Wikipedia:WikiProject New York City Public Transportation/New York City Subway/Timeline

Need to go through [1] and [2] and check/add dates

See also commons:New York City Subway timeline, Talk:Transportation to Coney Island, Talk:Brooklyn Bridge. Dates verified against the New York Times are indicated by [NYT article date]. A few are from official service notices; those are linked. Other dates are from various sources and may be inaccurate.

Closing dates are the last day service ran. If service last ran a bit after midnight, I use the last full day. Similarly, if service first ran a bit before midnight, I use the first full day. Bolded stuff was done under the Dual Contracts; ones I need there are:

• extra tracks:
  • Jamaica Line from merge with line from Broadway Ferry (east end of Williamsburg Bridge) to Broadway Junction (one new track)
  • Myrtle Avenue Line from Broadway to Wyckoff Avenue, including track connection to Jamaica Line (one new track)
  • Fulton Street Line from east of Franklin Avenue to east of split from Canarsie Line, plus short piece of Canarsie Line north of Fulton Street Line (one new track)
  • Brighton Line from Church Avenue to Prospect Park (two new tracks)

The following lines existed by 1904:

• full Second Avenue Line
• Third Avenue Line to Bronx Park, with all Manhattan branches and Willis Avenue branch
• full Sixth Avenue Line
• Ninth Avenue Line to 155th Street
• Brooklyn Bridge
• Broadway (Brooklyn) Line from Broadway Ferry to Lexington Avenue Line
• Lexington Avenue Line from Myrtle Avenue Line to Cypress Hills
• full Fifth Avenue Line
• Fulton Street Line from Fulton Ferry to Grant Avenue
• Connection between Fulton Street and Broadway (Brooklyn) Lines
• Myrtle Avenue Line to Wyckoff Avenue
• Sea Beach Line south from Bath Junction
• West End Line from the Fifth Avenue Line
• Brighton Line from the Fulton Street Line
• Culver Line from the Fifth Avenue Line

Selected dates:

• August 26, 1878 - The Third Avenue Line opens from the Battery to 42nd Street. No stations between Franklin Square and Ninth Street are opened, nor are 18th Street or 23rd Street. [NYT Aug 26, 1878]
• March 17, 1879 - City Hall spur of the Third Avenue Line opens [NYT Mar 14, 1879]
• July 1, 1880 - 34th Street spur of the Third Avenue Line opens [NYT August 8, 1929]
• July 1, 1898 - the Brooklyn Bridge tracks start to be used by through trains, with the Myrtle Avenue Line first [NYT June 3, 1944]

• October 27, 1904: The original subway opens from City Hall to 145th Street, via the Lexington Avenue Line, 42nd Street Shuttle and Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line. [NYT Oct 28, 1904]
• November 12, 1904: The Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line opens from 145th Street to 157th Street. It was opened for a bit on October 29, 1904, for a football game. [NYT Oct 30, 1904]
• November 23, 1904: The Lenox Avenue Line opens to 145th Street. [NYT Nov 23, 1904]
• November 26, 1904: The White Plains Road Line opens from the Third Avenue Line to 180th Street-Bronx Park. [NYT Nov 27, 1904]
• January 16, 1905: The Lexington Avenue Line opens from Fulton Street to City Hall. [NYT Jan 17, 1905]
• June 12, 1905: The Lexington Avenue Line opens from Wall Street to Fulton Street. [NYT Jun 13, 1905]
• July 10, 1905: The Lexington Avenue Line opens from South Ferry to Wall Street. The White Plains Road Line opens to Jackson Avenue, where it connects with the existing elevated service. [NYT October 7, 1905]
• March 12, 1906: The Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line opens from 157th Street to 215th Street, but 168th Street and 181st Street don't open yet, nor do 191st Street or 207th Street. [NYT March 13, 1906]
• July 30, 1906: The Canarsie Line is connected to the Fulton Street Line to access the Broadway (Brooklyn) Line.
• October 1, 1906: The Myrtle Avenue Line opens on the surface from Wyckoff Avenue to Metropolitan Avenue.
• January 14, 1907: The Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line opens from 215th Street to 225th Street. [NYT Jan 14, 1907]
• January 9, 1908: The Joralemon Street Tunnel opens from Bowling Green to Borough Hall. [NYT October 1, 1908]
• May 1, 1908: The Eastern Parkway Line opens from Borough Hall to Atlantic Avenue. [NYT February 5, 1908]
• August 1, 1908: The Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line opens from 225th Street to 242nd Street. [NYT February 8, 1908]
• September 16, 1908: The tracks open over the Williamsburg Bridge from the Broadway (Brooklyn) Line to Essex Street. [NYT Sep 17, 1908]
• 1910: The Sheepshead Bay Racetrack closes, and presumably so does the spur from the Brighton Line.

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• August 4, 1913: The Centre Street (now Nassau Street) Line opens from Essex Street to Chambers Street. [NYT May 8, 1913]
• July 29, 1914: The connection between the Myrtle Avenue Line and the Broadway (Brooklyn) Line opens.
• February 22, 1915: The elevated Myrtle Avenue Line opens from Wyckoff Avenue to Metropolitan Avenue; it had been on the surface. [NYT Feb 23, 1915]
• June 22, 1915: The Fourth Avenue Line opens from DeKalb Avenue to 59th Street. The Manhattan Bridge south tracks open. The Sea Beach Line opens from Bath Junction to the Fourth Avenue Line, beginning subway service from the temporary West End Terminal. [NYT Jun 19, 1915, Jun 20, 1915]
• June 22, 1915: The Flushing Line opens from Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue to Grand Central. [NYT Jun 23, 1915]
• September 25, 1915: The BMT Fulton Street Line opens from Grant Avenue to Lefferts Avenue. [NYT Sep 26, 1915]
• January 15, 1916: The Fourth Avenue Line opens from 59th Street to 86th Street. [NYT June 8, 1916]
• February 15, 1916: The Flushing Line opens from Hunters Point Avenue to Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue. [NYT Feb 16, 1916]
• July 2, 1916: The Broadway Ferry branch of the Broadway (Brooklyn) Line closes to passenger service.
• November 5, 1916: The Flushing Line opens from Queensboro Plaza to Hunters Point Avenue. [NYT May 11, 1916]
• February 1, 1917: The Astoria Line opens from Queensboro Plaza to Ditmars Boulevard. [NYT February 2, 1917]
• March 3, 1917: The White Plains Road Line opens from 177th Street to 219th Street. [NYT April 3, 1917]
• March 31, 1917: The White Plains Road Line opens from 219th Street to 238th Street. [NYT January 4, 1917]
• April 21, 1917: The Flushing Line opens from 103rd Street-Corona Plaza to Queensboro Plaza. [NYT Apr 22, 1917]
• May 28, 1917: The Jamaica Line opens from Crescent Street to 111th Street. [NYT March 6, 1917]
• June 2, 1917: The Jerome Avenue Line opens from 149th Street to Kingsbridge Road. [NYT March 6, 1917]
• June 3, 1917: The Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line opens from 34th Street to 42nd Street. [NYT March 6, 1917]
• July 2, 1917: The connection between the Third Avenue Line express tracks and the White Plains Road Line opens. The connection from the local tracks already existed. [NYT August 7, 1917]
• July 23, 1917: The Queensboro Bridge Spur of the Second Avenue Line opens, running to Astoria; all subway trains are routed to Flushing. [NYT Jul 22, 1917]
• September 4, 1917: The Broadway Line opens from City Hall to 14th Street. The Manhattan Bridge north tracks open. [NYT May 9, 1917]
• October 26, 1917: The Canarsie Line south of Rockaway Parkway becomes a trolley shuttle.
• January 5, 1918: The Broadway Line opens from 42nd Street to 14th Street and City Hall to Rector Street. [NYT June 1, 1918]
• April 15, 1918: The Jerome Avenue Line opens from Kingsbridge Road to Woodlawn. [NYT Nov 23, 1930]
• July 1, 1918: The Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line opens from South Ferry to 34th Street. The Brooklyn Branch opens to Wall Street. The Ninth Avenue Line opens from 155th Street to 167th Street (possibly earlier south of Sedgwick Avenue). [NYT February 7, 1918] The express track on the Ninth Avenue Line from 125th Street to 155th Street opens. [3]
• July 3, 1918: The Jamaica Line opens from 111th Street to 168th Street. [NYT July 7, 1918]
• July 17, 1918: The Jerome Avenue Line opens south of 149th Street. The Lexington Avenue Line opens north of 42nd Street. [NYT Jul 17, 1918]
• August 1, 1918: The Pelham Line opens to Third Avenue. Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line and Lexington Avenue Line trains start running through 42nd Street. [NYT February 8, 1918]
• September 20, 1918: The Broadway Line opens from Rector Street to Whitehall Street.
• January 7, 1919: The Pelham Line opens from Third Avenue to Hunts Point. [NYT Jan 26, 1919]
• April 15, 1919: The Brooklyn Branch opens from Wall Street to Borough Hall. [NYT Apr 16, 1919]
• July 10, 1919: The Broadway Line opens from 42nd Street to 57th Street. [NYT October 7, 1919]
• September 1, 1919: The Broadway Line opens from 57th Street to Lexington Avenue. [NYT Aug 31, 1919]

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• May 27, 1920: The Pelham Line opens from Hunts Point to 177th Street. [NYT May 28, 1920]
• August 1, 1920: The Broadway Line opens from Lexington Avenue to Queensboro Plaza. The Brighton Line opens from Prospect Park to Whitehall Street. [NYT January 8, 1920]
• August 23, 1920: The Eastern Parkway Line opens from Atlantic Avenue to Utica Avenue. The full Nostrand Avenue Line opens. [NYT Aug 23, 1920]
• October 4, 1920: The Third Avenue Line opens from Fordham Road to Gun Hill Road.
• October 24, 1920: The Pelham Line opens from 177th Street to Westchester Square. [NYT Oct 22, 1920]
• November 22, 1920: The Eastern Parkway Line opens from Utica Avenue to Junius Street. [NYT Nov 21, 1920]
• December 13, 1920: The White Plains Road Line opens from 238th Street to 241st Street. [NYT December 12, 1920]
• December 20, 1920: The Pelham Line opens from Westchester Square to Pelham Bay Park. [NYT Nov 23, 1930]
• December 24, 1920: The Eastern Parkway Line opens from Junius Street to Pennsylvania Avenue.
• October 16, 1922: The Eastern Parkway Line opens from Pennsylvania Avenue to New Lots Avenue. [NYT Oct 15, 1922]
• April 8, 1923: BMT shuttles start operating on the Astoria and Flushing Lines east of Queensboro Plaza. [NYT August 4, 1923]
• December 6, 1923: The 42nd Street Spur of the Third Avenue Line is closed. [NYT July 12, 1923]
• April 14, 1924: The Willis Avenue spur of the Third Avenue Line closes, replaced by a passageway between the new NYW&B station and the elevated 133rd Street station. [NYT Apr 15, 1924]
• June 16, 1924: The 58th Street Spur of the Sixth Avenue Line is closed. [NYT Jun 17, 1924]
• June 30, 1924: The Canarsie Line opens from Montrose Avenue to Sixth Avenue. [NYT January 7, 1924]
• October 31, 1925: The Fourth Avenue Line opens from 86th Street to 95th Street. [NYT January 11, 1925]
• March 22, 1926: The Flushing Line opens from Grand Central to Fifth Avenue. [NYT Mar 23, 1926]
• March 14, 1927: The Flushing Line opens from Fifth Avenue to Times Square. [NYT Mar 15, 1927]
• January 21, 1928: The Flushing Line opens from Flushing to 103rd Street. It had been open to Willets Point about 8 months earlier, but was closed due to structural problems. [NYT Jan 22, 1928]
• July 14, 1928: The Canarsie Line opens from Broadway Junction to Montrose Avenue. [NYT Jul 15, 1928]
• July 14, 1930: The 34th Street Spur of the Third Avenue Line closes. [NYT Jul 15, 1930]
• May 30, 1931: The Canarsie Line opens from Sixth Avenue to Eighth Avenue. The Nassau Street Line opens from the tunnel to Chambers Street. Culver Line trains start using the Fourth Avenue Line. [NYT May 30, 1931]

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• September 10, 1932: The Eighth Avenue Line opens from 207th Street to Chambers Street. It's not clear which part of Chambers Street-WTC is opened. [NYT October 9, 1932] Both parts opened. The stub terminal opened as Hudson Terminal for AA trains, and the through station opened as Chambers Street for A trains.
• February 1, 1933: The Cranberry Street Tunnel opens, along with the ends of the Eighth Avenue Line and the Fulton Street Line, from Chambers Street to Jay Street-Borough Hall. The Brooklyn Bridge station doesn't open yet. [NYT January 2, 1933]
• March 20, 1933: The Culver Line opens from Jay Street to Bergen Street. [NYT Mar 20, 1933]
• July 1, 1933: The Concourse Line opens from Norwood-205th Street to 145th Street. [NYT January 7, 1933]
• August 19, 1933: The Queens Boulevard Line opens from Roosevelt Avenue-Jackson Heights to 50th Street on the Eighth Avenue Line. The Crosstown Line opens from Queens Plaza to Nassau Avenue. [NYT Aug 19, 1933]
• October 7, 1933: The Culver Line opens from Bergen Street to Church Avenue. [NYT August 10, 1933]
• January 1, 1936: The Sixth Avenue Line opens from West Fourth Street-Washington Square (where it splits from the Eighth Avenue Line) to East Broadway. [NYT February 1, 1936]
• April 9, 1936: The Fulton Street Line opens from Court Street to Rockaway Avenue, along with connecting tracks from Jay Street-Borough Hall. The Sixth Avenue Line and Rutgers Street Tunnel open from East Broadway to Jay Street-Borough Hall. [NYT September 4, 1936]
• December 31, 1936: The Queens Boulevard Line opens from Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike to Roosevelt Avenue-Jackson Heights. [NYT Dec 31, 1936]
• April 24, 1937: The Queens Boulevard Line opens from 169th Street to Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike. [NYT Apr 25, 1937]
• July 1, 1937: The Crosstown Line opens from Nassau Avenue to Bergen Street. [NYT February 7, 1937]
• December 4, 1938: The IRT Sixth Avenue Line closes (except for the spur to 58th Street, which closed earlier). [NYT May 12, 1938]

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• May 31, 1940: The BMT Fulton Street Line closes west of Rockaway Avenue. The Third and Fifth Avenue Lines close. The Broadway Ferry spur closes, though it has been out of service (at least regular service) for many years. [NYT January 6, 1940]
• June 11, 1940: The Ninth Avenue Line south of 155th Street and the Second Avenue Line from 60th Street to 129th Street are closed. [NYT December 6, 1940]
• December 15, 1940: The full local tracks of the Sixth Avenue Line open from its connection to the Eighth Avenue Line at 59th Street to West Fourth Street-Washington Square, along with the express tracks north of 34th Street-Herald Square. [NYT Dec 16, 1940]
• May 15, 1941: The Dyre Avenue Line opens. [NYT May 16, 1941]
• June 13, 1942: The Second Avenue Line is closed south of 60th Street, including the spurs to City Hall and along the Queensboro Bridge. [NYT Jun 14, 1942]
• March 5, 1944: Service over the Brooklyn Bridge ends. The Myrtle Avenue Line closes to Bridge-Jay Streets. [NYT June 3, 1944]
• December 31, 1945: City Hall station on the Lexington Avenue Line closes. [NYT Dec 27, 1945]
• June 1, 1946: The Fulton Street Line spur to Court Street closes.
• November 5, 1946: Trains stop using the connection(s?) between the Third Avenue Line and the White Plains Road Line.
• December 30, 1946: The Fulton Street Line opens from Rockaway Avenue to Broadway-East New York.
• November 7, 1948: The 18th Street station on the Lexington Avenue Line closes. [NYT June 11, 1962]
• November 28, 1948: The Fulton Street Line opens from Broadway-East New York to Euclid Avenue. [NYT Nov 29, 1948]
• October 17, 1949: The BMT stops using the Flushing Line and the IRT stops using the Astoria Line. [NYT Oct 15, 1949]
• October 13, 1950: The BMT Lexington Avenue Line is closed between the Myrtle Avenue Line and the Broadway (Brooklyn) Line. [NYT Oct 14, 1950]
• December 11, 1950: The Queens Boulevard Line opens from Jamaica-179th Street to 169th Street. [NYT December 12, 1950]
• December 22, 1950: The Third Avenue Line closes south of Chatham Square. [NYT Dec 23, 1950]
• November 14, 1951: The Third Avenue Line spur to Bronx Park closes.
• August 4, 1952: The White Plains Road Line spur to Bronx Park closes.
• December 31, 1953: The Third Avenue Line spur to City Hall closes. [NYT January 1, 1954]

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• October 30, 1954: The Culver Line is extended to the BMT Culver Line at Ditmas Avenue, and the BMT Culver Line to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue becomes part of the IND. [NYT Oct 31, 1954]
• May 12, 1955: The Third Avenue Line closes from Chatham Square to 149th Street. [NYT May 13, 1955]
• December 1, 1955: The 60th Street Tunnel Connection opens.
• April 27, 1956: The BMT Fulton Street Line closed (east of Rockaway Avenue, with part to be reopened as part of the IND). [NYT Apr 30, 1956]
• April 29, 1956: The ex-BMT Fulton Street Line is connected to and becomes part of the IND Fulton Street Line, extending the Fulton Street Line from Euclid Avenue to Lefferts Boulevard. [NYT Apr 30, 1956]
• June 28, 1956: The Rockaway Line opens from the Fulton Street Line to Rockaway Park and Wavecrest (Bay 25th Street). [NYT Jun 29, 1956]
• July 15, 1956: Myrtle Avenue on the Brighton Line closes.[4]
• May 6, 1957: The Dyre Avenue Line is connected to the White Plains Road Line. [NYT July 5, 1957]
• January 16, 1958: The Rockaway Line opens from Wavecrest (Bay 25th Street) to Far Rockaway. [NYT Jan 17, 1958]
• August 31, 1958: The Ninth Avenue Elevated closes from 155th Street to 167th Street. [NYT January 9, 1958]
• February 5, 1959: The 91st Street station on the Broadway-Seventh Avenue line closes. Service changes go into effect the day after. [NYT Jan 26, 1959]
• September 1, 1962: The Worth Street station on the Lexington Avenue Line closes. [NYT January 9, 1962]
• November 26, 1967: The Chrystie Street Connection opens. The Sixth Avenue Line express tracks open from 34th Street-Herald Square to West Fourth Street-Washington Square. [NYT Nov 26, 1967]
• 1968?: The connection between the Canarsie Line and the Jamaica Line stops being used.
• May 13, 1968: The Lenox Avenue Line opens from 145th Street to 148th Street. [NYT May 14, 1968]
• July 1, 1968: The 63rd Street Line opens from 47th-50th Streets-Rockefeller Center to 57th Street. The Chrystie Street connection tracks to the Williamsburg Bridge open. [NYT February 7, 1968]
• October 3, 1969: The Myrtle Avenue Line closes (just after midnight the morning of the 4th) from Bridge-Jay Streets to Broadway. [NYT April 10, 1969]
• April 28, 1973: The Third Avenue Line closes north of 149th Street (except for the Bronx Park spur). [NYT Apr 29, 1973]
• May 10, 1975: The Culver Shuttle closes. [NYT December 5, 1975]
• August 29, 1976: Passenger service on the Williamburg Bridge-Chrystie Street connection ends. [NYT Aug 31, 1976]
• February 12, 1977: The Bowling Green-South Ferry Shuttle closes. [NYT October 2, 1977]
• September 10, 1977: The Jamaica Line closes east of Queens Boulevard. [NYT September 9, 1977]
• April 13, 1985: The Jamaica Line is closed from 121st Street to Queens Boulevard.
• December 11, 1988: Both Archer Avenue Lines open. [NYT December 12, 1988]
• October 29, 1989: The 63rd Street Line opens from 57th Street to 21st Street-Queensbridge, including the 63rd Street Tunnel. The BMT 63rd Street Line is finished, but has no regular service. [NYT Oct 29, 1989]
• September 9, 1995: Dean Street on the BMT Franklin Avenue Shuttle is closed.[NYT November 9, 1995]
• December 16, 2001: The 63rd Street Line opens from 21st Street-Queensbridge to its merge with the Queens Boulevard Line. V service begins on December 17.[NYT Dec 17, 2001][5]
• March 16, 2009: New South Ferry complex opens in lower Manhattan replacing former loop station. [MTA Mar 16, 2009]
• September 13, 2015: The 7 Subway Extension opens to 34th Street–Hudson Yards. [NYT September 13, 2015]
• January 1, 2017: The Second Avenue Subway opens between 72nd and 96th Street, and the BMT 63rd Street Line is placed into service. [NYT January 1, 2017]