)|AA]].
#The same lettered or numbered lines may have different destinations by time of day, despite a largely successful effort to minimize this problem.
#Newcomers to New York City have recently shown more interest in their neighborhoods and city history, as have long-term residents. Some people feel that the emphasis on letters and numbers for routes and street names instead of communities is dehumanizing.
===Elimination of double letters===
In June 1979 the former color scheme was scrapped, and the TA settled on the more coherent policy of assigning the same color to every service on each Manhattan mainline, plus different colors for lines not entering Manhattan, the colors still used today. Nevertheless, no New York subway line is referred to by its color, e.g., BMT Broadway Line services as the "Yellow Line." While this practice tends to be used amongst tourists, it is strongly discouraged -- and sometimes frowned upon -- by native New Yorkers. There are simply too many such services on too many different lines and destinations for the colors to be meaningful as line names, as in other cities.
The [[JFK Express]], started in 1978 and discontinued in 1990, used a turquoise bullet; this stayed through the color change.
{| class="wikitable" align=right width=25% style="clear:right;"
|align=center|
{| cellpadding=4 width=100%
|-
|align=center bgcolor=0079c3|'''[[AA (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>AA</font>]]'''
|→
|align=center bgcolor=0079c3|'''[[K (Eighth Avenue Local)|<font color=ffffff>K</font>]]'''
|8 Avenue Local
|-
|align=center bgcolor=0079c3|'''[[CC (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>CC</font>]]'''
|→
|align=center bgcolor=0079c3|'''[[C (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>C</font>]]'''
|8 Avenue Local (rush hour "diamond" service)
|-
|align=center bgcolor=0079c3|'''[[CC (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>CC</font>]]'''<font color=ffffff>/'''[[A (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>A</font>]]'''
|→
|align=center bgcolor=0079c3|'''[[H (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>H</font>]]'''
|Rockaway Shuttle
|-
|align=center bgcolor=afd335|'''[[GG (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>GG</font>]]'''
|→
|align=center bgcolor=afd335|'''[[G (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>G</font>]]'''
|Brooklyn-Queens Crosstown
|-
|align=center bgcolor=b0b4b6|'''[[LL (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>LL</font>]]'''
|→
|align=center bgcolor=b0b4b6|'''[[L (New York City Subway service)|<font color=ffffff>L</font>]]'''
|14 Street-Canarsie Local
|-
|align=center bgcolor=fddd15|'''[[QB (New York City Subway service)|<font color=000000>QB]]'''
|→
|align=center bgcolor=fddd15|'''[[Q (New York City Subway service)|<font color=000000>Q]]'''
|Broadway Express (had been rush hour "diamond" service)
|-
|align=center bgcolor=fddd15|'''[[RR (New York City Subway service)|<font color=000000>RR]]'''
|→
|align=center bgcolor=fddd15|'''[[R (New York City Subway service)|<font color=000000>R]]'''
|Broadway Local
|-
|align=center bgcolor=fddd15|'''[[RR (New York City Subway service)|<font color=000000>RR]]'''
|→
|align=center bgcolor=fddd15|'''[[R (New York City Subway service)|<font color=000000>R]]'''
|Nassau Street Local (rush hour "diamond" service; shown as both yellow<ref name=ktrain/> and brown<ref>New York City Subway Map, May 24th, 1987 edition, code# 2 3 4 5 6 7 8; see also [http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/caption.pl?/img/maps/system_1987.gif hand drawn facsimile]</ref>)
|}
|-
|align=center|1986 letter changes<ref name=ktrain>[http://thejoekorner.quuxuum.org/brochures/kwhatsthek-indx.html Hey, What's a "K" Train?] MTA service notice, 1986</ref>
|}
On [[May 5]], [[1986]], the last significant change in route identification policy was made after the TA had decided in 1981 that the single and double letter system of the original IND was no longer meaningful, given that there were many services that were express for part of their route and local for other parts. In most cases, this was accomplished by simply eliminating the second letter in route designations. There is no longer a letter designation for specials (formerly '''S''').
[[Image:R142 Sign.jpg|200px|left|thumb|A current sign reading indicating that the train runs express on the Eastern Parkway Line.]]
In the last decade the TA has moved steadily toward using traditional line names on maps and especially on signage. All of the southern Brooklyn subway lines now show the traditional line names. On BMT/IND equipment branch line names frequently appear on operating trains, in addition the route letter. R32 equipment with [[rollsign]]s, for example, may read:
<code>
A | Washington Heights-8 Avenue-Fulton<br/>
N | Astoria-Broadway-Sea Beach<br/>
Q | Broadway Brighton
</code>
One change which exceeds the pre-Unification practice has to do with the use of locality names. Where these were discouraged during the 1960s where they had been inherited from private operators, virtually all terminal stations are described by both a community and a street name; i.e., ''Inwood''-207th Street for the northern destination of the [[A (NYCS)|A]] service; ''Wakefield''-241st Street for the northern destination of the [[2 (NYCS)|2]] service.
===Route consistency===
Since the unsuccessful attempts at applying the briefly popular [[schematic]] theory of diagrammatic maps, line-by-line color coding, and exclusive use of numbers and letters for service and line descriptions, the MTA has moved steadily toward a more traditional approach, with more geographically correct maps and use of traditional line and community names on maps and public signage.
Concurrently, it has been refining its use of the number and letter system to try to achieve consistency across the system. One major push has been an attempt to have as many services as possible serve the same stations, routes and terminals at all times with the major exception for most services being the early morning hours of approximately midnight to 5 am (00:00-05:00). To this end, the MTA took advantage of the unavoidable service changes forced by the partial [[Manhattan Bridge]] closures to reroute some services when all bridge tracks reopened in 2004. Particularly, the Brooklyn branch lines of the [[B (NYCS)|B]] and [[D (NYCS)|D]] services were switched, with the [[B (NYCS)|B]] becoming the [[BMT Brighton Line]] express service and the [[D (NYCS)|D]] becoming the [[BMT West End Line]] express. This enabled the [[D (NYCS)|D]], a full time service, to operate continuously on the same route and terminals from [[the Bronx]] to [[Coney Island]], while the part-time [[B (NYCS)|B]] was meshed with the part-time ''Brighton Express'' service.
==See also==
*[[List of New York City Subway services#History|Table showing when each service label was used]]
==References and external links==
{{reflist}}
*[http://nycsubway.org/maps/historical/ NYCsubway.org - Historical Maps]
*[http://nycsubway.org/recent/ NYCsubway.org - Post-War to Today]
*[http://nycsubway.org/faq/subway-markers.html NYCsubway.org - FAQ: The Letter, Number and Color Codes of the New York Subways]
*[http://members.aol.com/bdmnqr2/linehistory.html Line by Line History]
*The Best Subway Map in Years, [[New York Times]] July 1, 1979 page E20
*[http://www.subchat.com/read.asp?Id=76867 Different ways of reckoning IND and BMT], Eric B, posted on SubChat April 21, 2005
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