A-C (New York City Subway service)

The A Eighth Avenue Express and C Eighth Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. They are colored blue, since they use the IND Eighth Avenue Line through midtown Manhattan. The longest one-seat ride on the subway system is on the , 31 miles (50 km) from Inwood to Far Rockaway. The normal service pattern is from Inwood-207th Street to Ozone Park-Lefferts Boulevard or Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue, running express in Manhattan and Brooklyn; some rush hour trips run to Rockaway Park-Beach 116th Street; the Rockaway Park Shuttle goes there all the time. trains run local along this route from Washington Heights-168th Street to Euclid Avenue, which is exactly where the runs express. At late nights, service doesn't run, and service runs local, and only on the branch to Far Rockaway; a special shuttle (the Lefferts Boulevard Shuttle) runs from Euclid Avenue to Lefferts Boulevard.

Billy Strayhorn's jazz hit Take the A Train (popularized in 1941 by Duke Ellington) made the A train famous. It is among the better-known trains in the system.

The following lines are used by the and (the latter of which has no late night service):

Service history

A and AA

The A and AA were the first services on the IND Eighth Avenue Line when it opened on September 10, 1932. The A ran express between 207th Street and Hudson Terminal, and the AA was a local between 168th Street and Chambers Street (adjacent to Hudson Terminal). During late nights and Sundays, the A didn't run and the AA made all stops along the line.

The A was extended to Jay Street-Borough Hall on February 1, 1933, when the Cranberry Street Tunnel to Brooklyn opened; an extension to Bergen Street opened on March 20, 1933.

C and CC

The C and CC began operation on July 1, 1933 over the new IND Concourse Line. The CC provided continuous local service between 205th Street and Hudson Terminal (possibly cut back to Bedford Park Boulevard while the C ran in that direction), while the C\ express ran only in the peak direction during rush hours, continuing through downtown to Bergen Street in Brooklyn.

Recent history

On January 23, 2005, a control room in lower Manhattan caught fire, crippling and service. For more information, see Eighth Avenue Line#January 23, 2005 fire.

Station listing

External links