IND Concourse Line

IND Concourse Line
The B train serves most of the IND Concourse Line rush hours only while the D train serves the entire line at all times.
Overview
Type	Rapid transit
System	New York City Subway
Locale	Manhattan and The Bronx
Termini	Norwood – 205th Street 145th Street
Stations	12
Operation
Opened	1933
Owner	City of New York
Operator(s)	New York City Transit Authority
Character	Underground(Also above ground at 174th – 175th Street)
Technical
No. of tracks	2-3
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	600V DC third rail

[v · d · e]IND Concourse Line
Legend Norwood – 205th Street Concourse Yard / IRT Jerome Avenue Line Bedford Park Boulevard Kingsbridge Road Fordham Road 182nd–183rd Streets Tremont Avenue 174th–175th Streets 170th Street 167th Street IRT Jerome Avenue Line 161st Street – Yankee Stadium Hudson Line (Metro-North) Concourse Tunnel 155th Street 145th Street IND Eighth Avenue Line

The Concourse Line is an IND subway branch line of the New York City Subway system. It runs from Norwood – 205th Street in Norwood, Bronx to 145th Street in Harlem, Manhattan. It is the only "B" Division and only fully underground line in the Bronx.

Description

The Concourse Line begins as a two-track line at Norwood – 205th Street. As it travels west, a center track forms which leads to the Concourse Yard. The line then curves south to the Grand Concourse, which it derives its name from since it runs underneath the roadway for most of its route. Two tracks from the Concourse Yard arrive between the two revenue tracks with switches and diamond crossovers between all four of them before the yard tracks merge is one to form the center track at Bedford Park Boulevard.

Passing over 175th Street

South of this station, the two outer tracks merge as one center express track while the center track splits in two and become the local tracks of the Concourse Line. The line then runs consistently to the south with diamond crossovers at Tremont Avenue. Due to the terrain, the vicinity of 174th–175th Street station is uniquely built both underground and over 175th Street. Between 170th Street and 167th Street there are more switches and crossovers with a lay-up track adjacent to the Manhattan-bound local track.

The line curves west before 161st Street – Yankee Stadium and crosses the Harlem River into Manhattan via the Concourse Tunnel. There is one more stop, 155th Street, before the line curves south joins the IND Eighth Avenue Line at the lower level of 145th Street.

History

The Concourse Line opened on July 1, 1933,^[1] less than ten months after the IND's first line, the Eighth Avenue Line, opened for service. Initial service was provided by the C train, at that time an express train, between 205th Street, then via the IND Eighth Avenue Line, Cranberry Street Tunnel and the IND South Brooklyn Line (now Culver Line) to Bergen Street. The CC provided local service between Bedford Park Boulevard and Hudson Terminal (now World Trade Center).

On December 15, 1940, with the opening of the IND Sixth Avenue Line, the D train began serving the IND Concourse Line with the C and CC. It made express stops in peak during rush hours and Saturdays and local stops at all other times. C service was discontinued in 1949-51, but reinstated in 1985 when double letters used to indicate local service was discontinued. The D made local stops along the Concourse Line at all times except rush hours, when the C ran local to Bedford Park Boulevard. On March 1, 1998, the B train replaced the C as the rush-hour local on the Concourse Line.

Except for minor maintenance work and a station rehabilitation at 161st Street – Yankee Stadium, the Concourse Line is largely untouched since its opening in 1933, except for entrance closings and other reductions in service areas. The MTA claims to be renovating each station on the line after its 75th anniversary.

Station listing

Station service legend
	Stops all times
	Stops all times except late nights
	Stops weekdays only
	Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction
	Stops rush hours only
Time period details

	Station	Tracks	Services	Opened	Transfers and notes
	Norwood – 205th Street	local	D	July 1, 1933
Center track begins from connection to Concourse Yard
	Bedford Park Boulevard	all	B  D	July 1, 1933	Northern Terminal of B
Complex trackwork (Center track and Local tracks switch places) Track Map
	Kingsbridge Road	all	B  D	July 1, 1933
	Fordham Road	all	B  D	July 1, 1933	Bx12 Select Bus Service Connection to Metro-North Railroad (Harlem and New Haven Lines at Fordham)
	182nd–183rd Streets	local	B  D	July 1, 1933
	Tremont Avenue	all	B  D	July 1, 1933
	174th–175th Streets	local	B  D	July 1, 1933
	170th Street	local	B  D	July 1, 1933
	167th Street	local	B  D	July 1, 1933
	161st Street – Yankee Stadium	local	B  D	July 1, 1933	IRT Jerome Avenue Line (4 ) Connection to Metro-North Railroad (Hudson Line at Yankees – East 153rd Street)
Crosses Harlem River into Manhattan
	155th Street	local	B  D	July 1, 1933
	145th Street	all	B  D	September 10, 1932	IND Eighth Avenue Line (A  C )
Merges with IND Eighth Avenue Line (B  D )

References

1. ^ "New Bronx Subway Starts Operation". The New York Times. July 1, 1933. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00D14FE385C16738DDDA80894DF405B838FF1D3. Retrieved 2010-02-13. 

External links

• IND Concourse Line (NYCSubway.org)